Better Software Magazine Archive: Jan/Feb 2012

IN THIS ISSUE

A Sticky Situation: Low-Tech Test Tools to the Rescue
By Michael Bolton

The testing craft is sometimes fascinated with high-tech, expensive tools that are intended to help managers keep up to date on what's going on. Yet, sometimes heavyweight tools aren't necessary. Michael Bolton describes how Paul Holland, a senior test manager, uses a decidedly low-tech approach to track and illustrate the testing story.

Creative Agility
By Clinton Keith

Many new products being developed require the contribution of artists and other such "creatives," but artists often view the creative process as an organic thing that cannot be analyzed, dissected, or reduced to a set of defined practices without killing it. This article explores barriers such as these to the introduction of agile methods and how these barriers can be overcome.

Why Do Requirements Matter?
By Lee Copeland

A series of dining mishaps leads Lee to reflect on why mistakes happen in spite of well-defined requirements.

Content (and Creativity) Is King in 2012
By Heather Shanholtzer

A letter from the Better Software magazine editor.

Seven Ways to Make Testing Irrelevant on Your Team
By Marlena Compton

Testers and developers can be friends. In fact, on teams working at a breakneck pace to deliver software, they must be friendly enough to rely on each other. However, there are a few sure-fire ways to ruin that relationship before it begins—and potentially make testing both irrelevant and unwelcome. Marlena Compton lists seven such ways here, along with suggestions for avoiding disaster.

Software for Good: The Maker Movement
By Jon Speicher

Communities are sprouting up all over the world to provide an outlet for those who want to create new things and hack existing ones. In this article, Jonathan Speicher writes about one such group, HackPittsburgh, some of the projects he’s worked on, and the value the maker movement brings to those who work in the software industry.

Mobile Challenges for Project Management: The Project Factors
By Jonathan Kohl

Developing software for mobile apps requires a different mindset from developing for computers. Some concepts transfer directly, but there are many device-related challenges managers must overcome. In part one of this two-part series on mobile challenges, Jonathan Kohl addresses some of the project factors managers should take into account during mobile application development.

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