A chef can taste the food and make adjustments. As technology leaders we need to develop the same habits to evaluate software and make adjustments during the building phase.

Can you tell when your software developers are providing accurate estimates? How many times have projects been late, over budget, or have crappy quality? When things go wrong do you feel comfortable digging in and figuring our what went wrong?

For many technology managers digging in is hard. When things go bad what do you do? As a technology leader we are often asked to determine the nature of the problem
* Is the underlying system is flawed?
* Is the system technically difficult and needs time to stabilize?

If a leader does not make the correct determination, bad things happen, and the business will not be competitive. When I say bad things I mean the following:
* Promote the wrong people
* Experience failures by relying on fragile software systems
* Have difficulty scoping new work due to increased complexity

Too many times I have seen peers and colleagues promote their new product launch as the platform to support the business and provide the next 5-10 years of innovation. When I peak under the covers I expect to see a 5 star hotel, and instead I find a old shack with plywood foundations held together with chewing gum and bailing wire.

I feel there are seven habits which can help any leader regardless of technical skill properly evaluate software. A chef can taste the food and make adjustments. As leaders we need to develop the habits to evaluate software and make adjustments.