Course code: BARR-4
  • Years with company: 8
  • Years programming: 35
  • Primary programming language: C++
  • Other programming languages: C, assembler
  • Unit test harnesses: internally-developed
  • Something else: I play in a band on weekends.
  • Test practice now: White box testing, formal verification
  • Target system: Battery-powered insulin infusion pump with 5 microprocessors inside.
  • Dev tools: IAR for embedded target, mostly Visual Studio for PC
  • Build time: 31-60 seconds
  • Coding standard: We use an internally-developed coding standard that I find too weak.
  • Function too long: Hard to read, or too many levels of indent, or I start getting tempted to insert return statements in the middle.
  • Code reviews: Author, QE and at least one independent reviewer examine design intent and code.
  • Code time: 50
  • Test time: 30
  • Debug time: 20
  • Favorite thing about dev: Intellectually stimulating, chance to keep improving and learning new things, and there are lots of worse ways to earn a paycheck.
  • Least favorite thing about dev: Meetings, distractions, constant pressure to under-estimate how long things will take to design correctly.
  • Tdd knowledge: Emphasis on constantly testing during development rather than putting it off to the end. Which should provide better results. Also I have the impression that it's related to Agile, which my company has recently become very interested in.
  • Why are you attending: Trying to learn techniques to deliver better code faster in both this and the Agile course. I sold my manager on the idea of sending me and the other four guys.