Category: Management
By bfwebster on Jun 9, 2008 in Main, Management, PMSE, Pitfalls | 0 Comments
[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)]
Categories: managerial
What are the risks in modern software development? Look at the pitfalls listed in this book to start. Kind of makes you want to take up gardening, doesn’t it? On the other hand, being able to identify those risks and then manage [...]
By bfwebster on Jun 9, 2008 in Books, Main, Management, Methodology, PMSE, Pitfalls, Quality assurance | 1 Comment
[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)]
Categories: managerial
This is a classic pitfall in software engineering. Typically, insufficient time is allocated for the problem specification, research, design, architecture, and review that should occur before coding and during each development cycle. Likewise, software quality assurance (SQA) is often given little [...]
By bfwebster on Jun 3, 2008 in Books, Change management, IT Project Management, Main, Management, Methodology, PMSE, Pitfalls, Software engineering, Technology | 0 Comments
[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)]
Categories: managerial
The impulse to constantly add new and incremental features to a software program certainly isn’t unique to modern software develoment, or to a particular technology or methodology. It derives largely from three sources. Upper management and marketing want, and sometimes need, those [...]
By bfwebster on Jun 3, 2008 in Books, Change management, Development, Main, Management, PMSE, Pitfalls | 1 Comment
[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)]
Categories: managerial
Let’s start by freely acknowledging that, with rare exceptions, software of any complexity changes between original specification and actual delivery. This is to be expected, and to a certain extent encouraged, when the changes represent a refinement of our understanding of the problem domain [...]
By bfwebster on May 30, 2008 in Books, Main, Management, PMSE, Pitfalls, Technology | 0 Comments
[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)]
Categories: managerial
If your organization is adopting some new technology or methodology (the “TOM”), it is likely because of wonderful claims about how it will improve your software engineering efforts: faster development time, higher quality, lower complexity, and so on. Leaving aside the likelihood of [...]
By bfwebster on May 29, 2008 in Development, Main, Management, Methodology, PMSE, Pitfalls, Software engineering, Technology | 0 Comments
[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)]
Categories: managerial
Why would the use of a new technology or methodology (the “TOM”) cause managers and developers to neglect or even abandon solid software engineering practices? Because those practices are under pressure from the start. Many engineers don’t know them and aren’t willing to spend [...]
By bfwebster on May 26, 2008 in Books, Main, Management, PMSE, Pitfalls | 0 Comments
[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)]
Categories: managerial
One of the defining moments in American politics during the 2nd half of the 20th century came early in the 1980 presidential campaign. Senator Ted Kennedy, heir apparent to the Kennedy legacy, was challenging his party’s incumbent, Jimmy Carter, for the nomination. Carter was [...]
By bfwebster on May 16, 2008 in Books, Change management, Development, Main, Management, Methodology, PMSE, Pitfalls, Politics, Technology | 0 Comments
[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)]
Categories: political
A particular technology or methodology (the “TOM”) is wonderful. At least, you think it is, based on anything from a breathless magazine article to years of experience with solid, successful software development using this TOM. Or you may not think it’s wonderful, [...]
By bfwebster on Apr 27, 2008 in Books, Development, Main, Management, PMSE, Pitfalls | 0 Comments
[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)]
Categories: managerial
It is a sad truism that upper management typically asks just two questions about a software development effort: “Why isn’t someone coding yet?” (known as the ‘WISCY’ question) and “When will the program ship?” These are not bad questions per se, but when they [...]