Have you wanted to try out Continuous Integration but were afraid it wouldn't scale to your environment? Then this story is for you! Will Gwaltney and I helped to introduce and roll out CruiseControl (a Java CI system) at SAS (the world's largest privately owned software company). Because we have five million lines of Java code and nearly 300...

Another great entry in Johanna Rothman's blog, this one titled Impossible Schedules Reinforce No Thinking. Find it here The gist of the entry is that if you put an unreasonable goal in front of a team, they will lose hope, and give up trying any new ideas that might help. They don't have time to try out FindBugs or CruiseControl . They are too...

Eric Starr in Charlotte, North Carolina had a few questions about database isolation... I have a question about Chapter 1 Develop in a Sandbox (from Ship It!). From Page 16: "That may sound easy enough, especially in terms of isolating source code (see Practice 2, Manage Assets,, on page 19), but the real trick is to remember that it applies to...

What is Mock Client Testing? I think it's the best way to get good coverage on a legacy product or an existing code base. It's also a great way to test on your new code. First, let's talk about unit tests. By definition, one test involves one unit, usually a single class. They are fast and generally stand alone. They are written to ensure that...

Although Amazon still doesn't realize that our book is in their warehouse, Wal-Mart finally has the book listed as in stock and orderable! Since it's our first book, I guess I tend to watch things like this closer than most authors. :) Here's the link Although the book has been selling on the Pragmatic Programmer site for nearly a month, it's...

I've set up an online store at Cafe Press with a few bits of Ship It! stuff. There are a few shirts, some coffee mugs, etc. There is also a poster version of the Ship It poster. Check out the online store and let me know what you think.

As Ship It! is starting to trickle out into the world, we are beginning to get feedback from readers around the world. As we hear from you about the topics in the book we'll try to post some of the more interesting replies to shine more light on some (hopefully) interesting topics. M. Fridental asked some questions about our justification for...

I've had a few people ask me why we included something as basic as source code control in our book. Doesn't everybody use CVS or Subversion they ask. Actually, no, a lot of teams don't use anything. This conversation was posted on the web...(Google finds ~everything~!)... the guys involved were discussing what their manager wants them to use...

I went to the RTP Software Symposium (also known as No Fluff Just Stuff this weekend... it was a great collection of people, both the speakers and the attendees. If you get a chance to attend, I'd encourage you to make the time. The conferences run over the weekend so that people who have trouble taking time off from work can still attend. The...

I saw two interviews with Erich Gamma today at Artima.com, but the second interview caught my eye. (Okay, they both caught my eye, but I blogged on the first article at work, so I'm trying to do something different!) The summary reads: In this interview, Erich Gamma, co-author of the landmark book, Design Patterns, talks with Bill Venners about...

This is something that people have probably been doing for years, but I haven't seen it named and I've found it's easier to remember something with a "name", so TDR it is. :) If you are a developer or tester trying to get an automated test suite for your product, you may find yourself in the uncomfortable position of trying to test a product...

I've been telling a story for years but couldn't remember where I originally read it. I stumbled across it recently so I thought I'd post the story. It's an interesting insight into human nature. A manufacturing facility wanted to improve production, so they put people with clipboards on the manufacturing floor to record information. The first...

Here's an interesting idea that makes a lot of sense. Keith Ray's blog entry on the subject is insightful, and it has a nice description of what TDD actually is. Having an automatable test suite up front makes a huge difference in how quickly you can get everything working ~right~ and how fast you can make major changes later. If you've never...

I've created a list on Google Groups you can use as an online community for the group. Congratulations: you've successfully created your Google Group, Ship It!. Here are the essentials: * Group name: Ship It! * Group home page: http://groups-beta.google.com/group/Ship-It * Group email address Ship-It@googlegroups.com

Just a quick reminder, if you're in the Research Triangle Park, come join us at Agile RTP at our first meeting. I announced it here last week, but I find people tend to attend events better when they are announced on the day of the event. Neil Fox and Symphony are buying a few snacks and appetizers before the meeting, so come early to mingle...