The Latest
Agile2008 - Segundo Velasquez - Mano a Mano -LiveAid[article]
Podcast
Bob speaks with Segundo Velasquez about Mano a Mano and Live Aid at the Agile 2008 conference. |
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Test Managers-Start Managing![article] Some things in life, like death and taxes, are a given. Software development teams face their own givens: Project schedules will always change and certain teams will suffer because of these changes. If that's to be expected, then why haven't most managers done anything to save their teams from undue stress and abuse? In this column, Dion Johnson explains that we've got to take care of our teams, or else we'll never see the end of team abuse. |
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Preparing for Resource-Constrained Times[article] The economy, like the weather, is a complex system that cycles through good times and bad. Dark economic clouds are brewing on the horizon. Predictions of inflation, stagnant growth, crushing debt, tightening credit are in the forecast. Payson Hall tells us how to weather the storm. |
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Agile and the Seven Deadly Sins of Project Management[article]
Video
Agile approaches to software development promise many advantages: shorter schedules, more productive teams, products that better meet customer expectations, higher quality, and more. In this talk, Mike Cohn explains how agile teams achieve these goals by avoiding the seven deadly sins of project management. Covered will be sins such as gluttony, sloth, lust, opaqueness, and more. |
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Applying Configuration Management to Agile Teams[article] A variety of agile software development methods and practices have now been around for a solid ten years and existed for at least another ten years prior. Configuration management (CM) for agile development has now been discussed since the turn of the century. So what are the core principles of CM and how can CM help agile teams? |
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A Christmas Carol: The Software Tester's Version[article]
Video
Grab some hot cocoa, sit back, and watch this software tester's take on A Christmas Carol by the Grove Players. |
TechWell Staff
July 11, 2008 |
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Real-World Math[article] Math is often not easy to learn, even for those of us who enjoy it. And if you don't use your mathematical knowledge, you just might forget how to use it. Danny Faught likes math and has found ways of using basic math like algebra, the modulo function, expected values, and logarithms in testing. It's kept his mind fresh on mathematical concepts and formulas, and he hopes it will do the same for you. In this week's column, he explains how to use math to improve testing. |
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When 'General Agile' Isn't Enough - Why Scrum Wins in the Enterprise[article] Each week, I find myself using Jenga, Hasbro's wooden building block game, as an analogy for introducing agile into the enterprise. Few topics are more hotly debated throughout the software development community than how to apply the simple values of agile to big business. Many approaches favor knocking down the entire Jenga tower to start from scratch with an entirely new foundation of values and practices. Others opt for the comfort of traditional management processes, with some agile practices — like pair programming and stand-up meetings — sprinkled on top.
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Does Exploratory Testing Have a Place on Agile Teams?[article] Exploratory testing—questioning and learning about the product as you design and execute tests rather than slavishly following predefined scripts—makes sense for many projects. But does it make sense for agile projects? In this column, Johanna Rothman examines how exploratory testing might work on an agile project. |
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Agile IT Experience 2008 Panel Discussion - Agile Marketing, Culture, Jokes[article]
Podcast
Bob Payne joined the panel discussion at the 2008 Agile IT X Conference, and we invite you to listen to this fun and informative podcast that was recorded at the conference. The panel touches on a lot of topics and has a lot of fun doing so. |
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Programming with GUTs[magazine] Because tests are commonly viewed in terms of offering quantitative feedback on the presence or absence of defects in specific situations, Good Unit Tests need to both illustrate and define the behavioral contract of the unit in question. Do you have GUTs? |
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Two Cheers for Ambiguity[magazine] Some people dismiss words such as skill, diversity, problems, and mission as being too ambiguous to be useful. But one tester's ambiguity is another tester's gauge for assessing consensus on a project and how to achieve that consensus. |
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Going on a Picnic with James Watt[magazine] What if you had a picnic and no one brought potato salad? Find out what picnic planning and steam engines have to do with project success and not just satisfying your customers but delighting them. |
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Encourage Pair Programming[magazine] Pair programming is one of the most controversial agile practices. Managers are concerned about the costs and developers are concerned about personal agony. But there also are many benefits. If you are thinking about trying pair programming, here are several reasons why you should. |
Rob Myers
June 24, 2008 |
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Software: Use at Your Own Risk[magazine] Is it really so hard to produce software that works? When was the last time you read a software license agreement? Most are one-sided statements that limit the product developer's liability. It's time to move away from "Use at your own risk" software and be upfront with customers about the true cost of quality. |