tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411865480425933838Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:33:47 +0000Exploring why software development is hard and why we miss the target so often; personal stories, thoughts, ideas and practices.http://www.software-thoughts.com/noreply@blogger.com (John Naegle)Blogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411865480425933838.post-143111096174003955Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:21:00 +00002009-08-16T21:33:47.037-04:00software organizationstestingbuilding blocksIn my advanced placement high school history class, one of the first things we covered was Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. I no longer remember the reason, or how we used it over the course of the year, but the idea that there is a pyramid of needs where lower levels must be fulfilled before moving to a higher level of existence stuck with me. For instance, it is impossible to make law and order ahttp://www.software-thoughts.com/2009/08/software-hierarchy-of-needs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Naegle)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411865480425933838.post-2275362588287668068Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:40:00 +00002009-08-11T16:44:58.552-04:00productivityteam buildinginterviewingIt has been well known for a long time that there is at least an order of magnitude difference between the most productive developers and the least productive. But if you've been in the software industry for any period of time, you've probably met this person: the net negative producing programmer (NNPP). This is the person that is so bad, that they actually have a negative effect on team http://www.software-thoughts.com/2009/08/net-negative-producing-programer.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Naegle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411865480425933838.post-7150648723059085494Sun, 09 Aug 2009 01:41:00 +00002009-08-08T22:39:18.464-04:00business decisionstechnical debtrefactoringoffice spaceIncurring intentional technical debt should be a business-based decision. This doesn't mean that business people need to be involved, but every time you make the decision to take the quick and dirty approach versus doing the right thing, there should be a solid reason behind it. That solid reason should be: this is better for the business. I know this sounds like something out of Office Space,http://www.software-thoughts.com/2009/08/burdended-with-technical-debt.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Naegle)0