Better Software Magazine

Better Software Magazine Articles

Marine Corps Maxims: Principles for Building Strong Test Teams

The value the U.S. Marine Corps places on teamwork can improve your software development team as well. Former USMC member Sean Buck shares how correctly applying Marine Corps principles will lead the way toward better, more effective test teams.
Sean Buck
December 1, 2006
Rock, Paper, Scissors: How Testers Uncover Hidden Requirements

The requirements process is not a linear one. In this article, Michael Bolton helps you get in the game by showing how the elements of the requirements process–reference, inference, and conference–interact and influence each other.
Michael Bolton's picture Michael Bolton
November 28, 2006
In Search of Commitment Clarity

When planning your workload, it's easy to bite off more than you can chew. But as Michele Sliger explains in this tale of one overachiever's attempt to take on too much work, overcommitting yourself means overcommitting your team.
Michele Sliger's picture Michele Sliger
November 28, 2006
Changing the Hand You're Dealt: Better Designs Through Problem Redefinition

Spending a little more time in design can help minimize the complexity of debugging and maximize the likelihood that the elements of a project will come together in the end. Payson Hall uses a parable and a program fragment to show how small changes to the problem can simplify the solution.
Payson Hall's picture Payson Hall
November 28, 2006
Simple Ain't Easy: Software Design Myths and Realities

The definition of "simple design" varies from person to person. But achieving simplicity isn't just about maintaining simple point solutions.
Brad Appleton's picture Brad Appleton
November 6, 2006
A Look at VMware

The more complicated the system to test, the bigger the headache. Chris Meisenzahl takes a look at how you can take the pain out of testing complicated software systems with VMware’s virtualization tools—VMware Player, VMware Workstation, VMware Server, and VMware ESX Server.
Christopher J. Meisenzahl
November 6, 2006
The Best-Laid Plans

It's a fact of life that plans change, but the proper implementation of agile and release planning can get you back on track. Just be sure to keep the communication lines open and clear throughout the process. Stacia Broderick tells the tale of a department as it works out its kinks in the best interest of its customers.
Stacia Broderick
November 6, 2006
Rhetoric, Religion, and a Better Way

With Apple's conversion to Windows-capable, Intel-based architecture as his jumping off point, Tod Golding takes a look at how we tend to view new technologies through our old perceptions. As technology evolves for the better, he explains, we too must grow out of old rhetoric.
Tod Golding's picture Tod Golding
November 6, 2006
Metrics You Can Bet On

An old adage says that you cannot manage what you cannot measure, but Mike Cohn thinks differently. Here, he offers suggestions on when to use metrics and when you can manage without, as well as some guidelines to help you choose your metrics carefully.
Mike Cohn's picture Mike Cohn
November 6, 2006
Get in the Game: Agile Lessons from Video Game Developers

From providing the likes of Pong boxes to a tiny, niche market to creating graphic-intensive productions that rival the income of Hollywood's box office, the video game industry has boomed in a very short period of time. Find out how agile methods helped one video game studio make the transition.
Clinton Keith
November 6, 2006

Pages

AgileConnection is a TechWell community.

Through conferences, training, consulting, and online resources, TechWell helps you develop and deliver great software every day.