Better Software Magazine Articles

FAQ: How can I deal with a compressed test schedule?

In this installment of FAQ, SQE Trainer Linda Hayes answers one of the questions students ask her most often.

Linda Hayes's picture Linda Hayes
Forget What You Think You Know

The transition to lean-agile can be challenging for traditional project managers because traditional competencies and practices can conflict with the core principles that explain why lean principles work. To help prepare project managers transitioning to lean-agile, this article exposes five counterintuitive practices that challenge standard project management beliefs.

Guy Beaver's picture Guy Beaver
Thoughts from Mid-Project

My team is in the middle of one of the hardest projects—we call them "themes"—we’ve ever tackled. We’re a high-functioning agile team that has helped our company grow and succeed over several years now—we “went agile” in 2003. Here’s one thing I know for sure: No matter how many problems you solve, new challenges will pop up.

Lisa Crispin's picture Lisa Crispin
How to Resolve Disputes So Everyone Wins

It's a special skill to be able to terminate disputes amicably. In this week's column, Naomi Karten offers suggestions for how to resolve disputes so that none of the parties suffers from black eyes or bruised egos.

Naomi Karten's picture Naomi Karten
estimates in days with corresponding uncertainity factors Software Project Estimation

Tired of guesstimating your estimation process just to create a completion date management will accept? Jonathan Kohl takes the guess work out of estimations by focusing on uncertainties. It may sound counterintuitive, but the idea is to focus on the fact that all projects face unforeseen delays. The rigorous estimation process Jonathan describes here provides your team a way that ensures enough time is scheduled for development and a date for completion management can agree upon.

Jonathan Kohl's picture Jonathan Kohl
Four Frequent Feedback-Gathering Flaws

Giving your customers the opportunity to provide feedback is great, but only if you don't fall into one of the four traps that Naomi Karten describes in this article. Let your customers know that not only do you want their feedback, but that you'll actually use the important info they give you.

Naomi Karten's picture Naomi Karten
Sometimes Perception Is the Problem

High on a mountain twenty years ago, a wise man shared secrets of problem solving that have served Payson Hall ever since. In this article, Payson passes along a simple definition that offers insights into problems and potential solutions.

Payson Hall's picture Payson Hall
Warning: No News is Not Always Good News

When your customers aren't complaining about the services you provide, it's easy to assume you have happy customers. But that could be a serious mistake. In this week's column, Naomi Karten describes what happened in two organizations that misinterpreted the absence of customer complaints.

Naomi Karten's picture Naomi Karten
A Community of Practice Retrospective

In this article, Jennitta Andrea explains how a community of practice retrospective differs from a project retrospective. She also explores the motivation for a community to perform this type of retrospective.

Jennitta Andrea's picture Jennitta Andrea
Releasability status Ready to Ship?

On the surface, a Broadway musical, a newspaper, and software may not seem to have much—if anything—in common, but they have one common thread. All are delivered on a fixed schedule. But of the three, software tends to stray the most from the fixed schedule. In this week's column, Jeff Patton says that by focusing on the readiness of the entire product—as done in theatrical performances and when publishing a newspaper—and not just on the completion of the planned bits of work, you can produce software on a fixed schedule that you know is ready to ship.

Jeff Patton's picture Jeff Patton

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