Extreme Programming (XP)

The agile software development lifecycle responsibility

The eXtreme Programming (XP) methodology places emphasis on a number of core principles for agile software development. These include (and are not limited to) the planning game, short and frequent iterations, testing, frequent refactoring, continuous integration, ownership and standards.

Read more

Testability

If I was to provide one tip for organizations on how to implement a successful technology solution, I would state you need to ensure your product/software/system is completely testable. Independent on how you elect to test your system, the design of creating a completely testable infrastructure will enable exponential savings as your business grows.

Read more

A summary introduction to Agile

Agile Development Methodology: – Most popular Implementations: Extreme Programming (XP), SCRUM, Crystal Links Manifesto for Agile Software Development http://agilemanifesto.org/ General XP Introduction http://extremeprogramming.org/ Agile Resource (Ron Jefferies) http://xprogramming.com/ Good Diagram The New Metholodgy (Martin Fowler) http://martinfowler.

Read more

Guidelines for managing embedded external project dependencies

I’ve yet to find any Java project that doesn’t have dependancies on some other Open Source external libraries. I’ve yet to find a Java project that manages these external dependencies appropiately for support and integration at an enterprise level.

Read more

What constitutes a good error message to the user?

Today, will go down in my professional history as quite possibly the lowest I would ever think of a software developer. I’ve carefully avoided the term “fellow coder”, speaking of a IT industry sticking by fellow IT people, but not today.

Read more

The definition of a Unit Test

A Test is not a Unit Test if: It talks to the database It communicates across a network It touches the filesystem It can’t run the same time as any of your other unit tests You have to do special things to your environment to run it (e.

Read more

Could not have said Agile better myself

I’ve just attended Scott Ambler’s presentation on Agile Database Techniques: Data Doesn’t Have to be a Four-Letter Word Anymore at the MySQL Users Conference. There is so much content on the topic, it’s impossible to present so much information in a short 45 minute session.

Read more

Why IT professionals get a bad name

Sometimes you just can’t find words to describe bad code, and if you are forced into maintenance it can be a mindfield. I’m presently supporting an existing deployed Web Based Java application, which I’ve had no involvement with previously, and for lack of any complements it’s absolutely terrible.

Read more

Data Modelling

I’m a data modeller. I specialise in this, and for a number of years on large projects I’ve been able to focus on this single task within the System Development Life Cycle of software development for several months at a time.

Read more

Waterfall verses Agile in Software Development

There appears to be a resurgence of Waterfall Approaches. This upcoming conference, you can find details at www.waterfall2006.com raises some good points that are worthy of review based on the comment that ‘agile is so last decade’.

Read more

XP January Meeting

The Brisbane XP Group met yesterday for a presentation by Dr Paul King of Asert on the book Sustainable Software Development : An Agile Perspective. <p> I found it a good time to get a collective opinion and review of the techniques and methods we are moving towards in Software Development.

Read more

Book Review – Beyond Java

Well the title got me when I decided to purchase this book “Beyond Java – A glimpse at the Future of Programming Languages”, however perhaps it should have been titled “Why to move from Java to Ruby” as the book for a good portion is an explanation of how Ruby solves the problems that Java has and the direction Java is moving.

Read more

Unit Testing A Database

In a recent job interview I was asked the question regarding Unit Testing/Automated Testing of a Database? An interesting question and indeed an interesting problem. I thought it was a good topic to describe what I’ve done in the past, and where I would go for a more complete testing environment given the opportunity of a entire XP project.

Read more

Database Modelling within an XP Methodology

In an eXtreme Programming (XP) Agile Methodology approach towards software development the absence of adequate database design, or the scant regard of it, with the assumption that a framework and persistence infrastructure will take care of that can be a disaster in a larger enterprise solution.

Read more