

Characterizing people as non-linear 1st order components in software development - neiljohnson
http://alistair.cockburn.us/Characterizing+people+as+non-linear%2c+first-order+components+in+software+development

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mjfisher
Just in case people are browsing the comments trying to decide whether this is
worth spending reading time on: it is. The headline is rather off-putting, but
the article is a somewhat qualitative and nuanced discussion of a number of
failed and successful software projects, and contributing factors.

An overview: any project can succeed or fail regardless of the
design/development methodology used; more successes using lighter, iterative
techniques. Individuals have a huge impact on project outcomes. Furthermore,
individuals are inconsistent and your rockstar/ninja developer may turn into a
plodding average Joe and visa versa depending on management style, methodology
and other circumstances beyond your control.

Very good review and still highly applicable (published 1999)

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jacques_chester
I second these remarks.

Cockburn places his finger on the fact that the enormous variability of human
beings feeds into wide variability in project outcomes.

I sometimes the analogy of cooking (because that's not played out, amirite?).

Sure, you have all the cook books, you have the sharpest knives, you have
perfect _mise en place_ and so on. But ask a master chef what the most
important factor is in fine food. He or she will say "quality, fresh
ingredients".

And so it is with software. Without quality engineers you cannot make the
soufflé rise, no matter what recipe you try to use.

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mjfisher
And to torture the (apt) metaphor further - put a master chef in a large-chain
fast food kitchen, force him to use the cheap frozen ingredients and the
company's standard recipes, and you'll still end up with the same low grade
hamburger you've been churning out all along.

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andrewcooke
is alistair c still active? he wrote my favourite process book (cooperative
game) and i was looking at his wiki just today (to be sure i had the
difference between user stories and use cases right), but i don't seem to hear
his name mentioned much these days.

he's a smart guy, who seemed to be right more often than most. i hope he's
still around.

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evolve2k
Interesting. Would you be happy to provide links.

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andrewcooke
[http://www.amazon.com/Agile-Software-Development-
Cooperative...](http://www.amazon.com/Agile-Software-Development-Cooperative-
Edition/dp/0321482751?tag=duckduckgo-d-20)

<http://alistair.cockburn.us/>

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neilk
Site is down or slow - Google's text-only cache: <http://bit.ly/QkRSGU>

