Better Software Magazine Archive:

Nov/Dec 2004

IN THIS ISSUE

2004 Salary Survey
By Francesca Matteu

Each year we ask you, the readers, to tell us about your job, your experience, and your compensation. We then present our findings in a format that makes it easy to compare yourself to your peers. Check it out.

A Formula for Successful Peer Reviews
By Patrick Bailey

Peer reviews come highly recommended, but many who try them find they just don't work. Maybe that's because they didn't have the magic ingredients. Find out what could be missing from your peer reviews.

Power Plays
By Heather Shanholtzer

Get the software engineering slant on items from the recent news.
 

Much Ado about Outsourcing
By Adam Kolawa

Turn to The Last Word, where software professionals who care about quality give you their opinions on hot topics. This month, read why one man thinks the US is overreacting to the threat of overseas outsourcing.
 

What Is Quality, Anyway?
By Rebecca Traeger

All year long we've been asking people in every phase of the software development lifecycle to tell us what quality means to them. We found that while most agree on what quality is, there's still controversy over how to achieve it.

Bringing Joy to Your Job
By Brian Marick

We're pleased to bring you technical editors who are well respected in their fields. Get their take on everything that relates to the industry, technically speaking. In this issue, find out how to add a little happiness to your project life.

What NOT to Test
By Robert Sabourin

When the schedule is tight, testing often gets squeezed. You could gnash your teeth and rail against the unfairness of it all. You could doggedly test until you run out of time. But maybe it would be better to plan for change up front with a flexible, prioritized test plan. Find out how to decide what to leave in and what to leave out.

Outsourcing: Twelve Tips to Make Outsourcing Work
By Ed Weller

More and more projects are being shipped overseas or outsourced to a contract company nowadays. However, managing an outsourced project is a risky task. Take home twelve hot tips that will help keep your project from getting burned. Ed Weller offers twelve tips to make your outsourcing experience better.

Alter Your Requirements Process
By Dion Johnson

Fashioning a new requirements method is an almost impossible task, given budget and time constraints. But that doesn't mean you have to be stuck with an ill-fitting process. Learn about seven alterations that almost any organization can make.

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