Better Software Magazine

Better Software Magazine Articles

Testing in the Dark

How can you test software without knowing what it should do? Here is a step-by-step approach to overcoming undocumented requirements, including how to discover the requirements, how to define "quality" for the project, and how to create a test plan including release criteria.

The Test Matrix: How to Keep a Complex Test Project on Track

When testing needs to account for different user environments and installation configurations, the possible combinations can add up quickly. Read how one company used a simple data organization method to keep everything on track.

Mark Pawson
Karl Wiegers Describes Ten Requirements Traps to Avoid

Recognized requirements expert, Karl Wiegers, shares the symptoms and solutions for common requirements-related project problems, including inadequate customer involvement, vague and ambiguous requirements, inadequate change process, and scope creep.

Karl E. Wiegers
Managing Your ERP Project

Managing your ERP Project

Marie Benesh
Software Installation Testing: How to Automate Tests for Smooth System Installation

Installation testing—especially manual testing—can sometimes be grueling. Here are several aspects of installation testing that are best suited to automated methods.

Chris Agruss
On-Track Requirements: How to Evaluate Requirements for Testability

Prior to using the requirements to develop the Test Plan, an analysis should be performed to evaluate the testability of the requirements. This article suggests a proven method used on a recent project that accomplishes such an evaluation.

Rodger Drabick
Cem Kaner on Rethinking Software Metrics

The theory underlying a measurement must take into account at least nine factors. This article defines these nine factors (e.g., the scope of the measurement, the scale of the instrument, and the variation of measurements made with the instrument) and applies them to a few examples.

Cem Kaner
Avoiding Scalability Shock

Web application scalability tops the list of challenges for those designing and developing e-commerce sites. Here are five steps to managing the performance of e-business applications: architecture validation, performance benchmarking, performance regression testing, performance tuning and acceptance, and continuous performance monitoring.

Billie Shea
Evaluating Tools

You, or perhaps your manager, have decided that it's time to choose a tool. Where do you begin? How do you go about comparing them? This article provides a five-step process for comparing, evaluating, and finally choosing the right tool for your organization.

Elisabeth Hendrickson's picture Elisabeth Hendrickson
Software Configuration Management

Pat Wegerson recommends software configuration management resources AntiPatterns and Patterns in Software Configuration Management and the online CM Yellow Pages.

Pat  Wegerson's picture Pat Wegerson

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