1. Zeppelins and Jet Planes: A Metaphor for Modern Software Project.
- Author
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Armour, Philip
- Subjects
- *
AIRSHIPS , *JET planes , *AERONAUTICS , *BALLISTICS , *COMMUNICATIONS industries , *PROJECTILES - Abstract
Early in World War I, zeppelin airships were used by Germany to bomb London and Paris. The airships were not very successful, due to the obvious vulnerability presented by their large and fragile bags of highly explosive gas floating gently above a war zone. To successfully bag a zeppelin one needs to know its altitude, distance down range, velocity, size, projectile air resistance and projectile weight. In the 21st century we don't shoot down zeppelins, we shoot down fast, low-flying supersonic jet planes. There are a lot of differences. One need not use ballistic ordinance at all to hit a low-flying plane. One of the major differences is that in the case of the zeppelin one can predict the intersection of the airship and the antiaircraft projectile. In the case of the jet, not only does one knows in advance exactly where in space the missile will intercept the plane, one doesn't need to know. The renaissance period of software development methods was between about 1975 and 1990. Not that there haven't been great strides since then, but renaissance period saw the first approaches to establishing methods, process and management models for software production.
- Published
- 2001
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