[comp.software-eng] design dictators

davecb@yunexus.UUCP (David Collier-Brown) (05/18/89)

In article <1492@dsacg3.UUCP> vfm6066@dsacg3.dla.mil.UUCP (John A. Ebersold) writes:
| After reading that article last year and thinking about software that seems
| to have been done right, leading projects small and large (some of which
| have turned out better than others) I have reached the conclusion that every
| project needs a design (and perhaps requirements) dictator.  This person
| should be the best designer in the organization and is not necessarily the
| project leader but it would help if she/he were.

  Yes.
  I had the definite pleasure of working for Dick McMurray of Waterloo
some years ago, and found him to be a good example of a dictator in
the sense I hope you meant.
  We had some loooooong discussions (read arguments), but one person was
ultimately responsible, and that was Dickums.  So we never actually bogged
down.

  Mind you, I'm still doubtfull about that last if in read_file()...

--dave c-b

vfm6066@dsacg3.UUCP (John A. Ebersold) (05/19/89)

In article <1965@yunexus.UUCP> davecb@yunexus.UUCP (David Collier-Brown) writes:
>In article <1492@dsacg3.UUCP> vfm6066@dsacg3.dla.mil.UUCP (John A. Ebersold) writes:
... I have reached the conclusion that every
>| project needs a design (and perhaps requirements) dictator.
>  Yes.
>  I had the definite pleasure of working for Dick McMurray of Waterloo
>some years ago, and found him to be a good example of a dictator in
>the sense I hope you meant.
>  We had some loooooong discussions (read arguments), but one person was
>ultimately responsible, and that was Dickums.  So we never actually bogged
>down.
>

The description of Dick McMurray

sounds exactly like the

type of person

I am talking about.

Sorry about the format of this I had to fool the line counter.

-- 
John A. Ebersold  at  Defense Logistics Agency   osu-cis!dsacg1!dsacg3!vfm6066  
Unify Corporation     System Automation Center   Columbus, Ohio 1-614-238-5923
                                                                   AV 850-5923
Systems with poorly understood requirements cannot be developed in a crunch.