Better Software - December 2008 - (Page 3)

December 2008 Volume 10, Issue 10 Cover Story WHAT’S A MANAGER TO DO? 22 Self-organizing teams still need managers. But those managers need to rethink how they do their jobs and consider how much self-management the team can take on. Finding the sweet spot between hands on and hands off is the key. by Esther Derby Features SIX THINKING HATS FOR TESTERS 28 Fresh ideas can provoke great insights: Six thinking hats did just that for Julian Harty, who then applied them to software testing with great success. by Julian Harty THE KEY TO GOOD INTERVIEWING 34 The foundation of any successful assessment is the interview. But asking the right questions and asking those questions right makes all the difference in the quality of information you can elicit from your interviewees. by Robert Sabourin & Lee Copeland Columns & Departments In Every Issue Mark Your Calendar 4 Contributors 6 eLightenment 8 Product Announcements 44 10 Things You Might Not Know About … 46 Ad Index 48 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. TECHNICALLY SPEAKING 11 Lessons Learned in Close Quarters Combat • by Antony Marcano Few would think that Special Forces tactics bear any relation to software project teams. But Antony Marcano draws a surprising parallel between the dynamics of modern Special Forces “room-clearing” methods and the dynamics of modern software development teams. Train Wreck Spotting • by Kevlin Henney An oft overlooked goal of encapsulation is to simplify usage. Without this sensibility, classes can end up with simplistic interfaces and callers can end up with method-call pile-ups. CODE CRAFT 12 TEST CONNECTION 16 A Map by Any Other Name • by Michael Bolton A mapping is a relationship between two things; a map illustrates the relationship. In testing, a map might look like a road map, but it might look like a list, a chart, or a table. We can use any of these to help us think about test coverage. MANAGEMENT CHRONICLES 18 Don’t Fear the Repartee • by Nance Goldstein Conflict reduces people’s productivity and generosity toward the organization and their coworkers. These four steps can help defuse a conflict situation and improve the chances for a solution that, at the least, both parties can live with. THE LAST WORD 47 The Abolition of Ignorance • by Alan Page Good testers study testing to improve their knowledge of the areas they know about, but great testers strive to find out about areas of software testing they don’t yet realize they don’t know about. 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 DECEMBER 2008 BETTER SOFTWARE 3 http://www.StickyMinds.com http://www.StickyMinds.com http://www.StickyMinds.com http://www.StickyMinds.com http://www.BetterSoftware.com http://www.StickyMinds.com http://www.StickyMinds.com

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

Better Software - December 2008 Contents Mark Your Calendar Contributors eLightenment Technically Speaking Code Craft Test Connection Management Chronicles What's a Manager to Do? Six Thinking Hats for Testers The Key to Good Interviewing 2008 Salary Survey Product Announcements 10 Things You Might Not Know About … The Last Word Ad Index

Better Software - December 2008

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