The SIGMA experience—A study in the evolutionary design of a large software system

Abstract

Anyone who has been a part of a large software effort knows of its peculiar afflictions and special problems. The literature teems with guidelines, rules and conventions for designing and managing such systems; in fact, there are probably more books written about large systems than there are large systems. This paper will make no attempt to add to this literature; instead it will simply report our experience over the last five years in the design and implementation of sigma. 3 This introspective study is meant to be not a pedagogical paper but a reflective, often humbling, diary.