Three -- A Very Special Number

This short introductory post explains the author's preference for structuring technical guidance in groups of three, citing its natural balance and practical clarity. It previews a blog series using this format across a variety of software quality topics.

Coveros Staff

August 26, 2009

I believe that three is a very special number. I can think of (at least) three things to support my belief:

  1. H2O
    Liquid, Solid, Gas
    It is what it is, although it exists in three different forms (water, ice, steam).
  2. Spacial Dimensions
    Height, Width, Depth
    These are used to describe the 3D world in which we live.
  3. Time
    Past, Present, Future
    Anything time related is described in one of these three ways.

When thinking about technical specifications, processes, procedures, plans, test data, use cases … I always think in threes. It has been my experience that three is the number that most often yields the best over all results.

With all that said I’m going to begin a series of blog posts, on a variety of subjects, and you can count on there being three points or three items or three steps in each.

Who knows, the series may end with three posts.

Coveros Staff

Coveros Staff

This post represents the collective insights of the Coveros team. Our staff consists of software experts who bring deep experience in secure agile development, DevOps, testing, and software quality. Over the past 20 years, Coveros has trained more than 30,000 professionals and worked with half of the Fortune 100 companies on mission-critical software development challenges. We draw on this extensive experience to share practical insights, proven strategies, and real-world solutions that help organizations build better software faster and more securely.