SOFTware is HARD

Let’s admit it: any form of system documentation is not up-to-date . The moment we start producing it, it is out-of-date. If that is the case, we should do with minimum (perhaps, lean) system documentation that is kept current. This begs the next question: How little is enough? If I imagine myself taking over a system from someone else, I believe the minimum/ lean system documentation should contain the following: Solution Design description of the high-level process flow description of the main modules/ services in the system what are the architecturally significant use cases or main functions of the system? what processes/ components make up the system? E.g. Are there web-based applications? Are there batch processes? what are the databases in use? What are the primary (entity) tables in use? what output is generated by the system? E.g. Are there printed output? Are there output for system integration? Are there messages (emails/ SMS) sent? what systems are integra...

I chanced upon an article on agile estimation that I read with interest in InfoQ. Many of the techniques are not new with the exception of the WAG generator. I find such estimation techniques to be very useful even if the subject matter is not software-related. Check out InfoQ: Estimation Toolkit

The mindmap review of this book. Flash version can be found here