The Latest

The Declaration of Interdependence[magazine]

In an effort to extend the Agile Manifesto to non-software products and management, experts at the 2004 Agile Development Conference developed The Declaration of Interdependence. Alistair Cockburn details the DOI’s six principles and how they can benefit your organization.

Alistair Cockburn's picture Alistair Cockburn
Principles of Agile Version Control: From Object-oriented Design to Project-oriented Branching[article]

In this article, the authors explore translation of object-oriented design principles to codelines, branching, and promotion. In addition, they expand on the concept of moving from task-based development (TBD) to project-oriented branching (POB).

Process Perspective: Keep All Re-use in mind in the Software Development Process[article]

Software re-use is a worthy and noble ideal to aim for during any development, but why not let's take a bigger picture view of the whole software development environment. Make the goal to set up our process so that as much as possible is re-used on subsequent projects. Here are some thoughts on achieving this.

Charles Edwards
Improving Application Quality by Controlling Application Infrastructure[article]

Today, applications are undeniably the proxies for key business processes.  So, improving application quality drives directly to improving overall business performance.  It's no wonder then that improving application quality and uptime is a top of mind issue for IT managers and executives. 

TechWell Contributor's picture TechWell Contributor
testing chart An Incremental Technique to Pay Off Testing Technical Debt[article]

Technical debt can shorten a product's life. But when technical debt mounts, it can be difficult to see how to pay it off. Using the practices discussed in this column, Johanna Rothman explains how you can start paying off that debt—and how to ease the product's development and maintenance for a long time.

Johanna Rothman's picture Johanna Rothman
Using CM to Enhance the Testing Process[article]

One of the simplest ways to enhance QA's ability to manage the test process is to put the QA group's Test Cases under CM control. Besides being an industry best practice, putting Test Cases under CM control will also help to qualify your organization for CMM Level 2. Depending on the features and functions of your firm's CM tool, putting Test Cases under CM control can provide the following benefits:

TechWell Contributor's picture TechWell Contributor
What Links the Requirements to Tests in Development Today?[article]

What’s happened to the links between requirements and tests? How do we know what to test and when? How do we, and the customers, know we got the system being built right? What’s the traceability between the two disciplines?

Charles Edwards
Piecing Together an Agile Organization[magazine]

Implementing agile processes can be like putting together a puzzle. But what happens when the pieces don't fall into the right place? Alicia Yanik tells the story of Daniel, who is wound up about his company's new agile elements, and Meg, who sees things from a more enlightened angle.

Alicia Yanik
Migrating to Subversion[article]

In this article, we will look into the process of migrating from other version control systems to Subversion. Development teams decide to switch to Subversion for a wide variety of reasons. For many, SVN delivers new and desirable features which were lacking in their former system - usually because that system's design was much older than Subversion's. Such is the case with CVS, and for some commercial systems as well.

TechWell Contributor's picture TechWell Contributor
Making directories in GNU Make[article]

This article looks at a variety of ways to achieve directory creation in GNU Make and points out a common trap for the unwary.

John Graham-Cumming's picture John Graham-Cumming
Characteristics of the Agile SCM Solution[article]

This article focuses on the characteristics of SCM solutions, tool, and environments that are necessary to for agile development to succeed, particularly about agile SCM striving to be as transparent and "frictionless", automating as much as possible.

The Truth About Exploratory Testing[magazine]

Forget what you thought you knew about exploratory testing. Dion Johnson is disturbed by its exploitation by those who wish to escape accountability and forgo up-front planning, but says that exploratory testing and scripted testing can work together to enhance quality practices.

Dion Johnson's picture Dion Johnson
Books Are Tools, Too[magazine]

One of the most important tools a tester can keep on hand is a book, whether it contains instructions for a new method or is a reference for an old favorite. This Tool Look contains one tester’s take on the book "Fit for Developing Software" by Rick Mugridge and Ward Cunningham.
 

Sidney Snook
Diagnosing Malignant Management[magazine]

Software development is a creative process that requires communication and nurturing. It's a big surprise to new director of software development Clarion Walker, therefore, to discover that his company’s issues may be rooted in poor team management.

Patrick M. Bailey's picture Patrick M. Bailey
Time for New Test Ideas[magazine]

Testers are quick to think about speed when testing, but there are many other time-related guidewords that can help broaden your test coverage as well. Michael Bolton suggests a few guidewords to get you started.

Michael Bolton's picture Michael Bolton

Pages

CMCrossroads is a TechWell community.

Through conferences, training, consulting, and online resources, TechWell helps you develop and deliver great software every day.