Articles and Press Coverage

Minority of software projects delivered problem-free

Media Coverage | Planit Testing Index | November 19, 2010

By Brad Howarth
November 19 2010
Source: iTWire

While major software development project problems are often the stuff of headlines, it seems they are more the rule than the exception – and we are getting worse at them.

According to Planit Sofware Testing’s annual Software Testing Index, only 42 percent of software projects started in the past two years were delivered on time, on budget, and in line with their original scope. This result was a decline from 2009 when 49 percent of projects were reported as being delivered optimally. The Index found that projects were more likely to run over time, cost more than was estimated, or experience changes to more than 25 percent of their original scope.

Opportunity clicks for workers with tech skills

Media Coverage | November 9, 2010

By Jennifer Foreshew
November 9 2010
Source: The Australian

WHEN senior consultant Peter Youssef moved from the Gold Coast to Sydney, it took just a couple of weeks to snare the position he wanted.

The 26-year-old started with LoyaltyTech, a small software development company, in September after leaving his role as a senior software engineer in the telecommunications sector.

A survey released today by recruitment firm Robert Half Technology shows almost half of Australian technology employees feel their salary package is not fair and in line with the market.

However, after sending a couple of resumes to recruitment agencies, Mr Youssef was surprised by the response. “There were so many that were contacting me it was difficult to keep track of them and where they were applying me to,” he said. “There were quite a few opportunities.”

Organisations getting Agile to shorten development

Media Coverage | October 4, 2010

By Brad Howarth
October 04 2010
Source: iTWire

The current desire of many organisations to accelerate software development projects has led to an unprecedented level of interest in the Agile software development methodology. But while Agile has dramatically shortened the rollout cycles for new projects, project managers have been warned that it in no way reduces the need for independent software testing.

iTWire is conducting a survey on the experiences and views of managers responsible for software quality assuring and testing in organisations across Australia and New Zealand. As a participant you will receive a free copy of the report summary, giving you insights into how organisations across multiple sectors approach testing.)Managing director of the software testing company Planit Chris Carter said the role of testers remained as vital within Agile as other methodologies. Mr Carter said the training and mindset of testers was quite different from that of developers, as while in the main the developers tested to see that the product did what was supposed to do, an independent tester looked to see that it didn’t do what it wasn’t supposed to do.

Requirements engineering course aims to reduce software project failures

Media Coverage | September 20, 2010

By Brad Howarth
September 20 2010
Source:iTWire

Software testing organisation Planit is aiming to eliminate a contributor to software project failure in large organisations in Australia and New Zealand with a new training course designed to bolster skills in requirements engineering.

iTWire is conducting a survey on the experiences and views of managers responsible for software quality assuring and testing in organisations across Australia and New Zealand. As a participant you will receive a free copy of the report summary, giving you insights into how organisations across multiple sectors approach testing.)

Planit managing director Chris Carter said that requirements engineering was consistently rated as a key reason for project failure in the results of the annual Planit Software Testing Index.

Software testing essential or necessary evil?

Media Coverage | Planit Testing Index | September 10, 2010

By Brad Howarth
September 10 2010
Source:iTWire

Is software testing a necessary evil in the development and deployment of software projects for Australian and New Zealand IT departments, or an essential tool in reducing budget overruns and quality nightmares?

The creators of the Planit Software Testing Index are calling on software developers and testers to help answer these and other questions with the launch of the 2010 edition of the Index today.

Designed for software testers, developers and related professionals, this year’s survey seeks to shed light on the role that testing plays in software development and its contribution to successful project outcomes.