The International Function Point Users Group (IFPUG) was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Barry William Boehm, who left us peacefully in his Santa Monica home at 11:38 p.m. on Saturday, August 20, 2022. He is survived by his wife, Sharla Boehm; his daughters, Romney Boehm and Tenley Burke; and his grandsons, Cullen and Mason Burke.
Among many other notable accomplishments, Boehm served as the IFPUG keynote speaker at the Bet Your Success on Metrics conference in Las Vegas in 2001.
Anyone interested in the financial aspects of software engineering is familiar with the name Barry W. Boehm. The University of Southern California’s guru had a permanent seat as a leader in software economics for more than 50 years.
Few people have contributed as much to the field of software engineering as Boehm. As he approached semi-retirement, important luminaries from both academia and the industry gathered to honor him at a symposium, Software Engineering: The Legacy of Barry W. Boehm, held in Minneapolis on May 22, 2007. The event featured Larry Berntein, Rick Selby, Art Pyster, Tom DeMarco, Vic Basili, Walker Royce, Kevin Sullivan, Lee Osterweil, and Fred Brooks. Eachluminary presented a different part of Boehm’s incredibly rich legacy. Boehm himself contributed the presentation, Thoughts for the Future.
On that occasion, IFPUG honored Boehm with a special lifetime achievement award for his dedication to advancing software engineering and measurement.
Boehm’s legacy includes his contribution to cost estimation and the COCOMO(R) family of estimation models, even though his work extends much farther than that. His contributions to the education of software engineers are legendary. The IFPUG community will miss him dearly.
Learn more about the Business Applications Committee here.Interesting in Joining the Committee?
The Business Applications Committee is accepting applications to join the committee. Those interested should meet the following criteria:
- Required:
- English speakers (not necessarily native);
- Previous experience in process assessments;
- Good verbal and written communication;
- Analytical and process thinking;
- General knowledge of benchmarking process and activities;
- Recommended:
- Have participated in at least 5 benchmarking studies, preferably in multiple areas such as quality, productivity and cost, encompassing internal (within an organization) or external (against the industry) studies;
- Nice to have:
- Statistical background;
If you are interested in applying or have questions, please send a request to [email protected].