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build and deployment mechanism layout Build and Deployment Process for Web Applications

This paper describes practices that have led to a sound and reliable build and deployment process at Hewlett-Packard. Two teams of engineers, later joined by a third, responsible for developing e-service components to build a Web application, chose to use open source development tools/utilities in the "Evolutionary Software Development Lifecycle" environment.

Bhushan Gupta
How to Preview User Satisfaction before Your Release

Why wait to discover how your users will react to your system when there are ways to measure such things during development? This column describes a simple tool to develop visibility into customer satisfaction. Learn how you can begin to manage expectations so that neither you nor the customer has an unpleasant surprise on release day.

Esther Derby's picture Esther Derby
Giving the Human Touch to Software

Yogita works as a QA/testing professional with Mindfire Solutions, and has written a number of articles on QA and testing strategies. Yogita is currently exploring thoughts of beauty as an area of testing and its relation to usability. Her role at Mindfire has been to implement Quality processes throughout the organization and build a dedicated testing team. The team recently published a White Paper “Porting projects: Test techniques,” downloadable from www.mindfiresolutions.com. Yogita can be reached at [email protected].

Yogita Sahoo's picture Yogita Sahoo
Avoiding the Script Cemetery

It's frightening how many companies are on their second, third, or even greater attempt to automate their testing—each time junking months or years of effort and work product. Here, test automation advisor Linda Hayes shows the way to avoid having to bury your automation project.

Linda Hayes's picture Linda Hayes
Wizardry and Requirements

Illusion and reality. Challenges and fear. These are just a few of the elements that go into requirements gathering and management. Being aware of what you know and what you don't know can ensure getting the right requirements. Read on as Harry Potter fan Becky Winant shares some insight and survival tips for requirements analysts.

Becky Winant
Reflections on a Fable about Developer-Tester Relationships

Lee Copeland's fictional story about getting children to clean their rooms struck a chord with many of our readers, who compared it to getting developers to test their code. Here are Lee's responses to your feedback, along with a few insights about the dynamics behind developers examining their work.

Lee Copeland's picture Lee Copeland
Can You Negotiate Quality?

XP teams have the right to do their best work. On the other hand, customers have the right to specify and pay for only the quality they need. How does one reconcile two potentially conflicting points of view? Is quality negotiable? If so, how do we go about negotiating it? This paper will explore the following questions: Is quality negotiable? How can we negotiate quality? What are internal and external quality, and are either or both negotiable? What's the XP tester's quality assurance role? How far should testers go in helping the customer define acceptance criteria?

Lisa Crispin's picture Lisa Crispin
Managing for Value with Agile Software Development

Agile development increases business value for the customer, with the customer controlling the variables at each iteration. Ken Schwaber, co-creator of the Scrum agile approach, explains the basic notion behind agile development. A number of useful links appear at the end of the article.

TechWell Contributor's picture TechWell Contributor
Did You Hear What I Said?

Software projects are complex endeavors that rely on clear communication for success. If communication methods are mismatched or leave too many gaps, your project could suffer, and you could be highly frustrated. In this column, Karl Wiegers details potential problems to be mindful of, and strategies to use, when communicating about a project.

Karl E. Wiegers
The 11th Hour

Testers are often on the critical path for getting a software release out. They must plan carefully in order to minimize the critical path, while still doing a complete job of testing. This schedule pressure is taken to an extreme when a production server must be taken offline in order to deploy the software, and everyone is waiting for the final test results before the system can go live again. Karen Johnson describes her company's carefully planned and orchestrated method for doing a final check of an installed system. Her story is relevant to e-commerce companies as well as IT shops that are under pressure to keep systems updated while minimizing downtime.

Karen N. Johnson's picture Karen N. Johnson

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