Better Software Magazine Articles

Broken Windows, Broken Projects

A social experiment in the ‘80s found “Vandalism can occur anywhere once communal barriers are lowered by actions that seem to signal that 'no one cares.'" The same can be said for our software projects.

Lee Copeland's picture Lee Copeland
The System Behind The Behavior

Most managers are familiar with using feedback and coaching to help people improve their performance at work. But those aren't the only tools managers have. Sometimes, the most effective way to change individual behavior is to change something in the system.

Esther Derby's picture Esther Derby
Believe the Territory

Test plans are seldom followed as written, project plans hardly ever fit the actual progress, and process models are rarely followed to the letter. Markus Gaertner examines why most of our documents become obsolete and gives advice about whether or not to continue to write and maintain them.
 

Markus Gärtner's picture Markus Gärtner
Unintended Consequences

Every action elicits a response, but sometimes that response is not what we expect. These anecdotes from industry experts are good examples of how our best intentions don't always match our plans.

Lee Copeland's picture Lee Copeland
The Fishing Maturity Model

Imagine yourself as the owner of a fishing company in need of improvement. Fortunately, a management consultant has come to you with his Fishing Maturity Model and its promises to save the day. Now, as a fisherman or a software tester, will you accept the maturity model hook, line, and sinker?

Matthew Heusser's picture Matthew Heusser
So, You Want to Be a Consultant?

Many practitioners see becoming a consultant as their ultimate career goal. But what does it mean to be "a consultant"? In this email to an aspiring consultant, Fiona Charles (a consultant for more than fifteen years) discusses different consulting approaches and describes how working for a consulting firm can help you get there.

Fiona Charles's picture Fiona Charles
Hidden Messages

A defect management system contains data such as how many defects have been raised, the priority and severity of individual defects, and even who is raising them. This information is regularly used by program and test management to guide decision making. In this article, Dan Minkin proves that an experienced test manager can gather useful information by looking at more than just the defect management system's data.

Dan Minkin
Working Together—Not Just Working Together

People collaborate—and don't—in a variety of ways. Johanna Rothman examines what happens when collaboration isn't working, and how to make it work. Watch for several barriers to collaboration including those imposed on people by the organization itself.

Johanna Rothman's picture Johanna Rothman
Create and Maintain Product Roadmaps Using Agile Principles

Anupam Kundu describes an agile-enabled framework for product managers, project portfolio managers, and IT executives to develop and maintain a dynamic and flexible product roadmap. The product wing of the digital division of a publishing house adopted this collaborative framework to to charter their product roadmap and simultaneously enable their project team to see and understand the “big picture.”

Anupam Kundu
Empowering Self-Organization and Energizing Project Planning with the Commander's Intent

Things change, and when they do, it's best to be ready to change with them. The best plans are doomed to fail if they aren't malleable. In this column, George Schlitz and Giora Morein take a look at the military concept of "Commander's Intent" and how it can apply to non-military project planning.

George Schlitz's picture George Schlitz Giora Morein

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