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It's a good idea to thoroughly study the bugs that have already been found in the software you're testing. It's even better if you study other people's bugs, too. Read on in this issue of Career Development as Elisabeth Hendrickson provides a helpful guide to continuous professional development.

Peter TerMaat tells the story of a failing project and a chart that influenced a $2 million decision.

For anyone involved in security testing, or for anyone who is just plain curious about this area of software testing, the following references will provide a good starting point for any effort that you might be asked to undertake. In this issue, Steven Splaine discusses this important aspect of software engineering.

 A contractor or new employee is about to start work in your department. Have you paved the way for the new arrival to hit the job running? Check out this guide to make sure you've thought of everything.

Instead of wading through requirements documents, try drawing them instead. Learn about three simple diagrams and how to turn them quickly into valuable models. The diagrams presented here represent the most commonly used types for each of the three software dimension perspectives: data flow diagrams for function, class diagrams for information, and state transition diagrams for behavior.

Think you’re ready to launch your new metrics program? Think again. Find out how conducting a trial measurement program on yourself first can give you valuable insights and understanding. Learn about the value and limits of measurement, gain knowledge into why many software measurement efforts fail, and prepare yourself for launching a successful program.

Many managers believe that overtime, even extended overtime is a good thing, and will help a project make progress. However, most technical people who try to work more than two weeks of overtime make huge numbers of mistakes. Often, they don't realize the mistakes and have already wasted a lot of time and money.