Research Article

Dynamics of concurrent software development

  1. Hazhir Rahmandad1,
  2. David M. Weiss2

Article first published online: 31 JUL 2009

DOI: 10.1002/sdr.425

Issue

System Dynamics Review

System Dynamics Review

Volume 25, Issue 3, pages 224–249, July/September 2009

Additional Information

How to Cite

Rahmandad, H. and Weiss, D. M. (2009), Dynamics of concurrent software development. System Dynamics Review, 25: 224–249. doi: 10.1002/sdr.425

Author Information

  1. 1

    Industrial and Systems Engineering Department, Virginia Tech, Northern Virginia Center-Rm 430, 7054 Haycock Road, Falls Church, VA 22043, U.S.A.

  2. 2

    Avaya Labs Research, 233 Mt Airy Road, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920, U.S.A.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 3 SEP 2009
  2. Article first published online: 31 JUL 2009
  3. Manuscript Accepted:
  4. Manuscript Received:

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Abstract

In a concurrent development process different releases of a software product overlap. Organizations involved in concurrent software development not only experience the dynamics common to single projects, but also face interactions between different releases of their product: they share resources among different stages of different projects, including customer support, they have a common code base and architecture that carries problems across releases, they use the same capabilities, and their market success in early releases impacts their resources in later ones. Drawing on two case studies we discuss some of the feedback processes central to concurrent software development and build a simple simulation model to analyze the resulting dynamics. This model sheds light on tipping dynamics, the nature of inter-project feedback loops, and alternative resource allocation policies relevant to management of concurrent software development. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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