Methods & Tools - News, Facts & Comments Edition - February 2008

*** News ***************************************************************

* Microsoft Chase for Yahoo!

Microsoft Corp announced that it has made a proposal to Yahoo! to acquire all the outstanding shares of Yahoo! common stock for $31 per share, representing a total equity value of approximately $44.6 billion. Yahoo! is fighting against this proposition, but does the company have many options? Is there another way to create a true competitor for Google in the search engine and on-line advertising market?

http://blog.martinig.ch/?p=86
http://blog.martinig.ch/?p=88

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* M&T Industry Press Releases Channel

You can view and follow recent press releases from software development tools vendors on http://www.softdevtools.com/modules/news/

*** Numbers ************************************************************

* Methods & Tools Survey Confirms Increased Agile Adoption

We are transitioning from a period where agile adoption may have been underestimated to another where it could be overestimated. Previously, some developers would not define their practices openly as agile or extreme programming because manager would have considered it a "cow-boy process". Today, some companies will pretend that they are agile, but without implementing the essence of the approach. Comparing the 2008 and 2005 results, we could notice that the level of ignorance of the agile movement has decreased, as only 13% of the organizations are ignorant of it. Full deployment numbers have doubled in the recent years to reach 17% and total rate of various adoption levels is now 56% compared to 41% in 2005.

More on http://blog.martinig.ch/?p=91

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Quality of Open Source Tools

The current M&T poll is asking you to rate the quality of open source software development tools (examples: Eclipse, MySQL, PHP, Junit, etc...) versus the commercial tools.

Go to our Poll section to participate and to see intermediate results.

You can go to http://www.methodsandtools.com/dynpoll/oldpoll.php?OSQual2 to see the results of a similar poll conducted in 2006.

*** Quotes *************************************************************

Sharing Trough Implementation Patterns

The thing I like about the pattern form is that it gives you a way to talk about the motivation for what you are doing. So there is a lot of Java style books, and good ones, out there people with lots of experience, people who've thought carefully about how to program, but when I read them what I hear is a set of commandments, "Name variables like this, arrange your code like that, etc" and all those are good things to do in certain circumstances, but what doesn't ever come true for me is why? What's the context, what stage needs to be set before that's the right thing to do, and what are the consequences? If I do that what other thing should I do so that the whole system works well together? So there are different personal styles.

People come to those styles because there are a bunch of decisions that work well together. Taking one bit of that out and using it isn't necessarily working well. So by writing a pattern kind of format I get a chance to say: "How do you name fields?" Well, let's see. What are all the things that you might want to communicate? What things might a reader be interested in if they are reading a name of a variable? What are all the constraints on naming, both in terms of like cognitive constraints. Abbreviations don't work well for a variety of reasons, but why? Really long names don't work well, but why? By writing in terms of patterns I get an opportunity to think about all of those. Here is my rule for naming variables, to use simple names that describe the role of the variable in the computation, but if I just said that as a commandment, someone could copy that, but they don't really get it in the same sense that I care about, and more importantly when that is not the right rule, they don't get any sense of what thinking was behind that rule, so they don't know when to break it.

Source: "Kent Beck on Implementation Patterns" on infoq.com

http://www.infoq.com/interviews/beck-implementation-patterns

The main point in Kent Beck's words is that you cannot use software development methods and tools without knowing the context in which you should use them. Every time you find something interesting and new, you should ask yourself why and when you could use it, and why and when you should not use it.

*** Jobs Opening on SoftDevJobs.com ************************************

Recruiting? Use SoftDevJobs.com and post your job advertisement at half price with special discount code "MT01"for Methods & Tools subscribers.

*** Conferences ********************************************************

* International Test Certification Weeks (ITCW)

* San Antonio, TX, March 3-7, 2008
* Chicago, IL, March 24-28, 2008
* Washington, DC, April 7-11, 2008
* Minneapolis, MN, April 14-18, 2008
* Anaheim, CA, June 2-6, 2008

20 Full day in-depth Software Testing and QA courses taught by Leading Industry Experts in Software Testing & Quality

http://www.iist.org/stpw/

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* EclipseCon 2008 March 17-20 2008, Santa Clara, CA, USA

EclipseCon 2008 has more than 350 tutorials and talks covering all aspects of Eclipse technology and commercial interests. There are dozens of talks on dozens of topics ranging from mobile computing to embedded devices and Java to C/C++. Eclipse as Platform is popular, and of course reporting and rich client issues.

http://eclipse.org/go/ec@mt

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Software Practice Advancement 2008 March 16-20, Bedfordshire UK

SPA Conferences bring together experts and practitioners across a variety of industries, from around the world, to share the latest thinking in software development. At SPA we don't follow the latest fads, instead we help you identify the real advances that will enable you to build better software. Special discount available until 30th Nov.

http://www.spaconference.org

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* TheServerSide Java Symposium March 26-28 2008, Las Vegas, USA

Get skills that can be immediately applied to your projects at TheServerSide Java Symposium - Answers to your agility questions, tips for tactical design and scalability, insight into UML, model and test-driven development issues & advice for project management & team collaboration. Register before Feb. 22 to pay the Early Bird price!

http://javasymposium.techtarget.com/lasvegas/index.html?Offer=JSmtnl1210

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Emerging Technologies for the Enterprise March 26-27, 2008, Philadelphia, USA

The East Coast's Premier Tech Conference: Emerging Technologies for The Enterprise Conference. Join us on March 26th and 27th at Drexel University in Philadelphia as thought leaders in AJAX, Ruby-on-Rails, Spring, Flex, SOA, Agile and more. Share their experience and knowledge. Register today

www.phillyemergingtech.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Software Test & Performance Conference April 15-17, 2008, San Mateo, CA, USA

Join hundreds of other software developers, development managers, test/QA managers and senior test professionals at the Software Test & Performance Conference, April 15-17, 2008 in San Mateo, CA. Full day tutorials and over 70 training classes cover software test/QA and performance issues across the entire application life cycle. Register Today!

http://www.stpcon.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* STAREAST 2008 May 5-9 2008, Orlando, USA

Providing the largest and most advanced testing forum, STAREAST delivers the latest trends, technologies, and strategies in the industry today. Learn about new products, timely issues, and cutting-edge solutions from the best experts in the business. Find answers to your questions about test management, automation, SOA testing, model-based testing, and many of the other hot-topics.

http://www.sqe.com/go?SE08MTtextad

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* 24th International Practical Software Quality and Testing (PSQT) Conference. May 5-9, 2008 - Las Vegas, NV

PSQT focuses on PRACTICAL software testing techniques.
* 1 Day conference with 28 Track and Feature Presentations
* 2 Keynote presentations by leading industry experts
* 4 Days with 7 Tutorials each day that will apply towards CSTP or CTM certification

http://www.psqtconference.com/2008west/index.php

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Developer Day Scotland May 10 2008 Glasgow Scotland, UK

Mark in Saturday, 10th May, 2008 in your diary as the date when developer events change forever in Scotland! Developer Day Scotland is a free community event, run by community for community, which is based upon the highly successful Developer! Developer! Developer! community conference events.

http://www.developerdayscotland.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* XP Day France 2008 12-13 mai 2008, Paris

Pour sa troisième édition, la conférence XP Day France est heureuse de vous accueillir de nouveau les 12 & 13 Mai 2008. Venez vous informer; rencontrer des praticiens des méthodes agiles: XP, Scrum, Crystal; et débattre de sujets concrets, organisationnels (équipes, conduite de projet) ou techniques (TDD, refactoring).

http://xpday.fr/inscription

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* 2008 DC PHP Conference & Expo, June 2-4, 2008, Washington, DC USA

Come see how PHP is working within government, technical, and business applications. DC PHP will include tracks pertaining to business cases, best practices, the art of PHP, PHP applications, PHP in the enterprise, and Open Source. Call for Papers deadline is March 15. Discounted Registration ends April 15.

http://www.dcphpconference.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Yet Another Perl Conference 2008 June 16-18, Chicago, USA

This low-cost grassroots Perl conference is a gathering place for many of the leaders in the Open Source and Free Software communities. Join us for three days of in-depth technical talks surrounded by open hack-a-thons and professional training classes. Chat with Perl gurus like Larry Wall and Randal Schwartz, learn new Perl tricks, and even find a new career opportunity at our professional job fair.

http://yapc.org/America

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Code Generation 2008, June 25-27 2008. Cambridge, UK

40% of developers are using or planning to use Model-Driven Software Development. Don’t miss out! CG2008 brings together developers and leading experts in a unique, participative event. Whether you’re a beginner or an veteran with MDA, MDD, Domain-Specific Languages, Eclipse Modelling Framework etc. you will benefit by participating.

http://www.codegeneration.net/conference/

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* 25th International Practical Software Quality and Testing (PSQT) Conference. September 8-12, 2008 - Minneapolis, MN

PSQT focuses on PRACTICAL software testing techniques.
* 1 Day conference with 28 Track and Feature Presentations
* 2 Keynote presentations by leading industry experts
* 4 Days with 7 Tutorials each day that will apply towards CSTP or CTM certification

http://www.psqtconference.com/2008north/index.php

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Conquest 08 September 24-26, Potsdam, Germany

Since 1997, CONQUEST is the platform for software professionals bringing together the software engineering community to discuss software quality aspects, to see how quality engineering methods and techniques are used in both industrial and research environments, to see the latest tools, to share experiences on projects and representative case studies, and to hear about future directions.

http://www.conquest-conference.org

*** M&T News ***********************************************************

* More than 750 tools Listed!

More than 750 tools have been registered in our Software Development Tool directory. If you are looking for a specific tool to develop software, do not hesitate to visit it to get some direction. If you are developing a tool, both commercial and open source, useful for software developers, register it for free on the web site. Subscribe to the RSS feed for continuous information on the software development tool market.

http://www.softdevtools.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* LinkedIn Methods & Tools Group Created

Online professional networks are today an important tool to keep connections between people sharing the same interests. As a member of the LinkedIn network, I have created a group for Methods & Tools readers. If you want to join this group and be able to share your experience with other software development professionals worldwide, just click on the link below (you should be member of the LinkedIn network to do this)

http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/49777/20059D3C405C

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Software Development Articles

Some of the last interesting additions to http://www.softdevarticles.com:

* Top-10 Application-Design Mistakes

Application usability is enhanced when users know how to operate the UI and it guides them through the workflow. Violating common guidelines prevents both.

http://www.softdevarticles.com/modules/weblinks/singlelink.php?lid=958

* Why Do I Need All That Process? I’m Only a Small Project

At Intel’s Information Technology (IT) department, we developed extensive processes for our projects. While the large projects get the glory, the majority of our projects are less than six months long, have small teams, limited scope, and low risk. We found that we have a variety of project sizes but a single set of processes originally built for larger projects. So how did we fix that issue?.

http://www.softdevarticles.com/modules/weblinks/singlelink.php?lid=941

* Spiral Development: Experience, Principles, and Refinements

Spiral development is a family of software development processes characterized by repeatedly iterating a set of elemental development processes and managing risk so it is actively being reduced. This paper characterizes spiral development by enumerating a few "invariant" properties that any such process must exhibit. This report also shows how the spiral model can be used for a more cost-effective incremental commitment of funds, via an analogy of the spiral model to stud poker.

http://www.softdevarticles.com/modules/weblinks/singlelink.php?lid=939

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Future Issues of Methods & Tools

In future issues, you will find articles on:

* Creating an Agile Environment
* OpenUP
* Requirements Management
* How Quality is Assured by Evolutionary Method
* Database modelling and XML
* Acceptance Test Driven Development
* Risk management, the Evo way
* Software Patterns
* Managing Scrum Meetings
* Getting and Keeping Control over your Project
* Outsourcing Software Testing
* Behavior Driven Database Design
* Optimizing the Contribution of Testing to Project Success
* Rich User Interfaces
* Metrics for Code Review

------------------------------------------------------

The content of this publication cannot be reproduced without prior written consent of the publisher - Copyright (C) 2008, Martinig & Associates