Better Software Magazine Articles

Not Just a Number: The Real Value of Metrics

Metrics can be enormously helpful, but only if they’re used correctly. Abuse them, and they will drive dysfunction. Study the stories behind the data to find the real value.

Joanne Perold's picture Joanne Perold
Things Change (and So Should Processes)

Much like the VCRs of yesteryear, our software development processes are not going to last forever. They’ll fall out of favor, while new and stronger concepts replace them. Jonathan Kohl writes about coping with process evolution in the quest to improve software.

Jonathan Kohl's picture Jonathan Kohl
Find Requirements Defects to Build Better Software
Slideshow

Requirements defects are often the source of the majority of all software defects. Discovering and correcting a defect during testing is typically twenty-five times more expensive than correcting it during the requirements definition phase. Identifying and removing defects early in the...

John Terzakis, Intel
Gamification to Solve Real-World Challenges
Slideshow

What can we learn from Angry Birds, which has been downloaded more than one billion times? What makes games engaging and fun? What is the secret that motivates players to mastery, even when they fail 80 percent of the time? What if we could reverse-engineer the principles behind a...

Ram Srinivasan, inRhythm
Agile Development Conference & Better Software Conference West 2013: Seven Deadly Habits of Dysfunctional Software Managers
Slideshow

As if releasing a quality software project on time were not difficult enough, poor management of planning, people, and process issues can be deadly to a project. Presenting a series of anti-pattern case studies, Ken Whitaker describes the most common deadly habits—and ways to avoid them.

Ken Whitaker, Leading Software Maniacs
Turbocharge Your Team’s Productivity: Increase Your Ability to Deliver
Slideshow

Many factors impact a team’s productivity. Some are well understood—collocation, size, common purpose. Others are less well known including social capital—the value of social networking. Rob Maher describes techniques that have been successfully used within organizations to enhance team...

Rob Maher, Rob Maher Consulting
Find Requirements Defects to Build Better Software
Slideshow

Requirements defects are often the source of the majority of all software defects. Discovering and correcting a defect during testing is typically twenty-five times more expensive than correcting it during the requirements definition phase. Identifying and removing defects early in the...

John Terzakis, Intel
Sanjiv Augustine, industry-leading agile and lean expert Timeless Lean Principles: An Interview with Sanjiv Augustine
Video

Sanjiv Augustine discusses a wide range of agile development methods and how combining those methods with "timeless lean principles" can bring lean management across the enterprise. Sanjiv sat down for this interview just before his session, "Lean Management: Lessons from the Field."

Noel Wurst's picture Noel Wurst
Tim Lister Responsibly "Right" Requirements: An Interview with Tim Lister
Video

Tim Lister explains how getting the right requirements the first time from your stakeholders may not be easy, but it can be done, and it's worth the effort. Learn how with clear expectations, communication, and integral development, products can be delivered on time and to everyone's satisfaction.

Noel Wurst's picture Noel Wurst
Michael DePaoli The Science of Yielding Productivity: An Interview with Mike DePaoli

Mike DePaoli sits down with us to discuss how project leaders, not unlike farmers, benefit from turning to science to give themselves the best chances at a bountiful harvest. We discuss how agile's preference for holistic approaches provides an organic opportunity for success across the enterprise.

Noel Wurst's picture Noel Wurst

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