Development

Tutorials

MI Design Patterns Explained: From Analysis through Implementation

Ken Pugh, Net Objectives

Mon, 11/11/2013 - 8:30am

Ken Pugh takes you beyond thinking of design patterns as “solutions to a problem in a context.” Patterns are really about handling variations in your problem domain while keeping code from becoming complex and difficult to maintain as the system evolves. Ken begins by describing the classic use of patterns. He shows how design patterns implement good coding practices and then explains key design patterns including Strategy, Bridge, Adapter, Façade, and Abstract Factory.

MJ Problem Solving and Decision Making in Software Development NEW

Linda Rising, Independent Consultant

Mon, 11/11/2013 - 8:30am

Unfortunately, those of us who struggle with complex problems for a living don't have time to keep up with the enormous amount of cognitive science research that could help us become better thinkers, better problem solvers, and better decision makers. Having devoted more than ten years to researching the fast-moving fields that almost daily reveal new information, Linda shares what she has uncovered—some of it surprising, some even counterintuitive. She summarizes the research and provides concrete tips for improving your individual, team, and organizational abilities.

ML The Developer’s Guide to Test Automation

Dale Emery, DHE

George Dinwiddie, iDIA Computing, LLC

Mon, 11/11/2013 - 1:00pm

Your shrinking project deadlines are increasing the need for automated tests—but, simultaneously, reducing the time available for writing them. The system requirements are continually changing. The implementation is changing. You spend more and more time maintaining old tests, leaving less time to write new ones. The tests take longer and longer to run. And when they fail, the problem is as likely to be in the tests as in the system.

TB Accelerated Agile: From Months to Minutes NEW

Dan North, Dan North & Associates, Ltd.

Tue, 11/12/2013 - 8:30am

Formula 1 drivers don’t just drive faster than you—they drive differently. Accelerated Agile uses different rules, based on the core principles of agile but taken to another level, to deliver in hours and days what regular teams can only achieve in weeks or months. Accelerated Agile is for experienced agile practitioners who are frustrated with the pseudo-science of agile planning and estimation, the social pressure to automate where it doesn’t add value, the artificial commitment of sprints, and the unwelcome surprises that still derail projects.

TF Design for Testability: A Tutorial for Devs and Testers

Peter Zimmerer, Siemens AG

Tue, 11/12/2013 - 8:30am

Testability is the degree to which a system can be effectively and efficiently tested. This key software attribute indicates whether testing (and subsequent maintenance) will be easy and cheap—or difficult and expensive. In the worst case, a lack of testability means that some components of the system cannot be tested at all. Testability is not free; it must be explicitly designed into the system through adequate design for testability.

TG Agile Project Failures: Root Causes and Corrective Actions

Jeff Payne, Coveros, Inc.

Tue, 11/12/2013 - 8:30am

Agile initiatives always begin with the best of intentions—accelerate delivery, better meet customer needs, or improve software quality. Unfortunately, some agile projects do not deliver on these expectations. If you want help to ensure the success of your agile project or get an agile project back on track, this session is for you. Jeff Payne discusses the most common causes of agile project failure and how you can avoid these issues—or mitigate their damaging effects.

Concurrent Sessions

AW12 Test (and More) Patterns for Continuous Software Delivery

Andy Singleton, Assembla

Wed, 11/13/2013 - 3:45pm

Top web companies employ continuous delivery of software to build and deploy systems faster and gain a marked competitive advantage. You can do it, too! Andy Singleton shares the patterns for testing in real time that result in more frequent and more reliable releases. He explains why you will have to invest seriously in automated tests and shares experiences developing the most time-efficient types of automated tests, setting up a social structure to get the tests you need, and employing existing layers of testing and production monitoring.

AT2 Implementing DevOps and Making It Stick

Alex Papadimoulis , Inedo

Thu, 11/14/2013 - 10:15am

If you’ve ever been involved in promoting cultural change within an organization, you may have experienced something even more disheartening than flat-out rejection—a full rollback of hard-won cultural change followed by a decade-long resentment of anyone remotely associated with the implementation. This has happened at countless organizations with agile, with SOA, with virtualization—and it’s starting to happen with DevOps. How can such a simple idea that’s been so successful at so many organizations become such a resounding failure at others?

AT7 Test-Driven Development for Developers: Plain and Simple

Rob Myers, Agile Institute

Thu, 11/14/2013 - 2:15pm

Test-driven development (TDD) is not an easy discipline to establish. However, it provides considerable return on investment for the effort. Rob Myers describes the costs of TDD (the introduction of test-maintenance overhead) and its benefits (greatly improved quality, productivity, and throughput of real value)—but only when the TDD practices are given time to ripen.