Creating environments at work that acknowledge that failures will happen—and supporting the efforts team members make to recover—can help your organization become more effective. You cannot predict every challenge, but by embracing risk and providing opportunities for people to experiment, you can be more productive.

With the ability to experience virtual and augmented reality using mobile devices on the horizon, the potential for these new technologies to go mainstream is huge. New test environments, configurations, and interfaces will require testers to change their methods, so get out of your comfort zone—and your office chairs!

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.