Microsoft Keynote: How To Design Frustrating Products
I really want to put the Science back in to Computer Science, and am an avid member of the ACM and IEEE, although the lines between those are starting to blur. I’ve found that their magazine and website, ACMQueue, is an amazing attempt at putting academics back in to the marketing and Forrester “research” laden stuff that we are forced to contend with in this industry (their latest cover article, API Design Matters, is a good read but not yet up on the site).
A fresh new issue I got to read today, however, made me do a spit-take:
There is a “Better Software Conference and Expo” that is going to be occurring between June 18 - 21st 2007 at Las Vegas. Microsoft, a keynote speaker at the event, apparently hoping that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, will be presenting this topic to attendees and wondering why they can’t stop giggling in the audience (click on image to the left and look to the bottom keynotes)
June 19th, 2007 at 9:01 am
June 24th, 2007 at 11:03 am
I receive the “Better Software” magazine every month or so and I can assure you that this magazine and probably any expos that it sponsors have nothing to do with science. Just check out the backgrounds of all the people that have articles in that magazine and the articles they have. Nothing is substantial science and most of them have very little to zero background in software testing or even software development. They are mostly PR/marketers or business people trying to promote their companies or being hired by the magazine to fill out their empty page space.
I challenge you to point me to one article in that magazine that has something about a new innovation in software testing…
We definietly need more science in software testing but we need someone to come out and innovate a bit there. Not just give us more guidelines on how to manage processes and bombard us with BS from people that have not clue about what they are talking about. I once read an article in that magazine written by a school teacher. Don’t get me wrong, I have full respect to school teachers and think very highly of them but is software testing their arena?