Computers and Internet - Discussions pertaining to hardware, software, internet, web design, internet, programming and more.
Computer Software - From operating systems to information management applications. Anti Virus programs to Video Editing. Share your views on the software you are using or ask questions about software you are looking to buy.
Classic Mistakes Enumerated - Description of 36 ineffective development practices: people-related, process-related, product-related, technology-related. (Sample chapter from Steve McConnell's book Rapid Development.)
Heavy Rotation - For business software, faster-cheaper can be better too.
High-Pressure Steam Engines and Computer Software - Software safety. Parallels between the early development of high-pressure steam engines and software engineering that we can apply to the use of computers in complex systems. [PDF]
Introducing Demeter and its Laws - Adaptive Programming - specifying the connections between objects as loosely as possible. Makes programs more flexible, more resilient to change, and more adaptable to varying configurations of classes within a given domain
Large Software Systems - Back to Basics - John Evans; Crosstalk, June 2000. The importance of software architecture, and related items such as unambiguous requirements and coding standards.
Lessons Learned -- Current Problems - Technical and managerial best/worst practices. Based on study of US Department of Defense software projects.
Major Causes of Software Project Failures - Lorin J. May; Crosstalk, July 1998. Based on interviews with software consultants and practitioners who were asked to provide "autopsies" of failed projects with which they have been acquainted.
Seven Steps to Test Automation Success - This paper presents seven key steps: improve the testing process, define requirements, prove the concept, champion product testability, design for sustainability, plan for deployment, and face the challenges of success.
Survival Crib Notes: NASA's Success Checklist - 9 Dos and 8 Don'ts for software project success, from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. (Sample chapter from Steve McConnell's book Software Project Survival Guide.)