Articles

A Step by Step Guide to Lean ALM

Last time we looked at Lean ALM from a high level perspective. This article Dave West builds on that by discussing how one can gradually introduce Lean ALM to established teams.

Now is the Time for Lean ALM

In this article we examine why organizations need to transition to Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) and what we can learn from Lean thinking in transforming ALM from an inflexible, expensive, dogmatic approach to one more able to reduce waste and deliver measurable value.

Continuous Integration with MSBuild and Jenkins – Part 2

In part one we looked at using MSBuild in a general sense. Part 2 we apply that knowledge to a specific continuous integration server, namely Jenkins. We choose Jenkins because it is an open source project that supports a wide variety of projects, making it ideal for heterogeneous environments.

Continuous Integration with MSBuild and Jenkins – Part 1

In this first of a two-part series, Mustafa Saeed Haji Ali looks at implementing a continuous integration system using MSBuild. Part two will how to integrate this into Jenkins, an extendable continuous integration server with support for a wide variety of operating systems and programming languages.

Jason Zander on Visual Studio's Past, Present, and Future

InfoQ recently had an exclusive interview with Microsoft's Jason Zander to discuss the latest release of Visual Studio and the state of the project as a whole. The wide ranging talk covered everything from C99/C+11 standards compliance plans, to cross-platform support and how Microsoft tries to balance the needs of corporate developers with those of smaller, independent users.

Automated Error Reporting: The Gateway to Better Quality

Ignorance might be bliss, but it goes straight to the bottom line when it comes to software bugs. Those who can ferret out bugs and improve the quality of their software will be rewarded with greater customer trust, higher renewal rates, lower maintenance costs, and fewer opportunities for the competition. Laila Lotfi explains how automated error reporting aids in this endeavor.

Continuous Mobile Application Testing

Given the onslaught of mobile devices and apps into the SDLC, fingers and eyeballs seem to be the only way apps can be tested right now. But manual testing drastically slows down the development process, leaves a huge margin for error, and ultimately lowers the team’s ability to release quality software in a short amount of time. Dan Bartow of SOASTA hopes to offer something better.

Plastic SCM – DVCS at Enterprise Level

Building on his earlier article, “Distributed Version Control Systems in the Enterprise”, Pablo Santos discusses his company’s product: PlasticSCM. While other DVCS systems were designed for the needs of the Linux open source community, PlasticSCM addresses the problems facing enterprise software developers, especially those using .NET.

Writing Automated Acceptance Tests with Spec Flow

Acceptance or functional testing is a type of testing where a system is tested to see if the required specifications are met. These tests are a type of black-box testing where the internal implementation is irrelevant. Mustafa Saeed Haji Ali demonstrates how to automate these tests using SpecFlow.

Purpose Case Management

Article “Purpose Case Management” describes a Case Management method that overarches BPM and Adaptive Case Management. Author reviews several modern movements such as Unstructured BPM, Social BPM, Dynamic BPM, and ACM. The article concludes with a generic method that allows switching between BPM and ACM depending on which one of them is more efficient in an execution context at certain moment.

The Need to Focus on App Delivery Lifecycle in PaaS

An App Delivery Platform-as-a-Service is not only a development platform. It is also a social platform, a deployment platform, and a user engagement platform. An App Delivery Platform-asa-Service is all about delivering apps that perfectly fit the business, it’s about creating business value, it’s about enabling the business to be successful!

How ALM Drives Business/IT Alignment, Competitive Advantage