Step 1 in Multithreaded XML Transformations (and All Other Programs)

uring the past 20 years I have had the privilege of working with well over 1,000 different software developers. Some of the best developers in the industry mentored me when I began my career. They taught me software development from the ground up, beginning with how to run and enhance automated unit tests for operating systems. (Yes, people knew how to create and execute automated unit tests well before Kent Beck developed the elegant xUnit framework.)

I gradually started leading teams of junior software developers and tried to teach them the lessons I had learned. I since have mentored many development teams from the United States, India, and China, and I've come to a sobering realization: the biggest lesson of all is often forgotten in today's fast-paced and often outsourced software industry. Getting a software program working is just Step 1 in a series of steps to produce good software.