Maybe to a fault, I tend to think that tools play a big role in the success of a software development projects. The benefits can largely be summarized under the following categories:
The second one might be more subtle and harder to explain. Software development beyond a certain scale and complexity requires discipline and most likely collaboration. There are some rules, we all know should be followed, but sometimes laziness or expedience is getting the better of us. Good tools should prevent us from us from cheating, reduce temptation to cut corners by make it easier to follow the rules than not to or mercilessly expose us if we do break the rules. For example only part of the reason for having an automated build system is to let everybody know when the build is broken, to avoid wasting time working off a broken baseline, the other part is to shame people who do break the build so that it happens less frequently.
The value of tools which provide leverage and increase our individual productivity is easy to see, the value of tools which encourage us to play by the rules may be equally important but depend on what we value as the right thing to do both as individuals and and as a team.Their effectiveness depends on how well in tune they are with the processes and software development culture of a particular team.
- leverage or force multiplication
- positive reinforcement or behavioral modification
cat > a.out
The second one might be more subtle and harder to explain. Software development beyond a certain scale and complexity requires discipline and most likely collaboration. There are some rules, we all know should be followed, but sometimes laziness or expedience is getting the better of us. Good tools should prevent us from us from cheating, reduce temptation to cut corners by make it easier to follow the rules than not to or mercilessly expose us if we do break the rules. For example only part of the reason for having an automated build system is to let everybody know when the build is broken, to avoid wasting time working off a broken baseline, the other part is to shame people who do break the build so that it happens less frequently.
The value of tools which provide leverage and increase our individual productivity is easy to see, the value of tools which encourage us to play by the rules may be equally important but depend on what we value as the right thing to do both as individuals and and as a team.Their effectiveness depends on how well in tune they are with the processes and software development culture of a particular team.