Why "Scivium"?

Scivium is a made-up word with Latin roots. I hope its formation is correct enough for those who know about this stuff, since I sure don't.

I pronounce it SIH-vee-um, even though all of the other words that start with sci- (from Latin, knowledge) that I can think of are pronounced like science. -vium (and -via) are also from Latin, as I said in the first line above, which mean "path" or "way".

My idea is that scivium then means "the path of knowledge," which pretty well sums up my thoughts on product development. Go where the facts lead, don't let emotion get in the way, and do what is, well, correct. This isn't to say that decisions should be made without emotion. Indeed, any time there are people involved, emotion is right there too and as well it should be. Just be sure that it's understood as such and that it isn't interfering with the rational process.

The Beginning

I've been meaning to do this for a long time. I write a lot about software development, and more broadly about games development as a whole. Unfortunately, much of it is hard to access. There's Usenet, which is public, but as far as accessibility for potential readership, it ain't The Web 2.0. There are the various mailing lists, which certainly have a large readership, but which are still composed of a fairly insular crowd. Finally, there are a collection of topics that I've been known to write extensively about in various fora that are not open to the general public, and while archives of some of these get published for the general consumption from time to time, I want to have a collection that's all me, all the time, unencumbered by anyone else's notion of ownership.

Yes, I am a software developer. I have a substantial, if not enormous, ego. That ego has been formed and nurtured by developing many ideas and many thoughts on many topics, and subsequently getting the chance to implement these ideas and thoughts. Sometimes the environments were hostile to these changes and sometimes they were supportive, but without exception I learned a lot about what works and what doesn't, and I really want to share that stuff with everyone in a space which is easily accessible.

At the end of the day what it's all about is putting products that people want to buy onto store shelves. For this, it is necessary to set up and maintain a mechanism by which a team can do so. So, this is where I will discuss things that help, things that hinder, and things to consider. I hope it's fun for everyone.  Thanks for stopping by.