astronomy

Ken Orr

Ken Orr is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ken Orr rather than just read about it. In short: Kenneth T. Orr (May 10, 1939 – June 14, 2016) was an American software engineer, executive and consultant, known for his contributions in the field of software engineering to structured analysis and the Warnier/Orr diagram.

Key takeaways

Ken Orr belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ken Orr to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ken Orr from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kenneth T. Orr (May 10, 1939 – June 14, 2016) was an American software engineer, executive and consultant, known for his contributions in the field of software engineering to structured analysis and the Warnier/Orr diagram.

Education Orr received his BA in Mathematics and Physics in 1960 from Wichita State University, and his MA in Philosophy in 1963 from the University of Chicago.

Career Orr started his career as Director of Information Systems at the State of Kansas in 1970. In 1973 he founded his own firm Ken Orr & Associates, which he directed until 1985. He was Professor at the School of Technology and Information Management of the Washington University in St. Louis, where he directed its Center for the Innovative Application of Technology. From 1988 until his death he was President of the Ken Orr Institute. Beginning in 2000, Ken served as a Cutter Consortium Fellow and Senior Consultant. Ken Orr died on June 14, 2016.

Publications Books

Orr, Ken (1977). Structured systems development. New York: Yourdon Press. ISBN 9780917072062. Orr, Ken (1981). Structured requirements definition. Topeka, Kansas: Ken Orr and Associates, Inc. ISBN 9780960588404. Articles, a selection

Orr, Ken; Gane, Chris; Yourdon, Edward; Chen, Peter P.; Constantine, Larry L. (April 1989). "Methodology: the experts speak". Byte. 14 (4): 221–233. ISBN 9781447134312.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link) Orr, Ken (February 1998). "Data quality and systems theory". Communications of the ACM. 41 (2). Association for Computing Machinery: 66–71. doi:10.1145/269012.269023. S2CID 18740509. Orr, Ken (2002). "CMM versus agile development: Religious Wars and Software Development". Business Agility & Software Engineering (Agile Project Management Executive Report). 3 (7). Cutter Consortium. Word document version. Orr, Ken (May–June 2004). "Agile requirements: opportunity or oxymoron?". IEEE Software. 21 (3). IEEE Computer Society: 71–73. Bibcode:2004ISoft..21c..71O. doi:10.1109/MS.2004.1293075. S2CID 25069896.

References

External links The Ken Orr Institute Archived 2014-05-17 at the Wayback Machine (KOI)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ken Orr

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ken Orr claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ken Orr before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ken Orr ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ken Orr

In research: Ken Orr appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ken Orr in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ken Orr is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1939 births, 2016 deaths, American business executives, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ken Orr outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Ken Orr in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ken Orr means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ken Orr out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ken Orr in simple terms?

Why does Ken Orr matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ken Orr?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ken Orr.