Tom DeMarco (born August 20, 1940) is an American

software engineer Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term ''p ...

, author, and consultant on

software engineering Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term '' ...

topics. He was an early developer of

structured analysis In software engineering, structured analysis (SA) and structured design (SD) are methods for analyzing business requirements and developing specifications for converting practices into computer programs, hardware configurations, and related man ...

in the 1970s.

Early life and education

Tom DeMarco was born in

Hazleton, Pennsylvania Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 29,963 at the 2020 census. Hazleton is the second largest city in Luzerne County. It was incorporated as a borough on January 5, 1857, and as a city on Dece ...

. He received a BSEE degree in Electrical Engineering from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, a M.S. from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, and a diplôme from the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

Career

DeMarco started working at

Bell Telephone Laboratories Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

in 1963, where he participated in ESS-1 project to develop the first large scale Electronic Switching System, which became installed in telephone offices all over the world.Tom DeMarco (2002
Structured Analysis: Beginnings of a New Discipline
In: ''sd&m Conference 2001, Software Pioneers'' Eds.: M. Broy, E. Denert, Springer 2002. Later in the 1960s he started working for a French IT consulting firm, where he worked on the development of a

conveyor system A conveyor system is a common piece of mechanical handling equipment that moves materials from one location to another. Conveyors are especially useful in applications involving the transport of heavy or bulky materials. Conveyor systems allow ...

for the new merchandise mart at La Villette in Paris, and in the 1970s on the development of on-line banking systems in Sweden, Holland, France and New York.Tom DeMarco
ISRC Fellow. Retrieved November 24, 2008. In the 1970s DeMarco was one of the major figures in the development of structured analysis and structured design in software engineering. In January 1978 he published ''Structured Analysis and System Specification'', a major milestone in the field. In the 1980s with Tim Lister, Stephen McMenamin, John F. Palmer, James Robertson and Suzanne Robertson, he founded the consulting firm "The Atlantic Systems Guild" in New York. The firm initially shared offices with the Dorset House Publishing owned by Wendy Eachan, Tim Lister's wife. Their company developed into a New York- and London-based consulting company specializing in methods and management of software development. DeMarco has lectured and consulted throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, Australia and the Far East. He has also been a technical advisor for ZeniMax Media, the parent company of video game publisher

Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a division of Media Technology Limited, and in 1999 became a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media. In ...

. He is a member of the ACM and a Fellow of the IEEE. He lives in

Camden, Maine Camden is a resort town in Knox County, Maine. The population was 5,232 at the 2020 census. The population of the town more than triples during the summer months, due to tourists and summer residents. Camden is a summer colony in the Mid-Coast ...

, and is a principal of the Atlantic Systems Guild, and a fellow and Senior Consultant of the Cutter Consortium. DeMarco was the 1986 recipient of the Warnier Prize for "lifetime contribution to the field of computing", and the 1999 recipient of the

Stevens Award The Stevens Award is a software engineering lecture award given by the Reengineering Forum, an industry association. The international Stevens Award was created to recognize outstanding contributions to the literature or practice of methods for ...

for "contribution to the methods of software development".

Personal life

In his spare time, DeMarco is an

emergency medical technician An emergency medical technician (EMT), also known as an ambulance technician, is a health professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances. In English-speaking countries, paramedics are ...

, certified by his home state and by the National Registry of EMTs. He is also founding member of the Penobscot Compact, operating under the auspices of the Maine State Aspirations Program, in which local employers contribute the paid time of their employees to tutor students in the public schools.

Publications

DeMarco has authored over nine books and 100 papers on project management and software development. A selection:Tom DeMarco
List of publications from the DBLP Bibliography Server. * 1978. ''Structured Analysis and System Specification.'' Yourdon, * 1979. ''Concise Notes on Software Engineering.'' Yourdon, * 1986. ''Controlling Software Projects: Management, Measurement, and Estimates.'' Prentice Hall, * 1987. '' Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams''. With Timothy Lister. Dorset House. * 1997. ''The Deadline: A Novel About Project Management''. Dorset House. * 2001. ''Slack, Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency''. * 2002
"The Agile Methods Fray"
'' IEEE Software'', 35(6) * 2003. ''Waltzing with Bears: Managing Risk on Software Projects''. With Tim Lister. Dorset House in March 2003. * 2008. ''Adrenaline Junkies and Template Zombies: Understanding Patterns of Project Behavior''. With Peter Hruschka, Tim Lister, Suzanne Robertson, James Robertson, Steve McMenamin. * 2009. * 2013. ''Andronescu's Paradox''. Amazon Digital Services, Inc. ASIN B00C9GVDY0

References

External links

Tom DeMarco's home pageThe Atlantic Systems Guild websiteCutter Consortium website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demarco, Tom 1940 births American technology writers Cornell University College of Engineering alumni Living people American software engineers Writers from Pennsylvania People from Hazleton, Pennsylvania Fellow Members of the IEEE Software engineering researchers Engineers from Pennsylvania Columbia University alumni University of Paris alumni American expatriates in France