process improvement

Don't Just Work Longer—Work Smarter

People who work long hours assume they're also working hard—but that doesn't mean they're working smart. If you have a lot to do, you want to work smart—not just work a lot. How do you discover how much time spent working makes you the most productive? Run this experiment and gather some data.

Johanna Rothman's picture
Johanna Rothman
The Most Memorable Security Breaches of 2013

This year may go down as the year of Internet security breaches. After all, it was only this year that people began to look over their shoulders at the NSA. However, the NSA wasn't responsible for all of this year’s most memorable security breaches. Read on for a 2013 roundup.

Cameron Philipp-Edmonds's picture
Cameron Philipp...
How to Avoid or Remedy Technical Debt

Many people have experienced monetary debt in their lives, and although technical debt isn't quite the same, it can be just as harmful. With technical debt, you aren't borrowing chunks of code with the promise to pay it back. Read more to learn about technical debt and how you can avoid and fix it.

Cameron Philipp-Edmonds's picture
Cameron Philipp...
Handoffs Aren't Bad—Just Think of Cooks in the Kitchen

Some people are confused by the word handoff. They think it means people have not done their jobs and other people had to cover for them. Sometimes that happens, but usually it's more like when one chef cooks his part of the meal, then hands off the plate to the next chef to finish the dish.

Johanna Rothman's picture
Johanna Rothman
Common Perils that Persist for Programmers

We round out the discussion and tie up loose ends in the perils of programming productivity pitfalls. Read on to find solutions to the problems that could be plaguing your work.

Cameron Philipp-Edmonds's picture
Cameron Philipp...
Pitfalls Programmers Should Avoid

Programmers can find themselves entrenched in productivity pitfalls without even knowing it. In this first installment of a three-part series, we outline the pitfalls of programming productivity and give some solutions for avoiding or fixing them.

Cameron Philipp-Edmonds's picture
Cameron Philipp...
Change Where You Sit: It Can Change Your Work for the Better

It can be difficult to understand a customer's priorities, to empathize with a coworker's challenges, or to climb out of a creative slump. But one thing could improve each of those problems: changing where you sit. Swapping roles or even just swapping desks can help you gain new insight at work.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Optimism Bias: What It Means for You and Your Business

The idea behind the optimism bias is that people estimate their odds of a positive outcome as higher than average but their odds of a negative outcome as lower than average. This can be dangerous when forecasting the outcomes of risky projects. Learn to temper your optimism to avoid miscalculations.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten