ACM SIGSOFT / Software Engineering Notes
The Software Industry column.
A continuing conversation about where software engineering is heading, and what that means for the people building, testing and leading software.
About the column
From industry experience to a wider conversation.
Since 2022, I've written the Software Industry column for ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes. I examine the decisions, tensions and emerging trends shaping our profession, from software quality and delivery to AI, engineering culture and the future of work. This page brings my published columns together, with each article linked to its official ACM record.
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Recent perspectives
My two 2026 columns focus on how teams organize for software quality and delivery.
Stop Blaming QA and Start Diagnosing the Hidden Inefficiencies Behind Delivery Delays: Five Drivers that Slow Releases And Erode Developer Productivity
The biggest delivery bottlenecks are often deeper than the QA phase. An examination of five drivers that slow releases and erode developer productivity.
Read on ACM Digital LibraryDev-owned Testing: Why It Fails in Practice and Succeeds in Theory
Why shifting testing to developers takes more than an org-chart change, and what it requires from engineering teams and researchers.
Read on ACM Digital LibraryEvery published column
Publication archive
Browse the series by year or subject. Each article links to its official ACM Digital Library page.
18 publications
2026
Stop Blaming QA and Start Diagnosing the Hidden Inefficiencies Behind Delivery Delays: Five Drivers that Slow Releases And Erode Developer Productivity
The biggest delivery bottlenecks are often deeper than the QA phase. An examination of five drivers that slow releases and erode developer productivity.
Quality & deliveryDev-owned Testing: Why It Fails in Practice and Succeeds in Theory
Why shifting testing to developers takes more than an org-chart change, and what it requires from engineering teams and researchers.
Quality & delivery2025
AI-powered DevOps: The Software Industry Is Re-wiring the Pipeline
How AI is moving beyond coding assistants and into the wider software delivery pipeline.
AI & automationAI Copilots: Boosting Software Engineers' Productivity or Replacing Them?
A look at coding copilots, engineering productivity and the changing role of the software engineer.
AI & automationAre We Safe Online? Cybersecurity as the Golden Word in 2025
An overview of the cybersecurity landscape as cloud, IoT and AI reshape the threats facing software companies.
Product & technologyDo Not Stay in Denial for Long: AI's Influence on Workforce Dynamics
How the rise of AI is affecting the technology workforce and changing the conversation about jobs and skills.
Industry & people2024
Can I Trust You? Ethics in AI
Ethical questions around the use of AI, from individual misuse to accountability and bias in the organizations building it.
AI & automationLow-Code Software Development: Key Impacts on the Software Industry
What low-code development changes for people who need software, the developers who build it and the industry between them.
Product & technologyWhat Does the World's Biggest Tech Event Tell Us? Key Pointers from CES 2024
Signals from CES 2024 and what emerging technology could mean for software professionals.
Product & technologyBehind OpenAI CEO Dismissal: An Ethical Dilemma and a New AI Revolution
Reflections on the 2023 OpenAI leadership crisis and its broader lessons for technology governance.
Industry & people2023
Neurodiversity: What Can the Software Industry Gain from It?
Exploring what neurodiversity can contribute to software teams and how the industry thinks about different ways of working.
Industry & peopleThe Recent Wave of Generative AI Systems: What Does This Tell Us About What AI Can Do Now?
What the early surge in generative AI revealed about the technology's capabilities and its implications for software.
AI & automationWhat the Software Industry Is Measuring?: Key Metrics Used by Software Companies to Measure Success
A survey of the measurements software companies use to understand product performance and customer needs.
Quality & deliveryThe First Tech Layoff Wave After Years of Hypergrowth: How This Affects the Industry?
A reflection on the industry's shift from rapid hiring to widespread layoffs and its implications for the workforce.
Industry & people2022
AI Adoption: Why the Software Industry Is Slow to Go Past the Hype?
Why enthusiasm for AI has not always translated into broad adoption in real software businesses.
AI & automationMajor Challenges Currently Facing the Software Industry
A look at the pressures and challenges shaping the software industry in 2022.
Industry & peopleThe Holy Grail of Software Products Success: Great Customer Experience and the Key Elements Needed to Create One
Why shipping features is not the same as delivering a great customer experience.
Product & technologyThe Human Side of the Tech Industry: Key Drivers Behind the Tech Talent Dilemma
The people and talent challenges behind the software industry's rapid growth.
Industry & peoplePublication details are shown by ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes issue. Article links lead to the ACM Digital Library through their DOI. This is an independent author page, not an official ACM website.