Chapter One. Why Are We So Challenged?

There is no shortage of suggested approaches to developing software, and new ones will continue to appear, and then fall out of favor. Most improvement initiatives disappoint, and often the entire organization is not even working toward the same objectives.

Although a strong body of evidence indicates that there are better ways to develop software, adoption of these practices remains relatively low.

In this chapter, we walk through some of the ongoing attempts at resolving challenges in software development through engineering approaches. Then, we consider some of the human conditions that seem to stand in the way of progress. Finally, we look at why best practices are important, but insufficient as a solution. ...

Get Software Teamwork: Taking Ownership for Success now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.