Adam Turoff wrote a very insightful post last month about rewriting software that seems very relevant given the recent furor over rewrites. Essentially, Adam is saying that it may in fact be OK to rewrite a piece of software and he mentions Firefox as an example of a rewrite that was successful.1

He follows up this […]

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Many professional software developers are concerned that the rise of open source will take away their ability to get paid for writing software. It is easy to see why they are worried: open source software is “free” and developers do not usually get paid for software that is given away. The situation really isn’t that […]

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When a new project is started at an organization there is a time where everyone is figuring out what is going on. Initial requirements are gathered and the team is assembled. After that there is a phase of discovery where the requirements are fleshed out, risks are identified and estimates are refined. The RUP refers […]

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Contractors (short-term hourly workers) can lend help on a project that is understaffed or bring specific knowledge that the team does not currently have. It is possible to have too much of a good thing and the overuse of contractors can spell doom for a project. How can contractors be managed to maximize their benefit […]

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In many software development organizations new projects are initiated by management. While it is good to have management involved, it is better for the organization if new projects are driven by the development team.

This is not meant to suggest that it should be the developers that are creating the requirements. Quite the opposite, in fact. […]

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