Tag Archives: IEEE design column

Design For Test

It sounds straightforward. Write your test code first, then write code to pass that test. Don’t write an inch of code without writing a test first. That is what test-driven development (TDD) is about: Use tests to drive out the … Continue reading

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Sustainable Design

In my most recent IEEE Column, Creating Sustainable Designs, I explore what it means to create software that can be maintained without too many growing pains. I have been intrigued by Christopher Alexander’s writings, particularly the first two volumes of … Continue reading

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Design Hygiene

Without ongoing attention to design hygiene, design integrity is bound to deteriorate over time. My latest IEEE design column, Enabling Change, briefly examines what it takes to keep a code base ready to absorb new design changes. At the very … Continue reading

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Giving Design Advice

In an ideal work environment software designers freely ask for and offer constructive criticism and openly discuss issues. They don’t take criticism as personal affronts, and they and their managers make intelligent, informed decisions. OK, so how do design discussions … Continue reading

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Martin Fowler is no Kent Beck

I know the difference between those two….When authors make mistakes, readers notice. In my latest IEEE Software Design Column, Driven…to Discovering Your Design Values, I quoted Martin Fowler as claiming that test-driven development, “gives you this sense of keeping just … Continue reading

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Start Me Up…

…it’s a new year and time to exercise my blogging muscles. I’ve been hunkered away writing design columns for IEEE Software (as well as enjoying a holiday break). Now that two columns are in the bag, I am turning some … Continue reading

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