Nigel Cheshire

We've all experienced it - the "get it out the door" mentality that seems to be the driving force behind many software application deliveries - a prime example of the software industry's immaturity that favors completion over quality, and an end user's preference for hot new features over stable, reliable systems. Deferring the QA process is an expensive way to operate and corporations are taking a financial hit for these software errors. According to the Washington, D.C., National Institute of Standards and Testing (NIST), software errors cost the U.S. economy $60 billion per year. This report was issued back in 2002 and, since then, the software industry has done little to improve the situation. Why are software bugs so pervasive? We don't accept these same poor standards in other industries, so what makes software exempt? Some say it's the inherent complexity of... (more)

Software Quality and the Broken Windows Theory

Nigel Cheshire's Blog Amiram Hayardeny wrote a thought-provoking post yesterday in which he applies the broken window theory to software quality. The broken window theory suggests that neighborhoods where minor evidence of decay (broken windows, deteriorating building exteriors, etc.) do not get fixed quickly start to deteriorate more rapidly. Hayardeny suggests that the same theory can be applied to software development teams: “Evidence of decay (large defect backlogs, no documentation, no code reviews) remains in the system for a reasonably long period of time. Quality or... (more)

Outage at All-the-Rage Social Networking Site Facebook

Nigel Cheshire's Blog From the many reports of software glitches this week, (including an outage at all-the-rage social networking site Facebook), I decided to focus on a couple of interesting (to me, anyway) stories that have one thing in common: speed. The world of Formula One racing is not familiar to many Americans, and yet it is a wildly popular sport in other parts of the world. It also is seen as a crucial testing ground for many new automotive technologies that eventually find their way into the cars that we drive. Being an ex-European, I like to keep an eye on that sport... (more)

Using Java Tools to Enforce Best Practices

Bad code abounds, and the cost to fix it is expensive. A 2002 federal study found that software errors and bugs in code cost the U.S. economy nearly $60 billion a year. And a study conducted by The Standish Group reports a 27-month backlog on end-user requests for application enhancements. With bugs and enhancements coming out of the same budgets, only the loudest voices are heard. Many organizations with overrun projects have development teams that spend most of their time fixing bugs, fighting fires and leaping from one crisis to the next. Meanwhile, the “too little, too ... (more)

JavaOne - JavaFX abuzz

Nigel Cheshire's Blog I’m at JavaOne this week, where the talk from Sun is all about mobile, or JavaFX and JavaFX Script. I’m not sure the world needs another scripting language, but then what do I know? I know it's a bit off-topic, but the thing that struck me about JavaOne this year is just how busy it is. I didn’t hear any numbers yet, but there are a lot of people here. And, more surprisingly to me at least, is that the product pavilion is packed with people. I would have thought that in this day and age, the old trade show formula would be getting old by now... (more)