Computer application systems engineering center: a software factory

This paper presents Toshiba Corporation´s computer application systems engineering center (CASEC). First, an overview of CASEC is described, including the center´s production environment. Then, some of the management systems-including SOFPIT (software profit improvement tactics) designed for delegated cost management, and Toshiba´s corporate-wide software-reuse library system. The decades of experience have demonstrated that the production of high-quality software is heavily dependent on human factors. For this reason the authors devised schemes and mechanisms to enforce basic rules for software production and management. These mechanisms include involving management and experts in the design-review process, FFQM (feed forward quality management), the introduction of management-level rankings, and software QCC (quality control circles) activities. Finally, the paper presents an education system by which CASEC trains systems engineers and programmers