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Systems development philosophy

Published: 01 October 1992 Publication History
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  • Abstract

    A philosophy book for systems developers is outlined, and it is argued that philosophy can play an important role in the education of professional practitioners. All systems developers acquire a philosophy in their education and practice. This philosophy is expressed in their views on the problems of their profession. But to what extent is this philosophy confornted with their personal practice? To what extent is it open to discussion and subject to change? Only some systems developers actively reflect on their practice. They do not accept problems at face value and they challenge traditions, concepts and methods. They philosophize as part of their practice and in doing so they develop a personal view on their profession.Our intention is to use philosophy to support inexperienced practitioners and students in becoming more professional. We do not want to make philosophers out of systems developers, but rather to encourage them to philosophize. Practitioners and students are invited to engage in a rational conversation about matters which they in their daily activities take for granted. The goal is to take a few steps in the direction of a richer, deeper, clearer, different, more truthful understanding of the activity of systems development.The paper discusses various ways to design a philosophy book for systems developers and concludes by proposing a book consisting of four parts, each dealing with a vital aspect of systems development: systems, development, quality, and perspectives.

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    Published In

    cover image ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society
    ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society  Volume 22, Issue 1-4
    Oct. 1992
    28 pages
    ISSN:0095-2737
    DOI:10.1145/147087
    Issue’s Table of Contents

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    Association for Computing Machinery

    New York, NY, United States

    Publication History

    Published: 01 October 1992
    Published in SIGCAS Volume 22, Issue 1-4

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    • (2010)From ideals towards practice: paradigmatic mismatches and drifts in method deploymentInformation Systems Journal10.1111/j.1365-2575.2007.00256.x20:5(481-516)Online publication date: 5-Aug-2010
    • (2010)How Do Real Options Concepts Fit in Agile Requirements Engineering?Proceedings of the 2010 Eighth ACIS International Conference on Software Engineering Research, Management and Applications10.1109/SERA.2010.37(231-238)Online publication date: 24-May-2010
    • (2009)An analysis of the history of classical software development and agile development2009 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics10.1109/ICSMC.2009.5346888(3733-3738)Online publication date: Oct-2009
    • (2008)Towards a framework for understanding the relationships between classical software engineering and agile methodologiesProceedings of the 2008 international workshop on Scrutinizing agile practices or shoot-out at the agile corral10.1145/1370143.1370146(9-14)Online publication date: 10-May-2008
    • (1999)Deployment of System Development MethodsEvolution and Challenges in System Development10.1007/978-1-4615-4851-5_3(19-31)Online publication date: 1999

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