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  • From: mdthomas at mindspring.com (Michael D. Thomas)
  • Subject: [internetworkers] Software Development Nightmares
  • Date: Mon Feb 24 23:52:19 2003


> While a lot of those different development models are not completely unknown
> words, I have little understanding of the pros/cons of one vs another and in
> what environments each would be best. How did you get to know all of that?

Reading for the details, experience for the perspective.

It's debatable when any methodology will be better than an another. As soon as
you cross over into medium scale development (much more than 2 or 3 developers
on a project) then really tough managerial and organizational issues appear.

My view: A strong management team, a smart coding team with good chemistry and
at least a few battle-scared developers, a good build process and a powerful
QA team will always be able to get the job done. It's just a question of how
many wheels they reinvent along the way and how much pain is involved. Weaker
teams are in more need of a solid methodology, but alas, weaker teams struggle
the most implementing them.

I think that methodologies apply to software dev. organizations the way that
patterns apply to object models in patterns based object-oriented development,
or that orthodox chess openings apply to a game of chess. They're suggestions.
You may succeed without following the suggestions, and in some cases the
suggestions will mislead you. But in general, it is best learn from other's
experience and follow the most applicable standard.

> If "Apartment 3-G" and "Gil Thorp" can still be take up pages in the
> newspaper why not this. The real challenge I think would be focusing on the
> personality/human foibles aspect that would make it illuminating to read
> without getting to bogged down in the background/context explanation you
> might have to do to properly set the stage.

Gotta have sex. Lots of sex. ;-)

Dilbert succeeds in not getting bogged down in the details. What I'm proposing
is something that addresses Dilbert's domain, but darker and more dramatic. In
some ways, I think that it would be easier... While programming code and
systems designs are sometimes funny, they are never dramatic.

Anyone know of any web sites that talk about how to write sit-coms or other
types of series that don't cost money? I'm looking for the patterns.....

Here are the thoughts of someone that knows technical writing pretty well, but
hasn't done creative writing since high school....

The key is to identify the key conflicts, tensions and dichotomies that occur
on big projects. Here are a few that I can think of, with gratuitous sex
thrown in.

customer vs. vendor
sales vs. product development
expectations vs. reality
chutzpah vs. deadlines
developers vs. testing
ethics vs. power
egos vs. teams
friendships vs. professionalism
romance vs. professionalism
cabals vs. their victims
youth and skill vs. old age and treachery
corporate soul vs. corporate finance
open mindedness vs. closed mindedness
culture vs. process and policy
the founders vs. the professional managers
open dialogs vs. chains of command
dreamers vs. pragmatists
girls vs. boys
smarties vs dummies
informal power structures vs. formal power structures
rumors vs. authority
the market vs. the vision
conflicts between the various techno-religions
conflicts between the various development methodologies

etc, etc, etc.

Then, you develop your characters that can manifest the various conflicts. I
did some character sketches in the earlier email. The plots are formed by
putting the characters in to conflict with one another. Get tired of a
character? Fire them, or have them get another job. Need a new character? Hire
them. If you want a whole lot of new characters at once, have a merger or new
customers.

The plots will be better if the characters are all troubled, immature and
ill-fitted for their jobs. For the good of drama, abysmal management is most
important. A CMM level 3 organization wouldn't be worth writing about.
Developers that really understand patterns, OO modelling and refactoring would
be way to successful and would be boring.

Oh yeah... there needs to be a lot of office romance and promiscuity. Sex
sells.

Cheers!





























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