Applying Object-Oriented Software Engineering Methods to the development of call center software: a case study

Abstract

In an event to improve the quality and productivity of the software development process, the Voice/Data Integration Group embarked on a program to introduce Object-Oriented Software Engineering Methods into the development of a large call center application. This paper provides an analysis of the experience as it applies to project management, requirements, development, and quality assurance. The key lessons learned during the development and the maintenance of this production system are summarized. Introduction In the second quarter of 1993 a grass roots efforts had begun to integrate C++ into our call center product. By the first quarter of 1994 a business decision was made to introduce the Object-Oriented Software Engineering (OOSE) method into the group on selected projects. Management’s perception was that the group maintained good customer satisfaction and a high level of productivity, however metrics had never been applied and this perception had never been quantified. A three year plan was initiated that would enable us to quantify key aspects of customer satisfaction and productivity as it applied to our software development and maintenance process. The objective for the first year was to migrate to a more formal, repeatable software development process that would meet or exceed our current level of quality and productivity. The plan for the second year is to apply metrics to quantify where we are in terms of software quality. The third year plan calls for using these metrics to direct the improvement of our software development and maintenance process. This paper outlines the path taken in order to achieve this goal of migrating to OOSE methods in Sheryl J. Adam