Why Good Software Goes Bad
summary
Software fails a lot and the useful claim is that failure tracks predictable cultural/process patterns not vague causes: organizations fall into 85% at lowest level, 14% routine, 1% steering and only steering uses cybernetic feedback to measure, predict and adjust. The concrete tools and practices named are visible work (GitHub pull requests), early small corrections, and selection heuristics — e.g. prioritize risky bugs first — plus models (GPS analogy) to turn observations into measurable control so the system actually improves.
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chapters (8)
- 0:00Introduction and definitions
- 1:53Software process patterns
- 4:27Variable and routine patterns
- 8:30Management myths and magic
- 11:48The steering pattern
- 15:27Cybernetic control systems
- 21:01Dealing with nonlinear systems
- 28:09Using models to guide success
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