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This column isn't for you; it's about you. Linda Hayes wants to find out what it takes to be successful in the testing profession these days—if such a thing is really possible. Too many good ideas, such as incentive and recognition plans, have backfired. Linda feels there are a few good practices out there, but she needs your help to find them.

Now that the world has heard of Agile [1], they think–incorrectly–that the pieces of Agile they like best can be cherry-picked and used in isolation. Unless it is combined with Lean Thinking, agile software development can achieve only a fraction of its potential. Agile software teams are not sustainable for very long if they are islands in a sea of waterfall projects. This artcle examines four change processes that must occur simultaneously for agile adoption to succeed.

Since the early 90s organizations have searched for ways to accelerate the development and implementation of new business systems. As it turns out, the ability for organizations to rapidly respond to changes in the marketplace, regulatory environment and demand of the customers is a critical competitive advantage. Over the last few years organizations have been experimenting with a new methodology that is thought to provide time savings when it comes to business systems development and implementation. Perhaps the most common methodology being considered is Agile. Agile refers to an approach for software development rather than just a methodology. It is a member of the same class o methodologies as Lean, RUP and Extreme Programming (XP).

This s the story about how an onsite/offshore team delivered a fixed-bid project using agile practices. The delivery effort was very successful. This article highlights our approach, challenges and successes.

Remember the last time you went grocery shopping without a list and you had your toddler, your mother, or spousal unit with you? Or when you stopped by the beer store and found yourself standing in the chip aisle, dazed and confused by the choices? Did you get what you needed? Did you spend as much money as you expected to? Mary Gorman discusses the value of starting out with clear requirements when shopping for commercial off-the-shelf software.

As a new manager it's easy to fall into the trap of taking on more of your team's responsibilities than you should. Learn how to guide your team to success by stepping back and letting team members solve their own problems, learn from their mistakes, and most of all do what you hired them to do.

We've all heard Einstein's definition of insanity, and it definitely holds true in software development. We "are" going to make mistakes in product development, but root-cause analysis can help us understand those mistakes and be proactive in not repeating them.