Software Technology Center at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: Software engineering technology transfer in a scientific R and D laboratory. Revision 1

摘要

Software engineering technology transfer for productivity and quality improvement can be difficult to initiate and sustain in a non-profit research laboratory where the concepts of profit and loss do not exist. Secondarily, when scientific research is the mission of an organization, software is often viewed only as playing an ancillary role in the successful achievement of mission. Its key role as an enabling technology is not generally understood. In this experience report, we discuss the approach taken to establish and maintain a software engineering technology transfer organization at a large federal scientific R&D laboratory. The conception, birth, and early life of that organization is discussed. We believe that we have found at least a partial solution towards motivating and sustaining software technology-based change. Our success comes simultaneously from our ability to influence practitioners in a bottom-up fashion and to gain software management's confidence that we are having a positive influence on software practice at the Laboratory. We believe that an essential factor for success in successful technology transfer is the ability to ''win friends and influence people'' among both practitioners and managers.