People in the software industry are constantly talking about productivity. We use languages that will make our developers more productive. We use techniques, such as agile, which are supposed to deliver more value in less time. Some companies rank and pay developers based on their productivity — or outsource overseas because those developers are seen as more productive. But just what does “productive” mean, and how do we measure it? In this Webinar (without video, but with slides), Steve McConnell discusses this issue, and what it means for the software industry.
Anyone who watches video online (which is just about everyone) knows that sometimes, we need to wait for the video to buffer — that is, to download sufficiently into memory so that we can watch the video, or at least part of it. But it turns out that buffering isn’t a necessary evil; rather, it is the result of engineering and business decisions that Fredy Kuenzler believes are bad for end users, and end up costing everyone more than necessary. In this talk, we learn about the sources of buffering, the ways in which it causes problems, and some of the reasons why we pay so much for bandwidth.
Many developers are in business for themselves, working as consultants. But many developers fail to think about things in business terms; it’s easier and more convenient to think in terms of code and programming, rather than sales, marketing, and the bottom line. In this talk, Patrick McKenzie draw upon his success in business — as a consultant and the owner of several SaaS applications — and tells developers how to think from a business perspective, rather than a programming perspective. This switch means that you’ll make more money, work less, and get to work on more interesting and rewarding projects.