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Hello, Better Software Magazine Reader![magazine] 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. |
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FAQ: How can I deal with a compressed test schedule?[magazine] In this installment of FAQ, SQE Trainer Linda Hayes answers one of the questions students ask her most often. |
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Forget What You Think You Know[magazine] 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. |
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Ten Ways to Improve Your Risk-Based Testing[magazine] 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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Enterprise Agile and the Business Analyst[magazine] 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. |
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Negotiating Our Relationships[magazine] 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. |
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Small Experiments: Use Small Software Development Experiments Avoid Big Software Failures[magazine] 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. |
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Book Review: Continuous Delivery[article] If you didn't already know that the key to reliably deploy quality software is to take a cross-functional, full-lifecycle approach, Jez Humble and David Farley's book "Continuous Delivery: Reliable Software Releases through Build, Test, and Deployment Automation" will help you to understand. |
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The Potential Pitfall of Ratings[article] Responses to ratings-based surveys are particularly prone to misinterpretation if the surveys don’t allow space for open-ended comments. These comments offer insight into what respondents are really thinking, which may not be obvious from their ratings. |
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Ten Frontiers for Software Testing[article] In May 2010, the first Writing About Testing conference brought some of the top minds in the field together to discuss the current state of public discourse on software testing and areas where testing is evolving within the realm of software development. In this column, Chris McMahon, who designed and launched the conference, continues his mission to advance the discussion by sharing ten of the most interesting frontiers for software testing. |
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Agile Practices Need to Evolve Dramatically in US Defense[article] This past Tuesday, December 14th, I attended the U.S. Department of Defense Agile Development Conference in Washington DC put on by the Association For Enterprise Information. During the conference the expanding commitment to agile by the DOD community was clear. |
Bill Portelli
December 17, 2010 |
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Implementing Software Configuration Management Corporate Standards[article] For last few years or so, I have seen significant improvement in the field of configuration management. Globally many organizations realize its importance and take maximum advantage by adopting best practices and standards to accelerate their business performance. ‘Configuration Management’ plays an important role in any lifecycle of a project and directly impacts the company’s business. |
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Agile SCM: Basics for Small Teams[article] As much as software developers are stereotyped as solitary coders, software development is a collaborative activity. Communication among team members is essential in ensuring continuously working software. And working software is what makes communication with stakeholders easier. You can show the state of your application rather than explain progress in terms of more abstract concepts. Your SCM system (and processes) are an essential part of how you communicate both in and about code between developers and to stakeholders. |
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A Psychology Framework That Will Help You Implement CM Practices[article] How does personality impact the implementation of industry Standards and Frameworks? It would seem that following the guidance in the IEEE 828 CM Planning standard is simply a matter of writing CM Plans and documenting your existing CM practices. The fact is that some people implement Standards and Frameworks successfully and others fail miserably. This article presents a popular and highly regarded psychology framework that will help you better understand how to implement Configuration Management. |
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Using Voluntary Consensus Standards[article] Statement of the problem |