David @ Tokyo

I have been ultra busy for the past couple of weeks.

At work we have been testing some software from our outsourcing team. There were a lot of problems with changes to requirements documentation during the construction phase, so it was to be expected, but to be honest we are really totally in the dark as to the type of testing done on the software before we get it.

We have test scripts to step our way through during testing, but without even using them - just reading through the requirements documentation - we have found quite a few problems, so it looks like it'll be tough to keep this one on schedule.

Outsourcing does have it's benefits, but it certainly has a lot of draw backs too. Ultimately no matter how much documentation you have, the most efficient way of achieving the right thing surely has to be to have the people who gather the requirements actually build the system as well - or at minimum one of the requirements people. Understanding goes deeper than you can write down in a 250 page document.

I'm guessing that approaches to outsourcing will probably change quite a bit in the next couple of years, as businesses find out more about the pitfalls involved.

At any rate, I have little doubt that my job is safe (^_^)

So because of all this, I've been doing pretty long hours - 9:00 to 23:45 type of stuff, trying to find and report as many bugs as possible within our already tight schedule.

And that's another problem. Business wants a quality system on a pretty tight schedule. But no one really knows how long it will take to build a system that meets requirements. And for some reason, the schedules are always too tight :-)

I had better go read JoelOnSoftware or something.

But anyway! We have just hit Golden Week. We had Friday off, and now Tuesday Wednesday, and Thursday (unless my boss decides we should do some more work - but I think we all need the holiday).
I'll play some tennis, and maybe start looking for a new apartment. I have to renew at the end of July, and rather than do that it might be a good opportunity to find a more exciting place to live. It's nice right next to the park, but there's not much excitement around here, and the best places are on the other side of Tokyo...