Better Software Magazine

Better Software Magazine Articles

Strangling Legacy Code

Organizations saddled with legacy web applications often rewrite the applications from scratch. But what if an application could be rewritten a bit at a time by the same team that maintains it? Find out how one team "strangled" out legacy code with a new application—without having to start the rewrite from scratch.

Mike Thomas's picture Mike Thomas
Measurements that Matter

No one starts a project with the goal of failing, but some metrics experts claim that 80 percent of software metrics initiatives fail. Just as your software project has goals for success, you should have goals for success in your metrics initiatives. Find out what you can do to better your chance for success.

Alan Page's picture Alan Page
Do-It-Yourself

Projects collapse in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons. Fortunately there are things you can do to stabilize and rebuild your project before the dust settles. With these expert tips and a little elbow grease, you'll have the tools you'll need to renovate almost any failing project.

Mike Cohn's picture Mike Cohn
A Crash Course in Scripting

More and more software testing is becoming a technical activity—and that means programming. In the future, simply having domain knowledge won't be enough. Good craftspeople need good tools, and some of the most powerful tools in the tester’s toolbox today are dynamic programming languages like Perl and Ruby. If you aren't familiar with these languages, this article will help you get up to speed and start scripting in no time.

Chris McMahon's picture Chris McMahon
The Case of the Missing IF

Grandma cooked her roast a certain way, and now you're repeating the process without knowing why you have to trim the ends off an uncooked roast even though the pan is adequately sized. Relic processes in many organzations fall trap to this mindset since the reason behind the action lost its meaning long ago. Lee Copeland calls these "IF ..., THEN ..." processes. When the organization loses sight of the IF responsible for the action, then you're left with what Lee describes as "a process without a context; a rule without a reason."

Lee Copeland's picture Lee Copeland
A Look at Selenium

Get one reviewer's opinion of Selenium, a functional and acceptance testing tool for Web applications.

Grig Gheorghiu
Your Job - Requirements = Less Value

In this issue's Last Word, Dion Johnson calculates your job's worth when requirements are removed from the equation.

Dion Johnson's picture Dion Johnson
You Can Teach an Old PMO Agile Tricks

Every manager has a story to tell. Find out how one management professional tackles a fictional dilemma. The story may be made up, but the solutions are tried and true. In this installment, Michele Sliger tells the tale of the movement of a Program Management Office away from waterfall toward Agile.

Michele Sliger's picture Michele Sliger
What Goes Up Must Come Down

Writing requirements purely top-down or only bottom-up is risky to say the least. The devil's in the details, and those details are likely to be missed when working from a single direction. What if you could tackle your requirements from both directions by incorporating use cases and user centered design? Learn how balancing your approach to writing requirements can result in more detailed, pragmatic documentation.

Jeff Patton's picture Jeff Patton
Three You Should Read

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, our newest technical editor, Lee Copeland, discusses three books that have changed his life and encourages others to seek out literary inspiration of their own.

Lee Copeland's picture Lee Copeland

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