Category: Books

Pitfall: Overselling the technology or methodology. »

[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)] CATEGORIES: political It’s easy to get excited about a particular technology or methodology (the “TOM”). More often than not, they represent a real advance in software engineering, solving — or at least easing — problems that you face on a regular basis. And we [...]

Pitfall: confusing prototypes with finished products »

[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)] CATEGORIES: conceptual, managerial Make no mistake: modern software development techniques and methodologies, combined with powerful user-interface classes and software development tools, can greatly speed application development. However, they also allow application prototypes to be put together and demonstrated very quickly. This is great for [...]

Pitfall: Confusing training with skill »

[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)] CATEGORIES: conceptual Training is the acquisition of information and practices geared toward a certain end. For example, send a group of engineers to a conference with seminars on object technology, hold a class on C++ programming, or give them a set of books and [...]

Pitfall: Confusing tools with principles »

[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)] CATEGORIES: conceptual Using tools designed for a given technology or methodology (”the TOM”) does not mean that the project will follow solid TOM principles, any more than sitting in (or even driving) an Indy-class race car qualifies you for the Indy Racing League circuit. [...]

Pitfall: Thinking a new techology or methodology is mature »

[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)] CATEGORIES: conceptual OK, the pitfall title itself may be something of a giveaway, but stop and think: how often does a new technology or methodology (”the TOM”) emerge, only to have IT departments (or their executive overseers) seek to adopt the TOM for time-, [...]