Welcome to my new blog. I'll kick it off with a mention of the XP SoCal group, which is focused on Extreme Programming and other agile develeopment methodologies. The group features regular get-togethers (informal lunch gatherings) and more formal but irregular evening meetings whenever there is a particular topic of interest and a willing speaker.
We had a good lunch in Tustin today, even if there were only 3 of us there. Jeff M. gave me an interesting perspective on cranking out software. He says that the common analogy that compares writing software to producing physical goods is false, if you assume that software coders are the equivalent of factory workers. In our world, it's the compiler and linker that equate to the factory workers. The work product of a coder, therefore, is not a "software product" but rather the blueprint for one. It's this common under-valuation of the role of a coder that causes managers to treat programmers as "plug-and-play" resources. It's also the reason why outsourcing program development to India fails so miserably most of the time.