New Visions for Software Design and Productivity (Apr 18-19, 2001)


	Planning Workshop on New Visions for Software Design and Productivity Sponsored by the Software Design and Productivity Coordinating Group (SDP) April 18-19, 2001 National Science Foundation Arlington, VA

Introduction
Agenda
Panel Summaries
Panel Members
Participants

Main NCO Web Page

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For more than a decade, the software industry has impacted the private sector and the Federal government significantly. Today, software drives everything from critical large-scale distributed systems, such as power grids and air-traffic control networks, to small embedded devices, such as MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) sensors and pacemakers. The U.S. software industry employs more than two million technical workers and more than 350,000 support personnel, but still has many open positions for skilled software professionals. The President's Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) in its February 1999 report to the President, "Information Technology Research: Investing in Our Future" cited the pervasiveness and strategic importance of software in recommending that the Federal government "make fundamental software research an absolute priority." The PITAC concluded that establishing substantial research in software design and productivity is critical to future national security and economic viability.

The goal of the SDP planning workshop was to identify revolutionary new directions in software development methods that can both attain dramatic increases in software productivity and result in software of the highest quality. Researchers and practitioners who work in software development and productivity and/or in related disciplines were invited to share their perspectives about the practice and promise of software design and productivity. Discussion at the workshop focused on the following four areas:

Future of Software and Software Research
New Paradigms for Software Design/Development
Software for the "Real World"
Network-centric Distributed Software

The planning workshop participants provided informed and innovative input about the changing software world and how that world will evolve methods and tools for developing usable systems. Academic, industry, and Government participants identified technology needs and discussed candidate solutions that can revolutionize the way we design and produce software in the decades ahead, but that are beyond the scope of today's time-to-market and profit-driven research and development programs. Further discussion focused on the impact of software R&D on training and computer science curricula.

The substance of the views expressed in this planning workshop are presented on this web site and are intended to help sponsoring Government agency program managers and policy makers plan a second workshop that will identify key software design and productivity research needs. The results of both workshops will provide input to future software design and productivity program directions.

Introductory Presentations by SDP Coordinating Group Co-Chairs
Software Design and Productivity Workshop - Janos Sztipanovits, DARPA

Software Design and Productivity Overview - Frank Anger, NSF