Reading the NATO report on software engineering that came out of the 1968 conference where the term "software crisis" was coined. (It's at https://www.scrummanager.com/files/nato1968e.pdf if you want to read it too.)
Currently on page 11. ELEVEN. (Out of 200+.) It says right here: "The need for feedback was stressed many times."
We knew. Have always known. Feedback is the key to everything. Any process that intentionally delays feedback is going to run into problems. We took such a wrong turn in the 1990s. Ugh.
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@testobsessed That whole report is a goldmine of hard-won wisdom, and it's shocking how much software development occurs nowadays in complete ignorance of that wisdom.
I have a paper copy -- it was my dad's. It comes with a postcard enclosed: "We are pleased to send you herewith copies of the proceedings of the Conference on Software Engineering. The reproduction method used has made it possible to distribute the proceedings free of charge. It is the intention of the Science Committee to make the proceedings available to all persons interested in software engineering. If you or your colleagues need additional copies for such further distribution, please complete and return the attached post-card." with a return address at "NATO, Brussels, Belgium".
Those people really wanted to make the world of software a better place: their optimism is kind of inspiring, but also kind of throws into sharp relief the very different social contract of much of today's software development.
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@testobsessed The R.W. Bemer "Checklist" paper alone should be required annual reading for all software developers and their managers. (Inevitably some parts of it are from a world that no longer exists, but an astonishing amount of it is not, and is a royal road to a lot of learning that many organisations learned the hard way or not at all.)
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@TalesFromTheArmchair oh how wonderful! what a treasure!
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@testobsessed Dad didn't talk about his work very much -- not least because parts of it were under the Official Secrets Act -- and I only found this among his things after he'd died. I don't think he was at the 1968 conference, but looking through the list of participants, he must have known and worked with Alick Glennie, who was.
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@TalesFromTheArmchair It's still such a treasure even if he didn't receive it because he was there. In fact, I'd say it's even more of a treasure because, as you said, it points to the desire of the group to make the world a better place by sharing insights as widely as possible. I'm super grateful to you for sharing that. Otherwise I'd have had no idea.
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