The Joel Test is Obsolete
"Modern Software Development" is no longer mdoern.
Back in 2006, Jeff Atwood of Coding Horror made this legendary post in which he resurfaced two legendary pieces. In the spirit of his original post, it’s now a decade later, so let’s re-post this stuff.
Here’s the Joel Test again.
Do you use source control?
Can you make a build in one step?
Do you make daily builds?
Do you have a bug database?
Do you fix bugs before writing new code?
Do you have an up-to-date schedule?
Do you have a spec?
Do programmers have quiet working conditions?
Do you use the best tools money can buy?
Do you have testers?
Do new candidates write code during their interview?
Do you do hallway usability testing?
In my opinion, we’ve actually moved to the point where we can assume several of these things, and in may ways, we’ve obviated others. I’m not sure what the correct list looks like now, but it feels like time for an updated list.