I've been reluctant to start a blog because the things I would blog about are just not the things that I would normally write about. Sometimes I joke that I have a long attention span. Most people's issue is that they can't focus for a long time; they're easily distracted and can't complete large tasks. That isn't my issue. My issue is not being able to focus for a short time. Sometimes I really need to dive deep and simply can't bring myself to work on the non-deep tasks. If the task is three months long and really meaty, I can do it. If it's 15 minutes long and superficial, I can't even start it. Thus the joke about the a long attention span.
Blogging seems to me to be quintessentially a short attention span task. That's not the greatest match for my interest in software development topics. But it isn't a bad match for my interest in recreational topics. And I think I can bring myself to focus on software development in bite-size chunks, at least from time to time. Consequently I've set up two blogs, one for software development and one for everything else. This blog, 10x Software Development, will focus on leading software development practices. My other blog, Waxing Philosophical, will focus on more personal topics.
Cheers,
Steve McConnell
About Steve McConnell
Steve McConnell is CEO and Chief Software Engineer at Construx Software where he writes books and articles, teaches classes, and oversees Construx’s software development practices. Steve is the author of Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art (2006), Code Complete (1993, 2004), Rapid Development (1996), Software Project Survival Guide (1998), and Professional Software Development (2004). His first two books won Software Development magazine's Jolt Excellence award for best programming books of their years.
Steve has worked in the desktop software industry since 1984 and has expertise in rapid development methodologies, project estimation, software construction practices, and third-party contract management. In 1998, readers of Software Development magazine named Steve one of the three most influential people in the software industry along with Bill Gates and Linus Torvalds. Steve was Editor in Chief of IEEE Software magazine from 1998-2002.
Steve is on the Panel of Experts that advises the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK) project and was Chair of the IEEE Computer Society’s Professional Practices Committee. Steve earned a Bachelor’s degree from Whitman College and a Master’s degree in software engineering from Seattle University. Read more about Steve at www.stevemcconnell.com.