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adzic cover Specification by Example: Collaborating on a Scope without High-Level Control

Understanding what the business users are trying to achieve can significantly help you focus the project on things that really matter. In this excerpt from Gojko Adzic's book Specification by Example, the author offers some tips for effectively collaborating on the project scope when you don’t have high-level control of the project.

Gojko Adzic's picture Gojko Adzic
Leadership, Management, Transitioning to Agile

Johanna Rothman has worked with several management teams who want her to train them or their project managers to take over the agile training. While on the surface this doesn't seem an unreasonable request, when one considers the self-managing, self-organizing nature of an agile team, the incongruity of this thinking begins to shine through.

Johanna Rothman's picture Johanna Rothman
origami birds Behavior Unbecoming of a Leader

One of the most important roles of a leader is to serve as a role model for others in the organization. In this article, Naomi Karten describes a situation in which a CIO forgot this responsibility, almost taking action that would have undermined his efforts to reverse the IT organization’s plunging morale.

Naomi Karten's picture Naomi Karten
Updated Agile Program Management Slides Posted

I missed one presentation in my last post. At Oredev, I had an opportunity to speak with the PMI Sweden folks (at least, the southern Sweden folks). I talked about Agile Program Management, and discussed my current thinking about agile program management.

Johanna Rothman's picture Johanna Rothman
Who Defines “Success” for Your Project?

An otherwise good project management book provokes Payson with definition of “success” that rubs him the wrong way. In this article, he presents his case.

Payson Hall's picture Payson Hall
Tester, Know Your Product

Should you diligently produce multiple big documents before testing begins? Consultant Fiona Charles argues that you should do that only if you believe that documentation is your product as a tester. If your product is information, you should instead minimize test documentation and engage with the software to build the product your stakeholders are paying for.

Fiona Charles's picture Fiona Charles
Make an Attitude Investment

Whether you’re concerned about your day-to-day work or the long-term goals you’ve set, a good attitude can make all the difference. In this article, Laura Brandenburg expands on some tips gathered from Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Gold Book of Yes! Attitude.

Laura Brandenburg's picture Laura Brandenburg
Project Pyramid Estimating the Unknown: Dates or Budgets, Part 1

Almost every manager I know wants to know when a project will be done. Some managers decree when a project will be done. Some managers think they can decree both the date and the feature set. There is one other tiny small subset, those managers who ask, “When can you finish this set of ranked features?”

Johanna Rothman's picture Johanna Rothman
Is It Beautiful?—Aesthetics in Software Testing

With all the faces it presents, surely software can be said to possess or lack beauty. But, what does it mean to have beautiful software, and how do we evaluate it? In this installment of his series on philosophy and testing, Rick Scott takes a closer look at software aesthetics.

Rick Scott's picture Rick Scott
How to Lose a Customer

Giving your clients the opportunity to voice their opinions after conducting business with you is a great way to express your interest in continuing to work with them. Just make sure you're earnest in hearing their thoughts and that you don't simply think this is accomplished with a survey alone.

Naomi Karten's picture Naomi Karten

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