Currently we have several defect and bug tracking systems, which include Quality Centre and bespoke support systems (both team and company wide). Also we use Microsoft Project - although I haven't seen a task list in months... But what I find difficult to understand is why our company purchases VSTS and only utilises part of it - we c...
A while back I worked with a software company that sold a specialized software product. Ever so often they would release a patch for free and a new version that would require an upgrade fee. This is typically how the software industry works. After some time the company decided on a new strategy, Subscription based software. This turn...
I imagine that anyone who has worked for a small company as a developer has probably encountered this before. I applied for software developer position, I interviewed for a software developer position, and my "title" is Software Developer but after a few months here it seems that the company really wanted a do-it-all-IT-Guy. Anytime som...
Hello! Looking for some kind of documentation template. I want to markup my documentation in html and have a good looking style (stylesheet) for it. I don't looking for template in terms of how you write certain software documents. <h3>Javascript function 1</h3> <code class="javascript">code...</code> <p class="tips">Something smart a...
Hi - I was thinking about a software product. There are products that do similar tasks but as far as my market research goes, there are no specific products that this one replaces. So I guess I have a good case. How ever, I wanted to know the answers from some one who successfully converted a product idea into a product (and made money ...
Can anyone recommend a good book for software people who are looking to break into the finance industry as a developer? ...
I just came across Jack Reeves' articles asking "What is Software Design." I think he makes excellent points and now wonder whether source code should stand as the only software design documentation we create and leave behind. I think this fits in well with the ideas of DDD's Ubiquitous Language and could easily become readable documenta...
Hi Everyone, I have questions on true cross platform development and if it is possible to use ONE platform to develop software. I have a few applications that I write that work on OS X, Windows and Linux. They all use native platform toolkits with some shared source across platforms. I have to boot to each platform, checkout, compile,...
Anybody out there heard of "Define Design Develop Deploy" ? Just curious if someone knows or uses this development methodology. ...
Hi, I am working in a distributed software development environment. The SCM tool currently in use is Visual SourceSafe 2005 Client/ Server. We are trying to work out strategies to minimize code breaks. What are the features of VSS that we can use for safer SCM in distributed environment? Any suggestions for references on the internet o...
I am employed in a fairly secure job currently. I am interested in the area of entreprenuership in technology. I would like to use my spare time to build a business. I have already incorporated a company but haven't had a chance to work on developing it. Eventually, I would like to create a software product and although I have a few ide...
I'm working on transitioning my current project of about 20 developers to a modern development and build environment. We currently use an RCS based source control system and an associated issue tracking system, both with Motif UIs. There is no formal production build process, its just whatever works. I'm interested in: Development T...
So... I teach formal methods in software engineering. I also teach "agile methodologies". Most people seem to think this is contradictory. I think it makes a lot of sense... I also work for a company, where we need to actually get things done :) While I can apply my earned skill points on "specification" in a day-to-day basis, my collea...
I remember seeing an article gauging software developer skills. It had several fields of knowledge, like algorithms, languages, unit testing, scriptology, time estimation, with each measured on a scale of 1-5. Something along the lines of: Doesn't test his code Writes stand alone tests and runs them once Uses a unit test framework Use...
It seems that no matter what my project is, I get through 80% of the work fairly fast. Users and management get excited thinking things are way ahead of schedule, but the pesky 20% of work remaining seems to take 4 times as long as the previous 80%. When we have our regular check ins or stand ups on the project, I feel like a broken re...
What is the difference between risk analysis and risk mitigation and when(before coding or after coding?) and by whom(QA/analyst/developer?) should they be performed in the Software Development Life Cycle? Opinions, links or document templates would be helpful. EDIT If I follow meade's comment: "According to Tom DeMarco - Risk Manag...
Hi, I'm about to start working on a "Software as a Service" website project. This is the first project of this kind I am going to work on, so while I am trying to anticipate any possible risks, I'm sure there will be many more I will not take into account. Does anyone know of a suitable risk profile boilerplate for this kind of proje...
Hey, I've built a project over the course of a year. I've put in a lot of hours into it, and it has come out great. A bunch of people use it, and a bunch of people write plugins for it. However, I have since moved on to different languages, different styles, the codebase is dirty and hackish, and I'm not sure I want to continue working i...
I have noticed that when writing specs you waste a lot of time on things, that later, when you write your app are negligible, and you forget some important stuff. I have found it to be faster (for me) to write a proof-of-concept application (no good error handlers and security stuff, minor gliches in the style etc) and use that as a spe...
Hi, I'm working on a small project for the last 7 months and we have been using continuous integration and daily builds since then. It has been quite well for my team. Today, reading about The Acyclic-Dependencies Principle, Robert C. Martin mentioned the "morning-after syndrome" which happens when you go home after making some stuff ...