Agile Artisans

We're Shut Down

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

To help drive public awareness of SOPA, a very bad piece of legislation, this site is shut down today. Visiting the main page will direct you to http://sopastrike.com/strike after 5 seconds.

You can also read about this at Pragmatic Programmers.com, my publisher's url. They, just like Google, Wikipedia, and countless other sites, are trying to be sure everyone understands the legislation we're in danger of seeing passed.

Public Speaking 101

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Last Saturday I was privileged to be one of the IndieConf speakers. If you missed it, it's a great conference that has both technical and infrastructure topics ranging from marketing to budgeting to CSS. I think it's a great event for both full timers and independents... but I digress. :)

My talk was more of a workshop. We covered a number of essential public speaking tips, then practiced. I really wish we'd had more time, but it's a fun talk to give and the audience was very engaged. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Here are the slides I used: Public Speaking 101.

Damond Nolan attended and blogged on key points from a number of sessions, including mine. You can see the list of sessions here. Click through to my talk and see me pointing to an invisible object. ;)

He also posted a number of

Slides from Agile Dev Practices in Orlando

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

I'd updated my slides after they were submitted for the conference CD, so I told the attendees I'd post the version as presented.

Continuous Integration: The Sign of a Great Shop

I'm Joining RoleModel Software!

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

I'm very pleased to account that in two weeks I'll be joining the very talented team of software craftsmen at RoleModel Software.

Ken Auer, the founder and leader of RoleModel, has been a presence in RTP software for years. I first met Ken in the mid (maybe early?) 90s and have seen a steady stream of top notch developers working with him since he started RoleModel in 1997. He also recently launched the Software Craftsmanship Academy which will be creating a new generation of Software Craftsmen in 2012 and has many great companies lining up to provide internships for its graduates. I'll have a front row seat for the first iteration of that as well.

RoleModel provides software development services… we'll take your ideas and make them come alive. Our team has a wide range of expertise, including legacy application migration, and writing custom software, particularly of the web and mobile applic

Lean Dog's Acceptance Test Driven Development Class is Coming to RTP

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Lean Dog is bringing their Acceptance Test Driven Development class to RTP and I wanted to remind you to share this with your organization. It's targeted at QA professionals and junior developers. It starts at a fairly basic level, but the concepts are powerful. It's on Sept. 12-16, 2011 so don't wait to sign up.

Acceptance Test Driven Development

The Lean Dog team has a ~great~ reputation and I'm hoping we generate enough turnout for the class to be a success.

Practical Test Automation

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Here's a PDF of the talk. Practical Test Automation.

Update: Here's link to the video, taken with my cell phone using Qik. Practical Test Automation

Southern Fried Agile: July 22nd

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000
Just a quick reminder that Southern Fried Agile is Friday, July 22nd in Charlotte, North Carolina. If you're in the region, this will be a great event to catch.

Southern Fried Agile: This is Your Brain on Agile!

Here's the list of speakers:

Andy Painter

Bill Krebs

Cory Foy

Jared Richardson

Joe Little

Ken Pugh

Mike Cottmeyer

Mike Cox

Sara Welch

And the topics include practical test automation (that's my topic), Kanban, an introduction to agile, an introduction to agile planning and project management, and more.

You can find the entire list on the topics page

It's a great event and I hope to see you there!

Automated Testing is Not QA

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000
Quite often (and again very recently) I've run into a simple, but frustrating, misunderstanding. I'll often come to work with a team, evaluate their current state, and chart a path for them to move forward. For many of the teams I encounter, this ends up starting with continuous integration and test automation (along with a few other practices).

And I'm repeatedly finding that some developers, but nearly all managers, assume that I'm focusing on QA, or worse, that I'm in a QA role.

It's not that being equated with QA is bad. It's a compliment if you've known some of the testers I've worked alongside. The problem is with the fundamental misunderstanding about the role of automated testing. Automated testing isn't something you hand off to someone else; it's a function of your job if you're a senior software developer (or ever hope to be).

A sure sign of an immature or prima donna developer is the thought that writing automated tests are beneath them, and that someone else

The Best Government Money Can Buy

Mon, 23 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000
Here in North Carolina, we've got the best government money can buy!

North Carolina governor refuses to block anti-muni broadband law

I usually try to post more than a link, but this is just so disgusting that I'm posting the link and moving on.

Trench Warfare and Software Development

Wed, 04 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000
My article on Trench Warfare is in this month's Pragmatic Programmer's free magazine. Check it out and see if you're already working in a "trench shop".

Prag Pub Issue #23