The Latest

	Using Your Staff Wisely: How to Make Do with Less[magazine] In the authors' experience, sharing testing and development tasks is a viable option when the test staff can architect the tests. However, it requires the full support of everyone involved–testers, developers, and managers. All staff members must be committed to delivering a high-quality product and have a common vision of how to achieve this goal. Suzan Noden and Jennifer Mingee describe their experience sharing testing tasks with development.	Suzan Noden Jennifer Mingee July 30, 2002
	Ghost Bug Busters[magazine] The nasty bugs, some of the juiciest, aren't easy to replicate. The author calls these "ghost" bugs–things we've seen but cannot conjure up again. They leave us haunted with doubts about a system. In this Bug Report, Karen Johnson gives tips on how to replicate these apparitions.	Karen N. Johnson July 30, 2002
	Ellen Gottesdiener on Requirements Exploration and Modeling[magazine] Translating customer requests into software requires exploration, learning, and discovery. As such, this Reference Point lists resources you can use to learn more about requirements exploration and modeling. Ellen Gottesdiener—a recognized authority on software requirements—provides her top recommendations for books, journals, and online resources on the subject.	Ellen Gottesdiener July 30, 2002
	Should a Manager Know a Language?[magazine] Knowing C++ or Java can make a manager's job easier. But what about being an expert in spoken language? It's essential to be competent in the use of daily language when you are making the transition to management. Technical Editor Esther Derby gives advice on improving your language, including a warning about the dangers of using absolutes and of leaving out details in conversation.	Esther Derby July 30, 2002
	Go Configure![magazine] Configuration management problems can derail the best of software projects. Walk through the basics of how to make CM work for—not against—you.	Dwayne Phillips July 30, 2002
	Agile Meetings[magazine] Does the thought of going to yet another meeting make your head spin? Read about how to increase your team's productivity by making your meetings short, frequent, and focused.	Linda Rising July 30, 2002
	Targeted Fault Insertion[magazine] Some programs must handle network errors, file system errors, and the like. Testing their error handling manually can be tedious and time consuming. Relying on accidental errors is unreliable and uncontrollable. Learn about a method for simulating errors that makes the process automated and flexible.	Paul Houlihan July 30, 2002
	Forecasting Software Defects[magazine] The six weeks of testing you've been preparing for are suddenly reduced to one, but you still want to provide some assessment of overall quality. Read about this statistical approach to predicting the number of failed test cases in an application.	TechWell Contributor July 30, 2002
	Bug Tracking Basics[magazine] Effective bug tracking assures that bugs are logged, fixed, and verified by the appropriate personnel. Here's a beginner's guide to this process.	Mitch Allen July 30, 2002
	What a Tangled Web[magazine] Web applications provide platforms so wide open that they defy the very structure and predictability that make test automation feasible. Object names are optional, can be duplicated, and may change at a moment's notice. Page layouts can change between and within builds. This wicked combination makes test automation even more difficult, if not downright impossible. Linda Hayes explains the importance of unique, consistent object names in Web development.	Linda Hayes July 30, 2002
	Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel?[magazine] Losing your job is never easy, but the way you handle the experience has a direct impact on the results that you'll be able to achieve. Being laid off can make you question your abilities, but you have to roll with the punches, and enjoy your time off while you're looking for the next opportunity.	Stefan P. Jaskiel July 30, 2002
	A Look at a Test Data Generator[magazine] When Pat McGee couldn't find the right tool for the job, he and his team wrote one in Visual Basic for Applications for Microsoft Excel. They used Excel for all the data entry and calculations. Several groups in the project ended up using the tool–including testers, developers, and database administrators. Read how they did it.	Pat McGee July 30, 2002
	Hidden Risks in Web Code[magazine] A look at the HTML source code behind Web sites can often reveal security issues that would never be uncovered by those blissfully ignorant of the code. This bug report will examine two common methods of maintaining state and passing data in Web-based systems–hidden form fields and the HTTP GET method–and demonstrate some of the associated security risks through an examination of HTML code.	Rich Brauchle July 30, 2002
	Ken Schwaber on Agile Processes[magazine] Agile processes are founded on an empirical model of process control theory, and they deliver value iteratively and incrementally. Customers and development teams collaborate to wrest the greatest value from advanced technologies and emerging requirements, which practitioners call "value-driven" software development. Here, the developer of the agile process Scrum gives his recommendations for sources on agile processes.	Ken Schwaber July 30, 2002
	Tinkerable Software[magazine] In what ways should software be like a house? In a recent issue of STQE magazine, Technical Editor Brian Marick’s musings about the concept of “tinkerable software” generated some interesting discussion about the very nature of software design. This week’s column runs a portion of that piece so that our Sticky-minded readers can sink their thoughts into the concept.	Brian Marick July 30, 2002

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