Within IBM at that time, growing a beard without getting fired was an indisputable mark of technical genius. - Gerald M. Weinberg

Once you eliminate your number one problem, number two gets a promotion.

• Do you think the outcome of testing will make your decisions for you? Business decisions cannot be made from a purely technical perspective. Certainly use information from testing to color your business decisions, but don't substitute testing for business decisions. For example, it can be a good business decision to ship a system that fails one or more tests. Conversely, it can be a bad business decision to ship a system that passes all your tests. Management has to consider other factors in addition to test results. • Conversely, is there any possible test outcome that would make you change your decisions? If not, why would you want to know the outcome, let alone pay for it?

When we do read code, we find that some of it gets written because of machine limitations, some because of language limitations, some because of programmer limitations, some because of historical accidents, and some because of specifications — both essential and inessential.