Luxoft Training
[247] Tips for improving your skills when working in IT&C
IT professionals are constantly improving their skills, often through on-the-job training. As employees perform different functions, there will always be a need to extend their knowledge in one area or another.
[248] JUnit 5 – new approach, new functionalities
Junit is a testing framework for the Java programming languages. The Junit 5 version has been redesigned to solve certain challenges of previous versions. It also offers a new architecture, which offers the possibility of creating a hierarc
[236] Using the Cognitive Conceptualization Diagram in Organizational Transformations
What I want to emphasize before digging deeper is the fact that in order to use tools and techniques from psychology, one must first understand oneself and sort oneself out. As Jordan B. Peterson says, set you house in perfect order before
[238] Regular Management in an IT Team
You might have thought at some point why some managers can get everything right: employees understand them immediately, they do all their tasks, come up with proposals if something goes wrong and so on. Yet another manager, who may have the
[239] When a Shadow covers Agile
In my previous posts I described how the Personal Shadow of a manager can inhibit an Agile transformation process in organizations (though I didn’t use the word “Shadow”). Here I would like to discuss the idea of the Shadow in organizationa
[241] The Test Automation Pyramid
The test automation pyramid proposed by Mike Cohn can help you find the best approach to test automation.
[243] BDD as a programming technique - webinar recording
Check out our webinar recording where we talked about BDD as a programming technique.
[222] When a Manager is not Agile (but thinks he is) – part 2
Let’s continue our article on how we should approach a situation where the manager is not aware he is hurting the team.
[224] Why a Product Owner needs courage
I had a conversation with Steve Porter from scrum.org on dysfunctional interactions between the Product Owner and the Development Team in Scrum. This discussion reminded me of an idea that I learned from Jordan B. Peterson that real trust i
[226] On zero refinement in Scrum
My friend Steve Porter recently twitted on Product Backlog refinement: “Refinement isn’t an event in Scrum. It’s a concept. It’s not mandatory and there are no hard and fast rules for when and how much. Zero refinement is acceptable, as is
[227] Marcus Aurelius on how to implement Scrum
I teach participants what Agile values and principles are, what Scrum is and what it is not, about the Growth mindset, team-based organizations, collaboration, frequent customer feedback and customer value maximization. I usually get the sa
[228] Remember the ignorance
I recently had a very interesting conversation with Steve Porter from Scrum.org. We discussed a Scrum team where developers are not pulling their work themselves. Instead, it’s a senior developer who, during the Daily Scrum, selects which P
[229] Luxoft Training is an IIBA Endorsed Education Provider
For over 10 years Luxoft Training has been offering professionals the tools and opportunities to maximize their performance as business analysts or to start a career in this field.
[230] Most popular courses in 2018
Last year we looked at the most popular courses in 2017. This year we want to continue the tradition and let you know which were the most sought after courses in 2018 for our locations in Romania and Poland.
[232] Some Useful Habits of a Leader
A few months ago I facilitated a training session (tailored by myself) for team leads centered around “Useful Habits of a Leader.”. I believe that this theme could be of interest not only for team leads in IT companies but also for anyone w
[209] Trust in the Team. How trust develops.
Let’s have a look at Tuckman's stages of group development and find out how trust should form within a team. What should a manager in order to go through this process faster and more efficiently?
[210] Trust in the Team. Maintaining trust
To conclude our talk about trust, I would like to dwell on the main rules to be followed by the manager for building and maintaining a trust-based working environment within the project.
[212] Why Scrum does not work (and what can we do about it)
Scrum is the most popular agile framework. Period. If we look at VersionOne 11th State of Agile report, Scrum is practiced by 58% of respondents (68% if we sum up Scrum and Scrum/XP hybrid). Among scaling frameworks Scrum dominates: while S
[213] What an Agile Coach Can Learn from a Psychologist
I’ve been recently thinking about popular Agile frameworks and approaches to Agile transformation. It seems to me that they are too mechanistic, and this seems to me one of the reasons why many organizational transformation processes fail.
[216] JUnit 5 – New Architecture, New Features
The article would like to be a short introduction to JUnit 5, to provide the reader the possibility to understand the new architecture and new capabilities and to be able to explore further.
[197] Android Legacy. Part 2
In the first part of our article we started to look at a template we can use for Android legacy projects. Let’s continue our discussion on the issue.
[199] Remote Management. What? Why? How?
Aspiring managers often get scared when they are offered the opportunity to take over 2 or 3 new members (or a whole team) working in another location.
[202] Excluding the “Historical Reasons” Factor in Android Mobile Projects
Today I’m going to touch on the topic of refactoring, technical duty, and the “historical reasons” factor, or rather how to avoid it.
[203] Remote Management. Rules
Let’s now discuss some approaches that can be used by the manager in order to properly interact with distributed team members, make them understand what is expected from them and how to achieve it.
[204] Remote Management. Work Schedule
Set up a work schedule for all locations. This advice may seem silly – everyone has an employment contract where working hours are stated. Why set up a work schedule?
[205] Excluding the “Historical Reasons” Factor in Android Mobile Projects. Continued
Time for part two of our article on Android Mobile Projects. Check it out.
[207] Trust in the Team: Myths
In the second part ouf our series on trust in teams we take a look at some of the myths associated with this concept.
[186] Strategies to Close Cross-Cultural Gaps
The Internet seems to be the perfect channel for finding business opportunities and connecting people and ideas across the world, but accessing it won’t guarantee you the massive results you dreamed of. According to the International Labor
[187] Get your IIBA certification with Luxoft Training
Luxoft Training has received the status of Endorsed Education Provider (EEP) by the International Institute of Business Analysis.
[190] Tips and tricks for organizing in-house trainings
At Luxoft Training our team believes that in-house trainings should always bring value to the company and offer participants new knowledge and skills aimed at helping them solve the most critical business issues.
[191] Weapons of Math Destruction
We live in a time where technology is progressing at an outstanding pace. High tech and Big Data increasingly influence our daily life. But is this influence always positive? Are new technologies making our world better, more comfortable to
[192] One Tip to Make a Meeting Effective
This post describes an exercise that can be used by participants in meetings in order to make them more effective.
[193] Building Coaching Cultures
As Coaching is a development tool that lies at the opposite end of the spectrum to command and control, Coaching culture is an organizational development model that provides the structure that defines how the organization's members can best
[195] The most popular IT&C trainings in 2017
Interested in finding out which IT&C skills were most sought after last year? Well one of the best ways to find out is to look at the most popular courses requested by our clients.
[171] The New IIBA Certification System
A new business analyst certification system of the International Institute of Business Analysis became effective on September 30, 2016 (IIBA, International Institute of Business Analysis). In this article I would like to give an overview of
[172] Agile Life Planning: Defining Tasks to Achieve Goals
We’ve already discussed in a previous article how you can make up a list of your goals and why it is necessary. Now let us see how you can further handle that list. The first thing we have to consider is that we can’t just start working in
[173] Agile Life Planning: Defining Tasks to Achieve Goals Part 2
In the first part of our article we talked about goals and how to divide them based on whether we want an eventual outcome or a permanent result or effect. Now we will look at goal decomposition.
[175] The Art of Crafting Architectural Diagrams - Identifying Pitfalls
At some point in time, in every software project we are involved in, there might be a need to create architectural diagrams. Whether we are following a formal architectural model (e.g. Kruchten 4+1, Rozanski & Woods, etc) or not, there
[176] The Art of Crafting Architectural Diagrams. Guidelines
In our first article we looked at how we can identify some of the challenges that arise when creating architectural diagrams – from color to mixing runtime and static elements to diagrams that might be too cluttered. Now let’s look at the g
[178] Agile Life Planning: Updating your Backlog of Personal Goals and Objectives
In our previous articles about Agile Life Planning we talked about how to determine a set of life goals, and make a list of objectives and steps to achieve them. This article deals with the next stage of Agile Life Planning. Its purpose is
[179] Agile Life Planning: Updating your Backlog of Personal Goals and Objectives – part 2
In the first part of our article we looked at what a backlog is and how we can apply grooming to it in order to make sure that our goals always stay relevant. Let’s continue our discussion on this subject.
[180] The Seven Deadly Sins of Making Presentations
I often deal with various presentations, both as a consultant helping to prepare them as well as a member of the audience. And I have come to the conclusion that the ability to prepare and deliver presentations does not depend on your posit
[181] The Seven Deadly Sins of Making Presentations. Part 2.
In the first part of our article we looked at the first three deadly sins of a presentation: not defining a goal, looking at your presentation as a PPT document and lack of structure in your presentation. Let’s now look at the last four.
[182] Spring JDBC Development – A Practical Approach
The general architecture of an application includes a few layers, as presented into the picture below:
[183] Architecture, refactoring or what’s really important
In the life cycle of every project there is a moment when the question of refactoring arises. Engineers want something new, fashionable, and interesting to appear in the project. The business needs to get a new functionality faster and fast
[157] Dynamic Systems Development Method
After a long pause I would like to share an approach that we use for fast MVP design or at the start of a new project for customers willing to speed up their business with accurate, seamless and continuous innovations using programmable aut
[158] Peer to Peer Executive Board Meetings
The services offer when it comes to the Learning and Development market seems huge – from online resources and workshops to training or coaching, just to name a few. Each one of them, inspired and developed based on different studies and ye
[162] Basel accords
The subject of financial market regulation has never been the type of subject which investors like, whether they are institutional or private.
[166] Participants and "customers" in the testing process
In this article, let’s consider who could be the potential stakeholders and consumers of testing services. To do that, we need to answer the following questions:
[167] Participants and "customers" in the testing process part 2
In the first part of our article we looked at the various stakeholders in the testing process as well as how each of them views the concept of quality. In this second part we will be looking at how the QA interacts with other stakeholders i