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How are you going to develop 1,000 or more automated test cases and run them automatically and unattended night after night?

In today's world, customers expect to see software projects delivered in increasingly shorter cycles. The maximum time most IT customers seem willing to wait is about one year. In this fast-paced environment, the question becomes: just how much software can a typical IT shop create in twelve months? QSM's Doug Putnam logistically answers the question using production statistics from the QSM Industry database and the challenges he expects a team could face.

Team building sessions: few like to attend those things. Yet, the benefits of teamwork are constantly praised and rewarded. Even this article praises teamwork, but does not suggest any touchy-feely exercises to bring test and development teammates closer together. Deborah Kablotsky specifically covers understanding each other and working together throughout a project's lifecycle, a proven way of working together to shorten test cycles and deliver high quality products on time. She also discusses the necessity of integrated teams and provides some proven tips successful to Web-based businesses on making this best practice a reality.

One of the most valuable services a QA group provides is preventing failure. Ironically if the group succeeds at this, QA might find themselves unpopular or out of a job. Linda Hayes reveals how typical methods of measuring success can actually cause failure. Especially if success is achieved at the loser's expense.

Are you attempting to start an independent test group or increase the scope and value of your present group? After building a highly effective thirty-person test group, Scott Eder reflects on the three major areas where he focused and the challenges he faced along the way. Take away sample work scope and purpose statements for your test group, and learn how to set realistic expectations at all levels within your organization. Find out the key processes that Scott implemented immediately to get his team off to a good start.

• The foundations of an independent test group that is valued by your organization
• Ways to build relationships with key stakeholders in order to foster a supportive environment for test and quality
• How to create a sense of identity around which your test team can rally

Ponder for a moment the impact of mints on your life. They provided an extra degree of confidence during some of life's most important moments from job interviews to first dates. Some people may even have a spouse and kids because a mint helped out in a crucial moment. In this column, Dion Johnson points out that the requirements improvement techniques called RequireMINTs can similarly impact the life of your software projects because like mints, they are small, refreshing, and effective.

There's a common misconception that test-driven development is a testing technique when in fact it's a design technique. In this column, Jeff Patton explains this and how you might use your unit tests to explicitly guide and describe the design of your software.