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Pile of books on a table, photo by Sharon McCutcheon 3 Must-Read Books for a Good Agile Foundation

If you are searching for agile knowledge, there are many books outside the current literature that may enlighten you. Some discuss the underpinnings of concepts we consider agile, while others are contemporary business books that present compelling ways to use agile effectively. Here are three Jeff Payne recommends.

Jeffery Payne's picture
Jeffery Payne
Integrating API tests into the software development lifecycle How to Get Started Automating Your API Tests

When designing a test automation strategy, an area that is often overlooked is automating API testing. API test scripts are faster and easier to write than other types of scripts and can be fairly simple tests. An added benefit is that API testing can be included in your continuous integration tools for quick feedback.

Elise Carmichael's picture
Elise Carmichael
person drawing Do Most Agile Teams Lack Creativity and Innovation?

You can’t solve the problem unless you know what that problem is, and you can’t rekindle your creativity if you just don’t know why you’re doing what you’re doing. Pinpoint your team’s purpose, let everyone on your team contribute, and rekindle the innovative nature at the core of agile.

Josiah Renaudin's picture
Josiah Renaudin
Woman looking for a book in the shelves of a library, photo by Clay Banks Make Time for Learning with Deliberate Practice

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.

Steve Berczuk's picture
Steve Berczuk
Note with "Now" checked instead of "Later" The Key to Avoiding Procrastination

If you have a task you've been putting off, dividing it into small chunks is a good idea. But the real key to overcoming procrastination is just getting started. Once you begin, you’ve built momentum and are likely to keep going, doing a little more until you’ve made good progress—and maybe even completed the job.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
People designing software for good user experience Devices and Desires: Understanding How Users Experience Your Software

When we design, build, test, and deliver software, it is imperative that we provide our users with what they need—not what we want, but what that they want. We need to understand the scope and breadth of the user base. Here are three questions to ask to learn more about how users experience your software.

Isabel Evans's picture
Isabel Evans Chris Porter
hacker using computer Security Testers Should Think like Hackers

It is a common belief that testers should think like end-users by going beyond the defined requirements, seeing if the application under test addresses end-user expectations, and evaluating how it fares against competition. But with security testing, testers have to think not only like end-users, but also like hackers.

Rajini  Padmanaban's picture
Rajini Padmanaban
robots working at computers At What Point Will Automation Take Over Manual Testing?

Better automation tools, the evolution of AI, AVM, visual testing—what’s going to make automation continue to spread through teams is the improvement of all the different solutions out there. And what should be encouraging to testers is the fact that just about every option requires smart, educated testers.

Josiah Renaudin's picture
Josiah Renaudin