Re: A coders work is only half of the game

I used to work on some fairly complex systems, and what I found to be helpful was having the project manager write up test cases right as/after the requirements were finalized. They were still fresh in everyone's mind, and she and I would sit down for 30-45 minutes to create true positives, true negatives, false positives, and false negatives. (She usually tabbed me because my background was in science, not computing, and because I had a knack for thinking of potential pitfalls that others hadn't considered.) It wasn't perfect -- nothing is -- but the timing really helped a lot. As for incentives, she and I wanted to stay employed, and nothing concentrates the mind like a noose around the neck.

--
tbone1, YAPS (Yet Another Perl Schlub)
And remember, if he succeeds, so what.
- Chick McGee

Comment on Re: A coders work is only half of the game

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Re^2: A coders work is only half of the game by JanneVee (Friar) on May 13, 2005 at 13:07 UTC
Uhm, that reminds of the movie office space. Peter to Bob: "That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled, that, and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired. " As I see it there are greater incentives than losing ones job, some sort of prize if one does really well. But a confirmation of a good done job is also sufficient sometimes.	[reply]

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Re^2: A coders work is only half of the game
by JanneVee (Friar) on May 13, 2005 at 13:07 UTC

Uhm, that reminds of the movie office space. Peter to Bob: "That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled, that, and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired. "

As I see it there are greater incentives than losing ones job, some sort of prize if one does really well. But a confirmation of a good done job is also sufficient sometimes.

[reply]