The Latest
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The Need for Speed?[magazine] Tod Golding is all for increased speed and saving time, but not if they compromise the maintainability of your code. The speediest code won't mean much down the road, if someone unfamiliar with the code isn't able to drop in and make an important change or fix. |
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All Models are Wrong[magazine] From the Copernican solar system to an engineer’s scale replica of a bridge, the world is full of models that answer our questions and help us solve problems. Lee Copeland tells us that a model doesn't have to be correct to be useful. |
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Developers Who Test[magazine] Every software professional knows that testing is hard, and the situation is even bleaker for software developers. The good news is that effective techniques exist that won't break the schedule or overwhelm developers with test cases. Let loose your inner tester with patterns designed with developers in mind. |
Neil Harrison
July 5, 2006 |
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Debunking Myths of Agile Development[magazine] Agile methods have made their way to the software mainstream in the last few years. As more organizations turn to agile development, its definition often gets obscured. Learn the facts behind five common agile myths, as Robert Holler attempts to dispel these misconceptions. |
Robert Holler
July 5, 2006 |
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What Lies Beneath[magazine] Just when you think your application is free of defects, you find security vulnerabilities lurking beneath the surface. Penetration testing can help you get them before they get you. Ryan English discusses vulnerabilities and offers five steps to organizations looking to start a Web application security initiative. |
Ryan English
July 5, 2006 |
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"Agile" Change Management: From First Principles to Best Practices[article] This month we will discuss what agile change management is, what it means, and how to do it. First, we will describe what we mean by agile change management and give some examples of the relevant parts of some agile methods. We will then discuss how to make change management agile and some of the principles and techniques behind it. |
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Back to CM Basics: Change Control[article] This topic has in all likelihood been discussed and hammered more than any other CM-related subject. But it's a good idea to revisit it now and then, especially from another prospective and point-of-view, just to keep it fresh. |
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Is Continuous Integration Just Another Buzz Word?[article] Last month we wrote that we would be addressing some questions and concerns raised by readers who gave us feedback on previous articles. We still intend to address these concerns. However, since the theme for this month (continuous integration) is one of the core "enabling practices" of agile methods like extreme programming, we felt it necessary to shift our focus this month to cover it instead of what we had originally intended. |
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Merging Defect Fixes into the Development Codeline[article] No matter what type of software you develop, from internal IT applications to web applications to commercial software packages, fixing bugs following a release is part of the software development lifecycle. Realistically, software maintenance can be a project by itself. However, the process of merging production fixes into the development codeline is an equally significant effort. Unfortunately, the effort required to merge production fixes into the development codeline can be grossly underestimated and improperly staffed even by organizations that practice otherwise good software development. |
Michael Sayko
June 30, 2006 |
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ABCs of a Branching and Merging Strategy[article] Branching is both simple and complex. For many, it is challenging to know where to begin. This article hopes to provide a starting point, by highlighting branching concepts, providing reasons for branching, and suggesting an approach to establish a branching and merging strategy. |
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Agile SCM – Build Management for an Agile Team[article] A number of people work together to develop a software application. The application is useful only when the components each person works on come together: the process of integration. The mechanics of integration happens during a build. Last month we discussed continuous integration. Integration implies building and this month we'll talk about the various kinds of builds one does during a development process. |
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Applying Agile SCM to Databases[article] Many applications have database components, and these components evolve in the same environment as your code and other development artifacts. This article explores some of the issues around applying version management to database development in an agile environment. The article raises more questions than it answers, and we hope that it starts a dialogue about this important, yet often neglected topic. |
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A Practical Approach for Selecting and Adopting an SCM Tool[article] Wanted: A software configuration management (SCM) tool that (a) provides the capabilities necessary to support an organization's software development process, (b) integrates seamlessly with the Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), (c) facilitates the organization's change management process, (d) facilitates the organization's build process, (e) requires only modest training for technical staff , and (f) encourages proper and effective use by technical staff. |
Michael Sayko
June 29, 2006 |
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Software Development : How Good It Can Be[article] This article is dedicated to telling you how good developing software can be. Austin Hastings describes many software development practices working together, some of which you don't have. If you like an idea you see here, implement it. After your first implementation steps, you can return here to find yet another idea to implement. |
Austin Hastings
June 29, 2006 |
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SCM Predictions from the 1990's: Are We There Yet (2006)?[article] Making predictions is fraught with danger and the last thing forecasters need is somebody to actually compare their predictions with reality. In SCM there were key attempts to project the future of the discipline and the tools that support it. As a dozen years have elapsed since these predictions were made, it is time to assess their accuracy and determine where SCM has been and where it still needs to go. |
Louis Taborda
June 29, 2006 |
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