At times, developing software looks a lot like herding cats. Every time you turn around one of them is wandering off, and the problems you run into all have teeth, claws, and attitude. This class will take the first shot at helping you to be a better cat herder. We’ll start off with a whirlwind overview of software development practices in the 21st century. Then we will zoom in on four of the topics that offer you an opportunity to start improving your products – four areas where you can get a good return from small investments in processes and practices:
- Object-Oriented (OO) Design and Programming – what it is and why you care
- UI Design – how you can design a user (friendly) interface
- Data Storage – how to design a better data storage model with indexes
- Mentoring and Training – how to grow a better software development team
This class will only occasionally depend on the BBj language. The concepts we cover are applicable to any software development project in almost any language.
