The Joburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE) together with its High Maturity software development unit has collaborated with advertising agency King James II to create a website and app called ‘This is Wits’. Accessed via www.wits.ac.za/thisiswits or by downloading the Windows or Android app. “This is Wits” takes visitors on a virtual tour of the campus to hear stories behind the people and events that make Wits what it is today.
Professor Barry Dwolatzky, director of the JCSE says that King James II adopted a forward-thinking approach in conceptualising a marketing strategy for the University. It was decided to tell Wits’ exciting stories on platforms that are technologically relevant – a smartphone app and website. The JCSE’s high-maturity software development team was selected to implement the required software. “We are growing the ability to develop software that has less than 0,5 defects per thousand line of code (KLOC) and can be delivered within 10 percent of agreed schedule and cost: “Achieving this will make these teams the best in the country and among the best in the world.” The methodology we use is based on the personal and team software processes (PSP and TSP), which is taught to our team in training delivered by the JCSE in conjunction with the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) of Carnegie Mellon University,
“This is Wits” was an exciting opportunity for the JCSE to showcase its High Maturity software development team’s expertise. The website and app is a way to celebrate and protect the legacy of Wits: “This project is a wonderful way to tell the amazing stories that has made, and continues to make, Wits the great place that it is today. The app is the best way to hear about the stories, but they can also be further explored from anywhere in the world via the web,” explains Professor Dwolatzky.
As one of the “This is Wits” people featured, Professor Dwolatzky says that technology has evolved over the past twenty years with the advent and evolution of things such as of the Internet, cellphones and social media: “No visionary, no matter how smart, could have foreseen the technology change that we have witnessed in the past two decades. The Internet of Things is no longer a futuristic myth, but a reality.”
He says that innovation in a digital world is no longer just about software but a collaboration between hardware, software and content: “By combining these three elements there is enormous space for innovation. The next 100 years will be defined by digital technology and is why the JCSE, together with Wits University has launched Tshimologong, an innovative new-age software skills development and innovation hub in Joburg’s inner-city centre and home to the High Maturity software development team.
“We aim to become the nucleus for software development on the continent promoting best practice, tools and methodologies, blended with professional experience from the sector to grow South Africa’s ability to deliver world-class software through research and training. “This is Wits” is a fantastic project for us and has showcased the extent of the skills within the JCSE and its various software teams.”
For more information, visit www.jcse,org.za and www.wits.ac.za/thisiswits
About the JCSE
The Joburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE) is a three way partnership between government, academia and industry. Based at Wits University, the JCSE is multifaceted with various programmes and facilities positioning it as a focal point of a software development industry for South Africa and the rest of the continent.
The JCSE strongly supports the City’s “Joburg 2030 Vision”, which sees Johannesburg becoming a World Class city with service delivery and efficiencies that meet global best practice. It supports this goal by promoting best practice in software development within an African context; growing the country’s capacity to deliver world class software; and developing research and training initiatives to strengthen the local software development industry.