FINAL WORD
What Pixar can teach us about the Future Software Factory
Raja Gudepu , CEO and Founder , Oteemo , tells us : “ When we think about what the software factory of the future ought to look like and how we assure quality throughout the software lifecycle , we could learn a thing or two from the world ’ s most innovative animation studio : Pixar .”
The concept of a ‘ Software Factory ’, in which software is assembled applying tried and true techniques from the world of manufacturing , is hardly a new idea . In fact , what many don ’ t fully appreciate is that it ’ s actually a wellestablished model that dates back more than 50 years when , in 1969 , Hitachi adopted this moniker for its Hitachi Software Works program .
Over the course of the past decade , there has been a resurgence of interest in the software factory model and federal enterprises have placed an emphasis on it too . Earlier this summer , the US Army announced that it would set up a software factory to update its weapons systems and upskill its staff while the US Air Force referred to software factories as its new ‘ Crown Jewels ’. The ideals of the software factory embodies the values that business and technology leaders have long cherished : automation , hyper-efficiency and quality . But software of course is not any ordinary physical widget ; building quality software requires groups of diverse individuals to collaborate closely with one another to collectively solve problems under pressing deadlines . And as the nature of software development has evolved over the past decade , so too has the Software Factory .
Keep the line rolling no matter what
When we talk about the concept of the Software Factory , the immediate image that jumps to mind is Henry Ford whose Model T has become synonymous with the
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