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Pitfall: Picking the wrong horse

May 21, 2008 0 Comments
Pitfall: Picking the wrong horse

[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 […]

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Pitfall: Underestimating the resistance

May 16, 2008 0 Comments
Pitfall: Underestimating the resistance

[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, […]

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Pitfall: Not educating and enlisting management before the fact

May 14, 2008 0 Comments
Pitfall: Not educating and enlisting management before the fact

[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 of […]

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Pitfall: Asking the wrong questions

April 27, 2008 0 Comments
Pitfall: Asking the wrong questions

[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 […]

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Pitfall: Confusing approach with results

April 26, 2008 0 Comments
Pitfall: Confusing approach with results

[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 […]

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