-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA512 In Read/WriteWeb [1], there's an article about the future for software development, where the author rants around the old and new methods.
But this only applies to the new cute and cuddly software, the 2.0 one and that's more AM than PRO (in Professional/Amateur). In the PRO world, where the small and large consultant companies rule, the waterfall [2] method is the most commonly used for closed and small project delivering, where the spiral [3] method is for ongoing and larger projects. There are already new companies which work in the integration and interoperability market that started adopting some agile techniques [4] (I for one like SCRUM), some related and applied to their engines (ESB/EAI), some as real programing guidance - Siemens anyone ? My lately experience as head of development at a public institute tells me that the people, specially the older one, aren't ready yet for agile methods. Heck! Not even the junior programmers that finished their degree are! They're just stick to waterfall/spiral method. Still, for me the agile thingie is not yet fully explained, for instance: - where goes the documentation ? - does agile scale ? where ? how far can agile be in number of elements and tasks ? - the emphasis on people is alarmingly strange, which are the weaklink. But I believe that this is also true: "Equipped with a modern programming language, great libraries, and agile methods, a couple of smart guys in the garage can get things done much better and faster than an army of mediocre developers" .... on 2.0 and small products/projects, not for legacy nor big projects. I'm sticking my chances with the Mythical Man Month [5] (that MV kindly borrowed me) ? Here are a few and simple points to illustrate: - the more people you add to the project in the development phase the later it'll become - you'll always need a surgical team, aka the ATeam or ninjas - documentation is key and should exist right from the start - always be in contact and never assume nothing (assumption is the mother of all fuckups) - separate architecture from implementation - it's ready when it's ready [1] - http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/the_future_of_software_development.php [2] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterfall_mode [3] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_model [4] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_software_development [5] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month - -- //VD -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.5 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFHF/u5zLeQsaqPtNIRCnqoAJ4psezpmha/6vR/1DSF3HVSaxZD+wCdGunP ApT6aY1yIi/AnCuIqK+F0Hg= =Ks94 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- _______________________________________________ tce mailing list [email protected] http://lists.paradigma.pt/mailman/listinfo/tce
