So, I started doing a little brainstorming about what I feel are the qualities of a successful software development project.

Qualities of a successful software development project:

1. Solves the actual business problem.
2. Reliably and repeatedly solves that business problem.
3. Is elegant in its design and delivery.
4. Was delivered on-time and on-budget, where those constraints were reasonable to begin with.
5. Follows common, logical design practices where those practices are appropriate for the scope of the application.
6. Has a level of code documentation appropriate for the scope of the application.
7. Has user guidance appropriate for the level of end user.
8. Was developed in a manner visible to the interested parties.
9. Does not result in a high percentage of the team departing the company and/or project.
10. Has high acceptance or buy in from end users.

Many of these items correlate. For example, number 8 (high visibility) is almost always found in projects that achieve number 10 (high acceptance), but either one could occur without achieving the other.

So, to ask the silly question, how often do you see these things in your projects? Did I miss any or are there any you disagree with?

I wonder how many blogs only make it this far. A first post and then an endless sea of nothing. It's kind of sad to think of all those one-post blogs floating around cyberspace with nothing better to do than tell the world about hobbies, family events, and technologies long forgotten. I'm sure they all started with their hearts in the right place, but the hustle and bustle of real life makes anything other than a cursory word about our comings and goings a chore in itself. I hope this blog won't go that route.

I want to write about a few things that I care about: Software development, for one (and not necessarily about technology - I don't care so much for people who blog endlessly about how they wrote code to do this or that - I want to write about development methodology, habits, and practices on being a better developer).I'm sure I'll also write an occasional piece on some of my many, varied hobbies (which seem to change with the seasons). And sometimes I just want to rant about life.

I also want to force myself to write on a regular basis; to stay in the habit and practice.

We'll see where this goes. Or not.