Better Software Magazine Archive: Jan/Feb 2011

IN THIS ISSUE

Measure the Measurable: Improving Software Quality Through Telemetry
By Jamie Campbell

Observing customers in a usability lab can be invaluable for improving product design. But, once your software leaves the lab, do you know what your customers are actually doing and whether or not your software meets their expectations? Learn how engineers on the Microsoft Office team apply a variety of software telemetry techniques to understand real-world usage, how the results drive product improvements, and how you can apply similar techniques.

Hello, Better Software Magazine Reader!
By Joey McAllister

A letter from the Better Software magazine editor—Editor in chief Heather Shanholtzer has graciously offered me the opportunity to write the editor's note for this issue of Better Software magazine as an opportunity to tell you about a project we've been working on for a while. We at Software Quality Engineering are quite fond of the content, contributors, and community at StickyMinds.com, but we recognize that even the finest houses eventually will need at least a fresh coat of paint.

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

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

Forget What You Think You Know
By Guy Beaver

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.

Small Experiments: Use Small Software Development Experiments Avoid Big Software Failures
By Linda Rising

In today's software development and test environment, we seem to have little time for either problem identification or solution implementation. What seems to work well instead (and is more fun) is to try small experiments. The idea is not to solve problems, but to try to learn in little steps.

Negotiating Our Relationships
By Lee Copeland

When joining a project, your position isn't a given; you must negotiate it. Lee identifies five roles that combine to make up team relationships.

Enterprise Agile and the Business Analyst
By John C. Goodpasture

Agile is making its way into the enterprise as a project methodology for industrial-strength projects. Why the popularity? The answer lies in the requirements paradox: “We want requirements to be stable, but requirements are never stable.” Discover some key agile concepts as they affect business analysts.

Ten Ways to Improve Your Risk-Based Testing
By Erik van Veenendaal

Whether you are involved in a traditional V-model environment or applying agile development methodologies, setting testing priorities is always an issue. From practical experience in various domains (e.g., embedded, medical, automotive, banking, and logistics), Erik shares ten essential lessons learned regarding risk-based testing.

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