The Latest
![]() |
Small Releases Big Returns[magazine] Many teams work on several projects simultaneously, which is a mistake. By working on one project at a time and releasing early and often, you can achieve startling improvements in value for your stakeholders. |
James Shore
August 1, 2007 |
![]() |
Your Mom Doesn't Work Here: Cleaning up with Java Memory Management[magazine] For large-scale Java applications, understanding memory-related options might mean the difference between a wonderful user experience and recurring system slow downs. This article offers insight into the workings of Java memory management and shows how it cleans up after programmers, recovering memory associated with objects that are no longer being used. |
Alan Berg
August 1, 2007 |
|
Getting Your Hands Dirty[magazine] One way to build quality in is to prevent defects from ever happening. Discover how you can avoid defects by figuring out how to test each feature or requirement before you begin to write the code. Clarke Ching offers up an easy, hands-on example you can put to use today. |
|
Go with the Flow[magazine] Simplicity in testing is a worthy goal, but in reality it's a messy, complex world. Find out how to defocus your test strategy and use flow testing to follow a specific path through a system's functions, investigating circumstances in which it might fail. |
||
![]() |
Test Notes and Coverage Maps--Aids for Rapid Testing[article] As delivery cycles get shorter, rapid test techniques are gaining in popularity. In this article, Sridhar Kasibhatla and Andrew Robins explore the concept of using coverage maps and test notes to support exploratory testing and concurrent test design. These maps and test notes also are used to review and track test coverage and can help document dynamically generated test cases for future re-use. |
|
Lean Development Principles for Branching and Merging[article] By reworking lean principles for the branching and merging arena, we're able to create automated builds and unit tests to increase effectiveness and improve quality in software configuration management. Individual developers and teams alike can benefit from this process-improving strategy. |
||
Configuration Management Planning: What To Do Before you Start[article] Configuration management planning should not start as you put together your CM Plan. By then, you've already predisposed yourself to how your plan is going to play out. |
||
GNU Make Escaping: A Walk on the Wild Side[article] Sometimes you find yourself needing to insert a special character in a Makefile: perhaps you need a newline inside a $(error) message, or a space character in a $(subst) or a comma as the argument to a GNU Make function. Those three simple things can be frustratingly hard in GNU Make; this article takes you through simple GNU Make syntax that removes the frustration. |
||
Enough Is Enough: What Does Agile Software Development Mean?[magazine] Agile software delivery is about doing sufficient up-front analysis, design, and planning—and then deferring decisions to the appropriate time. But what does “enough” really mean? And why has the term "agile" become a cliché in development circles? Terms like "post-agile" or "pragmatic agile" have emerged as a response to this, but this is only a short-term fix. |
||
Agile Addendums[magazine] Six years after the writing of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development, agile is being used more often and more ambitiously. Looking back, there are two things Brian Marick would like to have added to the manifesto: habitability and joy. |
Brian Marick
July 2, 2007 |
|
Drawing Out the Facts[magazine] A properly conducted discovery interview can lead to a wealth of information. Steven Smith explores some effective actions you can take before, during, and after the face-to-face interview to help you master the art of the interview process. |
||
![]() |
What's Wrong with Your Testing Strategy?[magazine] When the design and the coding are complete, and the product seems ready to ship, it’s hard to understand why testing takes so long. Discover how your source code management system can help you unblock the testing bottleneck. |
William W. White
July 2, 2007 |
Quality-It's All in the Values[magazine] We are in the business of providing our customers with products. While we may proclaim our commitment to quality, what really matters is how our users experience our products. So, how do we ensure our organization is a quality organization? Examine our values. |
Neil Harrison
July 2, 2007 |
|
![]() |
What Is the Cost of a Requirement Error?[article] This paper presents a simple, practical calculation of the cost of requirements errors in application software development projects. It also recommends a way to find and fix these costly errors early in a project, when they are least expensive to correct. |
Joe Marasco
June 26, 2007 |
Test Design with Risk in Mind[magazine] Sometimes in testing we find problems that surprise us. And that's where risk-based testing comes in. Build your tests around "What if...?" statements to help you anticipate problems before they arise. |