The Latest Stories

Technology for the Birds

Here’s an event to schedule in your calendar for the weekend of February 12–15, 2016. It's Valentine's Day weekend—and it's a chance to give Mother Nature a valentine by participating in the online annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) to help create a real-time snapshot of bird populations.

Pamela Rentz's picture
Pamela Rentz
The Risk of Negative Customer Experiences

If people have a positive customer experience, they tell a few friends, but if they have a negative one, they tell everyone—and now that social media have made sharing so easy, no flaw, delay, or mistake seems too small to complain about. More than ever, it's important to create positive customer experiences.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
The Consequences of Project Delay

An often overlooked and underappreciated aspect of project schedules is the consequences of delay on others. Due dates and commitments sometimes matter more than they appear. Knowing the larger context of your project can help you prioritize how you undertake it, consider options, and improve problem-solving.

Payson Hall's picture
Payson Hall
When and When Not to Automate

Automation integration is a huge value to QA teams, but not everything can or should be automated. By understanding the difference, teams will be able to utilize their tools more effectively and streamline operations for better results. Sanjay Zalavadia looks at when and when not to automate.

Sanjay Zalavadia's picture
Sanjay Zalavadia
How to Better Test and Optimize Mobile Applications

There’s no single solution that can guarantee success in the mobile testing space. However, by incorporating virtualization and making use of the cloud, you can test the functionality, performance, and security of an application across a bevy of networks.

Josiah Renaudin's picture
Josiah Renaudin
When Designing New Features, Know Thy User

The next time you’re designing an “awesome” new feature, take a step back and think, awesome for whom? Is this the kind of feature that will be understood and enjoyed by your target users? Or should you rethink how it might be perceived by your audience? When it comes to design, you have to know your users.

Matt Heusser's picture
Matt Heusser
Overcoming Writer’s Block

Those who claim that writer's block is a myth maintain that feeling stumped in writing usually has a simple cause. That’s no doubt true, but it’s irrelevant if you don’t know the cause. Naomi Karten has experienced writer's block, and if you have, too, she provides a number of ideas to help get you unstuck.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
What's in the Winter 2016 Issue of Better Software Magazine?

This issue of Better Software is loaded with feature articles about writing a superior web API, taking the plunge into test automation, the three pillars of agile quality, innovative gamification, and assessing and improving your DevOps procedures. Read on to learn more about this year's first issue.

Ken Whitaker's picture
Ken Whitaker