The other day I heard someone use that well-worn phrase, “Quality is not negotiable.” They were talking about the reliability of the software their teams write, and were keen to … Continue reading Quality up and down the stack
Category: Technology
Embedding process in technology
Some time ago I was discussing the use of a centralised software system that had various configuration options (naturally), one of which would allow us to force employees to follow … Continue reading Embedding process in technology
Considering a flexible architecture
Last week I recalled a disussion I had about understanding the quality of a software architecture. As part of that conversation the head of the company was interested in flexibility: … Continue reading Considering a flexible architecture
Literate programming part 4: Closing thoughts
This is the last in my four-part literate programming series: What is it? Problems and challenges Modern variants Closing thoughts (the rest of this article) As I’ve developed my understanding … Continue reading Literate programming part 4: Closing thoughts
Literate programming part 3: Modern variants
Literate programming (LP) hasn’t taken off, despite its promises to developers. After my previous posts understanding literate progamming itself and looking at some possible challenges and problems, in this post … Continue reading Literate programming part 3: Modern variants
Literate programming, part 2: Problems and challenges
In part 1 of this series I looked at the promise of literate programming (LP), created by Donald Knuth. It seems to be a fairly simple idea to promote good … Continue reading Literate programming, part 2: Problems and challenges
Literate programming part 1: What is it?
Previously I’ve written about Niels Malotaux’s drive for zero defects. One of his principles (and the IBM Clean Room approach) is that any failure, such the as the discovery of … Continue reading Literate programming part 1: What is it?
Beware the peripheral variables when evaluating technologies
For the last couple of weeks my wife has been trying out an electric pedal bike, as part of an environmental scheme to promote awareness and—it is hoped—adoption. Electric bikes … Continue reading Beware the peripheral variables when evaluating technologies
An example of the errors of “best practice”
Some time ago I wrote about the error of slavishly following “best practice” without asking why. And I was reminded of this again the other day when a friend forwarded … Continue reading An example of the errors of “best practice”
Plan for legacy systems
The other day I was looking at some old Elm code, refamiliarising myself with one of the key language concepts (Signals) and found an article to help me. One part … Continue reading Plan for legacy systems
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