CLLAX

There are certain properties that make a unit test both fit-for-purpose and also a good test. We’ve put together a list below and we’ve tried to keep it as language agnostic as possible in order to make it clear that it applies to your development environment as much as any other...

Developing solid unit tests can be a challenge for the uninitiated. It’s important that any test you develop is a genuine test of the code as well as being replicable multiple times during the development cycle...

A question that often arises in development teams is “how do you approach unit-testing for multi-threaded code”? The thing that concerns developers is of course, the order of execution which can be difficult to control when the code is particularly complex. However, while ignoring testing can seem tempting – it’s important to test all of your code. Here are some ideas on how to approach it: Force the code to execute in a synchronous manner Given that a unit-test has the most value when it can be reproduced and executed again and again, multi-threaded code presents real challenges...

Developers looking into implementing unit-testing within their environment are often worried about whether unit-testing will add to their bottom line or take away from it. It’s a fair question and it’s best answered by taking a look at the advantages and disadvantages of doing so and then seeing where the balance falls. The disadvantages of unit-testing From a busy development team’s point of view, the biggest disadvantage of taking on unit-testing is the initial time required to develop them. It’s...

Software companies looking to make the most money out of their applications, sooner or later are going to move over to automated testing. Why? Simply because it makes more sense than manual testing and provides a much higher-level of return on investment than manual testing. We’ve got a quick breakdown of the advantages of automated testing for you: • Cost reductions. This is the big one. Running a regular testing cycle costs money when you’re doing it by hand. The more times you do it – the more resources you have to commit...

Automated testing can be a touch overwhelming when you first approach it. The good news is that with a methodical approach to automated testing you can quickly reap the rewards without losing your way. Here’s a simple guide to the main considerations when you want to get started with automated testing: Choose which Test Cases should be Automated You can’t automate everything overnight, so it pays to be selective when you begin. Focus your efforts on automating some of the following: • The most repetitive...

Software developers are looking to increase the quality of releases, in order to ensure that problems in the code are fixed before they become problems for their customers. After some debate, it’s likely that one of the approaches they will take is to introduce unit-testing within their environment. This allows developers to test their code “on the fly” and on a regular basis so that problems are isolated within the code and can be inexpensively and easily remedied without impacting on the release cycle...

Change management is a structured approach to dealing with the human dynamics of any organizational change. It’s about aligning people to new values, processes, procedures and behaviours needed to deliver on a desired result. In most organizations, change management begins at the ‘top of the house.’ Next, a persuasion campaign takes place to mobilize the rest of the organization and promote organic behavior change. This approach is fundamentally flawed. Change management cannot be left as an afterthought...

Though it might sound daunting, enterprise risk management is quite simply about striking a balance between risk and reward within an organization. When you break it down, enterprise risk management is about four things: 1) identifying opportunities relevant to the company’s goals; 2) assessing their potential for risk; 3) determining both the likelihood and extent of their impact, and 4); putting a strategy in place to achieve said goals. Perhaps what is most surprising is that enterprise risk management—as a process - is a lot more common than you might expect...

By definition, a call center inbound agent is one who takes incoming phone calls initiated by the customers providing either service-related or technical assistance or both. Additionally, he or she can also sell products and services or make appointments as what a virtual assistant does depending on the nature of the account. The exact opposite of it is an outbound call center agent. Technically, as the term connotes, an agent under this field contacts the customers on behalf of the client to facilitate...

Inbound call centers and technology dependent companies closely work together to provide each other with mutual support. Any call that deals with resolving customer concerns is within the turf of inbound call centers. Client companies are supposedly directly accountable to these customers, but as the nature of their job requires, call center agents offers support on behalf of the companies instead. A typical attribute of inbound call centers is their centralized office structure, through which large volumes of voice-based interactions are processed from the customers to the call center...

When another company wholly or partially handles a specific facet or a business away from the office address, what they are actually doing is termed as business process outsourcing. There are two major business departments that are usually outsourced: the back office which consists of the billing, human resources, payroll, and logistics departments, and the front office including advertising, marketing, technical support, and customer service. The trend nowadays for large...