At 9:08pm on April 13 1970, astronaut James A. Lovell Jr, commander of Apollo 13, spoke the now famous words, “Houston, we have a problem.” If Lee Harvey Oswald hadn’t shot President John F. Kennedy in Dallas on November 22 1963, Lovell would have informed Cambridge, Massachusetts, rather than Houston, Texas, of his “problem”.

After starting the race to put a man on the moon, Kennedy’s administration decided to build NASA’s headquarters in the President’s home state, Massachusetts, and earmarked Kendall Square – the area surrounding MIT – as the location.   This was changed after Kennedy’s assassination when the new President, Lyndon Johnson, decided to rather locate it in his own home state, Texas.

As they say: “History is just a long sequence of coincidences”.

So … if Oswald hadn’t killed Kennedy, I probably wouldn’t be sitting in the lounge of The Kendall Hotel at this moment.

Because it never became home to America’s space programme, the Kendall Square area of Cambridge, Mass., had an opportunity to follow a very different trajectory. It is now one of the world’s most concentrated areas for research-intensive technology businesses and startups. Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and biotech giants Novartis and Pfizer are all in Kendall Square. The district’s website currently lists 62 biotech/life sciences and 61 IT/high tech companies as having offices in Kendall Square.

My interest in this area stems from what it was like 30 years ago. Visitors to MIT in the 1980’s were advised to be careful about entering the area north of the campus, around the Kendall Square T-Station. It was a desolate landscape filled with old warehouses and dark corners. No-one would want to be walking alone in Kendall Square at night.

Until very recently visitors to Wits University were given the same sort of advice about entering Braamfontein.

I guess you can now see where this is going! How did Kendall Square – the decayed urban district of the 1980’s – become the prized real estate and high tech centre that it is today? What role did MIT play in its transition? Can Braamfontein undergo a similar transformation? What can Wits do to make this happen?

In my search for answers to some of these questions I have come to visit MIT and Kendall Square.

It’s hard to see it now, but in the 1970’s MIT and its neighbourhood would have been at opposite ends of the spectrum. On the one hand there was the world’s top engineering university operating on its affluent, spacious and handsome campus on the banks of the Charles River. On the other hand we had a blighted, neglected and ugly inner-city district.  However, there was something that Kendall Square had that MIT (or some of the Faculty members at MIT) needed – cheap and conveniently located space!

The history of Kendall Square, as it is today, goes back to 1978 when Dr Phillip Sharp and some of his research collaborators decided to commercialise some of their research by setting up a company.  They moved into an old warehouse in Kendall Square. The company they founded – Biogen  (now called Biogen Idec www.biogenidec.com) became the first biotechnology company in the world.

Other start-up companies followed creating a rich and innovative environment.

As this happened technology companies from other parts of the USA and the world saw the advantage of entering this ecosystem, where ideas and skills were concentrated in growing numbers.

The transformation of Kendall Square couldn’t have happened without MIT. At the same time MIT has benefited in a number of ways. Not least of these is that the University owns a great deal of property in the Square. I was told that income generated from its property portfolio is now a significant contributor to MIT’s annual budget.

The other huge beneficiary of the development of Kendall Square has been the City of Cambridge that derives substantial tax revenue and reflected glory from the development of the district.

And as for the lessons I’ve learned: Wits and Braamfontein are now at the same stage of their relationship that MIT and Kendall Square were at in the late 1970’s. With a little foresight and strategic engagement we could see the same dramatic transformation in central Johannesburg. Wits and the City of Johannesburg owe it to our future to ensure that this happens.

An interesting aside: Dr Phillip Sharp went on to win the 1993 Nobel Prize for Medicine.

There is a great 10 minute video on the relationship between MIT and Kendall Square at http://mit.tv/XmzU6w

Software Methods are like a fashion show

Software Engineer #1:  What methodology are you using these days?

Software Engineer #2:  We’re into Lean in a big way …. with a few XP practices thrown into the mix. We were very into Scrum last year, but then I read this amazing book and really got hooked on Lean.

SE #1: I remember the arguments we used to have a few years ago. You tried to convince me that Agile was a recipe for disaster. I think you were very keen on RUP at the time.

SE #2: That’s right. I was very young and immature then. I’ve got a much deeper understanding now of how software development really works, and I have absolutely no doubt that Lean and Kanban have all the answers for me.

Does this conversation sound familiar to you?  Ivar Jacobson, one of the world’s leading software engineering practices and methods gurus, has said that software development looks like a fashion industry.  It’s not that most of the methodologies we’ve seen coming and going over the past few decades are bad. They all have very sound practices and advice that can be incredibly useful to software engineers.

Jacobson, and several other prominent experts believe that Software Engineering (SE) is “gravely hampered today by immature practices”. They list some specific problems as:

• The lack of a sound, widely accepted theoretical basis.
• The huge number of methods and method variants, with differences little understood and artificially magnified.
• The lack of credible experimental evaluation and validation.
• The split between industry practice and academic research.

With this in mind Jacobson, Bertrand Meyer (famous for the OO language Eiffel and the concept of “design-by-contract”) and Richard Soley (CEO of the Object Management Group (OMG) ) established an initiative in September 2009 called “SEMAT”( = Software Engineering Method and Theory). Supporters of the initiative have signed a declaration – somewhat reminiscent of the famous Agile Manifesto – that says the following:

“We support a process to refound software engineering based on a solid theory, proven principles and best practices that:

• Include a kernel of widely-agreed elements, extensible for specific uses
• Addresses both technology and people issues
• Are supported by industry, academia, researchers and users
• Support extension in the face of changing requirements and technology”

Over the past two years a great deal of work has been carried out on defining the “kernel of widely-agreed elements”.  This will soon appear in a new book by Ivar Jacobson and others. It holds out the promise of fundamentally changing the discipline of software engineering.

If you’re interested in any of this you can find out a lot more by visiting the SEMAT website (www.semat.org). You can even become a signatory of the SEMAT declaration on the website.  Better still you can hear Ivar Jacobson speak about SEMAT and other interesting topics  in Johannesburg or Cape Town (between 7^th and 11^th May 2012) when he visits South Africa as the 2012 “JCSE Distinguished International Lecturer” (details on www.jcse.org.za).  On the evening of Tuesday 8^th May a South African Chapter of SEMAT is to be launched at Wits University (again look on www.jcse.org.za for details).

Welcome back to my blog. It has a fresh look and I hope you will follow me and share your comments in the year ahead.

In May 2000 the Economist magazine labelled Africa “The hopeless continent”. In December 2011 the same magazine featured an article entitled “The hopeful continent: Africa Rising”  (View the article) . This dramatic U-turn by the Economist put a smile on my face. I’ve never doubted the incredible potential of the continent on which I live. Did you? Now we are seeing that potential being translated into high growth rates and thriving economies.

But … as I shake off the beach sand and get my head back into gear for a busy 2012 I am starting to think of the challenges that lie ahead in the coming years.

Both in South Africa and throughout Africa the successful future forecast by the Economist is not assured. A great deal of hard work needs to be done. Challenges include infrastructure, health, education, political and economic stability … and many more. Somewhere within each of these challenges is Information and Communication Technology (ICT) – the key factor that underpins modern economic and social life.

Africa’s ICT sector needs to rise to the challenge of supporting growth and development on our continent.

As I sit at my desk drawing up plans, strategies and to-do lists for the year ahead … (Gosh!  Its already February and I’m still planning! ) … I find myself feeling really excited. All of us – the Software Engineering and ICT community of Africa – have a wonderful opportunity to rise to the challenge to ensure that Africa keeps on Rising!

I think that I’m ready to make my contribution. Are you ready?

Barry Dwolatzky with the Taiwan Team

Imagine Cup 2011 has come to an end.  It was a truly incredible experience to be part of it. The award ceremony was held in the famous Koch Theatre at New York’s Lincoln Centre. Being in that theatre surrounded by the energy and enthusiasm flowing from 400 excited students was truly amazing.

I took the opportunity before the awards to view some of the projects and chat to several of the competitors. While the quality and sophistication of the entries varied widely, every single student I spoke to was filled with a deeply held belief that they could and would change the world. Maybe they will … or maybe they won’t – it’s not really important. What is important is that they all have vision and ambition! I guess that’s what Imagine Cup really achieved.

A bunch of young software developers from around the world learnt to see themselves as masters of their own future. Anyone who works as a teacher in a University – as I have for the past 22 years – will understand that this is why we do what we do.

I take my hat off to Microsoft for running this unique student competition. I’m sure that the benefits are hard to track in Dollars or Rands, but the effect that this event has on the hundreds of students who come to the finals – and the software industry they will soon be working in – are substantial.

So – back to the Awards. The Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomburg, and a host of other dignitaries were there. The music was loud, the atmosphere was electric. There are, in fact, 7 competitions in Imagine Cup.  These include Game Design, Embedded Systems and Interoperability. The “big one” however is Software Design.

From the 67 entries 6 finalists were selected – USA, China, New Zealand, Ireland, Jordan and Romania. Places 1,2 and 3 went to Ireland, USA and Jordan in that order.  The winning team from Ireland developed a system that is installed in the car of a young driver. It aims to encourage him/her to drive safely – thus reducing accidents. It monitors how the driver behaves and if he/she is reckless or dangerous the system reports this to the owner of the car (presumably the parent) via sms.

So – the winner is …. Who? Is it the team from Ireland? Is it Microsoft? Or is it the software industry as a whole? I vote for the latter!

My challenge now to my colleagues in SA Universities is this: let’s encourage our students to compete and let’s send the WINNING team to Imagine Cup 2012. It will be held in Sydney, Australia.  I hope I’m there.

SA Team at Imagine Cup 2011

Exactly a year ago today (July 11) the FIFA World Cup 2010 drew to a spectacular end in South Africa. I know that there is no comparison in size and content between that World Cup and “Imagine Cup 2011” … but I have had some déjà vu moments.

On Saturday night – after a day of expectation, jangling nerves, high energy and sudden anti-climax – all of the competing national teams gathered in the Ballroom at New York’s Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square. All through Saturday, working to a tight schedule, competitors presented their “solutions to problems that would change the world” to panels of judges. Like in a soccer match – the team had one chance to make an impression and score that winning goal. No second chances! And suddenly – after months of frantic preparation and building excitement – the presentation was done, and then all there was to do was wait for an announcement at 10pm on Saturday night.

As we sat in that Ballroom at 10pm – competitors, judges, organizers, journalists – the pent-up tension and expectation escaped as some teams danced, chanted, waved flags, sang songs and jumped up and down. It was now a contest of who could make the most noise and show the highest level of national spirit. The last time I witnessed something similar was before the opening FIFA World Cup match at Soccer City last year when Mexico’s fans faced us – the fans of Bafana Bafana – in a high-spirited and good-natured confrontation.

Other teams sat quietly and watched – maybe they were just exhausted, or maybe that’s what real computer geeks do?

Lisa Harper, Microsoft’s super-energetic organizer of Imagine Cup 2011, announced at 10pm that the results were still being collated and that there would be a delay. The noisy teams got louder and the quiet ones sank deeper into their seats.

At about 10:30pm the announcement was made of the 18 teams (from the original 67) that would progress into Round 2 of the “software design” competition. The names were called in a random order.

As a judge, entrusted with the task of being objective and non-partisan (like the referee in a soccer match), it wasn’t appropriate for me to sit with the South African team or align myself with them. We – the judges – had no opportunity to assist or favour our national team in any way. (The fairness of the judging process has really impressed me.) I nevertheless still found myself desperately hoping to hear “South Africa” read out as one of the 18 teams.

As the 18^th name was called I had to accept the disappointing fact that our team hadn’t made it through to the second round. I experienced the same feeling I had when South Africa was eliminated in the group stage of the World Cup. Oh well! “Everyone here is a winner. It’s not about winning, it’s about taking part. We’ll take the lessons learnt and do better next time.” While all of these are true – it still would have been wonderful to win!!

I didn’t see the SA team’s presentation, so I can’t say anything about how they performed and how close they were to going through. I did, however, see their project as one of the judges in the South African competition held in December 2010.  I thought it was a really great piece of work. The Team is from UCT and consists of Mohammed Irfaan Imamdin, Pieter Roodt, Junaid Parker and Richard Sadie. Their mentor is Prof Derek Smith. They developed an application that uses a “crowd sourcing” strategy to collect and collate geo-coded data as part of disaster management (flood, fires, earthquakes).

Yesterday (Sunday) the 18 were cut down to the final 6 after the second round of judging. The remaining teams that will compete for the fist prize are from China, USA, New Zealand, Ireland, Jordan and Romania. Visit (www.ImagineCup.com) to find out more about this really great student competition.

Steve Ballmer - CEO of Microsoft - opens Imagine Cup 2011 in NYC

For those of you who don’t know about it, the Microsoft Imagine Cup is a bit of a “geek show”. University students – working in small groups – develop software applications and then compete for prizes. Microsoft runs national competitions, the winners of which are entered into the World Finals.

Over the past few years I’ve been involved in Imagine Cup South Africa as a judge. The competition always attracts a good cross-section of socially awkward technology obsessive South African youth. Race, religion, social background, gender – none of this matters. They all share a common “geek-ness”. From the SA competition we have always carefully selected the best team of local geeks and sent them off to compete in the World Finals. And here I am at the World Finals!!!

Over the past year 350,000 computer geeks from 183 countries have competed to represent their species at the Imagine Cup World Finals-  the “Computer Nerds World Cup”. And here they are at the 40-storey New York Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square. 124 competing teams from 40 countries together with 80 judges and 140 journalists. They come from every corner of the world. Most have never flown in an airplane. Some have never stepped onto an escalator … and yet they share something in common … a love for software technology.

Last night Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, opened the event. It’s the first time I’ve seen him live. If an alien from outer space came to earth looking for a good specimen of a “1970’s computer nerd” to send back home to a zoo in their distant planet, Steve Ballmer would be a wonderful choice. He is everything his generation (my generation?) represented – and more! When he announced that every contestant would receive an XBOX Kinect to take home with them, a cheer went up that must have been heard on the moon. (Thinking about it… the cheer wasn’t instantaneous .. It took about a minute for Ballmer’s announcement to be understood in 40 different languages.) In any other audience most people in the room would have been sitting there saying “what’s an XBOX Kinect, and what will I do with it?” My only regret is that I’m a judge and not a contestant.

There were also speeches from Jeffrey Sachs, Professor of Economics from Columbia University and special advisor to the UN on poverty alleviation, and from Dennis Crowley, co-founder of FourSquare [I admit to having to ask someone what "FourSquare" is]. Jeffrey Sachs was there because: (1) he was at nursery school with Steve Ballmer, and (2) the theme of Imagine Cup 2011 is “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the world’s toughest problems”. The challenges of the UN’s Millenium Development Goals are a particular focus for contestants.

Everywhere you look in the hotel there are groups of students dressed in their team t-shirts sitting around fiddling with devices – laptops, tablets, smart phones, fancy cameras, i-pods, etc. I can’t understand many of the conversations but I’m prepared to bet that its about the latest app, download or gadget.

Today I will be working hard. I’m a judge in the Software Design section. I will be listening to and marking presentations by the teams from Mexico, Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia and Greece. By the end of today the top 18 groups will go through to round 2, which we will judge tomorrow. The final is on Tuesday and the winners will be announced at a gala event at the Lincoln Centre.

I’m in Geek Heaven!

When I embarked on this blog in April everyone who knows me reacted with a large dose of scepticism. People said “How will someone who is too busy to even answer his emails manage to post regularly on a blog?”

Well – up until 28^th October I was proving them all wrong. Between 5^th April and 28^th October I posted 33 items. (That’s more than one a week). I recorded 8,134 visits from 3,343 visitors. Ten or more visits were recorded from 23 countries. There were 135 comments. The 3 most visited postings were:

• The software engineers at Mahindra Satyam – the unsung heroes of the World Cup
• Are you a good programmer? I’m not!
• Does South Africa need professional software engineers?

I was doing so well as a blogger … and then life caught up with me – this is my first posting in 5 weeks.

As the year draws to a close, I’m determined to do as well – and even better – as a serious blogger in the year ahead. At the end of this week I’m setting off to the seaside for a much needed break. I will use some of the time in the Cape sunshine to put fingers to keyboard and contemplate Software Engineering in South Africa.

I hope that everyone who has shared “The Software Engineer” with me over the past 7 months has a fantastic end to 2010 and will join me again in 2011. Have a peaceful and happy New Year!!

I’ve just received the really sad news that Watts Humphrey died today (Thursday 28^th October) aged 83 years old. 

Watts Humphrey was one of the world’s most influential figures in the field of software engineering. In 1986, after retiring as the head of software at IBM, Humphrey joined the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh USA. For the next 24 years he drove the development of the Capability Maturity Model (CMM), the Personal Software Process (PSP) and the Team Software Process (TSP). His work brought the concepts of process, measurement and continuing improvement to the software development industry. 

Watts Humphrey’s death came a few days after I unveiled my ambitious strategy to create 1,000’s of new jobs in the South African software sector. This strategy is largely based on Humphrey’s contributions to software engineering. The strategy began to take shape when I first met Watts in Mexico City in 2008, where I was leading a delegation from South Africa investigating TSP adoption. He was keenly interested in the South African software sector and its future prospects. 

Anyone who met Watts Humphrey could not fail to be inspired by his clear vision and boundless energy. His books are wonderful to read – they’re filled with the wisdom of his decades of experience and lots of common sense. 

I will always be inspired by Watts Humphrey. I remain determined to build, here in South Africa, on his wonderful work. I see his work as a tool and inspiration that will change the lives of those in our country who develop and use software.

To paraphrase Wikipedia: Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material. They may be based on existing material suggested by one participant, or may be wholly improvisational. Jam sessions can range from gatherings of amateurs to sophisticated improvised recording sessions intended to be edited and released to the public.

Inspired by this concept and examples of technology businesses being kick-started in 48 hours, a small but growing movement of entrepreneurs in Joburg have launched start-up sessions with the aim of kick-starting at least one business over the course of a weekend.

The format is simple – we gather on a Saturday morning, and anyone with a business idea has the opportunity to pitch to the group. Afterwards, individuals may volunteer their weekend and expertise to help turn their favourite idea into a prototype and a business plan.

Like a musical jam there is plenty of scope for improvisation. So if you don’t like any of the ideas, grab a coffee and a couple of unattached participants and brainstorm those not-yet-fully-formed ideas that have been burrowing in your brain while you sleep. You’ll be surprised what might happen.

It goes without saying that for a good jam, you need a mix of musicians: drummers, guitarists, vocalists, maybe a lyricist. Throw in a didgeridoo and you’re really jammin’! Equally, for a good start-up session we need a mix of skills: programmers, artists, business folk. Throw in a lawyer and… well you get the idea.

Seriously, whoever you are and whatever your background, if you’re interested in being involved in a technology start-up, come jam with us!

The next session is taking place on the 2nd and 3rd of October at Wits University. You’re welcome to attend the pitches at 9am and only commit yourself to the full weekend if you like what you see.

Please spread the word and register your interest at http://www.jcse.org.za.

I’d like to thank Mikkel Christiansen and Jarrod Hermer for starting a movement with me and for instigating and driving the weekend start-up sessions. Thanks again Barry for your support and for posting this on my behalf.

If you haven’t seen Derek Sivers’ 3-minute TED talk entitled “How to start a movement” I strongly recommend you watch it right now! If its not the most inspirational thing you’ve seen this year, you can have your money back. http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement.html.

I have recently returned home to Joburg after 5 years abroad. I’ve worked as a software engineer in the UK and the US, and about a year ago I started a technology business in the UK. Its great to be back, but there are a few things that I really miss – none more so than the vibrant technology and start-up communities that are relatively common in Europe and the US. Innovation is catalysed by communication, collaboration and open debate. So let’s do more of that! Let’s start a movement. Let’s build an informal and creative community that sparks innovation and hopefully results in some interesting and proudly South African businesses. I have ambitiously scheduled the first Joburg meet-up for next week Tuesday (8th of June). If you’re interested, and you’re feeling up to being the spark that turns a lone nut into a flint please give me a shout! And I’m not only interested in getting technical people involved. The success of the best start-up groups I’ve seen is undoubtedly due to the involvement of people from a wide range of backgrounds. So spread the word.

Finally, thanks to Prof Dwolatzky for posting this on my behalf.

Cheers, David Jagoe

Meetup Group: http://www.meetup.com/Startups/5817  Email: david.jagoe@pragmagility.com. Cell: 0720198335