Articles

Laptop screen showing test data analytics Applying Data Analytics to Test Automation

Testers gather lots of metrics about defect count, test case execution classification, and test velocity—but this information doesn't necessarily answer questions around product quality or how much money test efforts have saved. Testers can better deliver business value by combining test automation with regression analysis, and using visual analytics tools to process the data and see what patterns emerge.

Harsh Vardhan's picture Harsh Vardhan
Agile team discussing portfolio investments Software Portfolio Management Simplified for Agile

Software portfolio management involves deciding which products and features to invest in to stay competitive and increase profit. But traditional portfolio management has infrequent assessments and isn't very flexible to market needs. When teams are agile but the portfolio process is not, we can't maximize business value. Here are some ways portfolio management can be adjusted to address this challenge.

Pratik Kothari's picture Pratik Kothari
Product owner standing in front of a wall of sticky notes 3 Elusive Qualities of a Great Product Owner

When it comes to guiding the development of a product and ensuring you’re building what the user actually needs, a product owner is the most important hire for the team. There’s just one problem: A good product owner can be really hard to find. The characteristics that make a good product owner are elusive, but here are three qualities you should prioritize in your search.

John Yorke's picture John Yorke
Circle with arrows showing a continuous process Continuous Digital: A New Mindset for New Work

Large companies traditionally have run software development projects so that after delivery, the project finished and the team dissolved. In the digital age, one might think the experience of running and delivering projects would be an advantage, but the legacy mindset and practices of corporate IT projects are actually a hindrance. Digital work needs to be ongoing, which requires a different management approach.

Allan Kelly's picture Allan Kelly
Business analyst in a suit The Modern Role of the Agile Business Analyst

The business analyst (BA) has played a key role in software development. But within a modern agile context, the role of the BA is less clear, and there is some confusion as to whether the product owner role subsumes that of the traditional BA. Let’s look at the roles the BA can play with agile teams and how to fully leverage their expertise to supplement or augment that of the product owner.

Rich Stewart's picture Rich Stewart
Time lapse of cars driving over a bridge, photo by Anders Jildén The Future of Agile Is Digital

Agile software development is no longer about a better way to develop software. Agile is about changing the way digital technologies, products, and services are created to take advantage of enhanced CPU power and the tools that power has made possible. Here's how digitalization is reshaping agile teams, projects, and the very definition of success.

Allan Kelly's picture Allan Kelly
Server stack with a line through it The Pros and Cons of a Serverless DevOps Solution

The dream of any product owner is fully customizable production software without the expense of the hardware it rests upon. While not completely free of infrastructure, serverless infrastructure significantly reduces overhead costs by abstracting away physical hosting, physical security, server maintenance, and OS patching. Here's what you need to know to decide if serverless infrastructure is right for you.

Glenn Buckholz's picture Glenn Buckholz
Magnifying glass zooming in on the word "value" Living the Agile Principles: Customer Value

The first principle of the Agile Manifesto states, "Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software." Early and frequent delivery gets value to customers quickly and helps you figure out whether you understand what your customers really want. Here are five tips for how you can follow the first agile principle and provide customer value continuously.

Jeffery Payne's picture Jeffery Payne
Four people on a crew team rowing together Rowing in the Same Direction: Use Value Streams to Align Work

Ambiguity abounds about value streams, so it’s good to clarify what they are, why they matter, and how to exploit them. It's important to help employees understand the organization's definition of value, to provide visibility on how business value is created, and to focus on the fast flow of value through the value streams. If everyone understands which direction to row the boat, they can steer toward it together.

Dominica DeGrandis's picture Dominica DeGrandis
Football plays Your Strategic Planning Should Be Agile, Too

What has agile taught us about trying to plan everything up front? It usually doesn’t work. So why does your company still use a yearly strategic planning approach that takes six months to develop and requires significant time and effort to pivot to new opportunities and challenges? We need to rethink strategic planning to incorporate design thinking, collaboration, and agility.

Phil Gadzinski's picture Phil Gadzinski

Pages

AgileConnection is a TechWell community.

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