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The Human Dimension of Software Engineering

The Human Dimension of Software Engineering

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Avoid Design by Committee: Generate Apart, Evaluate Together

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The tech industry thrives on innovation. Building innovative software products requires constant design and architecture of creative solutions. In that context, I am not a fan of design by committee; in fact, I believe that it is more of a disease than a strategy. It afflicts teams with no leadership or unclear leadership; the process is painful, and the results are abysmal.

Usability issues plague software products designed by committee. Such products look like collections of features stuck … [Read more...] about Avoid Design by Committee: Generate Apart, Evaluate Together

The Software Product “Issue Cycle” Phenomenon

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In the software industry, the average engineer, designer, project manager or product manager stays with the same company for about three years.

This short longevity creates cycles that you can observe if you remain in the same job for at least four or five years. I tend to be loyal to the companies I work for, and my average time in an organization is much longer than the average. That is, I have seen a lot of people coming and going and many cycles go around in a full loop.

Any software that … [Read more...] about The Software Product “Issue Cycle” Phenomenon

Only three numbers matter: zero, one, and more-than-one.

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Imagine the following situation
Three friends are thirsty. They decide to drink some water from a nearby fountain.

The first friend scoops water using his hands. He starts drinking without delays and is done before the others have started. However, it takes him a while, and the process is messy. When he is done he is all wet and his hands are freezing.

The second one goes to buy one single sheet of paper, then he folds it into a paper cup. It takes a while to do it right, but when he is … [Read more...] about Only three numbers matter: zero, one, and more-than-one.