I think the trend toward offshore outsource may be a sign that some contradictions in US software development practices are finally being resolve.
Just about every software development project I've worked on over the last 20 years has been plagued with one or more managers who didn't have a clue. The result has been lots of wasted time and money. Precious little software of lasting value was created.
But somehow such managers keep working when their projects regularly fail. They've gotten new budgets and repeated the unsatisfactory process over and over. How is this possible?
Where has the money come from? How can the software development industry continue to function this way?
Maybe the trend toward offshore outsourcing indicates that the well is finally beginning to run dry.
I know that these offshore outsourced projects are not going to be well managed either.
So maybe the industry practices will finally be forced to change. It will be a relief!!
Concerning the consultant who didn't know what
API meant: You're right in almost every
respect. Major consulting firms do hire dummies
all the time and also charge studpendous hourly
rates for them.
However, asking for the meaning of an acronym
is something a good consultant should do. If
it reveals that the consultant is not the right
person for the job, it's better for all concerned that that fact be known sooner rather than later.
In many cases, acronyms are shop-specific jargon, and the consultant needs to learn them as soon
as possible. 'API' is not such a case, of course, but you get my drift.
For my part, I always have made it a policy to
ask the meanings of unfamiliar acronyms and jargon words the first time I hear them. More
often than revealing my ignorance, it reveals
the limited communications skills of the person using the acronym.
What about personnel? That strange looking code that embodies solutions to real-world problems had to be figured out by SOMEBODY. Such people, as much as working code, are a valuable resource that should not be abandoned lightly.
Additionally, there are difficulties adding new people to a team. Brooks' book "The Mythical Man Month" describes some of the pitfalls.
Your question doesn't explain why the system has to run on NT first, and then later switch to *nix. Also, you said you'd already agreed to use some specific package for the GUI. Why?
I'd guess that, like many on many projects, the technical questions won't be as hard to answer as the questions about the exact requirements.
But, whatever technical strategy you adopt, be sure to test, on both platforms, early and often. Some sort of automated test suites would be ideal.
When I was a newspaper reporter and copy editor,
we used to rewrite press releases as stories all
the time. So were easy to rewrite because they
already conformed to our newspaper's format.
Naturally, the ones that were easy to rewrite
were more likely to get into print.
If I were you, I call every publication you want
to cover you and ask to speak to the "news editor." That person will be able to tell
you what he would like to see as the form and content of a press releases from your company,
and exactly when, where and how to send it. sendhis publication desires and exactly when
Slashdot Mirror
I think the trend toward offshore outsource
may be a sign that some contradictions in
US software development practices are finally
being resolve.
Just about every software development project
I've worked on over the last 20 years has been plagued with one or more managers who didn't
have a clue. The result has been lots of
wasted time and money. Precious little
software of lasting value was created.
But somehow such managers keep working when
their projects regularly fail. They've gotten
new budgets and repeated the unsatisfactory
process over and over. How is this possible?
Where has the money come from? How can the
software development industry continue to
function this way?
Maybe the trend toward offshore outsourcing
indicates that the well is finally beginning
to run dry.
I know that these offshore outsourced projects
are not going to be well managed either.
So maybe the industry practices will finally be
forced to change. It will be a relief!!
Concerning the consultant who didn't know what
API meant: You're right in almost every
respect. Major consulting firms do hire dummies
all the time and also charge studpendous hourly
rates for them.
However, asking for the meaning of an acronym
is something a good consultant should do. If
it reveals that the consultant is not the right
person for the job, it's better for all concerned that that fact be known sooner rather than later.
In many cases, acronyms are shop-specific jargon, and the consultant needs to learn them as soon
as possible. 'API' is not such a case, of course, but you get my drift.
For my part, I always have made it a policy to
ask the meanings of unfamiliar acronyms and jargon words the first time I hear them. More
often than revealing my ignorance, it reveals
the limited communications skills of the person using the acronym.
What about personnel? That strange looking code that embodies solutions to real-world problems had to be figured out by SOMEBODY. Such people, as much as working code, are a valuable resource that should not be abandoned lightly.
Additionally, there are difficulties adding new people to a team. Brooks' book "The Mythical Man Month" describes some of the pitfalls.
Your question doesn't explain why the system has to run on NT first, and then later switch to *nix. Also, you said you'd already agreed to use some specific package for the GUI. Why?
I'd guess that, like many on many projects, the technical questions won't be as hard to answer as the questions about the exact requirements.
But, whatever technical strategy you adopt, be sure to test, on both platforms, early and often. Some sort of automated test suites would be ideal.
When I was a newspaper reporter and copy editor, we used to rewrite press releases as stories all the time. So were easy to rewrite because they already conformed to our newspaper's format. Naturally, the ones that were easy to rewrite were more likely to get into print. If I were you, I call every publication you want to cover you and ask to speak to the "news editor." That person will be able to tell you what he would like to see as the form and content of a press releases from your company, and exactly when, where and how to send it. sendhis publication desires and exactly when