If there is one thing that analytics reveal about technical writing, it’s that developers want code, not concepts. Programmers have a problem, and they want the solution to that problem now, not below the fold after a multi-thousand-word discourse. (Umm… The answer to this column is C = 5/9 * (F – 32).) When it … continue reading
Companies today face a fatal disconnect: Customer experience is a strategic imperative for many, but few have a strategic technology vision that helps them deliver on that promise. In contrast, firms known for delivering differentiated experiences are able to design, launch and deliver them largely because their strategic and technology strategies are aligned. Organizations that … continue reading
Nearly 10 million software developers worldwide are focused on building mobile apps. Yet three quarters of the total developer community have less than three years of experience under their belt, and they lack the business experience today’s enterprises expect. With developers continuously being challenged to learn the necessary technical and design skills needed to build … continue reading
With the overwhelming success of everything mobile, it’s no wonder that every developer wants to get into this space. Building mobile apps puts developers on the cutting edge, the skills are sought after, and the profession is highly lucrative. But not everyone who jumps into mobile is guaranteed success. A good mobile developer brings a … continue reading
For the past six months, we’ve been saying mobile apps are dead. We mean it. While you may be thinking, “But I download new apps all the time,” there is a bigger point that you may be missing about the future of application development—specifically, the way developers and early adopters have been adjusting to the … continue reading
Logs were previously the last-resort debugging tool that a developer or Ops pro turned to when a serious issue arose. They were seen as complex data streams that only the most sophisticated and knowledgeable of engineers could understand. However, today, thanks to log-management innovations like real-time analysis, parsing and event visualizations, logs are now used … continue reading
Today I wear the hat of SD Times ombudsman, peeling back the curtain to reveal some of the thought processes behind what we do. Somewhere between creepy and courteous lies the current state of the media business. What with visitor tracking refined down to the article being read, even to the line of an article … continue reading
This is the question for each new personal technology wave. Nearly always until technology got personal, it was function that won out. Mainframes, terminals, even the first couple decades of personal computers were ugly things that were focused on doing what they did best but didn’t exactly win beauty contests. Then Steve Jobs took Apple … continue reading
Organizations that have transformed their software development from conventional to agile have gone through numerous trials. Some of these have worked and some haven’t, but the trial results have delivered invaluable knowhow. Even after textbook implementations of agile methodologies, many organizations have found that they’re far away from realizing its true benefits. In fact, many … continue reading
Almost every day, there are software development teams finishing agile sprints who are left wondering what happened. How did we fail? Where did we go wrong? The answers are as hard to come by as it is to successfully implement an agile approach that is sustainable and maximizes its true value. There’s a saying in … continue reading
It seems clear that we’re living in a golden age of capabilities. Satya Nadella’s “Bold Ambition and Our Core” memo boasts that “the Cortana app on my Windows Phone merges data from highway sensors and my own calendar and simply reminds me to leave work to make it to my daughter’s recital on time.” Siri, … continue reading
Test metrics are an integral part of the QA process. They provide granular information that helps engineers accurately assess the quality of software builds and figure out what is and isn’t working in the testing process. Metrics are the building blocks of progress and improvement in software creation. Examples of test metrics and what they … continue reading
If developers aren’t enrolled in developer relation programs, they will become obsolescent … continue reading
Today, mobile is everything. More and more, people are accessing services primarily through their phones and tablets rather than their desktops. As a result, mobile strategies are now a vital part of running a business. But with so many different ways to deliver information and services via mobile, how do you choose the right mobile … continue reading
