Steve McConnell Quotes

#1. If the derived class isn't going to adhere completely to the same interface contract defined by the base class, inheritance is not the right implementation technique. Consider containment or making a change further up the inheritance hierarchy.

Steve McConnell

#2. Good code is its own best documentation. As you're about to add a comment, ask yourself, "How can I improve the code so that this comment isn't needed?" Improve the code and then document it to make it even clearer.

Steve McConnell

#3. You can do anything with stacks and iteration that you can do with recursion.

Steve McConnell

#4. There are no secrets on an successful software project. Both good and bad news must be able to move up and down the ptoject hierarchy without restriction.

Steve McConnell

#5. In software, the chain isn't as strong as its weakest link; it's as weak as all the weak links multiplied together.

Steve McConnell

#6. The primary purpose of software estimation is not to predict a project's outcome; it is to determine whether a project's targets are realistic enough to allow the project to be controlled to meet them.

Steve McConnell

#7. Mature testing organizations tend to have five dirty tests for every clean test.

Steve McConnell

#8. Heuristic is an algorithm in a clown suit. It's less predictable, it's more fun, and it comes without a 30-day, money-back guarantee.

Steve McConnell

#9. Good visual layout shows the logical structure of a program.

Steve McConnell

#10. developers insert an average of 1 to 3 defects per hour into their designs and 5 to 8 defects per hour into code

Steve McConnell

#11. the road to programming hell is paved with global variables,

Steve McConnell

#12. It's hard enough to find an error in your code when you're looking for it; it's even harder when you've assumed your code is error-free.

Steve McConnell

#13. Programming requires more concentration than other activities. It's the reason programmers get upset about 'quick interruptions' - such interruptions are tantamount to asking a juggler to keep three balls in the air and hold your groceries at the same time.

Steve McConnell

#14. The only way to reduce the variability in the estimate is to reduce the variability in the project.

Steve McConnell

#15. defect corrections have more than a 50 percent chance of being wrong the first time

Steve McConnell

#16. Copy and paste is a design error

Steve McConnell

#17. Classes and routines are first and foremost intellectual tools for reducing complexity. If they're not making your job simpler, they're not doing their jobs.

Steve McConnell

#18. in the vast majority of systems, efficiency isn't critical.

Steve McConnell

#19. Eighty percent of the errors are found in 20 percent of a project's classes or routines

Steve McConnell

#20. Study after study has shown that motivation probably has a larger effect on productivity and quality than any other factor

Steve McConnell

#21. A typical software project can present more opportunities to learn from mistakes than some people get in a lifetime.

Steve McConnell

#22. Be sure that the names you choose favor read-time convenience over write-time convenience.

Steve McConnell

#23. It's OK to figure out murder mysteries, but you shouldn't need to figure out code. You should be able to read it.

Steve McConnell

#24. 95% on content and the computer language remains the same.

Steve McConnell

#25. You save time when you don't need to have an awards ceremony every time a C statement does what it's supposed to. Moreover,

Steve McConnell

#26. Reduce complexity. The single most important reason to create a routine is to reduce a program's complexity. Create a routine to hide information so that you won't need to think about it.

Steve McConnell

#27. The default movement on a software project should be in the direction of taking elements of the software away to make it simpler rather than adding elements to make it more complex.

Steve McConnell

#28. Spend your time on the 20 percent of the refactorings that provide 80 percent of the benefit.

Steve McConnell

#29. it's done by creating 25 times as many dirty tests

Steve McConnell

#30. By far the most common project risks in software development are poor requirements and poor project planning, thus preparation tends to focus on improving requirements and project plans.

Steve McConnell

#31. Engineering is the application of scientific principles toward practical ends. If the engineering isn't practical, it's bad engineering.

Steve McConnell

#32. Immature testing organizations tend to have about five clean tests for every dirty test.

Steve McConnell

#33. It's better to wait for a productive programmer to become available than it is to wait for the first available programmer to become productive.

Steve McConnell

#34. A brute force solution that works is better than an elegant solution that doesn't work.

Steve McConnell

#35. The trouble with quick and dirty is that dirty remains long after quick has been forgotten.

Steve McConnell

#36. Motivation is undoubtedly the single greatest influence on how well people perform. Most productivity studies have found that motivation has a stronger influence on productivity than any other factor.

Steve McConnell

#37. A blanket attempt to avoid mistakes is the biggest mistake of all.

Steve McConnell

#38. The job of the average manager requires a shift in focus every few minutes. The job of the average software developer requires that the developer not shift focus more often than every few hours.

Steve McConnell

#39. Be critical of classes that contain more than about seven data members. The

Steve McConnell

#40. Trying to apply formal methods to all software projects is just as bad as trying to apply code-and-fix development to all projects.

Steve McConnell

#41. A good estimate is an estimate that provides a clear enough view of the project reality to allow the project leadership to make good decisions about how to control the project to hit its targets.

Steve McConnell

#42. Favor read-time convenience to write-time convenience. Code

Steve McConnell

#43. 11 years is a long time in this industry.

Steve McConnell

#44. Hurrying to solve a problem is one of the most time-ineffective things you can do.

Steve McConnell

#45. complicated code is a sign that you don't understand your program well enough to make it simple.

Steve McConnell

#46. once gotos are introduced, they spread through the code like termites through a rotting house.

Steve McConnell

#47. developer testing should probably take 8 to 25 percent of the total project time.

Steve McConnell

#48. Choose your battles. If rapid development is truly top priority, don't shackle your developers by insisting on too many priorities at once.

Steve McConnell

#49. Software projects fail for one of two general reasons: the project team lacks the knowledge to conduct a software project successfully, or the project team lacks the resolve to conduct a project effectively.

Steve McConnell

#50. In my experience, you either have encapsulation and abstraction or you have neither. There is no middle ground.

Steve McConnell

#51. Even when you have skilled, motivated, hard-working people, the wrong team structure can undercut their efforts instead of catapulting them to success. A poor team structure can increase development time, reduce quality, damage morale, increase turnover, and ultimately lead to project cancellation.

Steve McConnell