Category Archives: Planning for Quality

Articles discussing how to build quality into the project through upfront planning, practical practices, and streamlined processes

COTS Tools vs. Scripting Languages for Test Automation

What is COTS? COTS stands for “Commercial Off-The-Shelf” and is often used in reference to software products or tools supplied by third-party vendors. These COTS test automation tools are created to help you in automating some or all of your … Continue reading

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Risk-based Testing – Targeting the Risk

One of the obvious truths about software testing is that there will never be enough time to do all the tests.  Enter risk-based testing. While everything should be tested, limited resources and schedule require that testing is structured whereby the … Continue reading

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Test Throughout the Development Lifecycle

There are many perceptions of what software testing is all about. Some people see software testing as something developers do as they write code. For some testing is performed all at once when the code is complete. Others believe that … Continue reading

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Risk Management

Risk management can be defined as creating and maintaining plans for controlling real and perceived risks paired with monitoring the effectiveness of those plans. DO NOT wait until a risk becomes reality before deciding what to do about it. A … Continue reading

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Stay on Track in Any Economy: 7 Hot Tips for Better Software Projects

I co-authored this article with Andrea McIntosh and we published it with StickyMinds.com There are some basic truths and best practices that hold firm regardless of the economic climate in which you find yourself. Tightening up software development and planning … Continue reading

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What is Risk in Software Development?

Risk is often defined as the combination of the likelihood of a problem occurring and the impact of the problem if it were to occur. Risk concerns future happenings. Risk involves change in mind, opinion, actions, or places. Risk involves … Continue reading

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