personal improvement

Model of a head with areas of the brain diagrammed Do You Use Only 10% of Your Brain?

You’ve probably heard the claim that we use only 10% of our brains. That's a total myth, but it’s not hard to understand why it would take hold: Who hasn’t wondered how we could do more in less time and with less effort? The reality is that most everyone can become more productive by following some simple tips.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Computer, cup of coffee, and to-do list 3 Tactics to Stay Productive with an Agile Schedule

The usual productivity tips apply best to those working in a typical office with typical hours. What if you don’t work within a structured schedule? How can you stay productive when work ebbs and flows or occurs outside the typical nine-to-five? Here are three ways to be productive when your schedule is unpredictable.

Beth Romanik's picture
Beth Romanik
Person holding a sparkler with New Year's fireworks in the background Top 10 TechWell Insights Stories of 2019

Career development was on many software practitioners' minds in 2019, as some of our top stories were about having a technical lead on a Scrum team and making the switch from quality assurance to quality engineering. Stories about new ideas such as DevOps and continuous testing also ranked high. Check out the roundup.

Beth Romanik's picture
Beth Romanik
Group of software engineers laughing at their computers Joking Around and Taking Work Seriously

You may be totally serious about your job yet give the impression that you’re not. Laughter and fun help some people tackle the high-priority, stress-inducing problems they face every day, but it can also be misinterpreted by others that they aren't taking their work seriously. How are people perceiving your behavior?

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Broken pastel sticks Security Testing: A Constructive Mindset with a Destructive Approach

A typical tester mimics end-users, who are constructive when exploring an application’s functionality. But the role of a security tester is different. Their focus is mainly on mimicking hackers, who are intentionally destructive. A solid security strategy should balance both constructive and destructive efforts.

Rajini  Padmanaban's picture
Rajini Padmanaban
Scrum team high-fiving after their daily standup 4 Tips to Refocus Stale Standups

The daily standup is supposed to get everyone on the same page and make teams more productive and efficient. But it’s easy for this short meeting to become stale and stop providing any real benefit. Here are four ways to get out of the slump of merely delivering status updates and re-energize your daily standups.

Cristy Bird's picture
Cristy Bird
Man looking skeptical Beware of Success Stories

The tendency to look back and think you know what contributed to a success is called survivorship bias. It occurs when you make a decision or take some action based on past successes while ignoring past failures. That's why it's important to approach reports of successful projects with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Neon sign saying "People fail forward to success" Lessons Learned from Product Failures

Being agile is all about learning from failures and building on experiences. This applies to not just individuals, but even to large organizations. The key is being transparent and objective in accepting and understanding failures, and taking away lessons for future actions and decisions. Just keep innovating.

Bharathan Venkateswaran's picture
Bharathan Venka...