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The Boutique Tester[article]

As Matt Heusser sees it, the "war on work" that exchanged centuries of craftsmanship for being a small part of the big machine has itself been replaced in the past decade--at least in the software industry--with a revitalization of the craftsperson. What's more, he sees the realization of the "boutique developer" as a promising sign for the possibility of boutique testers.

Matthew Heusser's picture Matthew Heusser
Overcome Resistance to Change for Success as a CM Leader[article]

Some people just don't wanna change...but change is essential. Change is essential. Insanity has often been defined as doing the same thing over and over again and yet expecting the results to be different. If approaching a problem in a particular way is not working, then you need to consider changing how you're doing things. Although Greek philosophers were well aware that change is a permanent characteristic of the universe, it is certainly true that recent generations have seen the most rapid transformations in the shortest time spans. The reality is that only the most adaptive individuals can be successful leaders in the world as we know it today.

Leslie  Sachs's picture Leslie Sachs
Overcoming Resistance to Change[article]

If change is inevitable, and we're often able to see it coming, why are so many people resistant to it? There are some tried and true ways to help people deal with change, by listening to the reasons for their hesitation, and by making sure people know when they'll be benefitted by the transition.

TechWell Contributor's picture TechWell Contributor
Experience Report: Engineering Change in a Large Organization [article]

It's so easy to get comfortable in your everyday surroundings, but you should know by now that change is often right around the corner. In a larger sized organization, change can be difficult to implement with minimal disruptions, but it can be done, and to the benefit of everyone.

Anonymous
How to Improve Your Software Release Management Process[article]

As the systems being built today increase in software content, the need for software release management continues to rise. This article touches on how service delivery managers and project managers are aware of the need to better manage and control their projects, and how it's being accomplished by improving release management process.

Vishwanath Raju
Project Time Reporting[article]

Project time reporting evokes a passionate response from most team members-- the consensus is they hate it. While Payson Hall worries about supporting something so unpopular, he offers benefits of project time reporting and explores some of the common implementation issues that undermine its value.

Payson Hall's picture Payson Hall
C++ Wrapper Library for Firebird Embedded SQL[article]

This article is devoted to the embedded Firebird database usage and also the development of a C++ wrapper for this database.

TechWell Contributor's picture TechWell Contributor
What Aspiring Speakers Want to Know[article]

Becoming a competent and confident presenter takes practice, preparation, and persistence, but the effort is worth it in terms of the resulting credibility, clout, and career development potential. In this column, Naomi Karten addresses three of the questions she's often asked by people seeking to improve their presentation skills.

Naomi Karten's picture Naomi Karten
Next Week: The Simple Design and Testing Conference[article]

If getting together in a room with a small group of software professionals and having deep discussions about design and testing sounds like your idea of a good time, and you'll be in the Northeast next weekend, I've got the perfect conference for you: The Simple Design and Testing Conference.

 

OK, that may have sounded like a silly introduction, but I'm one of those people who think it sounds like a good time, and if you're still reading this, chances are you are too. Here's the scoop:

Daniel Wellman's picture Daniel Wellman
Can Lean Six Sigma Enable Software Process Excellence?[article]

While Lean Software Development principles aim to uncover and reduce waste, Six Sigma places primary importance on customers, business results, and statistical analysis of processes. Lean also aims to make discoveries about where to target improvements compared with Six Sigma, which measures the results of process changes. By implementing both methodologies—Six Sigma and Lean Software Development—together, you can take advantage of the best in both models.

TechWell Contributor's picture TechWell Contributor
Motivate Your Colleagues While Implementing Standards and Frameworks[article]

Implementing standards and frameworks involves organizing complicated information in order to help technology professionals produce work that is consistent and, by definition, complies with the standard or framework. These same technical wizards often thrive on their individual creative processes. But there are ways to empower and motivate your colleagues while still implementing industry standards and frameworks. This article discusses some of the personality and teamwork issues that you need to consider in this effort.

Leslie  Sachs's picture Leslie Sachs
New Branching Standards for Configuration Management[article]

Joe Farah explores a potential standard for next generation branching. It not only has advanced capabilities and processes, but can also significantly reduce CM complexity and increase CM automation.

Joe Farah's picture Joe Farah
How Does Software Development Fit in with ITIL's Configuration Management Database?[article]

How does software development fit with your ITIL CMDB? ITIL® has long been recognized as the de facto industry standard for IT service management and the adoption of ITIL has been growing rapidly across the world. IT Service Management (ITSM) derives enormous benefits from a best practice approach. Change management and configuration management are core practices at the heart of ITIL and ISO/IEC 20000, the auditing standard that is aligned with ITIL.

The Rationale for Standards[article]

Ben Weatherall gives the rationale for standards from a non-traditional viewpoint, Know what you are trying to solve by first determining the root problems and your culture, and then try to either find a standard that matches or one that can be modified to fit your situation. Just make sure that if you follow a standard, you truly follow it and that if you modify a standard that you document where you vary from it.

Ben Weatherall's picture Ben Weatherall
"I Heard the News Today, Oh Boy" ... About Pair Programming[article]

I was pretty convinced I was having a dream this morning. Everything seemed fairly routine: coffee, breakfast, and the crisp air of a September morning. I paged through an e-mail summary of the headlines from The New York Times, made a mental note to read the story about the effects of eradicating all the pigs from Egypt, and settled in to read an article about pair programming.

Daniel Wellman's picture Daniel Wellman

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