Main
The Art of ‘Ware (V 2.0, maxim 2:1): budgeting for IT staff
[From The Art of ‘Ware (Version 2.0) by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming), Chapter 2, “Supporting Development”] A parable in the Bible talks about counting the cost of something before you start to build. That truth is ancient and obvious, yet I’ve seen too many companies ignore it. Once you know what you want to do, […]
The decline in computer science students (part 1)
When I gradated with my BS in computer science from Brigham Young University in 1978, we had roughly 120 undergraduate students in the CS program. When I came back to teach in 1985 — just seven years later — there were over 1,000 undergraduate students in the program, and you actually had to apply to […]
The Art of ‘Ware (V 2.0, maxim 1:4): misdirection and stealth
[From The Art of ‘Ware (Version 2.0) by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming), Chapter 1, “Starting Out”] Successful product development required stealth and misdirection. Hide your strengths at first and appear to be weak; when actively developing, show no signs. Any concept, once viewed, can be imitated, in appearance if not in fact. There is a […]
The Art of ‘Ware (V 2.0, maxim 1:3): preparing a company for success
[From The Art of ‘Ware (Version 2.0) by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming), Chapter 1, “Starting Out”] By answering these seven questions, you can judge ahead of time how well the company will succeed: Does the board of directors have Tao?1 The common image is that the directors are only interested in the bottom line. But […]
The Art of ‘Ware (V 2.0, maxim 1:1): product development
[From The Art of ‘Ware (Version 2.0) by Bruce F. Webster (forthcoming), Chapter 1, “Starting Out”] Product development is vital to the company: it defines the landscape of success and failure, the road to growth or collapse. It must be thoroughly studied.1 Every company has a product: that which it produces, sells, or exchanges. The […]