collaboration

From Waterfall to Agile: Keys to Making the Transition

A number of teams are making the agile transition, and while plenty of agile coaches give strong advice for how to go from zero to agile in a measured, streamlined manner, it’s also important to focus on how to transition from an existing waterfall mentality to an agile one.

Keynotes Recap from the Agile, Better Software & DevOps ConferencesLast week was the Agile Development, Better Software & DevOps Conferences East in Orlando, Florida: a jam-packed week with more than a hundred learning and networking opportunities. Here, we recap three of the keynote presentations, about scaling agile, experimental development, and continuous everything.
Quality in Quantity: How App Quality Is Now Everyone’s Responsibility

Quality has increasingly become a responsibility for not just one single segment of the team, but the team as a whole. It’s important for each member of a team to have some hand in making sure that what’s being developed works as intended as it goes through each individual progression.

Why Agile Might Benefit People Even More Than Software

Agile produces software that is more thoroughly tested and secure, at a speed that the current marketplace almost demands. But beyond making better mobile apps or more appealing software, how important is agile when it comes to not only cultivating a strong team, but also communicating with clients?

Improving Product Quality throughout the Software Development LifecycleGood, efficient communication is an important asset to the team. With focused, pure, and structured data on product quality, including all of the self-documenting steps of a given check, it’s clearly known what’s working and what the verifications are. Matt Griscom shows how you can get this level of clarity.
Do You Understand the Risk of Yes/No Questions?

Language is ambiguous in the best of cases, but the risk of miscommunication soars if someone answers a question with only "yes" or "no." However, it can be awkward to ask “Can you repeat what I said?” or “Are you sure you understand?” Naomi Karten has some suggestions for communicating beyond.

A Perspective on Other People’s PerspectivesWhenever someone behaves in a way that seems inappropriate or counterproductive, it seems useful to wonder what might be going on to trigger that behavior. In the workplace, this matter of perspective requires only that you accept that your colleagues and coworkers face challenges similar to your own.
A Tester’s Guide to Dealing with Scrummerfall

If you’ve been a tester on an agile team, you’ve probably experienced “Scrummerfall” behavior—a cross between Scrum and waterfall. There isn’t really any collaboration, and there's too much work in progress during each sprint. Bob Galen tells you how planning can help you avoid it.