Better Software - March 2008 - (Page 3)

March 2008 Volume 10, Issue 2 Cover Story BREAKING GROUND ON SOA 24 Web services are the foundation of today’s service-oriented architecture. This article will teach you how to build a Web service from the ground up. by Mamoon Yunus Features SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT WORST PRACTICES 32 This tongue-in-cheek look at the horrors of some of software’s “worst practices” drives home the value of the good ones. by Gregory Pope MIND THE GAP 38 Learn an effective technique to assess an application’s test coverage and identify gaps in your test suite even if you don’t have any software requirements specifications. by Yuri Chernak Columns & Departments In Every Issue Mark Your Calendar 4 Contributors 6 eLightenment 8 Product Announcements 45 10 Things You Might Not Know About … 46 Ad Index 48 TECHNICALLY SPEAKING 13 What’s In a Word? • by Antony Marcano Evolution of a word’s meaning through common misuse is a reality of human communication. In the software industry, by using the phrase quality assurance to refer to what is more properly called quality control (i.e., testing), we may have lost our ability to answer the question “Does our process work?” CODE CRAFT 14 The Other Side of Complexity • by Chuck Allison Software development is an exercise in managing complexity because there appears to be no end to the problems to which we can apply automatic computation. Find out how abstractions can help you transform that complexity into simplicity. TEST CONNECTION 18 How Much Is Enough? • by Michael Bolton Exploratory testers design and execute tests in the moment, starting with an open mission and investigating new ideas as they arise. But how do we know when to stop? MANAGEMENT CHRONICLES 20 Make Your Mission Possible • by Johanna Rothman Defining the work that belongs in your group and the work that doesn’t belong can be challenging. A strong mission statement can help you defend your stance on what work you will and will not do. Better Software magazine—The print companion to StickyMinds.com brings you the hands-on, knowledgebuilding information you need to run smarter projects and deliver better products that win in the marketplace and positively affect the bottom line. Subscribe today to get ten issues. Visit www.BetterSoftware.com or call 800-450-7854. THE LAST WORD 47 Modern Distributed Teams • by Chris McMahon Traditionally, managing distributed teams has been perceived as difficult. But the advent of effective modern processes and tools is breaking through the obstacles and making distributed teams a viable—and valuable—option. StickyMinds.com We invite you to visit StickyMinds.com, the online companion to Better Software magazine. StickyMinds.com covers the same pertinent topics as the magazine, putting the power of information at the click of your mouse. Weekly columns, headline-making bugs, hundreds of technical papers, an online tools guide, discussion boards, and so much more make StickyMinds.com your site for 24/7 brainfood to help you build better software. www.StickyMinds.com MARCH 2008 BETTER SOFTWARE 3 http://www.BetterSoftware.com http://StickyMinds.com http://StickyMinds.com http://www.BetterSoftware.com http://StickyMinds.com http://StickyMinds.com http://www.StickyMinds.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Better Software - March 2008

Better Software - March 2008 Contents Mark Your Calendar Contributors eLightenment Technically Speaking Code Craft Test Connection Management Chronicles Cover Story: Breaking Ground On SOA Software Development Worst Practices Mind the Gap Product Announcements 10 Things You Might Not Know About... The Last Word Ad Index

Better Software - March 2008

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