Better Software Magazine Articles

Achieving Continuous Improvement and Innovation in Software

There is tremendous pressure on software development teams to deliver software faster, better, and cheaper. Quality engineering with a focus on innovation is the answer

Michael Sowers's picture Michael Sowers
Become Agile 10 Things You Must Do to Become Truly Agile

Agile is not a state of doing; it’s a state of being. Adopting business models on value and learning how to make teams autonomous are both necessary steps to reap the benefit of agility.

James Schiel's picture James Schiel
Agile DevOps Is Your Project Doomed from the Start?
Slideshow

When we think of planning, we often think about requirements planning. We get the initial features and functions down, and then see where agile takes us. Lisa Calkins claims that less than a third of software development projects are successful. Regarding this lack of success, process...

Lisa Calkins
Agile DevOps Visual Management Gone Wild
Slideshow

A visual management system is a low-tech tool with a simple mission—to visually represent the work that the team is doing. When used regularly and correctly, it can be a project acceleration tool. However, teams often go wild with visuals, decorating every inch of free wall space with...

Nichole Vanderlaan
The Impossibility of Estimating Software The Impossibility of Estimating Software

Estimating software schedules must be an art, not a science. With so many techniques published on the subject, why is it so difficult? It has to do with the human element and past project knowledge.

Collocated West Logo Product Management: The Innovation Glue for the Lean Enterprise
Slideshow

At a time when organizations of all sizes both want and need innovation, exciting approaches including lean startup and agile development have risen to the forefront. Although there is no shortage of resources and expertise on these approaches, less guidance is available on the daunting...

Mimi Hoang and George Schlitz
planning diagram Software Project Planning and Processes: 5 Steps to Success

Too often, software teams come up with a lofty goal for a project, then immediately launch into development in an effort to get to market faster. But skipping the planning process for how to actually achieve your goal can be dangerous. John Basso gives five steps to drive front-end planning and set your project up for success.

John Basso's picture John Basso
Balancing Waterfall Predictability with Agile Flexibility

In this FAQ column, Arlen Bankston highlights the difficulty many companies have making the full transition to agile, straddling between waterwall ways and the new horizons of agility.  Arlen provides techniques that can enable companies to ease into the transition, allowing their organization to make the adjustments without the burden of large plans and commitments.

Arlen Bankston's picture Arlen Bankston
Become a Great ScrumMaster

Performing all the functions required to facilitate project teams as ScrumMaster can be a task. Zuzi Sochova describes creative ways to become a master of Scrum by adopting a ScrumMaster state of mind.

Zuzi Sochova's picture Zuzi Sochova
Project Management Tips to Improve Test Planning
Slideshow

When done right, testing is more than test plans, test scripts, and executing tests. In fact a test leader should consider testing a sub-project of the larger development project. By applying the same techniques project managers use to plan and manage the overall project, test leaders can...

Ricki Henry, Clark County Nevada

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