Driving Out Technical Risk by Blending Architecture, Process, and Project Discipline

Abstract : The SEI recently worked with Bursatec, the IT arm of the Mexican stock exchange, to help build an enhanced online financial trading engine. The end product had aggressive goals for performance and delivery, and it had to function flawlessly. Factors complicating a solution included scope outside the organization's recent experience, combining key technologies in new ways, and a constant stream of new requirements - challenges familiar to many in industry. To manage these challenges while instilling disciplined but nimble engineering practices, the SEI employed its Team Software Process with architecture-centric engineering to set an integrated architecture/developer team in motion. The blend of technical, process, and project-management discipline was used to systematically address technical risk. This collaborative approach offers help to organizations to set an architecture/developer team in motion using mature, disciplined engineering practices that produce quality software quickly.