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When Buying New Software, Make Sure You're Getting What You Really Need The first step in any significant software procurement is to assure there is a clear definition of the business problem being solved. If you don’t know what you want, you aren’t prepared to negotiate for it, so you'll end up with a system or tool that isn't what you need—and you'll likely be disappointed at delivery. |
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How to Offer Help in a Way That’s Actually Helpful When you see a coworker who’s stuck or upset, it’s natural to ask, “What can I do to help?" But this can be the wrong thing to do because the question, though well-intended, is too vague. It puts the burden on someone who is already stressed to identify the possible ways you might help. Here's what you can do instead. |
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3 Must-Read Books for a Good Agile Foundation If you are searching for agile knowledge, there are many books outside the current literature that may enlighten you. Some discuss the underpinnings of concepts we consider agile, while others are contemporary business books that present compelling ways to use agile effectively. Here are three Jeff Payne recommends. |
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Make Time for Learning with Deliberate Practice As software professionals, we need to work continuously to improve our skills. But two common challenges are how to best work to improve, and how to find the time to learn when we’re busy. The answer is deliberate practice—practice with a clear goal and defined measures for success that pushes your usual boundaries. |
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The Key to Avoiding Procrastination If you have a task you've been putting off, dividing it into small chunks is a good idea. But the real key to overcoming procrastination is just getting started. Once you begin, you’ve built momentum and are likely to keep going, doing a little more until you’ve made good progress—and maybe even completed the job. |
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Make a Point of Appreciating Others—and Yourself Offering appreciation is an easy yet powerful way to acknowledge a coworker’s efforts. It’s one of the best ways to say thank you. There are many ways to show appreciation, including verbally in person, over the phone or by email, or writing a note. And while you're at it, reflect on what you appreciate about yourself. |
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Elevate Code Quality by Integrating Testing and Development Pair programming generally involves two programmers working on a single change from start to finish. You can augment this pattern by adding a test specialist, so you can test-drive feature changes first and the tester can ask questions and guide test and code design. What you get is quality built in from the start. |
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What’s Our Job When the Machines Do Testing? It’s a safe bet that testing jobs won't be taken over by machines anytime soon. However, those of us in the test industry would be wise to heed cross-industry applications of analytics and machine learning and begin staking out the proper role of the machine in our testing domain. What could AI mean for testing? |
