Better Software Magazine

Software development has really changed over the years, and programming languages have evolved along with it. Learn more about D, one of today's more interesting languages; it's a high-level, type-safe language with the efficiency of C++ and the convenience of Java.

Agile methodologies have taken some heat when they appear to have failed to deliver expected benefits to an organization. In my travels as an agile coach, I have found that agile practices don't fail—rather the variations on agile adoption fail. Here are my top twelve failure modes. See which ones may be painfully familiar to you:

Note: This article was originally published on StickyMinds.com as "11 Ways Agile Adoptions Fail."This updated version includes additional information that explains why some agile adoptions that appear to have failed may never have been truly agile to begin with.

Have you ever found a major defect while testing an unfamiliar system and been unable to explain exactly how you found it? The Framework for Exploratory Testing can help. These four activities help you explain your thought processes and allow you to train others to be better exploratory testers.

Contrary to popular belief, object orientation is not the One True Paradigm--there isn't one, each programming style has its own claim to fame, and one is not necessarily better than another. So, even more important than being proficient in multiple languages is the addition of multiple paradigms to your development arsenal.