Articles
 |
When Software Development Becomes a True Profession David Bernstein describes the software profession as an industry of amateurs. He argues that it does not yet have many of the things that a true profession has, such as a defined path of entry or good apprenticeship opportunities. A big reason is that computer programming hasn't been around as long as other industries, but what else will it take for software to rise in the ranks? |
|
 |
Continuous Improvement Activities beyond the Retrospective One of the principles behind the Agile Manifesto is “At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.” Unfortunately, many associate that practice with performing team retrospectives at the end of a sprint, or periodically in kanban. But if you seek to build a high-performing team, there are more improvement activities you should consider adopting. |
|
 |
Embracing the Learning Curve in Software Development In software development, we're constantly learning new skills because we have to. Technology and its associated best practices are constantly changing, but this is a good thing—it means our industry is evolving quickly. It also means we are constantly on the learning curve. Having a good mindset about continuously learning can help you go far in the software world. |
|
 |
Agile Trends to Watch in 2018 With 2018 well underway, it seems like a good time to look ahead and think about what we hope to accomplish this year. Find out which agile trends these software experts are most looking forward to in the coming months. |
Better Software Magazine Articles
 |
Be Indispensable: Cross-Train like a Testing Athlete Stretching your skills and preparing for organizational and work-related change is vital for any QA tester. Your best approach is to work on complementing your skills and competencies. |
|
 |
How Technology Is Changing the Way We Learn Modern technologies like virtual reality, cloud-based systems, and measurement of content have disrupted how we learn. Standards have evolved to improve how learning material can be published to any device. |
|
 |
Saying No to More Work We’ve all been placed in the situation where a boss asks you to perform more work than you can possibly handle. Johanna Rothman knows firsthand that there is a better way to respond that benefits you and your manager. |
|
 |
Recognizing #WomenInAgile As part of her involvement with #WomenInAgile, Natalie Warnert conducted a study to determine why women are less involved in the agile community and what can be done about it. Her research shows some surprising results. |
Interviews
 |
Job Security in the Age of Automation: An Interview with Dawn Haynes
Video
In this interview, Dawn Haynes, CEO, testing coach, and consultant for PerfTestPlus, discusses the ever-evolving world of AI and machine learning and the impact on the future of testing. Dawn explains why tools and automation will not be able to replace people, so testers don’t need to worry about job security. |
|
 |
Experiences at STAREAST 2019: An Interview with Mike Sowers
Video
Mike Sowers, senior consultant and VP of Training with Coveros, discusses the value of attending the STAREAST conference: networking, couch sessions, and being able to discuss common challenges with colleagues. He details conversations about trying to improve personal core competencies along with our teams and organizations, integrating agile and moving into DevOps, and how testing operates in a continuous context. Mike also talks about upcoming conferences and staying ahead of the technology curve through training and learning opportunities. |
|
 |
Why Testers Should Be Using GitHub: An Interview with Wilson Mar
Video
In this interview, Wilson Mar, principal DevOps performance evangelist at JetBloom, describes the importance of Git to testing and to securing employment in the field. Because Git is a great way for testers to display their work, many interviewers look at an applicant’s public GitHub account as a means of judging their work. Wilson discusses his STARWEST session on Git and resources he provides on his GitHub account about Git basics. |
|
 |
Getting Restarted in Test Automation: A Conversation with Chris Loder
Video
Chris Loder, automation architect at InGenius, talks about being a self-taught automation developer, why learning new skills is so important, and the synergy between manual testers, automation testers, and developers. |
Conference Presentations
 |
People Operations in a Teal Organization: Tools and Techniques from a Real Journey
Slideshow
The Lithespeed team first read Frederic Laloux's "Reinventing Organizations” in 2015. We immediately said ‘Hell yes, we are doing this - we should never work any other way!’ |
Amanda Geary
|
 |
Hacks to Becoming a Mindful Agile Tester
Slideshow
Have you ever felt like you've been working on multiple tasks all day long, but at the end of the day when you review your work, you realize you haven’t accomplished anything concrete? |
Raj Subrameyer
|
 |
Fantastic Outcomes and How to Measure Them
Slideshow
Do your metrics track what matters most to your organization, or do they merely quantify your adherence to a process? Is that process a good proxy for real results? In your environment? |
Cheryl Hammond
|
 |
How to Lead Without Authority
Slideshow
Do you need to lead a project but have no level of authority? Is this the first time leading a project, but not sure where to start? Are you interested in potentially being a leader, but wondering what it takes? |
Jolene Trzebiatowski
|
Recommended Web Seminars
| On Demand | Building Confidence in Your Automation |
| On Demand | Leveraging Open Source Tools for DevSecOps |
| On Demand | Five Reasons Why Agile Isn't Working |
| On Demand | Building a Stellar Team |
| On Demand | Agile Transformation Best Practices |
Featured Resources
Visit Our Other Communities
AgileConnection is a TechWell community.
Through conferences, training, consulting, and online resources, TechWell helps you develop and deliver great software every day.