Comments on: Adequacy is Inadequate

By: Why I Write Tests - Push cx

Why I Write Tests - Push cx — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:22:05 +0000

[...] isn’t everything, and I’ve talked about its limits. But it’s saved my bacon often enough that I feel [...]

By: Reg Braithwaite

Reg Braithwaite — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 20:03:51 +0000

perhaps we need a Michellin guide for development companies…? Interestingly, jobs.joelonsoftware.com has a feature where companies can brag about their "Joel Test" score. So if you don't want to work for a three out of twelve... You don't have to.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 18:58:31 +0000

I think it’s clearly not enough, but rather a baseline. Reg’s chef analogy is an adequate one (though I wouldn’t take it too far) in that simply because a chef has their papers doesn’t mean they’re fit to work in a 5-star restaurant or mean you want them at yours.

It does mean they weren’t an out-of-work actor yesteday who picked up a cookbook yesteday and baked themselves some muffins before coming by to waste your time interviewing to be sous chef (yeah web “developers”, I’m looking at you).

What’s “enough” is then defined by us, our needs, and our tolerances.

Hmm, perhaps we need a Michellin guide for development companies…?

By: Reg Braithwaite

Reg Braithwaite — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 16:55:34 +0000

“A certification based on testing is a great idea and I’d hit the books to earn it. I just don’t think it’s enough.”

Well, it wouldn’t be enough for me, so we are probably in violent agreement! But if we are talking about certification, we are talking about dictating to business who they can hire and who they cannot hire.

I don’t want to eat at McDonald’s, and I don’t want to work there. But I don’t want to legislate them out of business either: I just want to be sure that if I buy some fries for my son from time to time, he won’t get sick.

I personally have a standard for software I produce. It goes beyond quality. But that’s one of my personal values, and I am loathe to force it on someone else.

That being said, if you give me the legislative hammer, a lot of people who write unsafe, buggy crap are going to feel like nails.