Author Archive: Paul Epps

The Word “Requirement” is Just Plain Wrong

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Software development has been steered wrong by the word “requirement,” defined in the dictionary as “something mandatory or obligatory.” The word carries a connotation of absolutism and permanence, inhibitors to embracing change. And the word “requirement” is just plain wrong. Out of one thousand pages of “requirements,” if you deploy a system with the right 20% or 10% or even 5%, you will likely realize all of the business benefit envisioned for the whole system. So what were the other 80%? Not “requirements”; they weren’t really mandatory or obligatory. — Kent Beck, Extreme Programming Explained Read more →

Epilogue

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The floods, the flames, the questions– till the ashes tell you one day: “Life is the building of bridges over rivers that seep away.” — Gottfried Benn, “Epilogue” Read more →

Change Isn’t the Problem

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Everything in software changes. The requirements change. The design changes. The business changes. The technology changes. The team changes. The team members change. The problem isn’t change, because change is going to happen; the problem, rather, is our inability to cope with change. — Kent Beck, Extreme Programming Explained Read more →

She was a girl who knew how to be happy even when she was sad. And that’s important — you know? — Marilyn Monroe

Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. — Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

Happy Fathers Day!

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Hi Dad! Happy Fathers Day! We didn’t spend a lot of time together but my owner says I have the heart of a much larger animal and I know I got that from you! He also says I have a “stubborn physicality” which I don’t know what that is but I know it’s good! LOL! Here’s a recent picture of me at the dog park. Well, I’m not a puppy anymore but I’m still the alpha dog of my whole neighborhood! If you’re ever in California, let’s get together! Love, Lightning Read more →

Lasts

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Today is my last Fathers Day with a live-in kid. My boy and I have been walking a path together for 18 years and the time has come for him to set out on his own path. We are both headed into a great unknown . . . Read more →

Hashtag

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My wife dominates the Twitter landscape with almost 1,000 followers . . . “I have to say something to my followers about my son going to college,” she says. The boy overhears this and pipes in: “My only child is leaving for college in two months. Hashtag sadbutproud.” Read more →

Fathers Day

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The joy of Father’s Day is the joy of every day: the gift of being in the company of your children, and of living for them in the way you are meant to live . . . — Jeffrey Goldberg Read more →

I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own — a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. — Albert Einstein

Visibility and Feedback

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Forgive my ignorance. How do increased visibility and tighter feedback loops manage and reduce risk? Get in your car. Drive to a winding road. Get up to a decent speed. Close your eyes for two minutes. Then come back and ask your question again. — Ron Jeffries, Yahoo Groups (kanbandev) Read more →

Opting Out

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What we need is competition and a chance for people to opt out of the system. You talk about opting out of ObamaCare? Why can’t we opt out of the whole system and take care of ourselves? — Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) That’s a great question that I’ve wondered about for many years. For example, why can’t people opt out of Social Security? It seems to be in pretty bad shape. Why can’t I say to the government, “Do not take any Social Security deductions from my income. Let me keep all that money, and when I retire, you owe me nothing.” Why is that not an option? You might say, “Because you’ll screw it up. You’ll spend all the money now, and when you’re too old to work, you won’t have anything in the bank.” Why is that your problem? Read more →

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