I have to give the usual disclaimer that that these are my own personal views and not those of the ESE Editor and publisher. They are also those of my employer. I am currently working for myself! I have had an eventful four months and need to put it all into perspective before I comment on it here.

This is the two-month summer issue where I tend to get more philosophical to give you something to think about on your summer break. However, as with all columns, this printed one only contains the overview, the full-expanded text, references, live URL’s to reports, useful web sites etc (for example to the downloadable annotated current C standard with commentary) and links to other information on the topics covered. For this column there are also some pictures.

Before I get on to the main theme a few small items. Well that depends on your definition of small! The good news that US style software patents did not get approved by the EU! See http://swpat.ffii.org/log/05/ep0706/ for the full story. Whilst I am all in favour of standards, copyright and patents as a general thing the implementation of the software patents coupled with the large number of US software patents that are already registered did not look promising. Had both Europe and the US started with software patents at the same time it would have been better.

However The Patent Office has just launched a consultation on the proposed Directive on the enforcement of intellectual property rights (2004/48EC). The consultation can be viewed at http://www.patent.gov.uk/about/consultations/enforce05/index.htm . Responses should be Friday 7 October 2005. It might be work reading it as it covers copyright and patents across Europe.

Re Certification for programmers: Thanks to those who have responded so far. Here links to two schemes that are running now: The SFIA framework is at www.sfia.org.uk and the IEEE certification at http://computer.org/certification with the specifications at

http://www.computer.org/certification/Specifications.htm I should be interested in people’s views on these. Note the IEEE one applies to the US. I hope to have this as an open discussion topic at ESS in Birmingham this year. Come along and discuss it. Hopefully the IEE and BCS will be there as well so with a bit of luck something will come of it. So email me at cert@phaedsys.org with any suggestions.

It is about time we got this sorted as almost every other “profession” is getting formal certification. I note in the latest Management Consultancy Magazine there is an item on Professional certification of Management Consultants there are various grades within the scheme (it does not say if it is based on their golf handicap).

Also on the radio there were advertisements and a web site mentioned (I have lost) for certifying every kind of health care job there is! Soon programming may be one of the few non-certified jobs that you can go for with no qualifications or experience.

MISRA C++ The other "call to arms" is from MISRA. In the beginning C was considered unsuitable for safety critical and safety related systems, however, it was used so much MISRA C came about.

Things move on, and now C++ is becoming used in safety critical areas, certainly in parts of the automotive and aerospace industries. Whilst I, and others, have often said "MISRA C++: Over our dead bodies!" (I think we were battle weary and could see the amount of work involved) I am being forced to eat my words! By demand from within the industry, due to the success of MISRA C, it appears that there is a need for a MISRA C++. To this end, MISRA is starting work on the production of a set of guidelines for the use of C++ in critical systems, not just automotive systems the output of which, we hope, will be a set of guidelines similar to MISRA C.

Chris Tapp of Keylevel Consultants (a member of the MISRA C panel), has taken up the challenge to act as chairman for the new MISRA-C++ panel. I shall find out what hold MISRA has over Chris to entice him into this role!

There is a requirement for some additional people to participate in the development of MISRA C++ The work, like other MISRA work, will be done on a voluntary basis; you get fame and the undying gratitude of the industry at the end of it. That and a constant barrage of questions form software engineers as to why you banned their favourite construct! People are needed who can contribute to a two day, focused working meeting once a month and who are also willing to put in effort 'off-line'.

If you are interested in taking part, please send your details to chairman@misra-cpp.org. A brief note on your background would be appreciated as we may have more volunteers than places and there may have to be some selection. From experience on MISRA C and other panels you don't want a very large panel. If it gets too big it is inefficient and less gets done see Mythical Man Month(Brooks 1995)

Needless to say, all volunteers will need to have a strong technical background. Tool vendors take note! This is not the point where you volunteer a marketing or technical sales person. This is a technical working group not a marketing opportunity.

Back to the main theme of this column:. The title of this column is “Time enough for Love” taken from a very long science fiction book by Robert Heinlein [RH1] It is sci-fi but bordering on the philosophical in many places. Actually it is only a Sci-fi book to enable the author to swap cultures, environments and occasionally time at the drop of a warp drive. This long book has three or four breaks in the story for several pages of un-related thoughts, trivia and comment. Ranging from... well I was going to quote a couple but that that was two hours ago and I ended up reading the lot. Now I can’t decide which to quote! Though “In a family argument, if it turns out you are right: apologize at once.” and “Never underestimate human stupidity” do give you some idea. Though “always store beer in a cool dark place” should also rank among the top 20.

These interludes have several effects. Firstly it ensures you have a break from the main story. Secondly it completely changes your train of thought with random input. Having a break from the main line of thought and letting the mind refresh lets you see the following section of the story in a new perspective. It is an interesting move by the author, as he has no idea what thoughts, emotions or change of perspective the collection of trivia and comments will generate in the reader. The reader could even put the book down and not continue with the main narrative at all. Some of the trivia in the interludes had me reaching for reference books and a search engine.

Working life is a little longer than a 600-page novel. You need the occasional interlude. This is where holidays and sabbaticals come in. Some people take sabbaticals from work in a field other than their normal work to refresh the mind and sometimes the body too. Often things like charity work in Africa, climbing mountains in the Himalayas, navigating rivers in S. America or studying poetry in the Lakes.

In the UK embedded sector at the moment hell will freeze over long before 99% of UK employers will let you have a sabbatical for more than 2 weeks. Not if you want your job back afterwards...

.Time, there never seems to be enough of it and the pressure to get things done is getting worse. Also event horizons are getting shorter. In a recent discussion with a silicon vendor they mentioned the speed at which new versions of chips are generated is getting shorter. However the errata sheets are getting longer as the pressure mounts. Deadlines slip and the pressure goes increases. Perhaps it might be sensible to increase the deadlines to start with and remove the pressure.

The silicon vendor was discussing strategy and commented on the fact that many in the distribution businesses work on three-month cycles. A Long view is six months! This is partly why salesmen have a bad reputation: they have to make their numbers every three months regardless. They are pressurized and in turn pressurize customers into making choices to fit this cycle. To them the long view is six months and nine months is a lifetime. Some companies, generally I think US owned ones, look at the figures every month. There is no time for the long-term view.

I have known quite a few sales people and particularly the FAE’s in my time who have despaired at this short-sighted numbers orientated cycle and the artificial pressure that goes with it. It is true that if you don’t sell you don’t make a profit so you need to sell to stay in business but there is no room these days for any longer-term strategies. Well there is but that is in the finance department, which is bound by half yearly dividend payouts to share holders. It is not at the technical sharp end. The FAE’s never had the time to set up things that would bear fruit next year or time to properly complete some things. When doing things for customers it was the bare minimum never a complete job. In order to do a proper job they had to put in a lot of personal time and effort. This extra effort intrudes into personal and family life and not often recognized.

Some of the FAE’s I have known have been driven over the edge. Some have changed to what they hope is a better environment elsewhere in the industry. Others have just gone. Taken a sabbatical in some cases for a few months and they pop up somewhere else in the industry rested and refreshed. One person I know took a year out and wandered the world with is family. He is back now and said it is the best think he ever did. He sees life differently now and refuses to be pressured. Life is to short he tells me. In other cases people change career completely and we never get to see them again. One is working on a farm in France last time I heard. These are often the good people who the industry needs to keep. Profit is one thing but not at the cost of people's sanity or health.

It is not only in sales and distribution where there is pressure. It is there in development as well. Not as obviously as the three monthly numbers cycle. I have a customer who wants me to do a demo for his manager. The manager has an intrusting schedule that covers several sites in five countries! The problem is finding a day when he is inthe office without a stack of pre-booked meetings. Living out of a suitcase like that is stressful. Even if you stay in reasonable hotels. I knew an FAE with a similar life style. I am not sure if it was the constant traveling that kept him away from home except on flying visits that caused the break up of his marriage. On the other hand it may have extended it as he was never there.

I recently came across some hard and fast data from Bell Labs. They undertook a root-cause analysis of faults in the software for their 5ESS Switching System.[WDY1] The following were found to be the top three causes of faults, with their top two sub components:

This shows the main problems are inadequate attention to detail and not enough Engineer time and support followed by education and training. Not enough time, missed details and lack of training. It looks like another case of more haste less speed. Though this seems not at all uncommon. Everyone is rushing against deadlines. If more time is taken and people are less pressured they will work more efficiently.

Several times in the last few years I have talked to harassed engineers rushing to get a system out. In that rush they used brute force and hope. No pause and look at the problem to see if there was a better solution. Rather no time to pause and look. Often the pressure of time means that the opportunity to look at a solution that would save time, make life easier and produce a better system is lost because the team cannot spare the time to stop and look. Though to be fair this is partly down to the bad reputation sales people have. When they knock at the door with a “wonder tool” to save time their motives are always suspect because it is known they have to meet targets and are not looking at the customers best interests. So they can be dismissed even when they do have the solution.

The opposite problem also happens. Some new tool or method is brought in, without proper thought, to save the day and rushed into use without proper thought. No one seems to take time to get out of the rut and have a fresh look. See the changes in tools and methods and think about them before having to rush them into use. A considered view not an idea gleaned from a quick scan of the brochure over lunch or one evening. I know it is a case of finding the time and the problem is that you can’t afford time to look at things that are not going to help. It is a process that never gives the mind time to relax. In the end everyone is working harder with less efficiency.

By co-incidence the IEE Review Careers supplement for mid-June 2005 carried an item on a report by human resources consultancy Hudson. It concluded that over half the UK workforce had symptoms of overwork and burnout with the trend that things are getting worse. It is down to the accelerated pace of business and competition. In this the IT and embedded industries must shoulder some of the blame. We created the tools (office automation, internet, mobile phones) that created the pressure.

I did come across one company that had a large educational budget (apparently a tax efficient trust or some-such that did not cost the company as much as you might think) and as long as it was for a legitimate course, graduate employees could do a full time one year’s Masters course in anything they fancied! The result was a much happier and more productive work force. Most took courses that were directly related to their work. However it was noted that some of their “better” people took courses that were completely unrelated to their work and usually somewhat academic, a real sabbatical
What can help people be relaxed, or at least not stressed, is the right sort of working environment. The problem is embedded engineering is a mix between engineering and Art. One tends to require an ordered environment and the other a less ordered one. Some people like to work to music and other in silence. The Walkman and i-Pod have helped solve this problem. Though one place I know a manager banned the engineers using personal hi-fi for no reason anyone could see…. It was not a problem for long as most of the engineers who liked having music had moved on within six months. Fortunately some employers take more of an interest in their employees after all this industry rests on it’s IP.

The same IEE magazine mentioned above also mentioned a major initiative by some employers with a company “Art2work” ( http://www.art2work.com ) to put artwork into work places. This is a good idea. Personally I have screen “wallpapers” that are inspirational though I did know one salesman who had a backdrop of some of the company products. No, not a car, rocket or ship but electronics modules. A corporate screen on a laptop that is seen by customers is one thing but on a PC that is in the office is a bit sad. Dilbert is a good source of cartoons for posters and screen savers. Though one place I worked that had no sense of humour (did I mention personal hi-fi?) did get a little upset when a whole team used a Dilbert cartoon about no personal thoughts on company time…. They banned the cartoon and gave every one a list of “suitable” wallpaper. I did calculate that the company had a 25% engineering staff turn over. Not good.

When in the Armed Forces I had a poster at one point on the barracks wall that said:

There are three types of intelligence:
  The intelligence of Man
  The intelligence of the Animals
  The intelligence of the Military
  In that order…
As my flight commander said to me with a grin, long after we had moved on, “We could’t think of a way of telling you to take it down without proving the point! Anyway it raised moral.”

On the other hand a change is a s good as a rest. This is why I say that a day out to a good trade show is well worth it. E.g. ESS at the NEC, Birmingham October 19 & 20 However when you get a list of the exhibitors make a list, those who’s stands you want to see for this project, the next project or just back ground work. Also mark down any who you do not recognise to have a quick look at…. You never know! Also don’t forget to visit old friends. Phaedrus Systems wil be there.

I was talking to a client who deals with Sweden who said to me that inthe summer they take SIX weeks off! mind you, he said when they come back they work like dynamos and leave me standing! I notice the Germans tend to have longer summer breaks than we do. They all seem to have discovered that a good break makes you more efficient and that over all it is cost efficent in business terms.

If you want to run off remember it is not uncommon. One running away “success” story is detailed in Driving over Lemons [CS1], which is, subtitled “An Optimist in Andalucia” it reads well and is a good summer holiday read. Until you recall that the author, Chris Simons left Genesis (yes, The Genesis) to be replaced by a Mr. P. Collins just before they made it big… On the other hand J. K. Rowling found her career change had a different effect. For something to read that is thought provoking and technical I still think In Search of Stupidity (Chapman 2003) is a good read. There is also a damned good poster to go with to brighten up your cubical. For somehting more philosophical try Time Enough for Love by Heinlein.

In any event have a pause and take stock of work and life in general

I will leave you with a poem by W.H. Davies

What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. No time to stand beneath the boughs And stare as long as sheep or cows. No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass. No time to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like skies at night. No time to turn at Beauty's glance, And watch her feet, how they can dance. No time to wait till her mouth can Enrich that smile her eyes began. A poor life this if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.