Here at work we have a very large application with multiple sub applications. (500 + dlls) As a developer it is very frustrating working with all these dlls and dependencies. You create a new project and add 5+ dlls to get core pieces of the system to work (Logging, Auditing, security, messaging ect). Each new subapplication we add, we ...
How do you manage your project life cycle? For example: Do you start with a template? Do you use versioning such as SVN as the authoritative source? Do you archive the projects, if so when and how? When a project is revived (work resumes), how’s that handled? Do you use automated scripts to do things such as create IIS sites, DBs, ar...
by this i mean; how do you get your client to proactively get involved in their own project rather then you constantly chasing them? i have a project im doing at the moment which constantly keeps stalling because the client isnt doing 'their part' - i.e. providing feedback on the work i have done for them, making decisions on what and h...
To me, good behavior from a client includes things like: Paying their invoices on time (probably the no. 1 thing that makes me happy). Taking the advice you give them on technical matters (e.g. you are better off with a online product catalog rather than an online shop). Not arguing with you when you flag a 'bad technology idea' (e.g....
Is it better to describe improvements using percentages or just the differences in the numbers? For example if you improved the performance of a critical ETL SQL Query from 4000 msecs to 312 msecs how would you present it as an 'Accomplishment' on a performance review? ...
It's not a secret to anyone that managers can and often will impose the programming language that will be used for a project. Being a programmer myself, I have never been able to understand this. But now I think I do: I've just had a revelation when Joel Spolsky said on the podcast that they should use QuickBooks because 'every account...
I was surfing the web and found myself at 3D Realms hiring page. It sounds quite nice what they are advertising there. Everywhere you can read things like "Freedom from arbitrary completion date pressures". This sounded very sensible to me since I sometimes have problems with schedules myself. But when I connected the statement with t...
As a team/project manager or as an empowered developer, did you ever have to fire someone (maybe even a co-worker)? If you did, how did you handle the situation? I know there is no single right answer to this question, but wanted to hear some of your experiences. Some background info: As a developer and team lead on some projects I have...
I know there has been a fair amount of discussion on here about outsourcing/offshoring, and the general opinion seems to be that at best it is difficult, and at worst it fails. I have direct experience of offshoring myself; a previous company where I was a dev manager wanted to send some development offshore, and we ran a pilot scheme t...
Hi, I developed one application, and starting the testing phase soon, While I'm trying to setup a testing plan, I have one question! Shall I start by testing the actual application functionality, or the installation procedure first? (Please note that the installer is an actual project we have) Thanks, ...
Based on what criteria they choose the projects and what are the things based on which they choose a project...? ...
I read what-payment-structure-do-you-use-for-small-projects and I wonder how you guys are dealing with bug vs. feature. I once had a situation where a client wanted static reports. Then near the end of the project after most of the work on reports had been done he said he had always wanted dynamic reports. That change was not easy, beca...
I want to design a 2D game idea with C#/XNA. Between school, project inexperience, limited resources, and other things that may cause me to bail on the project I am going to try to plan it out before I jump in: What are some key aspects you've noticed in a successful personal project? How did you (successfully) draw revenue the project...
To make my question clear, allow me to define the terms of the title-- Production support teams are the resources who maintain software applications which are currently in use. The developers are the coders who write the software apps from requirements. Often times atleast in my work experience these two teams meet only once or twice ...
On any if you ask a question about licenses, patents or copyright everybody will refer you to the lawyer (see SO’s “ask-a-lawyer” tag). I’m trying to setup a software development process where there will be place for a lawyer. But I cannot find any well known process that includes a lawyer, what activities a he or she performs. Can you ...
Given that every software project only has so many programmer-hours dedicated to it, how much would you spend on making sure the product is backward compatible with the previous versions? Actually there are several points to consider: Does the age of the software affect your decision? Will you invest less time in backward compatibility...
As long as there are software projects, the world is wondering why they fail so often. I would like to know if there is a list or something equivalent which shows how many software projects fail today. Would be nice if there would be a comparison over the last 20 - 30 years. You can also add your top reason why a software project fail...
I'm looking for an Open Source (or at least free) project managment / billing system, nothing teribly fancy but the minimum requirements are along the lines of: Free. Allows me to add mulitple clients. Allows me to track client payments (super basic here I have an accountant for the major stuff) and send automated reminders to pay. Fre...
I work for a CMMI level 5 certified company and one thing I hate about is the amount of documents we prepare (As a programmer I already hate documents). We have lots and lots of documents like PID(project initiation doc), Business requirements, System requirements,tech spec, Code review checklist, issue logs, Defect logs, Configuration m...
Given a situation where you have 2 projects that in total will provide enough work for a month for 6 developers in a ratio of 2:1. Is it better to assign developers to each project and then they work on that project for the whole month or is it preferable for the whole team to work each project in turn? What reasons do you have for yo...