Tom DeMarco
Encyclopedia
Tom DeMarco is an American
software engineer
, author
, teacher
and speaker
on software engineering
topics. He is known as one of the developers of Structured analysis
in the 1980s.
, a M.S. from Columbia University
and a diplôme
from the University of Paris
at the Sorbonne.
DeMarco started working at Bell Telephone Laboratories in 1963, where he participated in ESS-1 project to develop the first large scale Electronic Switching System
, which became installed in telephone offices all over the world. Later in the 1960s he started working for a French IT consulting firm, where he worked on the development of a conveyor system
for the new merchandise mart at La Villette in Paris, and begin 1970s on the development of building on-line banking systems in Sweden, Holland, France and New York.
In the 1980s along with Tim Lister,Stephen McMenamin, John F Palmer, James Robertson and Suzanne Robertson, he founded the consulting firm "The Atlantic Systems Guild" in New York, where they initially shared offices with Dorset House publisher firm of Edward Yourdon
. Their company developed into a New York- and London-based consulting company specializing in methods and management of software development.
DeMarco has lectured and consulted throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, Australia and the Far East.
He is a member of the ACM and a Fellow of the IEEE. He lives in Camden, Maine
, and is presently both a principal of The Atlantic Systems Guild, and a fellow and Senior Consultant of the Cutter Consortium
. DeMarco was the 1986 recipient of the Warnier Prize for "lifetime contribution to the field of computing", and the 1999 recipient of the Stevens Award
for "contribution to the methods of software development".
In his spare time, he is an Emergency medical technician
, certified by his home state and by the National Registry of EMTs
, and a founding member of The Penobscot Compact, a business-education partnership operating under the auspices of the Maine State Aspirations Program.
, change facilitation, and litigation of software-intensive contracts.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
software engineer
Software engineer
A software engineer is an engineer who applies the principles of software engineering to the design, development, testing, and evaluation of the software and systems that make computers or anything containing software, such as computer chips, work.- Overview :...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
and speaker
Public speaking
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
on software engineering
Software engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
topics. He is known as one of the developers of Structured analysis
Structured analysis
Structured Analysis in software engineering and its allied technique, Structured Design , are methods for analyzing and converting business requirements into specifications and ultimately, computer programs, hardware configurations and related manual procedures.Structured analysis and design...
in the 1980s.
Biography
Tom DeMarco was born in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Tom DeMarco received a BSEE degree in Electrical Engineering from Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, a M.S. from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and a diplôme
Diploma
A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to...
from the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
at the Sorbonne.
DeMarco started working at Bell Telephone Laboratories in 1963, where he participated in ESS-1 project to develop the first large scale Electronic Switching System
Electronic switching system
In telecommunications, an electronic switching system is:* A telephone exchange based on the principles of time-division multiplexing of digitized analog signals. An electronic switching system digitizes analog signals from subscriber loops, and interconnects them by assigning the digitized...
, which became installed in telephone offices all over the world. Later in the 1960s he started working for a French IT consulting firm, where he worked on the development of a conveyor system
Conveyor system
A conveyor system is a common piece of mechanical handling equipment that moves materials from one location to another. Conveyors are especially useful in applications involving the transportation of heavy or bulky materials...
for the new merchandise mart at La Villette in Paris, and begin 1970s on the development of building on-line banking systems in Sweden, Holland, France and New York.
In the 1980s along with Tim Lister,Stephen McMenamin, John F Palmer, James Robertson and Suzanne Robertson, he founded the consulting firm "The Atlantic Systems Guild" in New York, where they initially shared offices with Dorset House publisher firm of Edward Yourdon
Edward Yourdon
Edward Nash Yourdon is an American software engineer, computer consultant, author and lecturer, and pioneer in the software engineering methodology...
. Their company developed into a New York- and London-based consulting company specializing in methods and management of software development.
DeMarco has lectured and consulted throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, Australia and the Far East.
He is a member of the ACM and a Fellow of the IEEE. He lives in Camden, Maine
Camden, Maine
Camden is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,254 at the 2000 census. The population of the town more than triples during the summer months, due to tourists and summer residents. Camden is a famous summer colony in the Mid-Coast region of Maine...
, and is presently both a principal of The Atlantic Systems Guild, and a fellow and Senior Consultant of the Cutter Consortium
Cutter Consortium
Cutter Consortium, founded by Karen Fine Coburn in 1986 as Cutter Information Corp., is an American information technology research company. In 1990, Cutter purchased the American Programmer journal , and partnered with its founder, Ed Yourdon, to form the Cutter Consortium...
. DeMarco was the 1986 recipient of the Warnier Prize for "lifetime contribution to the field of computing", and the 1999 recipient of the Stevens Award
Stevens Award
The Stevens Award is a software engineering award given in memory of Wayne Stevens. The international Stevens Award was created to recognize outstanding contributions to the literature or practice of methods for software and systems development...
for "contribution to the methods of software development".
In his spare time, he is an Emergency medical technician
Emergency medical technician
Emergency Medical Technician or Ambulance Technician are terms used in some countries to denote a healthcare provider of emergency medical services...
, certified by his home state and by the National Registry of EMTs
National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians
The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians is a US certification agency covering prehospital medical providers.- History :NREMT was established in 1970 in response to President Lyndon Johnson's Committee on Highway Traffic Safety recommended a national certifying agency for Emergency...
, and a founding member of The Penobscot Compact, a business-education partnership operating under the auspices of the Maine State Aspirations Program.
Work
Tom DeMarco's particular areas of interest are project managementProject management
Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value...
, change facilitation, and litigation of software-intensive contracts.
See also
- Software metricSoftware metricA software metric is a measure of some property of a piece of software or its specifications. Since quantitative measurements are essential in all sciences, there is a continuous effort by computer science practitioners and theoreticians to bring similar approaches to software development...
- Software qualitySoftware qualityIn the context of software engineering, software quality refers to two related but distinct notions that exist wherever quality is defined in a business context:...
- Structured Systems Analysis and Design MethodStructured Systems Analysis and Design MethodStructured systems analysis and design method is a systems approach to the analysis and design of information systems. SSADM was produced for the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency , a UK government office concerned with the use of technology in government, from 1980 onwards.- Overview...
Publications
DeMarco has authored over nine books and 100 papers on project management and software development. A selection:- 1979. Structured Analysis and System Specification. Prentice Hall, ISBN 0138543801
- 1986. Controlling Software Projects: Management, Measurement, and Estimates. Prentice Hall, ISBN 0131717111
- 1987. Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams. With Timothy Lister. Dorset House. ISBN 978-0932633439
- 1997. The Deadline: A Novel About Project Management. Dorset House.
- 2001. Slack, Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency.
- 2003. Waltzing with Bears: Managing Risk on Software Projects. With Tim Lister. Dorset House in March, 2003.
- 2008. Adrenaline Junkies and Template Zombies: Understanding Patterns of Project Behavior. With Peter Hruschka, Tim Lister, Suzanne Robertson, James Robertson, Steve McMenamin. ISBN 978-0932633675
- 2009. "Software Engineering: An Idea Whose Time Has Come and Gone?". IEEE SoftwareIEEE SoftwareIEEE Software is a broad-based practitioner-oriented magazine of IEEE Computer Society targeting software professionals, including business analysts, requirements engineers, designers, architects, developers, process improvement experts, testers, quality engineers, and project managers...
, Viewpoints. July/August 2009. pages 94–95.