Re: Is a ChangeLog file realistic if /lots/ of developers adding /lots/ of changes?

[Thien-Thi Nguyen]

   From: address@hidden
   Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 13:57:26 -0700

   This overhead will take work and commitment from people.  How much
   improvement can this deliver?? 10%? 50%? 500%?

the way to look at it is that you WANT work and commitment from people,
but you want the right kind of work and commitment.  the improvement
cannot be measured simply w/ a number, so if you are looking for that
kind of change, this advice is not for you.

   Is this advice meant only for large (>10? >100?) development groups???

it's meant for any size group that wants to work smarter and that has
the desire and discipline to try that method.  of course, you have to
tweak the method as you scale up.  for a very large group, feel free
hire a management consultant (who will give you pretty much the same
advice but w/ glossy brochures ;-).

   The reason I am asking is that I usually work on projects with <10
   developers.  Things usually get done somehow regardless.

well, the art of manglement is to finesse the "somehow" into "our how"
where "our" is customized to the particular group's dynamics, tight in
the right places, and slackful in the right places.  that's a lot of
weasel words, you are sure to notice.  the activity i suggested falls
into the general class of "reflective activity" which is, at its core, a
force that works to oppose weasling.  that's why all art is ironic, btw.

   (I got a bad deal when I went crazy about OOP and decided
   to do everything object oriented only to discover that small
   projects don't necessarily benefit from OOP.  Sometimes
   OOP can even *slow down* a little project.  I hope this
   ChangeLog business is not another "OOP")

it all depends on the people who have to carry it out.  good luck!

thi