Category: 2. Building Products
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Do You Need a Macbook to Learn to Code? (Coding vs. Systems Building)
Someone on Twitter asked this question and people loved to weigh in. Most answered: “No, just get an old $200 laptop.” While not wrong, this answer misses the point. Coding, here, apparently means reading and writing code. For that, indeed, any cheap computer will do. However, being able to read and write code does not…
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![Getting started with FLOSS governance and compliance in companies [OpenSym 2019]](https://dirkriehle.com/wp-content/uploads/featured/10191-starbucks-american-breakfast-300x150.jpg)
Getting started with FLOSS governance and compliance in companies [OpenSym 2019]
Abstract: Commercial use of open source software is on the rise as more companies realize the benefits of using FLOSS components in their products. At the same time, the ungoverned use of such components can result in legal, financial, intellectual property, and other risks. To mitigate these risks, companies must govern their use of open source…
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Agile Methods and the Magic Triangle
In software engineering, the magic triangle is a well-known concept to illustrate the relationship between scope, time, and cost of a software development project. Of the three (scope, time, cost), pick two, and the third will magically follow. (It is determined by the other two.) Scope means features (or delivered functionality), time means duration or…
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Open Source and Inner Source at IAV (in English)
The house magazine of IAV Automotive Engineering GmbH, a major supplier to the German automotive industry, which had interviewed Markus Blonn and me about open source and inner source at IAV, translated the magazine article into English, woohoo!
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The Importance of Product Management
Another role or function that is often confusing to Germany high-tech companies is product management. Startups tend to get it right these days, but large organizations often remain unfazed by a lack of strong product management. A product manager is responsible for defining the product innovation and associated business plan (strategic product management) as well…
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CTO vs. VP of Engineering
In tech companies, startups and large companies alike, of the many roles you need to define, two seem to be particularly confusing to German startups: The CTO and the VP of Engineering role. Many German startups I’ve seen simply have a person titled CTO who does both (and sometimes neither). These two roles are very…