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Hardcopies: Wired and Entertainment Weekly

Digital: Better Software

All are free due to coupons and work.

http://www.stickyminds.com/BetterSoftware/magazine.asp?fn=cifea&id=121 :

"Cumulative Usage

Resource Exhaustion
The cumulative usage of software tends to create more and more intentionally stored data. If storage resources are not managed carefully, this stored data causes file systems to fill up o free memory to be depleted, a problem known as resource exhaustion.

A dramatic example of resource exhaustion occurred on NASA's Spirit rover, which stopped communicating with Earth on January 21, 2004, after having landed on Mars just seventeen days earlier. Suspecting a problem with the flash memory, JPL engineers commanded the rover to boot up without reading the flash, and then deleted hundreds of unneeded files on the flash memory, which quickly addressed the problem. [11] The rover has now been running for more than five years, well surpassing its longevity design goal of ninety days of operation..."

Better Software magazine? [grin]

I liked this commentary, and we've adopted this article as a guideline in our Java shop: http://www.stickyminds.com/sitewide.asp?ObjectId=9 041&Function=DETAILBROWSE&ObjectType=ART

Are your organization's software quality assurance practices (SQA) working well? Would some developers even say they cause discomfort or are destructive? If so, maybe you are focusing too much on the processes and not enough on the underlying principles.

Are your organization's software quality assurance practices (SQA) working well? Would some developers even say they cause discomfort or are destructive? If so, maybe you are focusing too much on the processes and not enough on the underlying principles.

I agree with most of what you say, except for the "boring" part. The Mythical Man month is still relevant today.
Just as there is a creative rush in building a working software system out of the ether, there is an equal rush and creative element is software testing.

Testers and developers think differently but have the same purpose in mind. At the end of the day, both want the best possible product to be delivered.

I suggest signing up to StickyMinds as a good place to start.

I subscribe and read Better Software Magazine. Yes, it is expensive but it is worth it since it fits my job. :)

Other magazines include Wired. Other computer magazines but I get those for free from friends, family members, and relatives.

I'd suggest asking your question at Sticky Minds (forums require registration - they haven't spammed me yat after a lot of years), or QA Forums.

Also, if you want to impress management, go look at some Mercury tools and get time reading about them. I don't know if you can get a demo for training for them, but WinRunner will really save testers (and then Management, of course) time in Regression testing. Another great website for testers is Sticky Minds. There you will find references to all the books your mind can eat up. Good luck!

For a well written case against XP (just 14 pages) follow this link
XP does have a limited value. I like the fact that it promotes early integration, and unit testing (Again they are not XP inventions). The rest of it is snake oil.
Also the guys who promote XP do so with a religious frevour. Most of the so called success stories go along the lines of
"All was darkness, the project was in a mess, the product was delayed, the customer was angry , the developers were tired ... Then we embraced XP and we were cured.There was light again. Our project was miraculously(sp?) saved and we were on time. We had a happy customer and esctatic(sp?) developers. Thank you XP"
Try questioning XP in one of the message boards and you will be greeted with it "Just try XP and you will be enlightened. It's counter intutive and dosen't make sense but it somehow works".
The scariest part is the "code is the documentation" tenet.

Web people need more B&D, imho. Nothing like good Fagan Inspection to keep things sane and controlled.