At Company S, The developers were incredibly capable of designing and implementing fabulous product. The company was started by all engineering/development people, and we didn't know how to attract any other kind of marketing, or senior management capability to the...

The author comments: This paper was composed as an exercise in criticizing the design of experiments. You may wish to test your scientific acumen by identifying as many fallacies as you can - then compare these with your favorite experiment in software engineering....

Gerald M. Weinberg The author comments: Over the years, I've tried to show managers and developers how much serious damage mistakes can cause, but seriousness doesn't seem to carry much weight with software folks. So, instead, I've decided to offer them a lighter view...

In the previous two articles we've talked about managing software projects. The first article focused on how traditional project management techniques fall short of addressing the inherent uncertainty in software development. The second article looked at three...

This article is the second in a three-part series exploring how you can keep a better handle on your software development project to ensure it doesn't spin out of control or face cancellation before the product's release. One major reason for having difficulties in...

Don Willerton This article is the first in a three-part series exploring how you can keep a better handle on your software development project to ensure it doesn't spin out of control or face cancellation before the product's release. Because software development...

Rick Brenner +-+-+ Project management? A complete course requires Ten simple haiku. - Jerry +-+-+ I Our project was late, so we added more people. The problem got worse. II When requirements changed, the schedule did not - were we headed for trouble? III We were doing...

In teaching software process improvement and discipline, I sometimes encounter a phenomenon I describe as "The Tsunami of Whining." (Tsunami is a Japanese word for "Tidal Wave.") Some students complain about certain issues and often do so in a rather demonstrative...

A few years ago I was having dinner with some Canadian friends. They raised an interesting issue. "You Americans are an incredibly militaristic society! You declare a 'War on Drugs', a 'War on Poverty', a 'War on Crime'. Your language is full of military references....

As an independent consultant, earning a living by helping organizations improve software development processes, I am blessed with a wonderful life where I get to experience a variety of places with the good and bad behaviors that make each one unique. Something that...

When consulting with organizations to establish a software process improvement program, one of my initial questions is, "Why do you want to do this?" The responses that I hear most often relate to the issue of software development productivity: "We need to be more...

An open letter to my friends embarking on a Corporate Change Project: If If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait...

(Through me is the way into the city of woe, through me is the way to eternal sorrow, through me is the way to an abandoned people. Sacred justice moved my creator: I was made by divine omnipotence, the highest wisdom, and the original love. Before me there was...

When you first start training in Aikido it is the tricks that hook you. It looks like magic, which it is: consciously executed technique, refined through practice, applying models of human interaction, to manage those interactions. Magic. It becomes more real and...

I've been reading the discussion on training with some interest. I have a few training models that I find helpful, that have been triggered by recent contributions. In local government we have frequent discussions about the proper use of bonds. The consensus seems to...