Business of Development on Michael Kent

Incident Response

Tue, 01 May 2018 16:58:13 +0000

Incident response is a critical aspect of software engineering – the process of identifying, responding to, and resolving incidents that occur within a software system. In order to effectively respond to incidents, software engineers can use the Incident Command System (ICS), a structured approach to incident management that is commonly used in emergency response situations.

The ICS is a standardized approach to managing incidents that involves a hierarchical system of management and coordination. The system is designed to promote effective communication, coordination, and decision-making during incidents. The ICS is made up of five functional areas:

Development, Testing, and Quality Assurance

Thu, 30 Apr 2015 16:46:03 +0000

How important is it that your software runs correctly and to spec? For most software it is of the utmost importance. One of the Joel Test 12 is “Do you fix bugs before writing new code?”. Smart development, testing, and QA help prevent bugs in software.

Fixing Code Before Production and After

Fixing code before it goes to production will save you time. I have had bugs that would have taken 30 seconds to fix before going to production that I spent more than a week on fixing after it went to production because it messed up data in another system.

Featuritis(Scope Creep)

Sun, 19 Apr 2015 16:43:18 +0000

Scheduling software is hard. Estimating software is hard. Deadlines in software are hard.

When someone says “we need this thing you estimated for 4 weeks in 2” the question is “what can we cut or push back into another release?”

Not managing the scope creep situation well ends up with:

Increased Costs: Scope creep can lead to increased costs, as additional resources and time are required to meet the new requirements. This can impact the project’s budget and profitability.

When Building Software, Think About the Customer

Thu, 19 Feb 2015 16:30:40 +0000

When building software, thinking about the customer is essential. The customer is the end-user of the software, and their satisfaction is critical for the success of the product. By considering the customer’s needs and preferences, developers can create software that is user-friendly, efficient, and effective.

Here are some reasons why thinking about the customer is important when building software:

User-Friendly Interface: Customers want software that is easy to use and navigate. Developers should consider the user experience, ensuring that the interface is intuitive, with clear labeling and navigation. This can lead to increased customer satisfaction and reduce the need for support.