Best Book About Software Development Process in 2010

Over the years, I have read many books on software development methodologies. Some are good, some are totally useless, but even the best one still makes me feel something is lacking. In the early days, they tried to make make the "unpredictable" thing "predictable" (which may be idealistic but  is never realistic). Worse, by making things predictable, the software development process became too rigid. The agile movement recognized this error and started to anticipate change as an important element in software development process. However, whether it's scrum or extreme programming, the agile practice still focuses on the technical side. A metaphor for how changes and collaborations can successfully work in the software development process is missing. Now, I finally found the missing piece in "the Jazz Process".

Reading this books is like having many "aha" moments.  So much "implicit knowledge" I have learned over the years fits perfectly with this metaphor. For example, how does team dynamics impact a software project? In what way? (The issue becomes obvious to me since our team is going through fast growth now.) How can a bunch of smart people collaborate (without keep fighting each other with their big egos)? "The Jazz Process" provides a very convincing model (how Jazz improvised) and simple guidelines based on it. The writing is never dull, the examples covers a lot of interesting topics (such as how a special operation force team is organized), and if you are a Jazz fan, it's also full of interesting stories about Jazz performers. After reading this book, I think I will never listen to a Jazz performance the same way again.

 

   

Heading Home

Now I have had things packed, my D3x sent back to Nikon for sensor cleaning, I am ready for my yearly trip back to Taiwan. Though my time in my parents' place sometimes felt more like a house arrest than a vacation, last year I managed to get some work done and found it very productive. Compared to the daily conflict with my mom, working feels like a vacation.   

The King's Speech

I managed to go to this movie before heading home. Other movies (black swan, true grit, etc) will have to wait until I am back from Taiwan.

The Sorrow and Joy of Working at Startup

 Today is my last working day of the year. Because our company is preparing to move to a new building next week and I will be on vacation by then, I stay late to pack my things. Looking around the empty building (everybody gone, packing boxes scattered everywhere), knowing that I will be starting a new year in a new location, I can't but look back and reflect on the passing year.

It's quite a rocky year. More than 30% of the people I had worked with in 2009 were gone in 2010. Some left because work was too stressful, some left for better opportunities, and some left for other reasons. I had my moments of doubts too. Yet against all odds I stayed.  A coworker (who left last week) once asked me and another coworker, what motivated us to stay in this company. We couldn't give him a good answer. We knew it was not money since we hadn't gotten any salary raise for 2 years and probably wouldn't get one any time soon. (I even got a cut when I joined.) The working hours were long. The future was uncertain (whoever thought he could make quick money working at start up probably hadn't worked at one for long). So why did I stay? Or, change the question slightly, what kept me going?

It took me quite some soul searching to find the answers. They are:

- the people I work with. When I worked long hours, I knew my other coworkers worked just as hard (if not harder), and no matter what challenges I was facing I knew I could always get good advices from them. I was not alone. (I sometimes even feel slightly guilty because most of them have families and are making more sacrifices working at a start up.)

- the sense of accomplishment. To write the first line of code in many modules and see them grow, to master things I doubted I would ever be able to learn, to overcome my fear of talking to strangers and help on customer support, the action of accomplishing things becomes its own reward.

- the sense of adventure. Just one year ago we didn't even have a customer, now we have doubled our revenue for four consecutive quarters. How's that possible? Will we be like that next year? Honestly, I don't know. Yet I now know why epics like Iliad and Odyssey are relevant after two thousand years. We are all living in epics of our own.

Maybe the answers are not good enough for my parting coworker (he will laugh his head off and tell me I am too naive), but they are good enough for me. At least for now.

P.S. I started this post yesterday, so the "today" is actually yesterday.

QE Explained

Surprise Birthday Gift from the Interns

Our company hired two interns from Sweden lately. They are young, full of joie de vivre, and super passionate about programming. They also care a lot about engineering practice. To promote unit testing (they are helping us on test automation), they even hand-made some badges and gave one to us if we wrote more tests. (I got the first badge and felt so honored.) Working with them really teaches me to be humble.

Several days ago (my birthday), I was going out to have tea with Chinchih (as a celebration) and  told them it was my birthday on my way out. When I was back, I noticed a print-out on my desk with a book cover and a happy birthday mark from the interns. "Thanks for the print-out, why there's a book cover on it?" I asked the interns. "Oh, we thought you would like the book so we bought it as your birthday gift. You will receive it in 5-8 days. It's shipped to your home." A bit surprised, I asked them, "But how do you know my home address?" "Oh, we asked the HR. She told us." Wow, I was speechless. Never in my life had anybody gone through so much effort to send me a gift (let alone someone I barely know). I was moved, I could even feel tears in my eyes.

OK, maybe life is not that bad after 41. Sometimes even a small gesture can lighten up other people's life. That's probably the most important thing I learned from the interns. 

Wildlife Photographer of the Year Announced

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/onlineGallery.do

This most prestigious award for wildlife photographers around the world...

Wu Yen - The Funnest Chinese Movie I Have Seen in Years

I noticed this movie after reading someone's blog (http://blog.chinatimes.com/georgegray/archive/2010/11/26/570568.html). I rented it from Netflix mostly because I missed the late Anita Mei. I didn't expect much. But, what a hilarious ride it is! So many gender changes in this movie, just like Shakespeare's comedies "Twelfth Night" and "As You Like It". The palace set reminds me how King Hu borrowed set design from the Chinese Opera. The use of puppet show to do battle scene is also ingenious. Needless to say I am now a fan of Sammi Cheng. (Why Hong Kong movie stars are also singers? Is it a requirement?)

P.S. the Cantonese version is much more fun to watch than the Mandarin speaking version.

Amazing Landscape Photos from UK

Take a view - Landscape Photographer of the Year