"Glitch" Book Tour First Stop: Kronos

Next week, I'll be meeting with the worldwide developer team from Kronos as part of their annual planning strategy.  As you may know, Kronos has been around for more than 30 years dominating the market for workforce management technology and solutions.  More than half of the Fortune 1000 rely on Kronos to help manage their workforce -- which just happens to be any company's most valuable, strategic and expensive asset.   

The focus of next week's conversation is going to be about best practices in improving software development processes. Now you can probably find a track at most major developer conferences that talk about this very same topic -- which is why I'm aiming to make this presentation different so that it really does resonate with the 50 developers in the room.

Instead of talking about Java compilers or COBOL (aka the language that just won't die), what really struck me as I was conducting research for the "Glitch" book was the importance of:

    •    Putting the end results of software code into real world context for developers
    •    Elevating the role of developers within the organization

When you realize just how connected we are as a society and look under the hood at the massive amounts of software code that are required to make this happen, you develop a new found respect for the role of the software developer.  Without them, our planes wouldn't fly straight, our banks wouldn't track our money, and heck, we wouldn't be able to replay the latest YouTube viral campaign.  

Of course, for every five victories in the IT industry, we come across a headline about a glitch such as the one that accidentally sent drones into restricted air space over Washington, DC or customers getting locked out of their online banking accounts. While glitches are inevitable and vary in severity, many of them can be headed off before they get too far if proper IT governance processes are in place.

Yet to truly make a difference in the existing practices and methodologies through IT governance requires a combination of:

    •    Senior executive support that emphasizes the importance of quality software development.  
    •    Real world examples of what can go awry from a consumer perspective due to faulty software. Illustrating the value of the software code once it becomes part of a product that reaches real people can make a significant impact on the way that software developers view their roles.
    •    Explanation of the tangible costs associated with fixing the mistake after the fact.  In some companies, the cost can be as much as 2.5 times higher than if the bad code was caught while still in production. When you put this data point into real world terms such as profits and bonuses, it further underscores the importance of developing higher quality software.


Now this may be a good start to next week's conversation but more importantly is to leave more than enough room to hear from the developers.  In most companies, senior management may not be aware of the obstacles that are getting in the way and preventing the company from developing the best products possible.  

If you're a developer reading this, what is it about your job that you love? Hate? Wish your boss knew but can't quite address with him/her?  I suspect that many of these issues are similar to those being faced by developers in other organizations.  I'd love to hear from the developer community on this topic as I plan for next week's presentation.  Drop me a line at jeff@weblayers.com