(2003-03-07) Extremely Successful Software

Kenneth Dickey on and "Extremely Successful" software project. Used Extreme Programming and Common Lisp and CORBA. What gives a best match implementation technology? In our case it was not being up to date. Using the latest technology typically means that engineering effort is spent on tracking technology as it evolves. It also implies a higher learning cost than picking up training materials, well developed practices, and people who already know the technology. It makes sense to do this in areas where the newest technologies give Competitive Advantage in your company's value added area. In our case, we did not see value compelling enough to overcome the costs... You have to be able to update the code on a running server. If you can afford to fail, you can implement the server with any technology. We can't afford to fail... Interestingly, when we checked we found that a number of Fortune 1000 companies were using Lisp in critical applications such as on-line banking and AirLine reservation systems.