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Old School Meets New Wave

Decades of testing practices are available to today's testers, but sometimes the "old school" approaches are just as powerful as newer tools with evolved frills and features. Chris McMahon offers tips on how you can combine test techniques to improve your agile integration project.

Chris McMahon's picture Chris McMahon
Static Electricity: Power Up Your Build Process with a Static Analysis Tool

Keeping source code functional in the midst of ongoing changes can be tricky, but there are tools available to help you keep bad code under control. In his article, Tom Copeland puts the spotlight on PMD, an open source static analysis tool that can illuminate source code problems and help power up your build process.

Tom Copeland
The Declaration of Interdependence

In an effort to extend the Agile Manifesto to non-software products and management, experts at the 2004 Agile Development Conference developed The Declaration of Interdependence. Alistair Cockburn details the DOI’s six principles and how they can benefit your organization.

Alistair Cockburn's picture Alistair Cockburn
Piecing Together an Agile Organization

Implementing agile processes can be like putting together a puzzle. But what happens when the pieces don't fall into the right place? Alicia Yanik tells the story of Daniel, who is wound up about his company's new agile elements, and Meg, who sees things from a more enlightened angle.

Alicia Yanik
The Truth About Exploratory Testing

Forget what you thought you knew about exploratory testing. Dion Johnson is disturbed by its exploitation by those who wish to escape accountability and forgo up-front planning, but says that exploratory testing and scripted testing can work together to enhance quality practices.

Dion Johnson's picture Dion Johnson
Books Are Tools, Too

One of the most important tools a tester can keep on hand is a book, whether it contains instructions for a new method or is a reference for an old favorite. This Tool Look contains one tester’s take on the book "Fit for Developing Software" by Rick Mugridge and Ward Cunningham.
 

Sidney Snook
Diagnosing Malignant Management

Software development is a creative process that requires communication and nurturing. It's a big surprise to new director of software development Clarion Walker, therefore, to discover that his company’s issues may be rooted in poor team management.

Patrick M. Bailey's picture Patrick M. Bailey
Time for New Test Ideas

Testers are quick to think about speed when testing, but there are many other time-related guidewords that can help broaden your test coverage as well. Michael Bolton suggests a few guidewords to get you started.

Michael Bolton's picture Michael Bolton
The Need for Speed?

Tod Golding is all for increased speed and saving time, but not if they compromise the maintainability of your code. The speediest code won't mean much down the road, if someone unfamiliar with the code isn't able to drop in and make an important change or fix.

Tod Golding's picture Tod Golding
All Models are Wrong

From the Copernican solar system to an engineer’s scale replica of a bridge, the world is full of models that answer our questions and help us solve problems. Lee Copeland tells us that a model doesn't have to be correct to be useful.

Lee Copeland's picture Lee Copeland

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