Being commissioned for the development of a large software system caused me to reflect on the sources of past software production faults. Three elementary sources of problems were minimal or unacceptable project visibility, compressed schedule, and incomplete requirements analysis and design. These elementary problems resulted in secondary problems such as faulty software implementation, seemingly endless [...]
Gmail’s “Why Use Gmail?” page suggests that “storing mail in folders with subfolders and nested sub-sub folders is not a productive way to spend your day.” Because search is Google’s primary strength, they encourage users of their free email service to perform a search query for an email of interest rather than actively organize their [...]
The desire of managers to be involved with technology is natural. They want to seem able to learn quickly and adapt. After all, failing to use new technologies puts a company at a disadvantage against its competitors. Effective use of technology can develop a small upstart into a best-of-breed market dominator. Management sees the potential [...]
A post at /. points out a USA Today article that notes a growing trend where people perform their jobs at places other than home and office. I realized that I have been using Starbucks as a makeshift office months ago. In general, being able to work at alternative places during atypical hours increases productivity. [...]
“Few businesses are as spread out as MySQL, which employs 320 workers in 25 countries, 70 percent of whom work from home,” says Fortune’s Josh Hyatt in MySQL: Workers in 25 Countries with no HQ. A discussion of this can be found on Slashdot.