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How to Prioritize Tasks and Do Only the Work That Matters When you’re working on multiple projects at a time and everyone is breathing down your neck for results, it’s difficult to separate wants from needs. You have to be smart about task prioritization. Here are four ways to break through the noise and make sure you’re focusing on the work that really matters. |
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Looking beyond the Tester-to-Developer Ratio Many companies have some notion of an ideal tester-to-developer ratio, or the number of testers they need for every certain number of developers. It may seem like a superficial standard, but it's rooted in a very real need to understand staffing requirements and budgets. Let's dig deeper into the team balance. |
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If You Want Training to Take, Explore Experiential Learning People typically think of training classes as passive activities, where the instructor talks and the others listen. But experiential learning, where you learn through hands-on activities and then reflect on the experience, often gets the lesson to stick in people's brains better. Consider using interactive lessons. |
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Communicating to Customers That You Care How can you communicate caring to your customers if your job doesn’t lend itself to demonstrating in person how hard you’re trying? Fortunately, showing evidence of caring is not about scurrying around; it’s about interacting with customers in a way that says you’re listening to them and taking their needs seriously. |
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Wisdom from Consulting: Getting and Vetting Advice When you hire a consultant, they may appear to have a wealth of experience and knowledge—and may actually have it. But accepting their advice without question is dangerous. Here are some good practices to keep in mind when you're receiving advice, including asking questions, exploring alternatives, and analyzing risks. |
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The Importance of People in Software: A Tribute to Jerry Weinberg Gerald Weinberg's work inspired many to be better engineers and better leaders. Although he’s no longer with us, his message about the role of people in building quality software lives on in his writings and in those who have learned from him. Here, Steve Berczuk recalls some of Jerry Weinberg's most influential books. |
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Signs of a Project Headed for Trouble Projects rarely get in trouble suddenly. More often, the descent into trouble is gradual, and the signs are easy to miss—but they are there. If you detect any of these potential signs of possible failure, it would be wise to take steps sooner rather than later to address them and get the project back on track. |
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5 Factors That Could Be Making Your Project Estimates Go Wrong Why do our estimates for a project or a testing phase so often turn out wrong? Whatever causes underestimation, we clearly do not learn from experience, as we repeatedly make estimation errors, despite feedback showing previous errors. It’s a chronic problem. What could be driving these errors? Here are five factors. |