Hal Helms, Rest In Peace

In memory of Hal Helms (1952 - 2024), who was a relentless advocate for reducing the high rate of failure in software development. Rest in peace, Hal. You educated tens of thousands, and we continue to strive for better in your name.

Back in 2001, I was told a story (by Hal Helms, with Shahzad, who at the time explained how to use simple text & button-based wireframes to reduce risk) illustrating the stark contrasts between industries in managing failure rates, particularly between building construction projects and software development.

P.S. Somehow, this ended up in my bag from Washington, D.C. to London. I had a great time at my first software conference. I'm so lucky to be part of this community.

I knew Hal through the ColdFusion community. When I ran the Tampa ColdFusion user group, Hal came and spoke. He was a fabulous speaker. I also saw him speak at multiple different conferences.

The two most important things I learned from Hal was how to use the Fusebox web framework and Object Oriented programming. Hal wrote a book on how to use CFMX's new features to write object oriented software. A lot of the principles I learned from Hal on OOP I also used in my career with .NET, Objective-C, Swift and Java. 

My condolences to his family.

Wow, that's a shock to me. My condolences to his family as well.

Very sad news, indeed. Thanks for sharing it, BKBK. (I was traveling to the CFSummit the day you posted it, and it was then a crazy week.)

And well-put, on how Hal's legacy as a teacher will endure. Another is as an author: I was privileged to co-author the ColdFusion MX Bible with him and Adam and David Churvis. That was a long year of work in 2002, but he made it enjoyable, and I remember like it was yesterday when he, Adam, and I met in the atrium of the Wardman Park hotel in DC, site of the first Allaire CF DevCon, to consider creating an entry for CF into that "Bible" series.

And of course most CF folks from those early days got a LOT of their training and education from Hal. I only ever heard positive feedback from people who took classes with him, and I can't help but think that my own style of teaching and writing was influenced by his work. We've been blessed to have a wonderful community of writers and presenters over the nearly 30-year history of CF. Hal was certainly a major force much of the first half, whose impact would be felt even more widely than just those who had direct interaction with him. He will certainly be missed.

Ben Nadel with Hal Helms at CFUNITED 2008, Washington, D.C.
(Photograph courtesy of Ben Nadel, https://www.bennadel.com/people/23-hal-helms.htm)