Thoughts from a Thirsty Bear

  We all know tests need to be reliable (don't we?!). One of the worst things any test can do is give false results, whether consistently or intermittently. A test that passes when it should fail gives a false sense of security. A test that fails when everything is OK leads to wild goose chases trying to find the non-existent problem. This should be obvious. We call these false positive and false negative  results.  But just recently I have been thinking about  what is a false positive and a false negative?  It's obvious - until it isn't. So hopefully writing this down will clear it up in my mind, and some others. I'll add that this is my thinking right now after discussing the issue with several people - just make sure the definition inside your own company is consistent. Turns out, whether something is a positive or negative, false or otherwise, depends entirely on what signal is being detected . What is the 'positive' signal?  For testing, what is a tes...

Quick update on my post from December 2022 . I have now deleted my Twitter/X account completely.  My main reason is that the brand is now toxic, and in the thrall of the alt-right. The site now openly supports far right fascist fantasists, promoted by uncontrolled automated bots spreading disinformation and right wing propaganda.  This is not something I want to be associated with. For anyone still on there, I would suggest it is not something you should be associated with either but it is your choice to make. So that's it. Done, and good riddance. For anyone who still wants to follow my microblogging ramblings, I am  on Mastodon as  @thirstybear@agilodon.social . 

 ...and they can generate bad code far faster than any human... In case you've missed it, there's is a new buzzword going around. Artificial Intelligence, aka "AI". If you believe the hype, these clever little learning programs are the solution to everything, from creating fine art to curing cancer, to writing software. They vacuum in existing data (the 'training set'), then use this knowledge dump to decide how to solve problems they are given. " It writes code? Great! ", I can hear you say. " I can use this to write my code faster! ". Certainly this is a comment I am hearing from managers, and also inexperienced developers. Not so fast, folks... Several experienced developers, including myself, have been poking around these code generation tools to see if they live up to the hype. I can assure you they don't. I am not an AI expert, but I strongly suspect that this is a function of how these tools work. Think about it - the learning ne...

Customer feedback. We all know we need it to make sure we are delivering the right thing. But sometimes we all have trouble engaging. The customer might be busy, or disinterested, or both. So here's a little tip that might just help. Like all the best stories, this happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....  We were working on a web front end and associated backend system for a client. But we were suffering from the "disengaged  customer" anti pattern. The customer would not commit to a web front end design, and help us design the look and feel needed for the application. We provided a few options over a couple of iterations to try and start the design conversation, but none connected despite our efforts. So we threw in a " smelly sock ". Something so stinky it guaranteed to get folks going " Ewwww! Get that out of here!". I seem to remember we disabled all CSS formatting.... Sure enough, we got a reaction during the regular show-and-tell s...

Bill Gates chose to open his 2013 TED talk with the words  "Everyone needs a coach" . Someone to provide feedback, and help them see how others see them. True enough - I have helped many people over the years understand themselves, how they interact with others, and how they can resolve inner conflicts and improve. For me, being an effective personal coach is one part of providing quality leadership to companies, and was one reason I went on the Barefoot coaching course a while back. But let's zoom out, and look at the next level in the software industry, specifically the delivery teams. These folks should be the powerhouse of any company, turning customer needs and ideas into reality that can be assessed for usefulness, and ultimately value (whatever that is - value can take many forms. Maybe a subject to explore another day).  However, in companies I work with I am seeing a problem with many of these powerhouses. Something that I suspect is rapidly becoming a  BIG prob...

Established companies today are facing many problems. Recovering from the Covid pandemic. Adapting (or otherwise) to remote working. Keeping up with younger, smaller, faster competitors that seem to be able to adapt much more readily to today’s VUCA environment. The list seems to be endless. To do this, many are changing the way they work - they are undergoing transformation . But…many have a problem… I give you the Pitts Power Paradox of Organisational Transformation! (Not exactly a snappy title, granted). Let me explain. Having been involved in many of these transformations where ‘traditional’ companies are attempting to change the way they do business, I am seeing a common pattern of failure. They ignore one fundamental issue that can be summed up in a single quote: “ All organisations are perfectly designed to get the results they get. ” - Arthur W. Jones Every organisation already has a system in place - a way of working - that gets precisely the existing results. To change the r...