Special Thanks: Max Guernsey, Jr.

Test-Driven Database Development: Unlocking Agility is almost on the shelves, now, and there is one last person I would like to thank: my father.

Of course, both my parents are responsible for my existence and contributed to my development as a human being.

My father, however, played an especially strong role in my growth as a software developer.  I learned many of the fundamentals from him, either by way of direct instruction or indirectly through conversation.  So thanks, dad, for getting me started in the career path I'm on today.

Special Thanks: Alan Shalloway

Well, it looks like the release of Test-Driven Database Development: Unlocking Agility is less than a week away now.

I'd like to thank the guy who is in charge of the Net Objectives Lean-Agile Series: Alan Shalloway.  Not just for inviting me to publish in the series but for helping shape me as a professional.

It's probably hard for you to imagine but the warm, fuzzy, forgiving, and benevolent Max Guernsey you know was not always that way. I used to be a lot meaner and a lot less tolerant of foolishness.  Al, among other people, took the time to guide me to a more functional way of dealing with people.  I think there's some irony in the fact that he taught me to be a little better at dealing with people by helping me value other people getting a little better at programming.

So thanks, Al, for your patient guidance and mentorship.  I'm certainly not done getting better at dealing with people but I am started and you played a big role in that.

Special Thanks: Michael Brown (the non-criminal one)

In my quest to build my most recent book, Test-Driven Database Development: Unlocking Agility, there were many people who helped me.  One of those people is a recently acquired friend and colleague Michael Brown.

There are two Michael Browns with the same name and one of them is a criminal.  The other is not. I mean the one who is a computer programmer, not a criminal.  There are other distinguishing characteristics but none that make me laugh as hard when I remember them.

As much as it was useful to know which parts of the initial versions should never see the light of day, it was also extremely helpful to know which parts of what I was writing actually were of value.  Mike, your positive and open-minded attitude helped me with exactly that.

Of course, you gave me some constructive criticism as well - just like others gave me positive feedback.  However, I could tell what was really clicking by how excited you seemed to get over certain ideas.  I can think of at least one thing that was completely unclear and that I may very well have left out altogether if not for your response to it: the whole information-behavior-knowledge trinity.  There are countless many other examples, that don't immediately come to mind.

So, thank you, Mike.

Special Thanks: Scott L. Bain

On March 7^th, my latest book (Test-Driven Database Development: Unlocking Agility) will be on the shelves.  This was a large undertaking and some of my friends and colleagues played a major role.

I cannot think of anyone who had a more profound impact on the development of this book than Scott L. Bain, author of Emergent Design: The Evolutionary Nature of Professional Software Development.  Scott is both a friend and a colleague.

Part of the depth of Scott's influence stems from how far back it began.  Long ago, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, I had an idea that seemed like it was the right thing to do but I couldn't figure out how to persuade more than one person at a time.

The problem was that I thought I had a software product and Scott helped me see that I actually had an educational product.  He got me interested in writing technical materials and in teaching other people how to do things I knew how to do.  This was a big leap from making software and expecting people to already know what they should do.

Part of the impact comes from Scott's skills at, and interest in, developing developers.  Before the Earth finished cooling, I was a good programmer but not yet a good software developer.  Scott's careful, patient, and wise guidance kept me on a path of discovery that put me where I am, today.

It's hard for me to even imagine what I would be like without his guidance, but I'm very much afraid that I would be sitting in some ivory tower hurling proclamations down upon the commoners and cleaving to impractical ideals like everything being hyper-configurable all the time.  You can see direct evidence of Scott's influence on my thinking about things like design in my book.

So a special thanks goes out to Scott Bain for his contribution to my book by way of contributing to my character.  Thank you.

Special Thanks: Seth McCarthy

As the hour of Test-Driven Database Development: Unlocking Agility draws nearer, I'm left with less to do and more time to reflect.  It was a lot of work and, no doubt, I did much of the work.  There are numerous people who have been in some way responsible for the current shape of the book.

One of those people is Seth McCarthy.  Seth is a friend I acquired upon moving to Central Oregon.  As a good friend, he offered to read early chapters of the book.

One thing that makes Seth unique as a friend is that he is not afraid to give harsh criticism when it is deserved.  For some people, I'm sure, that's a problem but for me it worked perfectly.  There's a reason that you won't see any of the original chapters if you read my book and most of it derives from Seth being willing to tell me I was pompous, long-winded and (worst of all) off topic.

Thanks, Seth, for being technically competent and forthright enough to spare me the abject failure the first incarnation of my book surely would have been.