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An Agile Approach to Change Management Many organizations are reluctant to introduce new tools or technologies, or even to update existing ones. The reason is often framed in terms of risk management, but agile teams already have the tools to manage the risk of change: testing and experiments. These approaches together eliminate gaps in risk identification. |
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Think through System Changes to Anticipate Quality Issues When you replace or significantly modify components of a larger system, too frequently we focus on whether the code we are building functions correctly. This is important, but it’s also short-sighted. It’s easy to introduce errors because we are changing interactions. Coding bugs are only one quality problem. |
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Using Feature Flags to Boost Testing and Deployment A feature flag is a configuration setting that lets you turn a given feature on or off. There is no need for a feature to be complete before you can start testing—as soon as the first piece of code is merged, you can turn the flag on in your test environment and begin. This also reduces risk. Do you use feature flags? |
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Something to Remember When Managing Change at Work Grieving is usually associated with the loss of a loved one, but it’s equally relevant to loss triggered by changes in the workplace. If you are introducing or overseeing a change, it’s a mistake to belittle people’s reaction to the loss or excessively tout the benefits of the new way. Be sensitive to those affected. |
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The Value of Testing Simply People obsess over the number of tests and test coverage, but tests that cover more code don’t always improve quality. Some tests have low value and thus, implicitly, high cost. Simple tests may not seem impressive at first glance. But the goal of testing is to ensure quality, and simple tests can be very valuable. |
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Managing the Turbulence of Organizational Change In times of major change, particularly organizational change, it's normal for people involved to experience turbulence, including anxiety, anger, or uncertainty. If you’re overseeing a change, how you communicate with those affected can significantly decrease—or increase—the duration and intensity of that turbulence. |
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The Software World Is Changing—Are You Willing to Change with It? The software landscape is changing. Processes are becoming quicker and leaner, but instead of re-evaluating some of our traditional practices, we sometimes try to make them fit where they don't belong. This holds back continuous improvement. If you want change, you first need to be willing to change. |
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Managing Resistance to Organizational Change Change can be difficult, and some people's reaction is to shut it all down. If they think their concerns aren’t being heard, they get defensive, and your project is on a trajectory for disaster. Don't fire off an email while tempers are running high. Managing expectations thoughtfully is essential to project success. |
