APPropriate Behaviour
The book about all the things software writers do that aren't writing software.
FSF
Category Archives: Responsibility
On association
My research touches on the professionalisation (or otherwise) of software engineering, and particularly the association (or not) of software engineers with a professional body, or with each other (or not) through a professional body. So what’s that about? In Engagement … Continue reading
The missing principle in agile software development
The biggest missing feature in the manifesto for agile software development and the principles behind it is anyone other than the makers and their customer. We get autonomous, self-organising delivery teams but without the sense of responsibility to a broader … Continue reading
Posted in agile, Responsibility
Leave a comment
More on freedom and licensing
Last month, I asked whether Freedom Zero is such a great idea, whether it’s OK to limit the freedom to use the software for any purpose if you dislike the purpose to which you believe someone will put it. I … Continue reading
Posted in Business, freesoftware, Responsibility
Leave a comment
Is Freedom Zero such a hot idea?
I’ve been thinking lately that if we don’t want to work on the databases that extremist governments use to detain immigrants they have separated from their children, or on the operating systems that well-equipped militaries used to rain autonomous death … Continue reading
Posted in Responsibility
5 Comments
I frequently see posts/articles/screeds asking why people don’t contribute to open source. If it’s important that recipients of open source software contribute upstream, and you are angry when they don’t, why use licences like MIT, Apache, GPL or BSD that … Continue reading
Stop ignoring the world
Long term readers will have noticed, and everybody else is about to be told, that this blog has had posts in the Responsibility category since 2010. I’m not rigorous in my use of WordPress categories, but it’s not much of … Continue reading
Posted in Responsibility
Leave a comment
My platform is no platform
I currently use three of the desktop computing platforms (Windows, macOS and GNU/Linux) and one of the mobile computing platforms (Samsung-flavoured Android); I currently get paid to develop software for “the web”, an amorphous non-platform that acts in many ways … Continue reading
Posted in Responsibility
Leave a comment
This is fine
The BBC micro:bit is a tool for introducing young people to programming. It’s a little embedded computer with a few inputs and a matrix of LEDs for output, as well as some control lines. In principle it’s quite easy to … Continue reading
Posted in edjercashun, Responsibility
Leave a comment
I fix things for a living
Previously, on SICPers, I wrote that I make mistakes for a living. But making mistakes is no good if nobody’s cleaning up after them, so I also fix things. Whatever gets in my team’s way, it’s my responsibility as their … Continue reading
Posted in Responsibility
Leave a comment
No, you can’t ignore politics
I wrote, a couple of years ago, about the fact that you can’t ignore ethics in software engineering. Your software is built for a reason, it’s used for a reason, you need to be aware of those reasons and whether … Continue reading
Posted in economics, Responsibility
Leave a comment
