THE ROLE OF THE SOFTWARE SUPPORT ORGANIZATION IN SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

摘要

The recent increase in the use of software in telecommunications projects has resulted in the need for the establishment of well-developed,well-organlzed software support organizations.Although the benefits of support functions are generally recognized,the establishment of specific support organizations often requires selling-internally to the engineering staff who must provide the manpower required,and externally to the prospective clients who will ultimately use the service.In order to attract and retain highly skilled,professional software support engineers with multl-dlscipllnary backgrounds,employers need to recognize the valueadded of support functions,emphasize the importance of all llfe-cycle stages,and eliminate the stigma of second-class citizenship often identified with support.Many of these goals can be attained by integrating the support engineers onto the project teams,fully utilizing the flexibility of staffing assignments,and providing equal career path opportunities for all professionals.Folowing these guidelines,the support organization can provide both product/system stability for the employer and an excellent working environment for the employee.