http://queue.acm.org/listing.cfm?item_topic=Development&qc_type=topics_list&filter=Development&page_title=Development&order=desc http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3056769 An idea on its own is not worth much. Just because you think you know a better way to do something, even if you're right, no one is required to care. Making great things happen at work is about more than just being smart. Good ideas succeed or fail depending on your ability to communicate them correctly to the people who have the power to make them happen. When you are navigating an organization, it pays to know whom to talk to and how to reach them. Here is a simple guide to sending your ideas up the chain and actually making them stick. It takes three elements: the right people, the right time, and the right way. Development Wed, 01 Mar 2017 10:03:40 GMT Kate Matsudaira 3056769 http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3043967 First, Arvind Narayanan and Andrew Miller, co-authors of the increasingly popular open-access Princeton Bitcoin textbook, provide an overview of ongoing research in cryptocurrencies. Second, Song Han provides an overview of hardware trends related to another long-studied academic problem that has recently seen an explosion in popularity: deep learning. Development Tue, 24 Jan 2017 11:46:46 GMT Arvind Narayanan, Andrew Miller, Song Han 3043967 http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3017847 I am conflicted about conflict. On one hand, I hate it. Hearing people disagree, even about minor things, makes me want to run through the nearest wall and curl up under my bed until it's over. On the other hand, when it happens, I always want to get into it. Development Tue, 15 Nov 2016 11:04:59 GMT Kate Matsudaira 3017847 http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3014148 Questions like this bring to mind the fact that source code, documentation, and testing are the unholy trinity of software development, although many organizations like to see them as separate entities. It is interesting that while many groups pay lip service to "test-driven development," they do not include documentation in TDD. Development Mon, 31 Oct 2016 15:16:21 GMT George Neville-Neil 3014148 http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3012428 There are many, many ways to illustrate how fragile IT investments can be. You just have to look at the way that, even after huge investments in education and coaching, many organizations are struggling to broaden their agile adoption to the whole of their organization - or at the way other organizations are struggling to maintain the momentum of their agile adoptions as their teams change and their systems mature. Development Tue, 25 Oct 2016 14:15:18 GMT Ivar Jacobson, Ian Spence, Ed Seidewitz 3012428 http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=2996549 I love fresh starts. Growing up, one of my favorite things was starting a new school year. From the fresh school supplies to the promise of a new class of students, teachers, and lessons, I couldn't wait for summer to be over and to go back to school. The same thing happens with new jobs. They reinvigorate you, excite you, and get you going. Development Mon, 12 Sep 2016 13:34:05 GMT Kate Matsudaira 2996549 http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=2993454 For the time being, we are likely to continue to have programmers who version their functions as a result of the limitations of their languages, but let's hope we can stop them naming their next generations after the next generation. Development Tue, 30 Aug 2016 14:04:55 GMT George Neville-Neil 2993454 http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=2974011 It all started with a bug. Customers were complaining that their information was out of date on the website. They would make an update and for some reason their changes weren't being reflected. Caching seemed like the obvious problem, but once we started diving into the details, we realized it was a much bigger issue. Development Mon, 18 Jul 2016 13:37:18 GMT Kate Matsudaira 2974011 http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=2971330 Professional programming is about dealing with software at scale. Everything is trivial when the problem is small and contained: it can be elegantly solved with imperative programming or functional programming or any other paradigm. Real-world challenges arise when programmers have to deal with large amounts of data, network requests, or intertwined entities, as in UI (user interface) programming. Development Tue, 12 Jul 2016 15:10:33 GMT Andre Medeiros 2971330 http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=2962575 Trying to correct someone who has just done a lot of work, even if, ultimately, that work is not the right work, is a daunting task. The person in question no doubt believes that he has worked very hard to produce something of value to the rest of the team, and walking in and spitting on it, literally or metaphorically, probably crosses your "offense" line--at least I think it does. I'm a bit surprised that since this is the first sprint and there is already so much code written, shouldn't the software have shown up after the sprints established what was needed, who the stakeholders were, etc.? Or was this a piece of previously existing code that was being brought in to solve a new problem? It probably doesn't matter, because the crux of your letter is the fact that you and your team do not sufficiently understand the software in question to be comfortable with fielding it. Development Wed, 22 Jun 2016 16:11:05 GMT George Neville-Neil 2962575