Got software? What managers and engineers need to know

Abstract

As part of a JPL-wide software quality initiative aimed at addressing the challenges of developing, managing and acquiring software, a team at JPL generated a detailed software training plan for training both managers and engineers. The team took the approach of treating the software training program as though it were a system development task, and went through all the typical phases of system development including requirements, design, implementation, etc. During the requirements collection phase, the team conducted dozens of interviews and identified the specific skills needed. The skills fell into categories such as software management, software engineering, systems engineering and other technical areas. However, an equally important finding was that several "soft" skills were deemed critical for the successful and timely management and implementation of software-intensive systems. This paper discusses JPL's approach and "lessons learned" from planning and delivering a software training program in an engineering and scientific environment.