SE/SW Specialty Areas, Links, and Definitions

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Term/Topic	Acronym	Definition/Link/References	Source	Category
numbers	0-9	Key 0 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
6-Sigma	6-Sigma	º Same as: Six Sigma.	z	Quality
7-Habits	7 Habits	º Same as: [Steven R.] Covey's Seven Habits.	z	Quality
A		Key 0 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Action Plan		A plan (schedule, resources, priorities, etc.) created to address "gaps" (weaknesses, opportunities) from one or more appraisals, audits, lessons learned, change proposals, causal analysis (CAR) process, decision analysis (DAR) process, or similar inputs.	z	Quality
Ada	Ada	► A platform independent programming language. Not an acronym (therefore only initial caps). For more information, see: Ada on Object Oriented page and Standards. Compare with C. ► Assistant to Charles Babbage and the "first programmer" Ada Augusta Lovelace	z	Language
Advanced Automation System	AAS	A program, of the FAA, to upgrade the air traffic control system. It was to provide a centrally managed, standard implementation for all area control facilities and tower approach and departure systems. The existing systems were typically modified independently by each area control facility. The visible hardware changes included replacing the monochrome secondary radar displays and the "shrimp boat" backup system for primary radar. Processing power included mainframe (MVS) and distributed, redundant and mirrored, PowerPCs (running AIX). However, the PowerPCs, AIX, and related compilers were still under development, concurrent with software development. There were 19 volumes of 3-4in. binders of "requirements." Some of the new system requirements included integrated weather processing, alternative approach patterns (turning, non-straight approach), increasing the capability to handle concurrent targets, increased accuracy in tactical avoidance systems [on the ground, for the "controller" rather than the pilot], and adding strategic avoidance [20+ minutes out] to economize fuel consumption. Besides these, and many other technically difficult functional requirements, the system was to be able to integrate with all current (antiquated) subsystems, all subsystems currently under development, and flexible enough to handle any that the FAA could think of in the future. All with "seven-nines" reliability (0.9999999); that meant the system down-time per year was less time than it took to reboot the system! The system was estimated at 2.5 million source lines of code (KSLOC) and would take with about 500 engineers from IBM, CSC, Raytheon, and other subcontractors, about 5+ years to complete.	z	Org
Advanced Research Projects Agency	ARPA	See papers, internet history At times it was called DARPA	z	Org
American Association for Artificial Intelligence	AAAI	See www.aaai.org/ See also professional organizations	z	Org
American Association of Engineering Societies	AAES	► A professional organization. For more information, see: AAES on SE Orgs page.	z	Org
American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics	AIAA	► A professional organization. For more information, see: AIAA on SE Orgs page	z	Org
American National Standards Institute	ANSI	► A standards organization. For more information, see: ANSI on SE Orgs page	z	Org
American Society for Quality	ASQ	► A professional organization. For more information, see: ASQ on SE Orgs page.	z	Org
American Society for Quality Control	ASQC	► Original name for ASQ. For more information, see: ASQ on SE Orgs page.	z	Org
Analysis and Design Technique (or Method)	A&D	General reference: any Requirements Solicitation, Analysis, Architectural Design, and Detailed Design Methods. Specific reference: Also used to reference specific (typically functional) methods; see Development Methods: SA/SD or SADT See also REQM,  RD, and TS	z	Method
Appraisal Team Leader	ATL	► SEI-Authorized SCAMPI-B/C Appraisal Team Leader. One of three levels of authorization required to facilitate a SCAMPI-B or SCAMPI-C appraisal team. Compare with LA. For additional information, see ATL Certification.	SEI	Cert Role
Appraisal Team Member	ATM	► A member of a SCAMPI appraisal team, who satisfies the qualifications to be a member and with the other members satisfies the team requirements. For additional information, see ATM on the Certification page.	SEI	Cert Role
Art and Computers		» Related Terms: Computer Graphics, CHI, and Special Effects	z	Specialty
Association for Computing Machinery	ACM	► A professional organization. For more information, see ACM on SE Orgs page	z	Org
Association of Information Technology Professionals	AITP	► A professional organization. For more information, see AITP on SE Orgs page	z	Org
Authorized Instructor		► SEI-Authorized Introduction to CMMI Instructor. A qualification required to teach Introduction to CMMI and other courses. For additional information, see Certification page.	SEI	Cert Role
acceptable quality limit	AQL	Included in BOK for CQE.	ASQ	Quality
average outgoing quality	AOQ	Included in BOK for CQE.	ASQ	Quality
average outgoing quality limit	AOQL	Included in BOK for CQE.	ASQ	Quality
Authorized Appraisal Team Lead	6-Sigma	º Same as: ATL.	z	Quality
B		Key 0 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
B	B	A "typeless" programming language written by Ken Thompson in 1970 for the first UNIX system on the DEC PDP-7. See C.	Kernigan & Ritchie	Language
Black Belt	6sB	The next to the highest level individual Certification in the Six Sigma Method (6s). See also Master Black Belt. For more information see SPI-101 or Standards.	z	Cert Role
Bowen-Margono-Wade	BMW	Johan Margono, Gregory Bowen, and David Wade were the original three members of CSC's Reuse Department, on AAS. As the team grew Johan became the Department Manager, Greg (myself) the Reuse Department Technical Lead, and Dave was the task/team lead for one of the major subsystem of components (2D and 3D Geometric Spaces, used to implement air spaces within difference coordinate systems). Authors of several reuse/domain engineering papers.	z	DE
Booch	EGB	Eugene Grady Booch Booch Object-Oriented Development (OOD) Method, originally developed for the Ada programming language, while Grady was at the Air Force Academy. He later joined Rational, and still later joined up with the "tres amigos" (Booch-Jacobson-Rambaugh) to develop UML. See Booch Method,  UML and SysML on Standards page, OMG on Organizations, and brief history of UML on OO Page.	z	OO
Booch, 1983	.	& Grady Booch. Software Engineering with Ada, Benjamin/Cummings, Reading, Massachusetts, 1983.	z	Bib
Booch, 1987a	.	& Grady Booch. Software Engineering with Ada, Second Edition, Benjamin/Cummings, Reading, Massachusetts, 1987.	z	Bib
Booch, 1987b	.	& Grady Booch. Software Components with Ada -- Structures, Tools, and Subsystems, Benjamin/Cummings, Reading, Massachusetts, 1987.	z	Bib
Booch, 1991	.	& Grady Booch. Object Oriented Design: with Applications, Benjamin/Cummings, Fort Collins, CO, 1991.	z	Bib
Booch Diagrams	.	↨ Alternative: "Booch-o-grams".	z	OO
Booch-o-grams	BOG	Colloquial name for the package, or class, Module Diagrams, both specification and body, introduced by the early Booch Method and later incorporated into UML. aka: Booch Diagrams.	z	OO
Business Process Design	BPD	↨ Alternative: Business Process Reengineering (BPR), although can imply process creation rather than re-design.	z	Quality
Business Process Engineering	BPE	↨ Alternative: Business Process Reengineering (BPR), although it does not imply that the "as is" state has been "engineered".	z	Quality
Business Process Improvement	BPI	↨ Alternative: Business Process Reengineering (BPR), although may be used to refer to more incremental approach to improvements (rather than radical change, as usually implied by BPR).	z	Quality
Business Process Redesign	BPR	↨ Alternative: Business Process Reengineering (BPR)	z	Quality
Business Process Reengineering	BPR	The name coined by [Hammer & Champy, 1993] for radical process improvement; revolution rather than evolution. For alternative terms see: BPI, BPE, BPD, BPReverse-Engineering, BPReInvention, and BPRedesign. For more information, see Intro to SPI.	z	Quality
Business Process Reinvention	BPR	↨ Alternative: Business Process Reengineering (BPR), but more accurate because most organizations needing to apply BPR, do not have processes that were "engineered" (at least in their present form)	z	Quality
Business Process Reverse-Engineering	BPR	↨ Alternative: Business Process Reengineering (BPR), alluding to the need to "discover" the existing process.	z	Quality
C		Key 0 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
C	C	The general programming language originally developed for UNIX operating system running on DEC PDP-11, by Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs. Features "economy of expression" [i.e., not designed for readability]. Not strongly typed (but also not "typeless" like B). Provides no run-time checking of array subscripts, argument types, or other constraints. No distinction in the language selectors and constructors -- everything is a function, which can return a value and change the state of attributes or objects (including arithmetic on addresses or text). The "grade" the language receives for facilitating good software engineering, reliability, and safety. Any random series of binary numbers accepted without error by a C compiler [unless using a special compiler with the separate program called lint].	Kernigan & Ritchie	Language
C++	C++	An extension to the C programming language, see Object Oriented Technology The "grade" the language receives for facilitating good software engineering, reliability, and safety. See C.	z	Language
Capability Maturity Model	CMM	A series of models from the SEI, used to appraise process maturity, guide process improvement, and improve product or service quality (see Other CMMs). Specifically, the Capability Model for Software (SW-CMM), the first CMM, (see History) which has been replaced by CMMI.	z	Standard
Capability Maturity Model Integration	CMMI	► For additional information, see: Capability Maturity Model Integration page.	z	Standard
Casual Analysis and Resolution	CAR	► A CMMI Maturity Level 5 Process Area. For additional information, see: CAR on CMMI page. aka: Root Cause Analysis.	z	Process
Cause & Effect Diagram	C-E Diagram	► See Quality Tools	z	Quality
Central Computer & Telecommunications Agency	CCTA	Organization which originally developed by ITIL, now managed by OGC.	z	Standard
Certificate in Data Processing	CDP	► A professional certification; for more information see: AITP	z	Cert
Certified Associate in Project Management	CAPM	► A professional certification, offered by PMI; for more information see: PMP.	z	Cert
Certified Manager of Quality and Organizational Excellence	CMQ  /OE	► A professional certification offered by ASQ; for more information see: CMQ/OE (the replacement certification). Compare with PMP & CAPM.	z	Cert
Certified Manager of Quality Assurance	CMQA	► A professional certification offered by QAI; for more information see: Certifications. Compare with PMP & CAPM.	z	Cert
Certified Manager of Software Testing	CMST	► A professional certification offered by QAI; for more information see: Certifications. Compare with PMP & CAPM.	z	Cert
Certified Mechanical Inspector	CMI	ý Obsolete: A professional certification, previously offered by ASQ	z	Cert
Certified Quality Analyst	CQAn	ý Obsolete: A professional certification, previously offered by QAI. Replaced by Certified Software Quality Analyst (CSQA).	z	Cert
Certified Quality Auditor	CQAu	► A professional certification, see: ASQ. Added "u" to distinguish "Auditor" from "Analyst"  [CQA from QAI].	z	Cert
Certified Quality Engineer	CQE	► A professional certification, offered by ASQ.	z	Cert
Certified Quality Improvement Associate	CQIA	► A professional certification, see: ASQ.	z	Cert
Certified Quality Inspector	CQI	► A professional certification, see: ASQ.	z	Cert
Certified Quality Process Analyst	CQPA	► A professional certification, see: ASQ.	z	Cert
Certified Quality Manager	CQM	ý Obsolete: A professional certification, previously offered by ASQ. Replaced in March 2006 by Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE).	z	Cert
Certified Quality Technician	CQT	► A professional certification, see: ASQ.	z	Cert
Certified Reliability Engineer	CRE	► A professional certification, see: ASQ.	z	Cert
Certified SPICE Assessor	CSA	ý Obsolete: A professional certification, previously offered by QAI.	z	Cert
Certified Software Development Professional	CSDP	► A professional certification, offered by IEEE; for more information see: CSDP.	z	Cert
Certified Software Quality Analyst	CSQA	► A professional certification, offered by QAI; for more information see: CSQA.	z	Cert
Certified Software Project Manager	CSPM	► A professional certification, offered by QAI; for more information see: CSPM. Compare with PMP & CAPM.	z	Cert
Certified Software Quality Engineer	CSQE	► A professional certification, offered by ASQ; for more information see: CSQE.	z	Cert
Certified Software Test Engineer	CSTE	► A professional certification, offered by QAI; for more information see: CSTE.	z	Cert
Certified Systems Engineering Professional	CSEP	► A professional certification, offered by INCOSE; for more information see: CSEP.	z	Cert
Check Sheet	.	► See: Other Quality Tools	z	Quality
Client/Server	C/S	Referring to a system architecture where processing is distributed between 1) one or more "server" systems (processing multiple requests using shared resources) and 2) typically multiple "clients" providing "local" processing (typically on a personal computer for one user).	z	General
CMM-Based Appraisal for Internal Process Improvement	CBA  -IPI	ý Obsolete: Was used for internal process improvement assessment against the CMM. Compare with SCE, formerly called a SPA, now called SCAMPI.	z	Standard
Computer Aided Software Engineering	CASE	or Computer Aided Systems Engineering Synonym for SEE
Computer Ethics	Ethics	See Professionalism and Risks
Computer Graphics	CG	The use of  graphics in computer programs, or the use of computer programs to generate or manipulate graphic images. See CHI and Special Effects.
Computer-Human Interface Design	CHI	The name and acronym used by ACM's Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (SIGCHI). ACM SIGCHI provides an international, interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of ideas about the field of human-technology and human-computer interaction (HCI)
Computer-Related Risk Management		See Risks and Risk Management (RSKM)
Computer Risks		See Risks and Risk Management (RSKM)
Configuration Management	CM	See related links on this site: CMMI Process Area Training courses: CM, CM101, CMO CM Vendors Related links on SEI site: Abstract from paper from SEI "The Past, Present, and Future of Configuration Management", by S. Dart, www.sei.cmu.edu (92.tr.008.html) (PDF file can be downloaded) Abstract from paper from SEI "Spectrum of Functionality in Configuration Management Systems", by S. Dart, www.sei.cmu.edu (90.tr.011.html) (postscript file can be downloaded) Spinning a Web: Publishing the SEI Software Configuration Management Research on the World Wide Web www.sei.cmu.edu (94.tr.018.html) Other Links: Australian Army CM Manual www.defence.gov.au/ARMY wysywig's CM Plan www.airtime.co.uk/users/wysywig/cmp.htm (see also www.airtime.co.uk/users/wysywig/wysywig.htm) Advice on Configuration Management (Quality Network) www.quality.co.uk/cm.htm
Control Chart	C-Chart Ctrl-Chart	See Quality Tools		Quality
Corporate Software and  System Process Group	CSSPG	See SEPG.		Role
Covey's Seven Habits	7 Habits	A reference to the principles defined by Steven R. Covey, in a number of  books and presentations, including: [Covey,1989].  See Covey's 7 Habits, under Relationship to other Quality Approaches on the Intro to SPI page, for more information. aka: 7-Habits, Seven Habits		Standard
Covey,1989	C	& Steven R. Covey. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective; Restoring the Character Ethic, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1989.		Bib
Critical Path Method	CPM	Included in BOK for CQE.	ASQ	Method
D		Key 0 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency	DARPA	See ARPA		Org
Defense Technical Information Center	DTIC®	http://www.dtic.mil/ The premier provider of DoD technical information, transferring information among DoD personnel, DoD contractors and potential contractors and other U.S. Government agency personnel and their contractors. DTIC is a DoD Field Activity under the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, reporting to the Director, Defense Research & Engineering (DDR&E).		Org
Deming Cycle		Same as: PDCA		Quality
Department of Commerce (US)	DoC	United States Department of Commerce		Org
Department of Defense	DoD	United States Department of Defense defines DoD and MIL standards for systems, development practices, etc. However, more recent trend is to follow industry standards where possible to avoid duplication. See customers: DoD*		Org
Department of Energy	DoE	United States Department of Energy		Org
Design for cost	DFC	Included in BOK for CQE.	ASQ	Quality
Design for manufacturability	DFM	Included in BOK for CQE.	ASQ	Quality
Design for Six Sigma	DFSS	Included in BOK for CQE.	ASQ	Quality
Design for X	DFX	where X can mean  Six Sigma: Included in BOK for CQE.	ASQ	Quality
Dickover et al, 1977		& Melvin E. Dickover, Clement L. McGowan, and Douglas T. Ross, Software design using: SADT, ACM Press, 1977. See also: [Ross, 1985].	z	Bib
Domain Engineering	DE	Engineering for a domain, family of systems, or product line, where commonality is leveraged to reduce cost, increase quality, and reduce cycle time (over the life cycle of multiple versions of similar systems. For more information see: Domain Engineering
E		Key 0 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Education	E	Initial education, job (role) training, and continual learning (aka continuing education) are important in maintaining quality systems and products. Related sites: CMMI's Organizational Training (OT) Process Area, and related Generic Practices (GP 2.5) IEEE Technical Council on Software Engineering (TCSE) Technology Transfer Committee Software Engineering Education Committee Training and Consulting Companies (general and process-specific) See also Professionalism See vital site for Local College Programs
Electronic Industries Alliance	EIA	An international standards body http://www.eia.org/		Org
Ethics	E	See Professionalism and Risks See ACM & IEEE Code of Ethics included in the CSDP Program
F		Key 0 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis	FMEA	Included in BOK for CQE.	ASQ	Method
Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis	FMECA	Included in BOK for CQE.	ASQ	Method
Fault Tolerance	FT	The ability for a system to continue normal ("error-free") operations in spite of the existence of faults or failures. This may be accomplished through techniques like multiple redundant systems, N-version programming, fault prevention, fault correction, controlled degradation ("emergency mode"), "safe" programming, etc. Fault Tolerance can be tied to availability, may have to be balanced with Safety/Hazard, Security, and other trade-offs [e.g., is it safer to shutdown, then to run with errors -- the answer may be different for a computer controlled train or the life-support system on the space station). See Fault Tolerance/Safety Working Group (FTSWG), CSC Experience.
Fault Tree Analysis	FTA	Included in BOK for CQE.	ASQ	Method
Federal Aviation Administration	FAA	FAA establishes standards for related to aviation See also customers: FAA		Org
Federal Information Processing Standards	FIPS			Org
Firmware	FW	Software that is "burned" onto a computer chip or other hardware device. Compare with Hardware and Wetware.
Fishbone Diagram	.	See Cause & Effect Diagram in Quality Tools		Quality
Flow Chart	.	A diagramming technique used in a number of Functional Development Methods or, Flow Diagram (Quality Tools)
Flow Diagram	DFD	Data Flow Diagram, a diagramming technique used in a number of Functional Development Methods See also Flow Chart, in Quality Tools
Foundation Certificate in ITIL	ITIL-f	A professional certification, based on an understanding of ITIL</