James, you are poet and a philosopher. You could have enriched the world's greatest libraries with your treatise on human condition. What are you doing as a tester? Why James, why?
Deming still applies to software development and testing, but not Deming as applied to manufacturing. Deming as applied to product development is perfectly consistent with your observations.
I agree with the manufacturing-no-more thing, but I think it's a mistake to couple Deming to manufacturing just because software people mistakenly saw software development as manufacturing and proceeded to collude that with Deming.
Realizing that software development isn't manufacturing is a great step forward. Perspectives like flow-based product development management reflect these realizations, but don't conclude that Deming is obsolete. They conclude that our presumption that software development is manufacturing was never correct.
Deming is still applicable to product development, but we have to realize that we're doing product development.
Rather than "creator", maybe we can call developers their intellectual "parents"? They should know the most about the applications, obviously, but perhaps not all their extra-curricular activities?
I feel that extends the metaphor for their involvement in treatment as well. ;)
James, you are poet and a philosopher. You could have enriched the world's greatest libraries with your treatise on human condition. What are you doing as a tester? Why James, why?
ReplyDeleteExcellent post! It's not often I hear a new (to me) analogy about software development. And I like the one of health care.
ReplyDeleteWow. Great analogy. Wonder if this should be a pattern similar to the Gang of Four' other ones?
ReplyDeleteDeming still applies to software development and testing, but not Deming as applied to manufacturing. Deming as applied to product development is perfectly consistent with your observations.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the manufacturing-no-more thing, but I think it's a mistake to couple Deming to manufacturing just because software people mistakenly saw software development as manufacturing and proceeded to collude that with Deming.
Realizing that software development isn't manufacturing is a great step forward. Perspectives like flow-based product development management reflect these realizations, but don't conclude that Deming is obsolete. They conclude that our presumption that software development is manufacturing was never correct.
Deming is still applicable to product development, but we have to realize that we're doing product development.
I can understand your analogy with medical environment, altough I feel that is too much metaphore and too few real/practical examples.
ReplyDeleteRather than "creator", maybe we can call developers their intellectual "parents"? They should know the most about the applications, obviously, but perhaps not all their extra-curricular activities?
ReplyDeleteI feel that extends the metaphor for their involvement in treatment as well. ;)