The Latest Stories

First draft with edits Tips for Writing a First (or Second or Third) Draft

Whether you’re writing for personal or professional purposes, a one-pager or an entire book, it's important to write several drafts. The initial draft doesn't have to be brilliant. It's simply raw data, and you’ll progress faster if you write it quickly so that you get out your ideas. Read on for more tips.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Equal scales Software Development and Testing Agility Demands Fungibility

Fungibility means the ability to change without needing an external catalyst. In our agile culture, fungibility is a critical characteristic. The triad of people, processes, and technology ideally should all be fungible. Just like perfection, this may never be attainable, but it’s an important goal.

Michael Sowers's picture
Michael Sowers
What's in the Winter 2017 Issue of Better Software Magazine?

The first issue of our nineteenth volume of Better Software magazine has a new simplified, modern look. We've been planning this design overhaul for months, and the content keeps getting better. Check out the articles on reducing the risk of failed system updates, scaling agile, and servant leadership.

Ken Whitaker's picture
Ken Whitaker
iot house IoT and Security: The FTC Will Pay $25,000 for Your Solution

With the goal of making IoT devices more secure, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has announced the IoT Home Inspector Challenge. The contest calls for a technical solution or tool that consumers can deploy to guard against security vulnerabilities in software on the IoT devices in their homes.

Pamela Rentz's picture
Pamela Rentz
sprinters at starting block How Your Software Team Can Successfully Adopt a Shift-Left Approach

"Shift left" is the latest philosophy teams are adopting to account for the fact that releases are happening on a daily basis, rather than a weekly or monthly basis. If you're working on mobile applications and don’t adhere to a shift-left mindset, your team will be left behind.

Josiah Renaudin's picture
Josiah Renaudin
Team doing a project review 5 Questions to Ask in a Project Review

Project managers often dread doing reviews, but they're necessary to make sure the project is on the right track. Progress can be affected by unclear definitions, risk, schedules, and cost, so it's important to evaluate whether the project manager, sponsors, and team members are all on the same page.

Payson Hall's picture
Payson Hall
Statistics Don't Be Fooled by Statistics

Statistics provide numbers that confer credibility to ideas, recommendations, and conclusions. But we do ourselves a disservice if we unthinkingly accept reported statistics without understanding how to interpret them—and without realizing that sometimes they are presented with deliberate deception.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten