Category: Management

Pitfall: Using the wrong developers »

[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)] Categories: managerial Various industry studies cite the productivity gap between the best and the worst developers. While there is some controversy over the ranges often cited (such as the famous 26:1 figure), anyone who has managed a diverse group of developers won’t argue with [...]

Pitfall: Using the wrong metrics (or none at all) »

[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)] Categories: managerial That which gets measured gets accomplished or, at least, evaluated. That’s why various software metrics are used as an indication of progress and accomplishment. The best known and easiest to compute is lines of code (LOC), usually measured as thousands of lines [...]

Pitfall: Lying to yourself and others »

[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)] Categories: managerial Self delusion and group delusion are all too common in software development projects. Several factors combine to bring this about. One is the natural optimism prevalent among software engineers, particularly when they are not allowed, encouraged, or required to spend sufficient time [...]

Latest column up: wrapping up IT project metrics »

My newest Baseline column is up: “Lies, Damned Lies, and Project Metrics (part 3)“. In it, I wrap up my discussion on IT project metrics, outlining a possible approach using instrumentation and heuristics.  Go check it out.  ..bruce..

Pitfall: Not identifying and managing risks »

[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 [...]