Better Software Magazine Archive:

Mar/April 2014

IN THIS ISSUE

The Rules for Writing Maintainable Code
By Kaushal Amin

We've all been burned working with software code that, if not designed for long-term maintainability, results in expensive support over a product's lifetime. Kaushal explores three approaches that provide guidelines to ensure that software is designed with maintainability in mind. If you're a software developer, read this!

Should QA Perform Unit Testing?
By Linda Hayes

In this FAQ column, Linda Hayes addresses the question: "Should QA Perform Unit Testng?"  Detailing why and who should perform unit testing to ensure the best possible outcome.

How DevOps Drives the Agile ALM
By Bob Aiello
Leslie Sachs

One of the most effective approaches to DevOps involves moving the automation of the application build, package, and deployment upstream to the beginning stages of the software development lifecycle—an industry best practice long before DevOps became as popular as it is today.

A Real Sprint in the Life of a ScrumMaster
By Natalie Warnert

You read so many books and articles that present how perfectly a Scrum project goes; yet in practice, that is rarely the case. Natalie shares ten lessons that she learned the hard way when she started out as a ScrumMaster. Special attention is given to ways you can avoid those same mistakes.

Why Do Defects Escape?
By Mayank Sharma

What happens when defects go unnoticed until it is too late? Mayank provides an insightful view of the true cost of not providing enough test coverage during a software development lifecycle. He also suggests some techniques to ensure that defects are identified and mitigated early.

You Can't Be Agile without Automated Unit Testing
By Gil Zilberfeld

Agile projects assume that test planning, test creation, and test execution take place throughout a project's lifecycle. So the need for unit testing (and especially automated unit testing) can't be ignored and should be considered as a key responsibility of the entire team—not just the software developers.

Why Quality Is such a Big Deal
By Ken Whitaker

In this issue's Editor's Note, Ken Whitaker introduces an issue that is focused on quality and testing, summarizing the value of each of the featured articles.

Do Mobile and Embedded Software Really Need Comprehensive Testing?
By Jon Hagar

The smaller the device, the less testing is needed. Right? Jon's insightful article dispels the notion that traditional software testing approaches work for mobile and embedded software.

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