To protect intellectual property of computer software, software developers need to go to great lengths to prevent misuse. For most of us who have properly purchased apps and complied with software vendors’ licensing rules, it can be very frustrating when the app fails to run due to an unexpected licensing issue. I can remember several occasions spending hours trying to convince a major software supplier that I had indeed purchased a valid software license.
In the cover feature article of the fall 2016 issue of Better Software magazine, “The Evolution of Software Monetization,” Michael Zunke presents a detailed analysis of how end-users really feel about software protection methods. He reminds us how software vendors misfire in an attempt to balance protection of their intellectual property with complicated software licensing schemes that frustrate customers.
But, how easy is it to know if your code has been stolen? Bob Zeidman gives a fascinating inside look at how difficult it is to determine whether your code has been compromised—and what the options are—in “What if Someone Steals Your Code?”
You may have heard about the open source tool Cucumber, which links technical documentation with testing. If you ever wanted to know what Cucumber is all about, read Matt Wynne’s article “What Is Cucumber and Why Should I Care?” He shows you a better way to automate customer acceptance tests.
In every issue of Better Software, we like to include articles on agility and team productivity. In “The Mindset of the Agile Developer,” Gil Broza presents a perspective of what really motivates software developers. Tom Wessel offers a pragmatic approach for teams struggling to achieve consistent results in “Continuous Process Improvement Using Balance and Flow.”
DevOps continues to be a very important theme for software development and IT organizations wanting tight collaboration. If you aren’t sure how it fits into your lifecycle workflow, you’ll want to read “Use DevOps to Drive Your Agile ALM” by Bob Aiello and Leslie Sachs.
And don’t forget to visit our revamped Mark Your Calendar page that summarizes all the upcoming TechWell conferences and preconference training opportunities.
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