The Latest Stories

Is Modern Software Development More Difficult?

Is software harder to make? The inclusion of additional team members throughout the process has made the flow of development a bit more difficult than it has been in the past. Sure, software quality might be at an all-time high, but the journey there has a few more twists and turns.

Josiah Renaudin's picture
Josiah Renaudin
Improve Your Software Organization’s Processes: Focus on the Right Thing

While processes may seem like overhead, you need defined, documented procedures to avoid problems. It's when processes exist just because "we've always done it that way" that they become a problem. Keep processes useful by asking questions and constantly verifying that the purpose behind them is relevant.

Steve Berczuk's picture
Steve Berczuk
Why We Snap at Work—and How to Avoid It

When something makes you snap—causing a sudden, extreme reaction in which emotion totally overrides reason—things can get ugly quickly. The fact that many people are stressed at work means those rage triggers are closer to the surface and more prone to misfiring. Learn to recognize and defuse your triggers.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Software Project Management: The Responsibility of Communicating Quality Trade-Offs

Some requirements are negotiable, even if it sounds like they aren’t. But expectations have to be managed carefully to avoid problems. Payson Hall explains that when executives agree to sacrifice quality in order to hit a deadline, it's up to the team to ensure they understand the tradeoff and possible risks.

Payson Hall's picture
Payson Hall
Finding the Right Ratio of Software Testers to Developers for Your Team

Many organizations struggle with finding the optimum ratio of testers to developers. Linda Hayes explains that there's no one right answer. It depends on your needs for planning, test environment and data management, requirements analysis, test design, execution, diagnosis, reporting, and defect management.

Linda Hayes's picture
Linda Hayes
Agile or Not, You Need a Proper Customer and User Experience Process

In order to satisfy the people you hope will purchase or download your software, a proper customer and user experience process has to be built into the software development lifecycle. Whether you follow an agile, waterfall, or completely different methodology, this is a step that can’t be skipped.

Josiah Renaudin's picture
Josiah Renaudin
Five Takeaways from Linus Torvalds’s TED Talk

Linus Torvalds's concept of an open source operating system and the Linux kernel helps power the Internet and millions of Android devices. In a recent Q&A TED Talk, Torvalds discussed how he likes to work (alone), his good and bad traits, and why he doesn’t see himself as a visionary.

Pamela Rentz's picture
Pamela Rentz
Here There Be Monsters: The Value of Data Profiling

Monsters appeared on medieval maps to identify the unknown dangers of the sea. Likewise, the data profiles for an organization identify the points within its data. A robust data-profiling strategy can provide a more accurate picture of an organization’s data systems and find risks before they become monsters.

Shauna Ayers's picture
Shauna Ayers