Software has long suffered with the analogy of building construction. While it is certainly handy, and generally well accepted, I would like to propose my top 10 alternative analogies for software development. 10- Politics Creating software is like being an elected official. You get into it to...

Consider these requirements; · The system shall properly calculate the taxes due at the time of payment. · The system shall properly display the location and speed of inbound projectiles. · All users will only be able to change data appropriate to their role. They are a clear example of poor communication...

There are a few reoccurring themes in project recovery;  Hold Fast, Don't Flinch, Lead calmly, and of course the old stand by ... decide slowly but act quickly.  Troubled projects are ripe with Fear Uncertainty and Doubt (affectionately known as FUD).  Our job, like it or not, isn't just...

Risk tolerance is defined on investopedia as the degree of uncertainty that an investor can handle in regard to a negative change in the value of his or her portfolio. Sounds pretty good to me for project portfolios too. In our case, negative change includes concrete things like expenditures that fail...

In a recent paper, Bridge Methods: Using a Balanced Project Practice Portfolio to Integrate Agile and Formal Process Methodologies , my co-author and I dug into how nearly every methodology, be it formal or agile, allows if not requires customization to the set practices used throughout the software...