Applying Industrial Principles to Software

This chapter explains what can be done to make IT a real industry, and this begins with applying the main principles of industrialization, namely cutting complexity into small pieces and then standardizing the modules, and in particular their interfaces. We will make a comparison with the development of cities, where the normalization of water pipes, electricity, and other interfaces has allowed for continuous evolution.

In this chapter, we will explain the very concept of industry, as this is a very often used name, but not necessarily every time with a precise understanding of its meaning. We will also learn about how industrialization works by cutting complex problems into small ones and then making the small ones simple and repeatable, principally by means of standardization. We’ll also understand what benefits can be drawn from such an approach, in particular in information systems.

We’ll cover the following topics...