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Computer Module Project Memo BY AMY PONDOLFINO IDT 507 As a programmer, I’ve often joked that users don’t know what they want, but they do know what they don’t want after you give it to them. No matter how experienced, they are usually not good at writing software specifications. Yet, when the user sits down and interacts intuitively with the software, a world of insight is gained. In my podcast, I lightly explore the history of user testing in software development, and the feedback loop between end-users and developers. Agile project management, and the advantages it affords, are compared in brief to Waterfall management techniques. If you haven't already followed the links at the top of this page, you can listen to the podcast on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-929168975/software-development-and-user-tester-programmers Agile project management starts with the assumption that not everything about the final product is known and that requirements will change. This tec...

The following are references and resources for my podcast, as discussed in my 30 March 2017 post.   References Agile Manifesto (2001). Manifesto for Agile Software Development. Retrieved from http://agilemanifesto.org CHANDLER, AD; CORTADA, JW. A nation transformed by information: how information has shaped the United States from Colonial times to the present. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Doug Engelbart Institute (2017). Highlights of the 1968 "Mother of All Demos". Retrieved from  http://dougengelbart.org/events/1968-demo-highlights.html GLEICK, JAMES, The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood. New York: Pantheon Books, 2001. LEVY, DM; OZEKI, RL; CORRIGAN, O. Scrolling forward: making sense of documents in the digital age. New York: Arcade Publishing, 2016. Luo, L. Software Testing Techniques: Technology Maturation and Research Strategies. Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University. Wikipedia (2017). Agile Software Development. Retrieved from https...

The following is the script for my podcast, which is discussed in my 30 March 2017 post. (music) (Narrator)  The hottest approach to software design today is called Agile software development. There are several competing brands. I, myself, am a Certified Scrum Master – a servant leader of a cross-functional development team. At its simplest, all Agile design methods require multiple 2- to 4-week development iterations during which software is written and tested. Ideally, developers will quickly know whether their work meets the needs of end users, because software users are key members of any Agile team. The aspect of Agile development I want to focus on today is that tight feedback loop between end-user and software developer. It’s a key part of any Agile toolset, but it didn’t start with Agile development and probably should have been recognized as a best practice long ago. Wikipedia lists 13 different Agile software development frameworks. [Wikipedia] (various voices)...