InfoQ Homepage Culture & Methods Content on InfoQ
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Lack of Software Engineers Bears Risks
Although many products and solutions increasingly leverage software as an essential fundament, software engineers are becoming a rare species in Western countries. The problem with scarce availability of well-educated software engineers is that many companies require more engineers then they can get and if that gap widens, this could damage the leading edge of some companies.
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Open Office Layout is Bad for Brain !
Open office layout is usually considered the default layout for Agile teams. Cubicle farms are boring and a thing of the past. Open office is known to improve communication, collaboration and build stronger teams. Is it all as good as it sounds?
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Thoughtworks Technology Radar July 2011
ThoughtWorks recently published its Technology Radar; a report to help technology leaders understand emerging technologies, identify strategic platforms and tools and prepare their organizations for them.
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Preview: 15th SPLC Conference on Software Product Lines
The International Software Product Line Conference (SPLC) is the most important event that covers the full range of Product Line Engineering in software-intensive products. Its 15th incarnation will take place in the Munich City Center from August 21st to August 26th.
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Software Architecture in the Movies
Keeping up-to-date with software architecture can be a tough endeavor. Information is normally available within thick books or somewhere hidden in the Web. Another more entertaining way can be to watch clips available at video sites such as YouTube and Vimeo.
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How Rigid is Scrum?
Scrum is seen as an adaptive and flexible software development methodology which aims to improve the development process. Over the years, there have been many success stories which have been attributed to Scrum. However, some teams continue to smell a good amount of inflexibility and rigidity. Is it Scrum at fault or is it a flawed adoption process?
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QConSF November: Speakers, Sessions Update, Attendance up 100%
Our 5th QCon San Francisco takes place on Nov 14-18, 2011. Last year QConSF sold out early, and this year we are already 100% above last year’s registrations at this time! Registration is open and all 16 track themes have been announced. Most of the conference sessions are still in development and have not been posted online yet. Save $550 by registering before July 29th.
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Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland Release Updated Scrum Guide
Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, the co-creators of Scrum, updated the Scrum Guide. The update focuses on the framework, rules, and ceremonies of Scrum, removing specifics about strategies and techniques. An accompanying Scrum Update document provides a statement of refinements that clarifies some of the finer points of the Scrum Framework.
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Enterprise Reacts to Browser Release Cycle
Enterprise organizations were taken by surprise with the recent release of Firefox 5.0 just three months after 4.0, citing security concern and lack of stable Firefox versions for enterprises to work with. At the same time Microsoft has reaffirmed its commitment to enterprises as well as general web consumers.
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Adopting Agile in an Environment of Fear
Agile adoption and transformation is sometimes effective, and sometimes not. Is there a common thread to the failures? Does fear have anything to do with it? And what can we expect if we start an agile adoption initiative in an environment that is full of fear?
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Upcoming Agile Coach Camps
Agile coaches facilitate the transformations of teams and organizations to agile methods. Agile coach camps are open space unconferences where coaches gather to share and learn. There are two upcoming coach camps, one in Bletchley Park in the UK, the other in Columbus Ohio in the US.
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Selenium 2 (a.k.a Selenium WebDriver) Is Released
The Selenium team has recently released Selenium 2 (a.k.a. Selenium WebDriver), a major update to the poplar test framework for web applications.
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Systemic Constellations at Agile Coach Camp Montreal
Todd Charron is reporting about the Agile Coach Camp Canada 2011, in Montreal, Quebec where Michael Spayd demonstrated a powerful coaching technique called Systemic Constellations. Systemic Constellations comes from family systems therapy and was developed by Bert Hellinger.
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Sales and Agile, Oil and Water?
Sales, by its very nature is supposed to be Agile. A good sales person would inspect the situation, adapt to make the stakeholders comfortable and inspect by asking relevant questions to finally present a valid solution. However, it becomes a problem when the sales person tries to become too agile by offering silver bullets. Is this a regular phenomenon? Can it be solved?
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The Legacy of Eli Goldratt
On June 11th 2011, Dr. Eli Goldratt, inventor of the Theory of Constraints (TOC), passed away. Eli’s first, and most famous book was the "The Goal", it defined the TOC. His legacy will continue to indirectly influence the agile by the embodiment of his ideas in techniques we apply every day.