Let us sing the praises of ruthless editing. Focus on what is important and delete the rest. This is a lesson I keep learning and re-learning. What is true of copywriting is also true of software code.
[Read more…] about Non-existent code doesn’t crash
14 ways to put your inbox on a diet
So much for the paperless office: either you’ve got an email inbox that each day brings fresh hell in the form of hundreds of messages, or you’ve got an in-tray brim-full of paper – or, if you’re particularly unlucky, you’ve got both.
[Read more…] about 14 ways to put your inbox on a diet
The Devil’s project management dictionary
Ambrose Bierce wrote his famous ‘Devil’s Dictionary’ after the American Civil War. It was as funny as it was cynical. I have written a Devil’s Marketing Dictionary but here is my Devil’s Project Management Dictionary. Enjoy!
(For more serious thoughts about project management, see: Eight expensive lessons in project management and NASA tips for project managers.
[Read more…] about The Devil’s project management dictionary
Mission control: 100 rules for NASA project management
NASA is undergoing some big changes and some some soul-searching right now. But it is an organisation that has achieved some of humanity’s most sublime and challenging goals. Therefore, any lessons we can learn about NASA project management are valuable.
Read more about NASA program management, the 7 habits of highly effective NASA project managers my visit to NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in: Yes, this is rocket science, leadership lessons from NASA!
[Read more…] about Mission control: 100 rules for NASA project management
How to Start a Computer Games Company
This article is about the hard reality of starting and running a computer games company. I started Intelligent Games (IG) in 1988 because I have always loved computer games and I hired my first employee and moved into real offices in 1993. I sold the company and left in 2000. In that time we released sixteen titles, which together sold over two million copies. The company grew to more than sixty-five people and worked with some of the biggest publishers in the business: EA Sports, Westwood Studios, LEGO and Hasbro. We got there without debt and without external investment. It is from this experience that I am writing this article – as they say in America: ‘your mileage may differ’.
[Read more…] about How to Start a Computer Games Company
How to write like a hacker
The world of the computer hacker can seem as alien as Sanskrit or quantum physics. But it’s worth trying to understand the geniuses behind the internet as well as the mindset of the minority of hackers who turn bad. Who knows, perhaps you’ll discover your inner geek?
[Read more…] about How to write like a hacker