Better Software Magazine Articles

Building a Solid Foundation for Your DevOps Transformation

The ability to deliver quality software with speed requires a huge shift in the way technology is managed throughout any organization. Nicole Forsgren believes that establishing the right culture is vital, especially during DevOps adoption.

Nicole Forsgren's picture Nicole Forsgren
start, continue, and stop doing signs When Postmortems Meet Retrospectives: Improving Your Agile Process

If you want secure, reliable systems, you need all stakeholders actively communicating. This means involving both IT operations and developers in discussions after deployments, to ascertain if anything went wrong and can be avoided, and what went well or could be refined. Integrating your postmortems and retrospectives facilitates collaboration and improves processes.

Bob Aiello's picture Bob Aiello
two arrows merging 5 Steps to Successful Process Management in Mergers and Acquisitions

When going through a merger or acquisition, capturing the critical processes of both parties is a key to success. Including everyone in the planning helps ease the impacts of change and develop ideas for the future. Here are five steps to assist with process management and create a new organization that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Ivan Seselj's picture Ivan Seselj
Continuous Improvement in Configuration Management Continuous Improvement in Configuration Management

Continuously improving your configuration management practice results in delivering high-quality, complex software beautifully and efficiently. But it’s equally as important to observe the entire CM process so you can envision and plan for worst-case scenarios as well as think about how you can scale with time—and keep on improving.

Ankush Chadha's picture Ankush Chadha
initiation, design, production path Visualizing the Complex Software Development Process

Software development is an elaborate process, so many organizations follow defined procedures. But it can be difficult to keep track of every step. It is often helpful to try to visualize the complex processes involved; seeing them outlined can help you understand what needs to be completed and how to manage the overall effort.

Bob Aiello's picture Bob Aiello
Playing Games to Improve Software

You may not have heard about gamification, but instructional designers are now using game principles to help with retention of learned material in many forms of training. Ross Smith and Rajini Padmanaban believe that developers' UX and app design can benefit from gamification.

Ross Smith's picture Ross Smith Rajini Padmanaban
lifecycle circle Using Agile Application Lifecycle Management to Streamline Status Accounting

Status accounting is following the evolution of a configuration item through its lifecycle. Using application lifecycle management along with agile helps prevent mistakes, but lets you have the minimum amount of red tape; the team achieves an acceptable velocity without being unduly burdened with too much process.

Bob Aiello's picture Bob Aiello
silo falling down How to Break Down Silos to Build the Perfect DevOps Team

A degree of specialization is essential in every company, but it can lead to dangerous divisions and an outdated structure. Breaking down your silos initiates the cultural change that’s required to build an effective DevOps team and fully realize the potential benefits of everyone’s talents.

Andrew Phillips's picture Andrew Phillips
team holding hands Understanding Culture and Agile Application Lifecycle Management

While the technical complexity of real-world ALM may be substantial, sometimes the people issues present even more complex challenges. Being able to understand the personalities and work culture of the folks doing the work can help you implement ALM in a comprehensive and effective way.

Leslie  Sachs's picture Leslie Sachs
cross out waste Use Lean Thinking to Accelerate DevOps Performance for Agile Teams

Leaders in agile organizations should consider adding lean techniques to their DevOps practices. Lean thinking can accelerate DevOps delivery by providing a set of processes and principles to help create more beneficial products, save money, boost productivity, reduce waste, and map to value.

Gail Ferreira's picture Gail Ferreira

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