3 ms·
the cornerstone of modern evidence-based medicine is the randomised trial. trials can produce statistically significant results because there are many humans a
by andrewcooke 15y ago
the cornerstone of modern evidence-based medicine is the randomised trial. trials can produce statistically significant results because there are many humans and they are all quite similar. unfortunately, software projects are both more diverse and less common. this is a critical difference: you simply cannot replicate evidence-based medicine in the field of software development.
section 5.2.2 addresses some of this, but is then pretty much ignored in the conclusion.
- mblakele 15y agoYes, that struck me too. Some developers do randomized trials of user experience, but such trials aren't tests of development techniques - unless perhaps you are working on an IDE. And yet I think the points about negative evidence are relevant to software. Whenever a hot new trend surfaces, it seems like negative early experiences aren't reported. Later on there is usually a backlash, but it would be in our interest to shorten that cycle.