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Author Archives: Gerald M. Weinberg
The Virtual Cyber Cudgel
by Gerald M. Weinberg In 1977, Tom Gilb and I published a book called Humanized Input: Techniques for Reliable Keyed Input. We hoped to improve the pitiful state of input design for computer systems, and ten years later, we imagined … Continue reading
The Technology of Cooperation
©2009 Gerald M. Weinberg, www.geraldmweinberg.com IT professionals must be good team players, but what does that mean? For one thing, it means they must know how to come into a situation and quickly cooperate and gain cooperation, but cooperation takes … Continue reading
Perfect Software—And Other Illusions About Testing
Jerry Weinberg’s latest book, Perfect Software—And Other Illusions About Testing is now available from Dorset House Publishing <http://www.dorsethouse.com/books/perf.html>. Here’s what some early reviewers had to say about the book: “Finally! A book about software testing written by someone who actually … Continue reading
Bi-Quinary Search
© Gerald M. Weinberg, 2004 www.geraldmweinberg.com “1,073,741,823 lines of correct code, but one unknown bug is going to send us into that Sun.” “Do not panic.” Peri said, using Calming Voice. “We have adequate time to find it.” “Peri is … Continue reading
Beyond Blaming
© 1996 Jean McLendon and Gerald M. Weinberg, www.satir.org and www.geraldmweinberg.com “England, though at present enjoying a very high state of prosperity, still shows some symptoms of a decaying nation. Propose to an Englishman any principle, or any instrument, however … Continue reading
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Tagged Communication, Dealing effectively with conflict, Feedback, Organization
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Beware of the Quick Fix
© 2003 Gerald M. Weinberg, www.geraldmweinberg.com P.T. BARNUM said there’s a sucker born every minute, but Barnum was a conservative estimator — or else he didn’t know any IT managers. For more than 45 years now, I’ve watched an endless … Continue reading
Always Be Second
© 2002 Gerald M. Weinberg, www.geraldmweinberg.com These days, with all the talk about “internet time,” professional workers are always trying to be the first with new ideas. But is that really the only path to success? Is it, indeed, a … Continue reading
The Exception is the Rule
©2005 Gerald M. Weinberg The other day, I was trying to help a client (let me call them “StartupCompany”) mired in conflicts, exceptions, errors, anomalies, lapses, modifications and other deviations from the norm. These annoying exceptions were playing tricks with … Continue reading
The Dismal Theorems of Contract Negotiation
©1999 Gerald M. Weinberg My friend Brad, a Los Angeles cop, mentioned that he regularly sold traffic tickets. “But it’s not what you think,” Brad smiled. “I work at night and go to school during the day. If I have … Continue reading
Yielding to Pressure
©2005 Gerald M. Weinberg In a previous article, I wrote about the usefulness of treaties between technical teams, but I didn’t give much detail about the actual negotiation process that goes into making a successful treaty. To learn about such … Continue reading
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Tagged Communication, consulting, Dealing effectively with conflict
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The Big Picture: Four Different Ways of Participating
©1999 Gerald M. Weinberg External consultants are seldom sent to classes by their customers, but often pay for their ownprofessional development. As such,they’re eager to get full value for their time and tuition. Moreover, external consultants often find themselves as … Continue reading
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Tagged Communication, consulting, Feedback, Individual, participation, training
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Treaties to Deal with Communication and Conflict
©2002 Gerald M. Weinberg, www.geraldmweinberg.com On a typical day, I get 100-200 email messages, and some of my clients in large projects receive even more. Though emails improve my ability to communicate clearly and quickly, they may also prove a … Continue reading
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Tagged Communication, Dealing effectively with conflict, Planning, Problem Solving, Quality, Requirements
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Test Trimming: A Fable about Testing
©2007 Gerald M. Weinberg Throughout my career, I’ve watched in dismay as one software manager after another falls into the trap of achieving delivery schedules by trimming tests. Some managers shortcut test work by skipping reviewing and unit testing in … Continue reading
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Tagged Dealing effectively with conflict, project management, Quality
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Staying Sharp
©2003 Gerald M. Weinberg, www.geraldmweinberg.com I’m not the kind of person who hangs out in nightclubs. In fact, the last nightclub I can remember visiting was in Miami Beach in 1957. What I remember about it is what the stand-up … Continue reading
So, Sue Me
©2007, Gerald M. Weinberg This morning’s news brings a story of a small manufacturer of add-on hardware suing large computer manufacturers for alleged illegal price-cutting. I was surprised. I thought the lawyers had finally learned the futility of suing hardware … Continue reading
Seeing Your Own Big Picture
©2000 Gerald M. Weinberg, www.geraldmweinberg.com The editor of Contract Professional chose the name for my column there, “The Big Picture.” He told me he chose the name “because you (Jerry) look at the business of contracting and consulting and the … Continue reading
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Tagged Communication, consulting, Feedback, Individual, Systems Thinking
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Seeing the Other Person’s Big Picture
©2000 Gerald M. Weinberg, www.geraldmweinberg.com You’re entering a new situation, and you’re ready to gather the Big Picture of the other people involved. Whatever you do, don’t try the following process without first getting a Big Picture of yourself, as … Continue reading
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Advice for Software Development Managers
© Gerald M. Weinberg, 2004 www.geraldmweinberg.com Software Development Magazine recently interviewed Jerry. Here are some of his answers. Q: What’s the most important piece of management-related advice anyone has ever given you? GW: If you blame your employees, you’re a … Continue reading
Reasons
©2001 Gerald M. Weinberg, www.geraldmweinberg.com [Note: In September, 2000, at the SEI’s Software Engineering Symposium in Washington D. C., Jerry was the recipient of the 2000 Stevens Award. The award recipient is recognized for outstanding contributions to the literature or … Continue reading
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Tagged Communication, Dealing effectively with conflict, Feedback
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Creativity in Accounts Receivable
©2003 Gerald M. Weinberg, www.geraldmweinberg.com The introduction of the new $20 bill has me thinking about the Bureau of Printing and Engraving today. They’re one client I ever had who couldn’t use the slow-payment excuse that they’re short of cash, … Continue reading
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Tagged consulting, Dealing effectively with conflict, Problem Solving
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Planning for Delays
©2000 Gerald M. Weinberg, www.geraldmweinberg.com As some of you know, a group of consultants are producing a conference for our colleagues and clients. It’s called AYE, for “Amplifying Your Effectiveness.” One of the main goals of this distributed project is … Continue reading
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Disposable Programs
©2005 Gerald M. Weinberg We hear a lot these days about “reusable programs,” but we seldom hear about programs that shouldn’t be reused. Most programmers know what it’s like to be forced to reuse code that was supposed to be … Continue reading
Lullaby Language
©2004, Gerald M. Weinberg, www.geraldmweinberg.com Late one summer, I was called in to help an IT client learn to work better with their customers. I don’t ordinarily travel in the summer, but this sounded like a real emergency, one where … Continue reading
The Liar’s Contest
In this game, the only way to win is to stop playing. (c)2004, 2005 Don Gray and Gerald M. Weinberg It may look like a crisis, but it’s only the end of an illusion. - Rhonda’s First Revelation The Setup … Continue reading
Getting Some Good Out Of Bad Interviewing
©2007 Jerry Weinberg Contract professionals, on the average, change jobs more often than employees, so they are involved in lots of interviews.† One of our SHAPE forum threads was started by Pat Ferdinandi, an independent consultant, who complained: “I am … Continue reading
Predictions
©2003 Gerald M. Weinberg, www.geraldmweinberg.com People are always asking me to make predictions, especially predictions about their financial future. Which stocks will grow? Which dot.coms will fold? What jobs will be best? What should they study to prepare for their … Continue reading