AI/ML's Impact on Development & Test Automation

April 19, 2023

What are AI & ML?

AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) refer to the use of computer systems that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as understanding natural language, recognizing images, making predictions, and learning from experience. More specifically, “artificial intelligence” is an umbrella term that includes a variety of subcategories such as machine learning, natural language processing, machine vision, and more (similar to our basic senses).

Implementing Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) With Spira

February 2, 2023

Behavior Driven Development (BDD) is a software development methodology that has become increasingly popular in the last decade. It is an evolution of the Agile software development methodology and focuses on the behavioral aspects of software development. BDD is designed to create a collaborative environment among team members, enabling them to develop a unified understanding of the desired product. In this article we discuss how you can use Spira to implement BDD easily in your projects.

Using Risk-Driven Development (RDD) in Software Delivery

January 18, 2023

There is not a single industry today that does not use software to manage their projects or its portfolio of operations. Whether it is developing software that the company sells for their clients or assuring quality in the continuous realization of value through the operational value delivery pipeline, risk management is critical. Find out how you can use risk-driven development to deliver higher quality software at lower risk.

Insights from DeveloperWeek Cloud 2022 in Austin, TX

September 9, 2022

Our CEO Adam Sandman is a member of the DeveloperWeek network's advisory board for DevOps. One of the benefits of this role is getting to review all the speaker proposals for the DeveloperWeek Cloud and DevOps Summit conference and also attending the conference to meet the speakers, attendees and other advisory board members. In this article, Adam shares some of the insights and trends that were presented at the conference, as well as information on some of the latest Cloud and DevOps tools for developers and DevOps engineers.

Spotlight on Spira 6.8 - Enhanced BDD and Gherkin Support

February 24, 2021

We are excited about the next release of Spira 6.8, due to be released in March. As we described in a recent blog post, this new version includes major enhancements to the documents management module to allow users the create and edit inline content directly in Spira. However this new feature also makes it amazing easy to write BDD style requirements and test cases in Spira using Gherkin syntax with automatic syntax highlighting. Intrigued, well read on...

Webinar Recap: Agile Engineering Practices for Software Product Development

December 12, 2019

On December 5, 2019 Inflectra hosted a live webinar: Agile Engineering Practices for Software Product Development. If you missed the webinar, here is a recap of the most important take-aways:

Product Development Tools - The Top 10 Features

December 12, 2019

SpiraPlan is an easy to use, complete solution for managing your product development lifecycle. In this article we discuss the top 10 features you should look for in a product development tool, and why you should choose SpiraPlan over other tools on the market that offer features for product development.

Blog: Agile Engineering Practices for Software Product Development

December 6, 2019

In the following blog post, Sriram Rajagopalan - Inflectra's Enterprise Agile Champion, covers a number of key aspects of Agile Engineering practices. Among them are: technical excellence, general trends in agile engineering as well as practical recommendations for those how plan on undertaking a project like this.

This blog complements Inflectra's December 5th webinar on the same topic, with the webinar recording available inside. 

Inflectra Creates Harmony in the Software Development Universe

September 27, 2019

The tempo of software development is always increasing. With the adoption of agile methodologies, the move to continuous integration and deployment, and the use of DevOps platforms, it seems that everything needs to be done faster. In this maelstrom of activity, we at Inflectra want to help customers avoid the chaos of missed deadlines, and unfulfilled requirements... and bring harmony. Learn how and why!

Spotlight on SpiraTeam 6.2 - Agile Board Enhancements

August 15, 2019

As we get ready for the release of SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, and SpiraPlan 6.2 later this month, we'd like too introduce some of the new functionality that will be available in this release. In the second installment of this series, we're excited to announce the new agile planning enhancements that have been added to SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan 6.2. They are designed to make SpiraPlan even better as your first choice for planning and managing agile projects, whatever flavor of agile you are using.

Recap: #OATSolutions - Inflectra Meets the Agile Community in Brazil

October 1, 2018

We were pleased to support and attend the annual OAT Solutions customer summit in São Paulo, Brazil last week. It have us an opportunity to connect with all of the team working at OAT, as well as meet customers and potential users that are interested in SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, and Rapise from Inflectra. We also got time to see the amazing city that is São Paulo, and sample some of the local delights.

How to Wreck Your UI Test Automation Project - A Cheat Sheet

September 4, 2018

A while back we wrote about how to make a UI test automation project a nightmare, well in the second part of this blog series, we explore some ways you can wreck and derail an automation project. Hopefully, you will do the opposite and become a test automation hero!

Recording of Software Development & Testing Challenges in Financial Services

May 30, 2018

Thanks to those who attended our recent webinar discussing the challenges and opportunities testing and developing software and systems in the financial services and banking industries. We have published a recording of the webinar and Q&A.

The Future of Enterprise Agile Planning

March 20, 2018

In a recent survey, we were asked to give our thoughts and ideas as to what the world of Agile software development would look like in 5-years time (2023). In this blog we discuss some of the challenges and innovations, provide some predictions for the future, and explore three vignettes of that future world.

Top 10 Questions To Ask Before Setting Up An Agile Team

March 1, 2018

Although setting up an agile team may seem to be "easy," based on our experience, the results can vary greatly. What mistakes do people make? What can we do to increase the chances of our success. Based on conversations with our customers, this article lists the top 10 questions you should consider when setting up and agile project or team.

How to Make UI Test Automation a Nightmare - A Developer's Guide

December 19, 2017

We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.
― Richard Feynman

There are many ways in which you can make the lives of test automation teams harder. If you are a developer or system architect and one of testers is the kind of guy you dislike, this article is for you. Enlightened by the sacred knowledge contained in this short article you will learn how to make UI of any application nearly untestable.

Alternatively, if you are a kinder soul and respect others' hard work, you may consider topics presented herewith as anti-patterns.

So, let's go.

Supporting Agile Software Testing in DC - D-CAST

December 5, 2017

We had the pleasure of sponsoring the local D-CAST meetup this month, celebrating the end of 2017 and all things agile and software testing related. Inflectra is a proud sponsor of the group and is looking forward to helping support more events in the Washington, DC area in 2018. During the meetup, Peter Kim discussed his new cool Slackbot called Mr. Jenkins.

Recording of Agile Project Management Webinar using SpiraPlan

July 21, 2017

Many of our customers choose SpiraPlan or SpiraTeam because they are using agile methodologies such as Scrum or Kanban and need a powerful tool to manage their project backlogs, releases, sprints, iterations and programs. They are often using different tools for planning, bug tracking and requirements which hampers the ability to see the status of their project in one place.

Why You Should Join Our Technology and Innovation Meet-up Group

July 14, 2017

If you are a software company, like us, building and releasing software is pretty much up there with coffee, chocolate, and Game of Thrones. But our digital fortress could no longer contain our desire to make new friends in our own neighborhood of Silver Spring, MD. And while there is no shortage of #awesome Meet-Up groups and Eventbrite get-togethers in DC/MD/VA area, we are using our resources to make software testing fun and accessible for everyone who is interested locally. 

We are weaving a web of community connections through our regular coder internship program, our webinar series, and through our meetup group - Technology and Innovation Meet-up Group in Silver Spring, MA.

Management Debt: The Costs of Non-delivery and Non-conformance

February 7, 2017

The principles of lean have always focused on maximizing the value delivery. In fact, the Japanese term Muda (Arnheiter & Maleyeff, 2005) refers to the seven different types of wastes that one should remove. In this guest post from our agile transformation partner Sriram Rajagopalan, we discuss the types of waste that can be eliminated using a Lean methodology, and the role of Management Debt in perpetuating wasteful practices.

Test-Driven Development (TDD) is Not Dead

June 4, 2015

There has recently been an outbreak of criticism of TDD, to the point where some have claimed that TDD is dead! Is this a real reflection of trends in testing practice, or noise intended to draw attention? Read this article to find out! Read More

Agile Project Management with SpiraPlan & SpiraTeam

May 25, 2015

Are you planning on moving to an agile methodology such as Scrum or Kanban? Are you already using agile methods but need a better way to scale your process? This article explains how SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam can help you better plan, estimate and manage your agile projects. Read More

Agile - Is Constant Process Improvement Imperative?

November 12, 2014

In this post we continue our examination of various Agile methodology ideas and ask whether they are valid or whether they are in fact, industry myths. Next on the chopping block - do you need to have constant process improvement to be agile? Read More

Agile Myths - Part 4

October 15, 2014

Today we look at whether test-driven development (TDD) a good technique for specifying how a user story should operate, and whether it means that user story is fully tested (hint: these do not have the same answer!) Read More

Which Agile Methodology is Right for Me?

August 15, 2014

With all the Agile methods out there, how does someone with traditional waterfall or v-model experience begin to understand each? Which methods are truly Agile and which are not? What are the defining characteristics of each Agile method, as well as those not quite so Agile? What are the benefits of using each Agile method and what are some of the drawbacks? Read More

Infrastructure Isn't Free - So Who Pays?

August 5, 2014

When I collected my last car from the dealership, the salesman proudly showed me under the hood. The engine was tightly packed into the available space with no separately recognizable components and it was noticeably clean. Despite his apparent pride in its power, as he quoted a list of figures representing liters, horsepower and torque, all I was thinking about was getting behind the wheel and driving away.

When he finally got around to the interior I had all but forgotten that the car even had an engine. I know I am not alone in my attitude when it comes to cars for while there are those who love to get down-and-dirty with the internal workings of the internal combustion engine, most of us just want to drive it.

Agile Waterfalls (Part 2)

June 19, 2014

For companies making the transition from traditional linear / phased methodologies (often called waterfall methodologies because of how they look like a series of waterfalls with arrows between them), to agile methodologies such as Scrum or Kanban, there is often a question of how make their methodology "more agile" without completely changing everything all at once. This two-part entry describes how you can embrace agile in an iterative or agile manner. Read More

Agile Waterfalls (Part 1)

June 17, 2014

For companies making the transition from traditional linear / phased methodologies (often called waterfall methodologies because of how they look like a series of waterfalls with arrows between them), to agile methodologies such as Scrum or Kanban, there is often a question of how make their methodology "more agile" without completely changing everything all at once. This two-part entry describes how you can embrace agile in an iterative or agile manner. Read More

Agile is Nothing New

April 23, 2014

When we talk proudly of adopting Agile processes for our projects, why do we do so with a somewhat superior air over the old tried and trusted methods of software development? Read More