Dr. Raymond Madachy is an Associate Professor in the Systems Engineering Department at the Naval Postgraduate School. Previously he was a Research Assistant Professor in the Industrial and Systems Department at the University of Southern California and a Principal in the USC Center for Systems and Software Engineering. He has 25 years of experience working in industry, academia and consulting in technical and management positions. His research interests include modeling and simulation of processes for architecting and engineering of complex systems; system cost modeling; systems and software measurement; process improvement and quality; integrating systems engineering and software engineering disciplines, and empirical-based research with process simulation. He has over 90 publications including the book Software Process Dynamics. Dr. Dan Houston is a Sr. Project Leader at The Aerospace Corporation in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. His work is applying quantitative methods, particularly using statistics and simulation, to software engineering. His industrial background includes software development, Six Sigma Black Belt, and software measurement. He received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Industrial Engineering at Arizona State University. His publications include work on statistical modeling and simulation of software development processes, software process improvement, and the management of software projects, particularly the aspects of risk, product quality, and economics.
The focus on broadness, simplicity and targeting the non-practitioner audience is the main reason for this book in my opinion. While this book is not targeted to experienced practitioners, the author's description of the modeling and simulation method in Chapter 2, along with descriptions of lessons they have learned, is a worthy read for novices and experts alike. Take advantage of the concise wisdom and insight offered herein. -Grant Cates, Orlando, Florida, USA ...an excellent undergraduate introduction to M&S concepts that are truly relevant and useful in any and all engineering subdisciplines. The presentation is largely independent of both software and application domains, and yet still manages to communicate and explain a way to approach the use of simulation tools for decision support and systems analysis. -James E. Moore, II, USC Viterbi School of Engineering, USC Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California, USA