What does that mean?!!!

I hate three letter acronymns.

I think they represent a past that we have hopefully left far behind. They obscure conversation and serve only to make people think they sound intelligent. Unless you are a part of the club, their meaning can often be shrouded in mystery.

Over the years I have witnessed a massive change in the type of person who has ended up being involved in IT. I can still remember when it was unthinkable that anyone without a degree in comp sci could write software.

As the Internet gave everyone a new platform to write software for, the tools became more approachable and now everyone is invited to the party. This has been the single greatest change in IT and has brought about a new generation of conversable developers.

I will credit Dan Rushton with this phrase, it's a good one. He also bagged the domain where you can check out his ramblings.

I like to think that we can solve all the technical problems that are thrown at us. The bit we are missing is understanding what it is we are actually developing. It should be easy, right?

The idea that a specification can detail everything is frankly insane. If it could, it would likely be unreadable. The future is through the oldest of all forms of communication - conversation.

Conversations are the corner stone of agile software development. Nothing allows a team to convey ideas and gain understanding faster than conversation. If there is a problem, you can guarantee that a conversation will enable people to get to the bottom of it. If it's important, you pick up the phone and talk about it. Conversation is a natural instinct.

Although business value is pinned as what we are trying to uncover, I cannot see how this happens without good communication. Good conversations enable us to uncover value at all levels of the organisation. It is the unseen foundation for all agile principles.

As a developer, communication transcends all other issues. It is key to the success of my code and the organisation I work for. So, I write about my adventures whenever I can. Enjoy :)