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A New Approach for Estimating in e-Business Development In order to control the costs and schedules of new eBusiness development projects, a revolution in estimation and the software lifecycle must take place. Learn how the Fixed-Time/Fixed-Price estimation model of delivering software provides you with more business benefit as it reduces the new development environment to duplicable, repeatable processes and more accurate costs and time projections. Discover how this new model can increase the delivery of projects on time-and on budget-by a factor of sixty to seventy percent!
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David Duncan, Cambridge Technology Partners
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Buffers and Risk: Critical Chain Project Management Critical Chain Project Management uses statistical process control to more clearly define the relationships between tasks and the project end date by using buffers to represent process variation in project tasks. This paper shows how integrating effective statistical process control with the use of function points and standard processes can dramatically improve your ability to plan and control projects. Using examples based on real-life experience, it provides a simple method for controlling variation and risk.
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Robert Muller, Cytokinetics, Inc.
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How to Make Risk Conversations More Effective Project managers may be reluctant, even unwilling, to discuss problems that testers discover in a project. In this column, management expert Johanna Rothman gives tips on how best to tell management that "the sky is falling," and how to respond if they don't want to hear about potential problems before they occur.
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Managers and the Helpitis Malady Most of us want to be helpful. It's satisfying knowing that we've been able to solve a problem for another person. But what about those times when the other person doesn't really want our help? In this column, Eileen Strider shows how to offer "healthy" assistance, without giving in to the sickly variety.
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A Selection of "Our Take" Columns "Our Take" is a regular column from the editors at Software Quality Engineering. It appears in the twice-monthly StickyLetter since its inception in September 2000 (originally "STQe-Letter"). From jazz music, to car troubles, to the Lewis and Clark expedition, Robert Rose-Coutré, former StickyMinds.com Editor, will use anything to make a point about building better software. The editors at Software Quality Engineering have compiled a collection of some of these pieces. Musings from StickyLetter's "Our Take" are presented here.
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Make Your Point—Without Pointing a Finger When errors are not detected during testing, somewhere down the line someone has to take responsibility. In this column, Linda Hayes shows you when and how to do so—and you might even be able to turn the situation to your advantage.
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Did You Hear What I Said? Software projects are complex endeavors that rely on clear communication for success. If communication methods are mismatched or leave too many gaps, your project could suffer, and you could be highly frustrated. In this column, Karl Wiegers details potential problems to be mindful of, and strategies to use, when communicating about a project.
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Testing Your Worth There's no doubt that the current job market is tight and a little shaky for test professionals. In a climate where entire test groups are being laid off or trimmed to the bone, Johanna Rothman notices a trend in test management priorities that you might want to consider. Follow the story of how one test manager determined tester ROI and how testers might approach increasing their value.
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The Problem Isn't Always THE Problem When things go awry, sometimes the first problem you see is not The Problem but just a product of its symptoms. But if problems can hide behind other problems, how can you learn to spot the true culprit at the source of your dilemma? Elisabeth Hendrickson shares some lessons she's learned about "The Problem."
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7 Keys to Building Great Work Teams Successful projects depend on how well the team works together. Elements that lead to success include commitment, contribution, good communication, and cooperation. Cooperation itself includes factors such as follow-through, timeliness, and others. Conflict management and change management are also important. This article analyzes and explains all of these elements that constitute a productive and successful team.
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