development lifecycles

Communities are sprouting up all over the world to provide an outlet for those who want to create new things and hack existing ones. In this article, Jonathan Speicher writes about one such group, HackPittsburgh, some of the projects he’s worked on, and the value the maker movement brings to those who work in the software industry.

Most software needs to be "maintainable" and have high "internal quality." But what does that mean in practical terms? Code smells form a vocabulary for discussing code quality and how well suited code might be to change. The smells also provide good indications as to what to refactor and how.

Observing customers in a usability lab can be invaluable for improving product design. But, once your software leaves the lab, do you know what your customers are actually doing and whether or not your software meets their expectations? Learn how engineers on the Microsoft Office team apply a variety of software telemetry techniques to understand real-world usage, how the results drive product improvements, and how you can apply similar techniques.

Lee Copeland and Jerry Weinberg have crossed paths—both on page and in person—many times over the years. Here, Lee reflects on some of those meetings and their valuable lessons.