TPO21 Lecture 2
Computer Science(Software Development)
Narrator
Listen to part of a lecture in a Computer Science class. The professor is discussing software engineering.
Professor
We’ve been talking about the software development cycle, and today I’d like to move on to the next stage of that cycle-testing, and why finding bugs during testing is actually a great thing. Eh...eh... the quality of the software product often relies heavily on how well it’s been tested. Liz?
Student
Um... just a quick thing. Bugs is the word for problems in the program code, right?
Professor
Yeah, in code or in a computer itself. There is a bit of a story behind that term. Um... back in the 1940s, when the computer industry was just starting, a group of computer scientists was working late one night, and there was a problem in one of the computers’ circuits1. When they examined it, they found a five-centimeter long moth caught in there. Once they debugged the computer, it worked just fine. And ever since then, all kinds of computer problems have been known as bugs.
Anyway, you want to find bugs while the software is still in the development and testing phases. Finding them when the software product has already been put on the market can be quite embarrassing. Generally speaking, every software development project has a group of testers and a group of developers. Jack?
Student
And they are different people?
Professor
They are generally completely different group of people. My personal opinion is that they have to be different groups of people because developers often have a bias for their own work, and it blinds them to certain problems that might be obvious to somebody else. So it is always good to have a different set of eyes to go in there and make sure that everything is tested properly.
Ok, now, here’s the key. Developers and testers have different mentalities. The mentality of the software developer is construtive, creative, they are spending long hours working together to create and build something new. A software tester, on the other hand, their entire goal is to look at this product and find problems with it, to improve it. Now, this difference between the testers and the developers can lead to an environment where there is a bit of friction. And that friction sometimes makes it difficult for the two teams to work together.
There are two projects that I worked on a couple of years ago. One, which I’ll call Project Split, well, the testing and development teams did not work well together. And the other, I’ll call Project Unity, during which both teams worked very well together. Now, during Project Split, we had defect meetings where the developers and the testers met together, eh... eh... to discuss various problems and how they should be fixed. And you could sense the conflict just by walking into the room. Literally, the testers and the developers sat on opposite sides on the table. Um... and ... and the developers were very defensive about the feedback.
Student
Well, if bugs are being pointed out they wouldn’t be too happy since its their work.
Professor
Exactly. Now, ‘cause the two teams weren’t working well together, the fixes were coming very very slowly. And you know, a lot of times when you fix bugs you introduce new bugs, or you discover bugs and other areas that only come to light because something has been changed, so fixing all those new additional bugs was also being delayed. Um... the test process went on much longer than expected and we ended up having to put the product on the market with known bugs in it, which was obviously not ideal.
Student
Ok, and what about Project Unity? How was it different?
Professor
Um... this was different because two teams worked closely together during the defect meetings, instead of put up walls. Um... we didn’t even talked about, you know, who should fix this, who is at fault2. We all acknowledge what needed to be fixed. So if we had ten bugs, we said, ‘Hey, you know what? Let’s do this one first ‘cause this would expose another whole bunch of defects that we haven’t even seen yet.’ So we were being proactive3 and effective. And because we were so much more effective with our time, we were actually able to do more than just fix the bugs, we even put in some improvements that we hadn’t planned.
TPO21 Conversation 2
Narrator
Listen to a conversation between a student and her public relations professor.
Student
Hi, professor Gordin. I really learned a lot from your lecture, the one about analyzing all those different segments of the population. Oh, the official term is audience, right? I never imagine that one company could have over thirty audiences to communicate with.
Professor
Yeah, a lot of students are taken aback by this, and some public relations consultants don’t figure it out until they’e worked in the field a while.
Student
Everyone thinks, public relations, eh, PR is easy, but there’s a lot to it. You really got to know what you are doing.
Professor
Absolutely. So, Stacy, your email implied that you needed my advice about graduate school?
Student
No, since my undergraduate degree will be in public relations, I’ve already decided to get a master’s degree in marketing. Sorry, I wasn’t clear. My issue is, I have got two require courses and two electives. I am trying to figure out which elective course is to take. My advisor suggested economics and accounting, but I am not really sure.
Professor
About?
Student
Well, I endured accounting and economics in high school and barely stayed awake, they were so ...
Professor
Ok, Ok. I hear you. Eh... you say you wanted a master’s in marketing, you have got one more semester till graduation. Have you taken any marketing courses yet?
Student
No, I figured I’ve got the marketing basis already since I have take every PR in communication courses offered here.
Professor
Well, there’s some overlap between PR and marketing, but there are important differences too. Marketing focuses on selling your product or service, eh, you know, attracting customers through advertising, and also buiding relationships with customers. That’s what a marketing department does. PR is all about, it involves relationships too, that’s why I am saying the two fields overlap. But in PR, you are developing relationships with a wider range of audience.
Student
Right. Like employees, suppliers, the media. I do understand this in theory, but aren’t you still selling your product, just in a different way?
Professor
Not necessarily. Ok, do you remember that PR strategy I alluded to the other day? The one our university uses, a strategy that doesn’t overlap its marketing strategy?
Student
You mean how the university invites local residents to attend certain lectures and classes for free?
Professor
Yeah, this cultivates a sense of good will and helps the university avoid becoming isolated from the larger community. Bringing neighbours into our classrooms is good PR, but it is not marketing since our neighbours aren’t our customers, for the most part.
Student
That’s why I want to focus on marketing in graduate school. Wouldn’t having expertise in PR and marketing giving me more career options?
Professor
Yeah, but you’ll also want to enjoy your work. So for you electives, why don’t you take advertising principles and intro to marketing, which I teach. This way, you’ll find out if marketing is something you really want to pursue. Graduate School tuition is expensive, and these courses will give you a good overview of the field before committing yourself.
Student
I wish my advisor had suggested those courses.
Professor
Well, I am someone who has worked in both marketing and PR, so I can offer a different perspective than someone who only teaches ...
