Tips
Tips
Agile, DevOps and software development methodologies
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What's the value in an Agile release train?
When multiple development teams work on code, integration and deployment become more complicated. ART could be a useful tool to smooth out these wrinkles. Continue Reading
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An Agile development strategy needs a proper foundation
It's a mistake to think of Agile development as merely project management. Let's look at the basic elements and types of tools needed to make Agile work. Continue Reading
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Is a continuous planning process in DevOps worth it?
Is a continuous planning strategy right for your organization's DevOps efforts? Know the practical benefits and challenges, as well as how to improve development efficiencies. Continue Reading
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Scrum master interview questions and answers
Want to ace the Scrum master interview? These tough Scrum master questions and answers will help you prepare. Continue Reading
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The benefits of WIP limits in Kanban
Agile developers complete projects faster when they limit WIP. Learn how less work in progress means more work completed and how to set up a Kanban board with WIP limitations. Continue Reading
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Roles and responsibilities in an Agile center of excellence
A successful Agile transformation takes time and perseverance. Here's how an Agile center of excellence helps to adopt changes and adjust work processes. Continue Reading
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How to make use of specification-based test techniques
Specification-based techniques can play a role in efficient test coverage. Choosing the right techniques can ensure thorough coverage, while eliminating redundancy. Continue Reading
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OKRs vs. SMART goals in software development
OKRs and SMART are two goal-setting approaches. Knowing their differences and how to implement each is essential to steer your business objectives in a clear direction. Continue Reading
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Mob programming benefits for Agile development teams
Mob programming brings the whole team together for simultaneous code creation and review. If they specify roles and engage, Agile teams can benefit from mobbing practices. Continue Reading
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Make quality a priority in your software engineering culture
A software team needs quality to ensure a strong product. Here are some ways to implement quality in all facets of development and build it into every software release. Continue Reading
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How you can incorporate lean coffee for Agile, QA meetings
Don't let formal meeting agendas turn away attendees. The lean coffee format encourages participation and idea sharing on topics to drive conversation in numerous settings. Continue Reading
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The 5 prevailing Agile pitfalls that prevent true adoption
To successfully implement Agile and maintain its momentum, teams must often overcome a predictable series of both technical and cultural adoption challenges. Continue Reading
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Why security chaos engineering works, and how to do it right
While 'chaos' doesn't sound like something software security managers would want, chaos engineering has an enticing amount of value when it comes to identifying potential threats. Continue Reading
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Emphasize culture in your Agile implementation approach
Team structure and culture should be a primary focus during any shift to Agile principles and methodologies. Continue Reading
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Explore common types of Agile teams
Agile methodologies can take many forms, and one Agile team can look and perform very differently from the next. Communication, however, is always key. Continue Reading
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How to scale Scrum with Scrum of Scrums meetings
Enterprise-scale software development can be difficult to coordinate across multiple teams. For Agile-adhering IT organizations, Scrum of Scrums is one way to stay organized. Continue Reading
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Choose a software testing model by weighing these 5 factors
Software development teams have options for their preferred software testing methodology. Consider these five key metrics before choosing a testing model for your team. Continue Reading
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Developer vs. DevOps engineer similarities and differences
What does a DevOps engineer do? What does a developer do? The two roles sound alike, but their roles, skills and tools are quite different and require unique expertise. Continue Reading
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6 strategies for better software project portfolio management
When implemented correctly, software portfolio management can help enhance communication across multiple IT teams for better product delivery. Here are six ways to do it right. Continue Reading
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Why and how to hold a sprint retrospective meeting
Software development teams can learn from past mistakes to streamline and improve processes. Retrospectives help them do just that. Continue Reading
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How to manage and reduce technical debt in Agile
Don't let technical debt snowball. Here's how to monitor, maintain and reduce this problematic element of Agile and continue application development projects. Continue Reading
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Don't fall victim to these 5 Scrum anti-patterns
Scrum is meant to adapt and change to different scenarios. Here are five common anti-patterns that can arise in Scrum when teams get complacent or comfortable with their old ways. Continue Reading
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Are you really doing Scrum? Follow these guidelines to be sure
Let's examine how the proper implementation of Scrum elements like timeboxing, the product owner and Scrum Master ensure a team will actually benefit from the Agile framework. Continue Reading
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An introduction to TDD benefits, risks and examples
Programmers, looking to implement -- or improve -- your team's TDD practices? Review the fundamentals and examples below to remember how TDD can be a benefit and not a burden. Continue Reading
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What productive backlog grooming sessions entail
Backlog grooming is essential for smooth Agile software development. Here's what it takes to get user stories straight and organize a grooming session that yields results. Continue Reading
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How Agile team culture can help improve software quality
Any Agile team that wants its team's culture to be squarely centered on improving software quality, should consider the following incentives and tactics. Continue Reading
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Condensed Agile sprint timeline pros and cons
Is a condensed Agile sprint possible for your dev team? Here's how to shave off some sprint time and what perils to look out for in a smaller Agile sprint window. Continue Reading
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How to build a CI/CD pipeline with Azure and GitHub
Some organizations need to build and deploy apps to specific cloud platforms. This walkthrough shows you step by step how to create a CI/CD pipeline using GitHub and Azure DevOps. Continue Reading
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10 Scrum benefits and how to realize them
Scrum can be difficult to implement and manage, but the effort is usually rewarded. When run correctly, Scrum delivers valuable benefits for the business and the development team. Continue Reading
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Flow efficiency is one of the trickiest DevOps metrics
Let's take a look at what it takes to measure flow efficiency, how it can help DevOps teams improve development practices and why it's not an easy metric to track. Continue Reading
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Compare design thinking vs. Agile for QA
Design thinking helps a team figure out what problems to solve, while Agile is a framework that helps a dev team build better software faster. Let's compare the two approaches. Continue Reading
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The 3 essential Scrum team roles
Every successful Scrum team needs a product owner, a Scrum Master and developers. Here's why each role is essential and how effective collaboration between the three happens. Continue Reading
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Waterfall or Agile? Predictive vs. adaptive SDLC explained
Waterfall and Agile epitomize the differences between predictive and adaptive SDLCs. Here are some considerations that a dev team should know before it chooses a methodology. Continue Reading
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Harness these three types of developer collaboration tools
More than ever, developers must work as a team to achieve business goals. Here are three types of collaboration tools to help developers work with ease. Continue Reading
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Waterfall vs. Agile vs. iterative development explained
Componentized software architectures gave way to new forms of software development. Learn when to implement simple iterative development versus wholesale changes with Agile. Continue Reading
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How to hold Three Amigos meetings in Agile development
Three Amigos is an Agile development strategy to keep projects on track with specifications, timeline expectations and more. Here's how to host the meetings, and who should join in. Continue Reading
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How to approach Agile team organization
Should an Agile team have an architect? Does cross-functional mean constantly changing? How do teams set velocity and quality? Get the answers to set up and lead Agile teams. Continue Reading
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How to calculate project completion times
Good project managers deliver on schedule, despite the challenges they encounter. Become a time and resource management pro and deliver on the expected completion date. Continue Reading
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How Lean value stream mapping cuts delay, boosts efficiency
You have a backlog, work in short sprints, and track metrics on test coverage and defect rates -- so why does it still take so long to move code to production? Try visualizing it. Continue Reading
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7 techniques for better Agile requirements gathering
Avoid headaches when you gather software requirements. Learn these seven Agile techniques to understand requirements without reverting to Waterfall. Continue Reading
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How to hold effective Agile sprint planning meetings
Successful Agile sprints aren't about 10x developers or all-night testing sessions. It all comes down to how you plan. Here's how to plan sprints that run in an effective way. Continue Reading
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How declarative DevOps enables self-service, flexible delivery
DevOps teams can achieve automated delivery via a lot of custom code, or they can implement declarative tools and templates. Declarative DevOps has many advantages to offer. Continue Reading
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DBmaestro vs. Liquibase: Database DevOps tools square off
DevOps has reached databases, which means yet another option to consider in your toolchain. Learn what matters in a database DevOps tool, and what sets apart Liquibase and DBmaestro. Continue Reading
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Sonatype Nexus vs. JFrog: Pick an open source security scanner
Chances are your organization relies on open source code. But how do you manage code vulnerabilities? Find a product best suited for your needs in this Sonatype Nexus vs. JFrog comparison. Continue Reading
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4 ways to make a distributed Scrum team work
Distributed Scrum team members must find virtual ways to replicate the workflows, practices, tools and perks that a colocated team has access to -- from the comforts of their homes. Continue Reading
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How do you run effective standup meetings?
When it comes to Agile standups, throw out the rulebook. Effective standup meetings result from flexibility, not rigidity. Follow these five guidelines to get more engagement. Continue Reading
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Automate security testing and scans for DevSecOps success
Attackers are knocking at your door. Don't waste time with repetitive, automatable security tasks. Here's how DevSecOps enables code analysis, security testing and more. Continue Reading
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What's the purpose of a Gantt chart for large-scale projects?
A Gantt chart's selling point is that it's simple to understand at a glance. But a large-scale project, such as a DevOps transformation, quickly turns that advantage into a flaw. Continue Reading
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How to create clear, collaborative user story maps
Messy or unclear user story maps quickly lead to confusion and contention. Read on to learn how to structure your maps and create a shared understanding of them. Continue Reading
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Adopt the 4 foundations of Agile collaboration
Foster a positive team environment and culture to accomplish the collaboration goals of Agile. Here's how to synchronize teams and boost efficiency, as well as tools that help. Continue Reading
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How to patch your open source software vulnerabilities
No matter how big your software vulnerabilities backlog has grown, here's how you can tackle it, and get on the path to continuous security monitoring. Continue Reading
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How user story mapping aids requirements gathering in Agile
Agile requirements are dynamic, not static. Collaborate on user story maps to make sense of frequently evolving customer needs, and put a Scrum Master at the center of it all. Continue Reading
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4 DevOps communication principles to get teams talking
One of DevOps' supposed benefits is better collaboration and communication, but it doesn't come out of nowhere. Address these communication challenges to get everyone on the same page. Continue Reading
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10 tips for effective change management in Agile
Agile development encourages product owners to address customer needs through change. Follow these 10 tips for change requests and management practices that keep projects on track. Continue Reading
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How to tame ever-changing requirements in software development
When one sprint ends, another begins -- but not before you receive a heaping new pile of requirements. Here's how to deal with requirements changes efficiently, every time, any time. Continue Reading
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Implement a DevSecOps pipeline to boost releases' security posture
Break security out of its silo, and get the whole team on board to create a culture of quality with the right tools at the right time -- and stop blindly rushing to release. Continue Reading
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How to make distributed Agile teams efficient and collaborative
Agile teams don't always exist under one roof, but they should still be aligned in responsibilities and goals. Here's the best way to approach global Agile team management. Continue Reading
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How Agile and DevOps leadership empowers the whole team
A dictatorial style of leadership doesn't cut it in Agile and DevOps shops. Here's how managers can ditch bad habits and instead encourage team experimentation and decision-making. Continue Reading
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Exercise risk management in Agile software development
With iterative development, teams can deliver features and patches quickly. And project managers must vigilantly avert new and more severe risks that pop up along the way. Continue Reading
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Take a shift-left approach, but avoid developer burnout
Shift left is often a net positive for software quality. Yet, the change moves more tasks to earlier in the app dev process. Take care not to bury developers. Continue Reading
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Apply automated security scanning during app development
For developers, security is not often a high priority -- but it should be. Automated security scanning tools can help detect and address weaknesses before evildoers discover them. Continue Reading
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Secure open source components to bypass breaches
As enterprises increasingly turn to open source code to cut dev efforts and costs, IT industry vendors recommend that they secure dependencies and deploy patches to safeguard apps. Continue Reading
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Study up on the best certifications for testing professionals
Before you invest time into a certification course, decide if you want to step into a new career or want recognition for hard-earned experience. Then, peruse the apt certification options. Continue Reading
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6 ways to tighten Agile feedback loops
Software bugs are inevitable, but quality improves when you find defects sooner rather than later. Adopt these measures to cut down lengthy and expensive software feedback loops. Continue Reading
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GitOps, event handling will shape DevOps evolution
DevOps is all about swift application deployment, and faster methods can arrive over time. Tom Nolle explains two concepts that will spark DevOps' continued evolution. Continue Reading
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Foster cross-team collaboration with IM, mind maps and more
Build a collaborative workspace that's more than just an HR slogan. These tools get teams to talk and tackle problems together. Continue Reading
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Ways to partially implement Agile and still get results
Pair programming, iterative workflows, timeboxed builds and other Agile tenets benefit app dev teams. Here's how to incorporate Agile practices and culture with minimal disruption. Continue Reading
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Continuous testing in Agile means less work, more coverage
Rather than ride the turbulent roller coaster of testing bottlenecks and uncontrolled code updates, go on the steadily paced continuous testing Ferris wheel. Continue Reading
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How to foster collaboration in software development
App owners, developers and testers are friends -- not enemies. If it doesn't always feel that way on your collaborative team, use these techniques to foster better communication. Continue Reading
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Calibrate your definition of 'done' in Scrum to meet requirements
Get together with business leaders before software launches and find common ground to define done. One company's idea of perfect code is another's lurking disaster. Continue Reading
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How startups can accelerate a software product launch
At your software startup, product delivery must be top priority, even at the expense of some bells and whistles. Get creative with some shortcuts to deliver quality software. Continue Reading
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Improve the rapid application development model for deployment readiness
Get a better understanding of the top three areas in IT to improve a rapid application development model. Expert Tom Nolle discusses the future of RAD and DevOps. Continue Reading
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Get the most out of continuous testing with Jenkins
With dev cycles shrinking all the time, Jenkins' compatibility continues to evolve. Set up Jenkins for effective CI/CD with quality plug-ins that enable continuous testing. Continue Reading
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A complete beginner's guide to blending DevOps and security
DevSecOps sounds like a mouthful for those new to DevOps, but building security in from the start is key to DevOps success. Expert Kevin Beaver explains. Continue Reading
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A comprehensive beginner's guide to DevOps for testers
Newcomers to DevOps have a steep learning curve and nowhere more so than in test. Expert Matthew Heusser has a beginner's guide to DevOps and testing. Continue Reading
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A comprehensive beginner's guide to DevOps for developers
Starting DevOps in your organization and not sure where to begin? Cameron McKenzie explains everything a developer needs to know to successfully begin the DevOps process. Continue Reading
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Comparing development methodologies: Agile vs. DevOps vs. Lean Startup
It's a confusing, jargon-filled world out there. Expert Christopher Ward brings clarity in part one of a series of articles on the differences between Lean, Agile and DevOps. Continue Reading
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When DevOps and requirements gathering techniques collide
Moving from Agile to DevOps? Requirements gathering is a great place to start rethinking and incorporating a high level of collaboration. Expert Christopher Ward explains. Continue Reading
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Agile testing methods for multiple teams
Learn the latest Agile testing methods for converting multiple teams from a traditional process to Agile. Continue Reading
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CI success depends on quality acceptance criteria
Successful continuous integration requires testable acceptance criteria that help to guide developers. Continue Reading
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Agile application lifecycle management is not an oxymoron
Learn how Agile application lifecycle management supports the development process for better software and business needs. Continue Reading
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Agile project management: Increasing business agility with Agile ALM
Increase business agility capabilities with Agile project management. Find tips and tools for Agile ALM best practices. Continue Reading
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Agile and ALM: A marriage made in heaven?
Learn why developing Agile and ALM can benefit organizational processes. Continue Reading
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How Agile ALM tools shape business agility
Learn how Agile ALM tools can increase agility in businesses. Continue Reading
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Scrum project management: Estimating with story points
Scrum project management expert Yvette Francino explains how teams use story points to estimate effort involved in developing a particular feature. Continue Reading
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Agile project management using the Cynefin framework
Learn how the Cynefin framework facilitates problem solving, Agile project management and teamwork. Continue Reading
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Streamlining user acceptance testing (UAT) with Agile
Organizations that implement successful user acceptance testing can greatly reduce errors and business risks. Continue Reading
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Agile testing quadrants: Guiding managers and teams in test strategies
Agile expert Lisa Crispin explains the four Agile testing quadrants and how they can guide managers and development teams in creating a test strategy. Continue Reading
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Defect tracking: Lean principles for getting the right data at the right time
In this tip, author Paul E. McMahon describes how Lean principles can be used to help determine when defect tracking is appropriate for your organization and what type of data is important to collect. Continue Reading
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The whole-team approach to Agile development: Examples and benefits
Lisa Crispin continues in this second tip in the series by giving real-life examples and benefits gained from practicing the whole-team approach on Agile development teams. Continue Reading
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Agile software development: Tips for writing testable user stories
Testing pressures are always high on Agile projects. In this article we explore some of the ways adding clarity to stories can help make testing easier for all parties involved. Continue Reading
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Attracting the right Agile software developers
A lot of software development job candidates will claim to have Agile skills, but are they just throwing around buzzwords? In this tip, consultant Catherine Powell will help you find the qualified candidates who live out the values and practices of ... Continue Reading
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Waterfall vs. Agile development: A case study
Two projects very similar in scope were executed by the same project team for the same users. The first project used a waterfall methodology and resulted in missed deadlines and failure to deliver user requirements. The second used an Agile ... Continue Reading
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Agile ALM tools: How they differ from traditional lifecycle management tools
Software consultant Nari Kannan describes the differences between agile application lifecycle management (ALM) tools and traditional lifecycle management software. Agile ALM tools are more tightly integrated, easier to use, supportive to distributed... Continue Reading
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Specialized testing for your enterprise application
In this tip, Judith Myerson describes examples of five types of testing for your enterprise applications: cloud testing, user acceptance testing, modular testing, agile testing and incremental testing. Myerson gives a brief overview of each type of ... Continue Reading
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Using Fist of Five, Planning Poker to reach Agile team consensus
In these tips, consensus-building tools such as Fist of Five and Planning Poker are introduced. Even when these tools are used, the team must decide how they are going to handle a stale-mate condition and move forward on decisions. Continue Reading
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Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship, Chapter 1 -- What Is Clean Code?
Agile software development calls on developers to write clean code, according to Robert "Uncle Bob" Martin. This free chapter introduces the concepts and methods programmers can adopt to write truly clean code. Continue Reading
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Five steps for performing an effective software product review
Review or inspection is an important activity in any project implementation. Performing a good review of the developed product, along with capturing metrics, helps in building a quality product. In this member-submitted article, Murugan Srinivasa ... Continue Reading