Improving Process to Increase Productivity While Assuring Quality: A Case Study of the Volume Shadowing Port to OpenVMS AXP

The volume shadowing team achieved a high-quality, accelerated delivery of volume shadowing on OpenVMS AXP by applying techniques from academic and industry literature to Digital's commercial setting. These techniques were an assessment of the team process to identify deficiencies, formal inspections to detect most porting defects before testing, and principles of experimental design in the testing to efficiently isolate defects and assure quality. This paper describes how a small team can adopt new practices and improve product quality independent of the larger organization and demonstrates how this led to a more enjoyable, productive, and predictable work environment.