The job that a software professional does is linked to where on the lifecycle they work and how much of that lifecycle they embrace. It also depends on how much of the technology they cover – user interface or full-stack. And salaries go with those definitions. Here's the structure of the industry.

Performance appraisals have come in for some serious criticism recently. And yet the books and articles written which criticise simply advocate performance appraisal by another name – or rather a collection of names. Here's an analysis of the issues.

Commitment matters. If managers can get all staff to be committed, other management and leadership activities become possible. Without committed staff, there’s little the manager can do to achieve goals and the firm will just drift. This paper describes commitment and outlines research that shows what managers can do to achieve commitment. The research shows that there is correlation between the idiosyncratic granting of developmental opportunities and affective commitment in those benefitting.

In May, a job applicant with Asperger Syndrome had her case upheld by the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT). Her treatment by the Government Legal Services amounted to indirect discrimination. She had been required to take a multi-choice situational-judgement test – a form of psychometric test - as the first part of the recruitment process. So does this mean that psychometric tests are discriminatory? Simply, no. But it does require that they are administered, managed and analysed correctly. Here's how.

Stress seems to be the one word that reduces otherwise competent managers to gibbering wrecks. It's every manager's nightmare. There is a direct link between stress and long term sickness absence. And often stress issues become long term sickness absence. Act now. Here's how.

Timpson’s interviewers seek to determine which Mr Men character the candidate most closely resembles. Using personality as a criterion is valid but the Timpson method is likely far from accurate. Here's why.