Phillip G. Armour – Communications of the ACM

Opinion Jan 1 2016

The Chaos Machine

Complexity, predictability, and modern projects.

Computing Profession

Author Archives

Opinion Oct 1 2015

Thinking Thoughts

On brains and bytes.

Computing Applications

Opinion Jul 1 2015

An Updated Software Almanac

Research into what makes software projects succeed.

Computing Applications

An Updated Software Almanac, illustration

Opinion Jan 1 2015

A Little Queue Theory

When more work means less done.

Computing Applications

A Little Queue Theory, illustrative photo

Opinion Oct 1 2014

Vendor: Vidi, Vici

Some hidden costs of outsourcing.

Computing Applications

Opinion Jun 1 2014

Owning and Using

On vital and supporting systems.

Computing Applications

Opinion Jan 1 2014

Estimation Is Not Evil

Reconciling agile approaches and project estimates.

Computing Applications

Opinion Oct 1 2013

When Faster Is Slower

How the speed of modern tools may decelerate development.

Opinion Jun 1 2013

What Is a ‘Good’ Estimate?

Whether forecasting is valuable.

Computing Applications

What Is a 'Good' Estimate?, illustration

Opinion Jan 1 2013

How We Build Things: <i> . . . and Why Things Are 90% Complete</i>

It seems to be a law of software development that things always take longer than we expect. When a project manager talks to a designer, programmer, or tester and tries to get a sense of how "complete" the assigned task is, the normal reply is "about 90%."

Computing Applications

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