Issues in software cycle time reduction

During the early days of commercial software development, cost and performance were the factors that received the most attention as an area for improvement. In the 1980´s quality and productivity have received a great deal of attention. It appears that, in the 1990´s reducing software development time will be one of the primary goals of large and small software companies alike. To this end it is appropriate to examine the factors that affect software cycle time. Is it enough to try and improve programmer productivity or are there additional product or process improvements that might be considered? Assuming there are several factors that impact software development time, what are they and how much of an impact does each factor have? This paper examines the software development cycle. It motivates the importance of software cycle time reduction. A definition for software cycle time is proposed. The potential trade-offs of a focus on cycle time reduction are examined. Using a systematic approach, a comprehensive set of cycle time factors is identified and categorized. Using this set of factors this paper reviews and evaluates existing cycle time reduction approaches. Finally, an argument is made for a product centered cycle time approach. This paper establishes a common ground from which future research in this area may continue