Practical Test Management
It sort of pains me to even have to write about #4 on my list of mandatory practices (see Tuesday’s …
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Practical Change Management
That requirements will change is a given. How you plan for and manage that change is crucial. Think about what …
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Practical Requirements Management
There is a set of SW practices that I consider non-negotiable, and they begin with 2 that are requirements-related: 1. …
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Practical Software Practices
At my last company we took pride in the amount of work we were able to accomplish with a very …
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Customer Service
I was listening to an NPR talk show segment about customer service last week. It was mainly about being on …
An unrepeatable success?
Back in the very old days (early 80’s), I was on a team (of 24, I think) that delivered a …
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Saying No
Saying “no” is hard for everyone. “If I say “no”, they will think I’m not a team player.” “If I …
Some thoughts on usage scenarios
Recent posts on the importance of usage scenarios (use cases or user stories) in the development process warmed my heart. In my …
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A Penny for Your Thoughts?
The latest San Francisco magazine contains an article on a new platform called Mugsy and a company, Pure Verticals, that …
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An Outsourcing Progress Report
I’ve written somewhat negatively about outsourcing in the past: primarily issuing warnings about doing it without proper planning, for the …
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Think Like a Leader
In my examples this week, I’ve been writing about ways to convince those with the power to embrace some good …
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Work smarter?
I just loved the latest grievance from my students (see Monday/Tuesday/Thursday posts). When being given more work than schedule to …
Project Interrupted
One more complaint from my students (see Monday/Tuesday posts) is: “I’m given other jobs, in addition to my coding, and …
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Mourning a Venerable Oak Tree
My blogging was interrupted Sunday night by a power outage at home. A neighbor’s huge oak tree had fallen, totally …
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The Only Thing that is Constant is Change
A second complaint from my students (see yesterday’s post) is: “Management adds requirements to my project without asking me if …
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New Class, Same Story
I’m in the middle of teaching my Software Requirements Engineering course at UCSC Extension. On the first day of class, …
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Outsourcing software development:a bad idea? (continued)
Unintended consequences? I certainly would agree with anyone who tells me there are appropriate circumstances and projects for outsourcing, whether …
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Outsourcing software development:a bad idea? (continued)
Managing outsourced work: can that project be saved? An experienced, well-trained project manager is not enough to guarantee an outsourced …
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Outsourcing software development:a bad idea? (continued)
Managing outsourced work Now that you’ve made your decision, picked a supplier, and written a contract, just kick back and …
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Outsourcing software development:a bad idea? (continued)
A few more things to do before making the outsourcing decision: 3. Create a Request for Proposal (RFP) that describes, …
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