Webster & Associates LLC

[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)]
Categories: political
Face it: technology adoption is a gamble, and one often made at gunpoint. External market forces lead internal political forces to demand advances — often unrealistic ones — in information technology. Those who adopt too soon come to understand the cliché “bleeding edge”. Those [...]

[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, [...]

[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)]
Categories: political
There is an oft-cited dictum in technology development groups: “It is easier to ask forgiveness than permission.” It is often true and sometimes crucial to circumvent bureaucratic foot-dragging and politics. But it is not always the best course, and the danger [...]

[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 [...]

[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)]
Categories: conceptual, political
Native tribes in the South Pacific developed “cargo cults” during the middle part of the 20th century. Having observed planes (such as the venerable DC-3) landing on their islands and discharging goods from inside, these tribes created simacrula of the planes and worshipped [...]

[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)]
CATEGORIES: political
Imagine the following scene. Your company’s executive staff gathers for a presentation on a new technology or methodology that will revolutionize information productivity. After a presentation citing the ongoing problems of information management, enterprise computing, and competitive response, you are presented with the solution [...]

[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)]
CATEGORIES: political
You know the drill. By hook or crook, through long weeks and late hours and ruthless compromising, you finally deliver the project. It’s finished, it’s out the door, and you have taken a few weeks to remind yourself what real life is like. Now [...]

[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)]
CATEGORIES: political, architectural, managerial
While discussing the challenges of software development with Taligent trainer Tom Affinito back in the mid-1990s, I mentioned — citing Fred Brooks — the need for a chief architect. Tom immediately responded, “Yes, and ultimately architecture is a political act.”
That observation has [...]

[From Pitfalls of Modern Software Engineering by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming)]
CATEGORIES: political
Let’s try to keep our perspective while standing knee-deep in the hoopla. As anyone truly experienced in a specific technology or methodology (”the TOM”) will tell you, that TOM is not going to end world hunger or bring about peace in our time. It [...]

[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 all know [...]