Hot-on-the-heels of of my previous unit testing related question, here's another toughie: I have thus far avoided the nightmare that is testing multi-threaded code since it just seems like too much of a minefield. I'd like to ask how people have gone about testing code that relies on threads for successful execution, or just how people...
We are a small team of 3 developers (2 experienced but new to this particular business sector) developing a functionally complex product. We're using Scrum and have a demo at the end of each sprint. Its clear that the functional team have plenty of ideas but these are not well communicated to the development team and the demo poses mo...
In my organization, people believe lightweight CMMI is a myth, despite evidence to the contrary. What are your experiences with lightweight CMMI? Have you done it and is it working well for you? ...
I'm very curious, how popular in the world ( and I know that the stackoverflow community comes from different parts of the world ) is pair programming. Have you ever worked/are working/will work in a company where you've been pair programming ? What's your opinion on the matter ? ...
In your opinion, what is your single most favoured methodology for developing a web application? Broad Case: I am contracted to assemble and manage a team to begin the creation of a large web app, what methodology would suit best? Edit: Methodology being the team/work practice NOT architectural ...
Need some advice on working out the team velocity for a sprint. Our team normally consists of about 4 developers and 2 testers. The scrum master insists that every team member should contribute equally to the velocity calculation i.e. we should not distinguish between developers and testers when working out how much we can do in a sprin...
In my company each developer is given a project to work on his own, so there is hardly any teamwork. I've been building software like this, without the discipline of a good methodology of development, for a year. The results were ok but I would like to change and start using a more serious development approach for my next projects. What...
In your experience (anecdotal or otherwise), what are some effective ways to introduce Agile into a non-Agile organization or company? UPDATED: Can anyone speak to cases where you tried to introduce Agile but you were "shot down"? Also, do you now have a retrospective understanding why you were "shot down"? ...
Here's a scenario I'm sure you're all familiar with. You have a fairly "hands off" customer, who really doesn't want to get too involved in the decision making despite your best efforts. An experienced development team spend hours discussing the pros and cons of a particular approach to a problem and come up with an elegant solution ...
UPDATED: I'm asking this from a development perspective, however to illustrate, a canoical non-development example that comes to mind is that if it costs, say, $10,000 to keep a uptime rate of 99%, then it theoretically can cost $100,000 to keep a rate of 99.9%, and possibly $1,000,000 to keep a rate of 99.99%. Somewhat like calculus...
Technical Debt via Martin Fowler, via Steve McConnell YAGNI (You Ain't Gonna Need It) via Wikipedia BDUF (Big Design Up Front) via Wikipedia UPDATE: To clarify the question, I think I can also state it this way and keep my meaning: "In what ways do you, as an Agile practioner, find the right balance between "quick and dirty" (uninten...
Choosing the correct lifecycle and methodology isn't as easy as it was before (when there weren't so many methodologies, this days a new one emerges every day). I've found that most projects require a certain level of evolution and that each project is different from the rest. That way, extreme programming works with for a project for a...
The goal is to build tools and applications that have both web-based and standalone versions for multiple OS's (*nix, Mac, Win, etc.). I've got a general idea of how to architect software that is flexible enough to accomplish this, but ... Is there a language or framework that's designed for or uniquely suited to this task? EDIT: Tha...
I have a custom category ("disciplines") in my method plugin which I want to use to contain existing disciplines (from the Scrum plugin and EPF OpenUP library) as well as a few of my own (some are new, and others extend the OpenUP ones). I can add them simply, order them as desired, and view them in the Browsing Perspective and Preview t...
I have recently been befuddled with comments regarding the speed at which some people claim to be able to develop various applications. I tend to feel that there is a definite relationship between application quality, reliability and speed of delivery. I take Stackoverflow as a good example. I love the quality of the site, (and I think ...
I'm hoping the SO crowd can help me expand my definitions of methodology buzzwords such as SCRUM, Agile, XP, Waterfall, etc, and give some enlightenment as to which approach is the best. If there's some specific book or web page that really captures your philosophy on constructing software with teams of programmers, please indicate it. ...
I was going to ask what the best way to do this is, but then decided I should ask whether or not it is even necessary. I have never seen it done in JSP development, but it appears to be common practice in PHP. What is the reasoning behind this, and if I do not protect against this, what else should I be taking into consideration? ...
What agile methodology would you recommend for a web-site shop? We have a variety of small projects and a few large ones, teams are cross-project and they multitask. We are really interested in Scrum, but it seems that it would not apply to small projects (less than 2 weeks), which currently make up a lot of our time. What alternative...
OK, I know it's a stupid question to ask, so let me clarify. My boss thinks that, "by now, with your level of knowledge, you should never have bugs in your software anymore". While it may be correct, given the correct set of tools and with a proper method, those are never allowed to me, maybe because I don't know what to answer him exac...
To quote wikipedia: Scrum is facilitated by a ScrumMaster, whose primary job is to remove impediments to the ability of the team to deliver the sprint goal. The ScrumMaster is not the leader of the team (as they are self-organizing) but acts as a buffer between the team and any distracting influences. The ScrumMaster ensures that the...