or, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Fear and Loathing at a Public Library Reference Desk



NELA-ITS Spring Program 2007 – Elizabeth Thomsen

   June 6th, 2007

Elizabeth Thomsen speakingElizabeth Thomsen, NOBLE
Elizabeth energetically spoke on the world of software in general: how it is developed, how it should be viewed, and what is necessary to making good software:

  • Her basic message: Software is easy!
  • Software should be designed to be used by people. Therefore, any shortcomings of the software is the fault of the programmers, and users can't be blamed for errors
  • Communication is vital to development, both amongst programmers and between programmers and users; users should be seen as co-developers
  • Design is important, as poor design can hide even the best features
  • A few quotes from Brook's Law to underscore pitfalls with software development:
    • "Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later"
    • "Childbirth takes nine months no matter how many women are assigned to the task"

   [view Elizabeth's presentation]

Speakers

elizabeth thomsen, libraries, library, nela, nela-its, open source




Tags: , , , , , , ,


Comments are closed.