Skills for Software Smokejumpers

Skills for Software Smokejumpers

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©2007 Don Gray Do you know about smokejumpers? They’re brave, self-sufficient firefighters who parachute into remote areas wearing eighty pounds of gear and ready to fight a forest fire. If the jump goes well, they land safely. After extinguishing the fire, they...
Communication Disconnects

Communication Disconnects

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© Don Gray 2007-2017 “Why doesn’t my manager listen when I explain the details?” “Why doesn’t the developer just give me what I ask for?” If you’ve ever heard these complaints or made them – you’re not alone....
A Multi-use Model

A Multi-use Model

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© Don Gray 2007, 2010 Models are like kitchen utensils. You need a variety of them, and you should know when and how to use them. They should be useful for more than a single task. I recently started exploring the first explicit model I learned years ago. The...

So What's the Problem?

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George called this week. The systemic solution loop in Shifting the Burden has taken over and he’s making the modifications requested by the users. Along the way, he’s read about himself, and has this to say about How Did This Happen? and Shifting the...
Shifting the Burden – Whose Monkey is it?

Shifting the Burden – Whose Monkey is it?

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© Don Gray, 2005 – 2006 “Repeatedly curing a system that can cure itself will eventually create a system that can’t.” – Marvin’s Second Great Secret, Jerry Weinberg “Don, the software’s locked up again! Can you come up...
No Exit

No Exit

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Always have an exit strategy. ©2005 – 2009 Don Gray, Gerald M. Weinberg “The thought that disaster is impossible often leads to an unthinkable disaster.” – The Titanic Effect, The Secrets of Consulting, pg 95 Engelbert, the Software Engineering...