Every project is dependent upon people, processes, and tools:  they are how the work gets done. These three essential elements are not equal, though, as each has its own strengths and weaknesses.   Each one provides a different value to our projects.

This article is dedicated to telling you how good developing software can be. Austin Hastings describes many software development practices working together, some of which you don't have. If you like an idea you see here, implement it. After your first implementation steps, you can return here to find yet another idea to implement.

We may be creatures of habit—adhering to and promoting processes we know well—but we also habitually look to other work environments that appear capable of nurturing our ideas once an old environment becomes depleted. Ed Weller believes that searching for greener pastures is unnecessary. You just need to learn how to cultivate your managers in order to create an environment that will harbor your ideas. Ed explains why you'll end up grazing fruitlessly if you can't plant your ideas with management.

Team player Dave Hoover wants to share a software development practice he enjoys. It emerged from the practices of extreme programming as a competitive yet simultaneously collaborative practice. Dave has found that this practice promotes the flow of knowledge between software developers better than any other practice he has experienced. As you might have guessed from the title of this week's column, this practice is called ping-pong programming, or P3 for short.