This book describes how to apply ICONIX Process (a minimal, use case-driven modeling process) in an agile software project. It's full of practical advice for avoiding common agile pitfalls. Further, the book defines a core agile subset so those of you who want to get agile need not spend years learning to do it. Instead, you can simply read this book and apply the core subset of techniques.

The book follows a real-life .NET/C# project from inception and UML modeling, to working code through several iterations. You can then go on-line to compare the finished product with the initial set of use cases.

The book also introduces several extensions to the core ICONIX Process, including combining Test-Driven Development (TDD) with up-front design to maximize both approaches (with examples using Java and JUnit). And the book incorporates persona analysis to drive the projects goals and reduce requirements churn.

Diagramming and process are important topics in today's software development world, as the UML diagramming language has come to be almost universally accepted. Yet process is necessary; by themselves, diagrams are of little use. Use Case Driven Object Modeling with UML - Theory and Practice combines the notation of UML with a lightweight but effective process - the ICONIX process - for designing and developing software systems. ICONIX has developed a growing following over the years. Sitting between the free-for-all of Extreme Programming and overly rigid processes such as RUP, ICONIX offers just enough structure to be successful.

The groundbreaking book Design Driven Testing brings sanity back to the software development process by flipping around the concept of Test Driven Development (TDD)-restoring the concept of using testing to verify a design instead of pretending that unit tests are a replacement for design. Anyone who feels that TDD is Too Damn Difficult will appreciate this book. Design Driven Testing shows that, by combining a forward-thinking development process with cutting-edge automation, testing can be a finely targeted, business-driven, rewarding effort. In other words, you'll learn how to test smarter, not harder. * Applies a feedback-driven approach to each stage of the project lifecycle.* Illustrates a lightweight and effective approach using a core subset of UML.* Follows a real-life example project using Java and Flex/ActionScript.* Presents bonus chapters for advanced DDTers covering unit-test antipatterns (and their opposite, test-conscious design patterns), and showing how to create your own test transformation templates in Enterprise Architect.What you'll learn * Create unit and behavioral tests using JUnit, NUnit, FlexUnit.*Generate acceptance tests for all usage paths through use case thread expansion.* Generate requirement tests for functional requirements.* Run complex acceptance tests across the enterprise.* Isolate individual control points for self-contained unit/behavioral tests.* Apply Behavior Driven Development frameworks like JBehave and NBehave Design Driven Testing should appeal to developers, project managers, testers, business analysts, architects...in fact anyone who builds software that needs to be tested. While equally applicable on both large and small projects, Design Driven Testing is especially helpful to those developers who need to verify their software against formal requirements. Such developers will benefit greatly from the rational and disciplined approach espoused by the authors.

Macromedia Dreamweaver MX merges the faultless visual layout tools of Dreamweaver and the powerful yet easy-to-use database integration offered by UltraDev into a product that is simply the most vital piece of software any web designer can own. Unlike many other books, Foundation Dreamweaver MX concentrates on both sides of this alliance, looking to the future. No matter what your background, this book will give you a solid foundation in graphic design and layout issues as well as a full grounding in the powerful database integration features that Dreamweaver MX offers. The truth is that database integration is no more of an extra in today's climate than faultless visual design, and this book is here to guide you through this new world, covering dynamic scripting with PHP and the popular MySQL database. This book is suitable for both PC and Mac (OS X needed) platforms. Whether a complete novice or a past user, after reading this book, youll be fluent in the full breadth of Dreamweaver MX's powerful functionality, a unique learning curve backed up by solid real-world case studies and tutorials. What this book covers: Site design and layout principles Using templates and Cascading Style Sheets to create advanced site designs Adding interactivity to pages with script Setting up PHP and MySQL to create powerful dynamic database-driven applications Dreamweaver MX makes this all possible, and Foundation Dreamweaver MX makes it easier than you could have imagined. December 2002: Macromedia has released an update, available for download, which addresses a number of issues in Dreamweaver MX, including compatibity with Macromedia Contribute.

This volume about Extreme Programming provides a thorough and systematic analysis of XP practices and separates the agile from the fragile. It also distinguishes useful XP techniques (e.g. use of automated unit testing tools) from questionable ones (e.g. oral documentation).

From the beginning of software time, people have wondered why it isn't possible to accelerate software projects by simply adding staff. This is sometimes known as the "nine women can't make a baby in one month" problem. The most famous treatise declaring this to be impossible is Fred Brooks' 1975 book The Mythical Man-Month, in which he declares that "adding more programmers to a late software project makes it later," and indeed this has proven largely true over the decades. Aided by a domain-driven code generator that quickly creates database and API code, Parallel Agile (PA) achieves significant schedule compression using parallelism: as many developers as necessary can independently and concurrently develop the scenarios from initial prototype through production code. Projects can scale by elastic staffing, rather than by stretching schedules for larger development efforts. Schedule compression with a large team of developers working in parallel is analogous to hardware acceleration of compute problems using parallel CPUs. PA has some similarities with and differences from other Agile approaches. Like most Agile methods, PA "gets to code early" and uses feedback from executable software to drive requirements and design. PA uses technical prototyping as a risk-mitigation strategy, to help sanity-check requirements for feasibility, and to evaluate different technical architectures and technologies. Unlike many Agile methods, PA does not support "design by refactoring," and it doesn't drive designs from unit tests. Instead, PA uses a minimalist UML-based design approach (Agile/ICONIX) that starts out with a domain model to facilitate communication across the development team, and partitions the system along use case boundaries, which enables parallel development. Parallel Agile is fully compatible with the Incremental Commitment Spiral Model (ICSM), which involves concurrent effort of a systems engineering team, a development team, and a test team working alongside the developers. The authors have been researching and refining the PA process for several years on multiple test projects that have involved over 200 developers. The book's example project details the design of one of these test projects, a crowdsourced traffic safety system.

The Oxford Reading Tree Traditional Tales series includes 40 of the best known stories from all over the world, which have been passed down for generations. They are a perfect introduction to different cultures, traditions and morals. All the stories are carefully levelled to Oxford Reading Tree levels and matched to the phonics progression in Letters and Sounds, enabling your children to read the stories independently. There are four Traditional Tales titles available at Level 4: Tom, Dad and Colin (based on A Man, A Boy and A Donkey) Hans in Luck The Foolish Fox Three Rocks (based on Stone Soup). Books contain inside cover notes to support children in their reading. Help with childrens reading development is also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk. Each Mixed Pack includes one of each of the Level 4 titles listed above. The Class Packs include six of each of the Level 4 titles listed above.

From the beginning of software time, people have wondered why it isn't possible to accelerate software projects by simply adding staff. This is sometimes known as the "nine women can't make a baby in one month" problem. The most famous treatise declaring this to be impossible is Fred Brooks' 1975 book The Mythical Man-Month, in which he declares that "adding more programmers to a late software project makes it later," and indeed this has proven largely true over the decades. Aided by a domain-driven code generator that quickly creates database and API code, Parallel Agile (PA) achieves significant schedule compression using parallelism: as many developers as necessary can independently and concurrently develop the scenarios from initial prototype through production code. Projects can scale by elastic staffing, rather than by stretching schedules for larger development efforts. Schedule compression with a large team of developers working in parallel is analogous to hardware acceleration of compute problems using parallel CPUs. PA has some similarities with and differences from other Agile approaches. Like most Agile methods, PA "gets to code early" and uses feedback from executable software to drive requirements and design. PA uses technical prototyping as a risk-mitigation strategy, to help sanity-check requirements for feasibility, and to evaluate different technical architectures and technologies. Unlike many Agile methods, PA does not support "design by refactoring," and it doesn't drive designs from unit tests. Instead, PA uses a minimalist UML-based design approach (Agile/ICONIX) that starts out with a domain model to facilitate communication across the development team, and partitions the system along use case boundaries, which enables parallel development. Parallel Agile is fully compatible with the Incremental Commitment Spiral Model (ICSM), which involves concurrent effort of a systems engineering team, a development team, and a test team working alongside the developers. The authors have been researching and refining the PA process for several years on multiple test projects that have involved over 200 developers. The book's example project details the design of one of these test projects, a crowdsourced traffic safety system.

Use Case Driven Object Modeling with UML: Theory and Practice shows how to drive an object-oriented software design from use case all the way through coding and testing, based on the minimalist, UML-based ICONIX process. In addition to a comprehensive explanation of the foundations of the approach, the book makes extensive use of examples and provides exercises at the back of each chapter. This book leads by example. It demonstrates common analysis and design errors, shows how to detect and fix them, and suggests how to avoid making the same errors in the future. The book also encourages you to examine its UML examples and to search for specific errors. You'll get clues, then later receive the answers during review sessions toward the end of the book.

The Oxford Reading Tree Traditional Tales series includes 40 of the best known stories from all over the world, which have been passed down for generations. They are a perfect introduction to different cultures, traditions and morals. All the stories are carefully levelled to Oxford Reading Tree levels and matched to the phonics progression in Letters and Sounds, enabling your children to read the stories independently. There are four Traditional Tales titles available at Level 4: Tom, Dad and Colin (based on A Man, A Boy and A Donkey) Hans in Luck The Foolish Fox Three Rocks (based on Stone Soup). Books contain inside cover notes to support children in their reading. Help with childrens reading development is also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk. Each Mixed Pack includes one of each of the Level 4 titles listed above. The Class Packs include six of each of the Level 4 titles listed above.

The Foolish Fox is based on the traditional tale of the lazy fox who does not like working. He asks some sheep to farm the land for him, in return for half of the food they grow. Little does he know that the sheep are planning to outwit him! This humorous story written by Alison Hawes and charmingly illustrated by Matte Stephens will capture your child's imagination! It has been sensitively rewritten to enable your child to read it with confidence whilst capturing the magic of the original tale. There are useful tips for parents and an engaging story map inside the book to help you and your child retell the story together. The Oxford Reading Tree Traditional Tales series includes 40 of the best known stories from all over the world, which have been passed down for generations. They are a perfect introduction to different cultures, traditions and morals. All the stories are carefully levelled to Oxford Reading Tree levels and matched to the phonics progression in Letters and Sounds, enabling your children to read the stories independently. Books contain inside cover notes to support children in their reading. Help with childrens reading development is also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk.

This Read with Oxford Stage 3 story collection contains four traditional tales: The Lazy Fox; The Man, the Boy and the Donkey; Jack and the Beanstalk; and The Magic Paintbrush. This beautifully-illustrated book with clear phonics progression is ideal for children who are growing in reading confidence. These well-loved traditional tales from around the world have been rewritten so that children can read them for themselves. They are expertly levelled and in line with children's phonics learning at school. In additional to the stories, the collection offers tips for reading the stories together, extended story texts that parents can read aloud to their child and story maps that children can use to help retell the story in their own words. Featuring much-loved characters, great authors, engaging storylines and fun activities, Read with Oxford offers an exciting range of carefully levelled reading books to build your child's reading confidence. Find practical advice, free eBooks and fun activities to help your child progress on oxfordowl.co.uk. Let's get them flying!

The Spirit of service is in trouble in America. The idea of service is not what it once was. Several decades of 'me-first' attitude have played havoc with the concept of service. This is unfortunate because God put us on this Earth to serve one another and to share His love. Educators are in the ideal profession to carry out God's will. It is the author's hope that this book will help educators mentally, emotionally and spiritually survive the difficult times, as well as celebrate and focus on the joys of the teaching profession. This book is divided into the months of the school year (August through June). The challenges and joys of each month of the school year are explored and celebrated. Because of the busy schedule most keep as educators, the format of this book is set up for approximately two readings per week.

How engaged are your employees, really? Companies talk about `employee engagement' and they accept its importance, yet strangely, they adopt out-dated methods when analysing and measuring this engagement. A leading engagement expert offers a new framework for taking the genuine pulse of a company - so that leaders and management can truly understand how their people are feeling and know what actions to take that result in better performance. Based on making results instantly and transparently available, and then determining with employees the real factors that lie within their feelings, managers can more easily assess the way they need to approach an issue. If, as the cliche goes, `people are a company's greatest asset', then ensuring their close engagement is essential for any company. This book argues powerfully for a radical new approach to employee engagement, based on understanding the minds and emotions of the people who work in organizations.