Joyce Statz - Optimizing Software Delivery: Should we Buy, Build, or Outsource?

June 2, 2005

Location: University of Minnesota, Lind Hall 305

University of Minnesota Software Engineering Center (UMSEC)

In collaboration with

Twin-SPIN
For the Minneapolis/St. Paul Regional Area

Thursday,
June 2, 2004
5:30-8:00 p.m. at The University of Minnesota
5:30 start for networking, 6:15 start for meeting.

Directions:
A map is available at http://onestop.umn.edu/Maps/LindH/index.html
Check out the detailed map under the “close up” button.

This Month’s Meeting:

Program Manager: Ron Carlson

Abstract:
Being agile in today’s business environment raises many challenges to the software and systems community, as it tries to meet the demands of users. The pace of change is high; you see it in the requirements flux, the change in user responsibilities, the evolution of business processes, the never-ending stream of “next big thing.”

The urgency to stay current with latest technology, to meet/exceed the features of the competitors, and to “do more with less” cause us all to consider our options for the next solution we need. Can we buy something that is good enough? Should we outsource the work to someone else, who can do it faster or cheaper? Should we build it ourselves – and if so, why?

The talk examines these issues and related concerns, as it looks at how to balance the people, process, and technology available to a software delivery organization. Clearly, no single answer is possible, but the talk raises points to ponder and data to consider, as the questions are raised and discussed with the audience.

Joyce Statz is Vice President of Knowledge Management for Borland Worldwide Services, where she manages the evolution of the Worldwide Services engagement process and its set of best practices used for helping organizations improve their software delivery process. Prior to her work at Borland, she spent 12 years as a co-founder and vice president for TeraQuest, developing materials for the organization to use in its process improvement services, and providing consulting services to personnel in roles ranging from executive leaders to process teams to individual sin project teams. She has over 15 years experience in software management, and was an early proponent of software process improvement at Texas Instruments. Dr. Statz is a frequent speaker with particular expertise in project management and risk management. She also leads the Process Improvement Working Group for Practical Software and Systems Measurement, an industry community of practice for measurement.

The following files related to this presentation are available for download:

Presentation slides
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