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How Much Work Can You Do—Developing and Managing Your Project Portfolio Knowing how much work your group can accomplish—and how much it takes to complete that work—is critical to your success as a manager. Johanna Rothman explains how to ascertain your team's potential and how to use that information to define and manage your project portfolio so it doesn't manage you.
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So You Have a New Job Assignment Every change involves endings, and endings mean loss. Even the best changes mean some things will end; things that are like warm, fuzzy blankets will be taken from us. But as one thing ends, a new one begins. In this week's column, Lee Copeland assures us that new beginnings involve new understandings, new values, new attitudes, and, most importantly, a new identity for you.
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Thinking Inside the Box The problem with urging outside-the-box thinking is that many of us do a less-than-stellar job of thinking inside the box. We often fail to realize the options and opportunities that are blatantly visible inside the box that could dramatically improve our chances of success. In this column, Naomi Karten points out how we fall victim to familiar traps, such as doing things the same old (ineffective) way or discounting colleague and teammate ideas. Thinking outside of the box can generate innovative and ingenious ideas and outcomes, but the results will flop when teammates ignore the ideas inside the box.
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How 'Joe' Makes Software Estimates The success of software projects depends to a large extent on the initial effort estimates. Consequently, a lot of work is done proposing good estimation procedures but without very convincing results. This article identifies good estimation practices and clears away some of the cobwebs created by researchers.
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You Make the Call When several different test automation vendors provide similar services, it is sometimes difficult to choose the right test automation software. Clinton Sprauve illustrates how to research various vendors, establish your testing needs, and create a solid plan of attack for the test tool selection process.
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Clarify Your Ranking for System Problem Reports Here's a puzzle: If one defect has a severity rating of 3 and a priority rating of 2, and another defect has a severity rating of 2 and a priority rating of 3, which one do you fix first? In this column, Johanna Rothman tells why she thinks severity/priority combinations can be confusing, and she offers her own simpler, three-tiered rating system.
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What Metrics Can Do for You Measuring activities are vital to the software test process. On this site, there are more than 200 items (articles, tools, templates, etc.) classified under the topic "measurement." But what good are all the bits and pieces of data that you collect? In this week's column, veteran software tester Rick Craig outlines some of the practical uses for metrics.
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Testing Testers You don't wait until the day before a software release to test the product. Testing software is a complex process, involving systematic investigation and sustained observation. In this week's column, James Bach argues that evaluating testers is similarly complex. And it shouldn't be put off until the night before the tester's performance review.
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Testing Your Worth There's no doubt that the current job market is tight and a little shaky for test professionals. In a climate where entire test groups are being laid off or trimmed to the bone, Johanna Rothman notices a trend in test management priorities that you might want to consider. Follow the story of how one test manager determined tester ROI and how testers might approach increasing their value.
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Measuring Performance Against Management Deliverables Prompted by a comment from our sticky-minded audience, this week Johanna shares some ways test managers can assess their performance against specific management deliverables likely to be high on an organization's priority list.
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