Albert has an interesting job. He takes the manufacturing software the plant operators use, and creates simulation software to train operators. I started working with him when his company selected some new software, and he needed suggestions on how to do things like make time stop.

People working with systems know the interactions between the system and its environment create a tremendous opportunity for success or failure. In computer systems the interfaces between components, utilities, other systems, and the user often contain the most initial defects.

I’m catching up on some reading this week, and I just read Willem’s disagreement with Jerry’s thoughts. Truth be known, I agree with both Jerry and Willem.

Managers get a bad rap when conversation turns to context switching. Johanna Rothman indicates they may have forgotten what development is like. Tom DeMarco in Why Does Software Cost So Much (If We Did Only One Thing to Improve …) states “I’ve come to believe that fragmentation is due mostly to managerial sloppiness.” (pg 90). How do the environment and corporate culture impact managerial decisions? In what context does development context switching make sense? Here are three situations that make sense to me. (And I’m