Better Software Magazine Articles

Incorporating User Experience into Early Agile Cycles

Chris Nodder explores the emerging need to focus on a software app's user experience. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune to perform some basic user experience analysis as long as it is done early and tested throughout a project’s lifecycle.

Chris Nodder's picture Chris Nodder
What Are the Key Components of an Effective Test Strategy?

In this FAQ column, Lee Copeland defines a test strategy as a high-level plan to achieve specific test objectives and outlines the components an effective strategy should address.

Lee Copeland's picture Lee Copeland
How to Prepare for ISTQB Exam

In this FAQ column, Michael Sowers provides advice on preparing for the ISTQB Advanced Level Test Manager Certification Exam.

Michael Sowers's picture Michael Sowers
The Lean Test Canvas

Taking lessons from the lean business model, Matt Heusser explains how a tester can present different values and properly set expectations with the team using the lean test canvas. His approach starts with defining who  the customer is and ends with key qualitative measures that will be used to ensure success.

Matthew Heusser's picture Matthew Heusser
Quality Assurance Is a Process, Not a Department

QA is often considered that lonely department of testers whose job is to find defects before the customer does. It's not always glamorous, but QA deserves to be recognized as a key cog in the testing  machine. To achieve business goals, it is Susan Bradley's view that the QA process needs to be embraced throughout the entire software development lifecycle.

Susan Bradley's picture Susan Bradley
How to Design a Test Strategy

Speaking from his experience with test-centered design projects, Jon Hagar explores some testing pitfalls that could have been avoided if the right test strategy had been chosen. You won't find a better, easier-to-understand explanation of a practical test strategy.

Jon Hagar's picture Jon Hagar
The Danger of Testing "Only" Stories

Finding defects late is a common issue when teams don't consider levels of precision or detail. You must take into account how stories and features fit into the system. In this FAQ column, Janet Gregory tells you how you should remember the big picture—even while testing the small stuff.

Janet Gregory's picture Janet Gregory
Leveraging Automated Testing to Improve Product Quality

Improving product quality is often a very difficult task for even the best software development organizations. Rajini says the additional benefits of automation include benchmarking, code scanning analysis, end-to-end test cases, and compatibility validation.

Rajini  Padmanaban's picture Rajini Padmanaban
Bringing Quality into DevOps

DevOps is represented by a set of principles and practices that help improve communication and collaboration between development and operations. Bob Aiello and Leslie Sachs have put together a great introduction showing how quality assurance needs to commence at the very start of a DevOps project.

Bob Aiello's picture Bob Aiello Leslie Sachs
How Does Security Testing Fit in My QA Process?

Alan Crouch addresses the question most commonly raised by those who are new to security testing: "How does security testing fit in my QA process?" Alan explains that security testing shouldn't be limited to the QA process, but instead should be applied throughout the entire software development lifecycle. Read this FAQ column for suggestions on how to improve your chances for success in catching security issues.

Alan Crouch's picture Alan Crouch

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