Software Process and Measurement Cast

This week Jeff Perry and I discussed learning how to consciously guide your technology career. We are all problem solvers, and Jeff provides a ton of hard-won advice. We also wrestled with the difference between a series of jobs and a career.  Jeff’s Bio: Jeff Perry is the founder of More Than Engineering and serves as a leadership and career coach for engineers and technology professionals. His innovative programs and coaching help people take a mindful, intentional, and purposeful approach to career transitions, leadership, and personal development goals. Listeners of the SPaMCAST can find some free resources including the Career Clarity Checklist at . They can also find and follow Jeff on LinkedIn at . Do you have questions that you would like Susan, Jon, Jeremy, Tony, or myself to answer?  Leave a voice message at 01.440.668.5717 or an email at . Re-read Saturday News Chapter 5 begins Part 2 of and is titled Coach as Coach-Mentor. During my initial reading of this book, I found Part 2 the most immediately useful. During this re-read, I reflect less on techniques to engage people and teams and more on engagements that I have had and where my remit and my behavior took me off track. Remember to buy a copy of  Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Adkins (SPaMCAST Amazon affiliate line ) and read along!   Previous Installments Week 1: -   Week 2: -   Week 3: -   Week 4: -   Week 5: -   Week 6: -   Next SPaMCAST  SPaMCAST 717 we will focus on why Work in Process, flow load, is the leading indicator of flow metrics.  We will also be joined by Tony TImbol who brings his To Tell A Story column to the podcast.

A funny thing happened on the way to the essay this week. I was distracted by feedback from a colleague on a workshop Jeremy Willets and I developed and delivered this week. We discuss why the phrase work entry describes how work gets to teams and organizations, and why “work intake” masks problems in the real world.  We also have a visit from Susan Parente and her Not A Scrumdamentalist column. This month Susan answers a listener's question about whether it makes sense for a Scrum Master to also play other roles on a team.    Do you have questions that you would like Susan, Jon, Jeremy, Tony, or myself to answer?  Leave a voice message at 01.440.668.5717 or an email at . Re-read Saturday News Chapter 4 of , discusses the idea that a team, individual, or organization follows a path from a learner to mastery to a teacher using the Shu Ha Ri metaphor. The concept of Shu Ha Ri represents a continuum of learning. In martial arts or any demonstrable activity, practitioners must learn and practice before they can take the next step forward. Carol Dweck, in her book Mindset, postulated that even the most gifted athletes need an open mindset to succeed in the long run. To progress across the continuum of learning everyone needs to put in the work. I suspect that for many, the Shu state is the hardest to accept because we all want to believe we are special and we are all impatient to meet the prize of mastery. Remember to buy a copy of  Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Adkins (SPaMCAST Amazon affiliate line ) and read along! Previous Installments Week 1: -   Week 2: -   Week 3: -   Week 4: -   Week 5: -     Next SPaMCAST  The SPaMCAST 716 features our interview with Jeff Perry.  Jeff and I talked about consciously guiding a career in technology. We also wrestled with the difference between a series of jobs and a career. Jeff delivers a ton of hard-won advice.

Today Jonathon Wright will shift us…right? After decades of listening to the mantra shift left, you probably think you are entering the twilight zone. Maybe, but not on our account! Jonathan and I talked about putting customers first, testing AI, quality, and leadership.   is the Chief Technology Evangelist and heads up Solution Engineering (R&D) for Eggplant a company. He is a strategic thought leader and distinguished technology evangelist. He specializes in emerging technologies, innovation, and automation, and has more than 25 years of international commercial experience within global organizations. Jonathon combines his extensive practical experience and leadership with insights into real-world adoption of Cognitive Engineering (Enterprise A.I. and AIOps). Thus, he is frequently in demand as a speaker at international conferences such as TEDx, Gartner, Oracle, AI Summit, ITWeb, EuroSTAR, STAREast, STARWest, UKSTAR, Guild Conferences, Swiss Testing Days, Unicom, DevOps Summit, TestExpo, and Vivit Community. Jonathon also hosts the QA lead (based in Canada) and is the author of several award-winning books (2010 – 2022) the latest with Rex Black on ‘AI for Software Testing.  Podcast: LinkedIn: Twitter: @Jonathon_Wright Webpage:   Upcoming Events Jeremy Willets and I have been accepted as speakers for this year’s Path to Agility! Our workshop is titled “Managing Work Entry: How the Mushy Middle is Killing Your Agility.” I’m very excited to be part of this wonderful conference and hope to reconnect with long-time colleagues at a fabulous venue — The Ohio Union at The Ohio State University. See you soon Columbus! August 1 - 2  in Columbus, Ohio Register Today:   Re-read Saturday News I am still recovering from a Covid infection I picked up at or getting to Agile 2022. All in all I have been lucky (and prepared) and have weathered a mild brush with this disease. My chest still feels like I was mugged, but every day I am getting better. The lack of self-awareness that I was getting sick until things were full-blown is fairly startling. It was more startling when I was re-reading Chapter 3 of Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Adkins (SPaMCAST Amazon affiliate line - buy a copy) again this week in preparation to write this essay.  Previous Installments Week 1: -   Week 2: -   Week 3: -   Week 4: -     Next SPaMCAST  We will map the attributes of flow explored in SPaMCAST 708 to a basic palette of flow metrics. This will complete the circle defining flow, establishing basic attributes, and then identifying how to measure flow through its attributes.  We will also have a visit from Susan Parente who will bring her Not A Scrumdamentalist column to the cast!

Today’s cast is a very short podcast.  Over the past week, I spent an amazing week at Agile 2022. My goal was to be re-radicalized. I reconnected with friends, made new friends, learned a new set of personal pronouns (while not for me, they really work well), picked up a bunch of swag, learned a ton, got re-energized and re-radicalized, and got Covid19. I could have done without the latter. I will get better, but right now it is moving up on my personal least fun thing to do list. I told Jeremy  Berriault (you will hear from him later) that Covid is somewhere between the sixth and seventh least fun thing I've ever been involved with. It was a solid #7 yesterday. With luck, things will be back to normal soon.   All that aside, the money shot presentation (for me) was given by Bethany Andres-Beck, titled “A Radical Culture of Culture Building.” Zie rocked it. The combination of small group influencing techniques combined with anarchist meeting design, community activism from the civil rights era, and the women’s movent was simply brilliant. Better yet, none of it was pie in the sky theory but the relating of an experience report. I need to talk hir into appearing on the podcast. This presentation was worth the price of admission for me. I will share more in the near future.  This week we return to the QA Corner with Jeremy Berriault to discuss who is responsible for quality. In many organizations quality is on QA’s shoulders, should it be? Upcoming Event Jeremy Willets and I have been accepted as speakers for this year’s Path to Agility! Our workshop is titled “Managing Work Entry: How the Mushy Middle is Killing Your Agility.” I’m very excited to be part of this wonderful conference and hope to reconnect with long-time colleagues at a fabulous venue — The Ohio Union at The Ohio State University. See you soon Columbus!   August 1 - 2  in Columbus, Ohio Register Today:     Re-read Saturday News We WILL be back next week barring any catastrophes. Remember to buy a copy of and read along.   Previous Installments Week 1: -   Week 2: -   Week 3: -     Next SPaMCAST  Next week we will feature our interview with Jonathan Wright. Jonathan and I will discuss shifting right. If, after decades of listening to the mantra shift left, you just experienced whiplash, I understand.

Jim Benson has a new book titled, The Collaboration Equation. Jim states that collaboration “is the base of the human condition, we need other people in order to live, but always seem to be at odds with each other.” Jim also states that unless you are striving for improvement, you are unprofessional. I really like talking to Jim; Jim is a force of nature.  Jim’s career path has taken him through government agencies, Fortune 10 corporations, and start-ups. Through them all, his passion has remained consistent – applying new technologies to workgroups. In each case asking how they can be leveraged to collaborate and cooperate more effectively. Jim loves ideas, creation, and building opportunities. He loves working with teams who are passionate about the future, pushing boundaries, and inclusion. His goal with all technologies is to increase beneficial contact between people and reduce the bureaucratic noise which so often tends to increase costs and destroy creativity. Jim is the author of the Shingo Research Award-winning book (use the link to buy a copy and support the podcast). He is a noted expert in business process, personal work management, and the application of Lean to personal work and life. Jim believes that the best process is the least process necessary to achieve goals. He has zero tolerance for process waste. All said, Jim enjoys helping people and teams work out sticky problems, an advocate of people actually seeing their work, and inventing new ways to work at the intersection of Lean thinking, brain science, and leadership. Contact Jim Twitter: LinkedIn: Personal Kanban: Modus Cooperandi: Re-read Saturday News We are talking the week off on our re-read Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Adkins (SPaMCAST Amazon affiliate line - buy a copy). I was traveling to Nashville for Agile 2022 (let me know if you are here).  Next week we will be back on track but in the interim remember to buy a copy of and read along. Previous Installments Week 1: -   Week 2: -   Week 3: -     Next SPaMCAST  We will map our basic flow metrics palttet a simple organizational hierarchy. Some metrics tell us where we were and some tell us where we are going. This essay reflects work that Jeremy WIllets and I are exploring.  We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault who brings his QA Corner to the Software Process and Measurement Cast.

This week we make a quick side trip. Earlier this week I was asked why I “did” the Re-read Saturday column. Today, I offer a short explanation and highlight the experiments I am running as part of our re-read of . We also have a visit from Jon M. Quigley. In this installment of his Alpha and Omega of Product Development, Jon and I discuss the role of the team lead in agile teams that have coaches, scrum masters, and just might be self-organizing. There is a role but it is not the classic version that is in common use. Why Do I “Do” Re-read Saturday. Re-read Saturday is a long-running column featured on my blog (tcagley.wordpress.com) and at tomcagley.com. The books selected for the column are nominated and then voted on by readers. Because most books are selected by the acclaim from readers of the blog, the re-read is sometimes actually the first read for me. During the re-read we read, discuss, and highlight concepts chapter by chapter.  There are three major reasons for the column. One, the column draws eyes. A blog without readers is a diary. Over the years, many of the top 10 annual posts have been from the re-read feature. A second reason, and perhaps the original reason was that I had not read some of these books before and really needed to read them. For some of the other books we have re-read, the re-read drove home the point that memory erodes over time. For example, I am embarrassed to say I had forgotten the story of Herby (check out the re-read of The Goal). Reason two is that the re-read is a forcing function to guide behavior. The books we read and re-read help shape how we behave. The third reason is that the column generates a lot of interaction. I have heard from readers and authors with ideas and opinions. The interactions have certainly improved my understanding of how work is done and how to improve. The level of interaction suggests that the readers get similar benefits. Recently, I decided to run weekly experiments based on the chapter I am reading. The weekly experiment is another forcing function. Doing the activity drives home a point so it is harder to forget. For example from the re-read of Chapter 2 of Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Adkins titled Expect High Performance I am focusing on using metaphors to guide behaviors. As an experiment, I am establishing a metaphor for myself. The goal is to see whether having a metaphor changes my behavior. The concept of the weekly experiment might end up being the best reason for me to “do” Re-read Saturday and perhaps the best reason for you, the reader, to participate. PS -- I am not convinced that the person that asked was really looking for this much information. I actually think they we asking why read books at all when you watch videos which lead us to a different discussion which I will share another day.  Finally, have you downloaded the book referenced in last week's interview? Check out Seeing Money Clearly at   Re-read Saturday News This week, Chapter 2 of Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Adkins (SPaMCAST Amazon affiliate line - buy a copy). The chapter’s title is Expect High Performance. As a coach, you need to have high expectations of yourself and those you are coaching.  Remember to buy a copy of and read along. Previous Installments Week 1: -   Week 2: -   Week 3: -     Next SPaMCAST  Jim Benson has a new book titled, The Collaboration Equation. The first sentence in the description of the book is:  “It is the base of the human condition, we need other people in order to live, but always seem to be at odds with each other.”  We went from there,

Daniel Doiron's new book Seeing Money Clearly challenges Agile Centers of Excellence to view decision-making through the lens of Throughput Accounting.  Throughput Accounting is a lot of things: An accounting system,  A financial application,  A process of ongoing improvement (POOGI), and  First and foremost, the decision-making arm of the Theory of Constraints.  Daniel’s Bio “I am the only CPA in the world - negative assurance provided - to give a one-day Throughput Accounting class to a CPA chapter (Québec) within the scope of their mandatory Professional Development Program. A few CPA chapters in the world give diluted Throughput Accounting classes in a recorded format and ignore the Five Focusing Steps, thereby disqualifying them from the spirit of Throughput Accounting”, states Doiron.   “For Agile CoEs (Center of Excellence), I wrote the only Throughput Accounting book dealing exclusively with Knowledge Work. It has received rave reviews from the top minds in Throughput Accounting as I have brought numerous novelties never thought of before.” In short, Seeing Money Clearly:  Teaches CPAs how to make more money now and in the future. Teaches Agile CoEs how to mint money.  Download Seeing Money Clearly at and reach out at daniel_doiron@hotmail.com and on Twitter @AgileAgonist Re-read Saturday  News This week, Chapter 1 of Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Adkins (SPaMCAST Amazon affiliate line - buy a copy). The chapter tackles more than just the question embedded in the title exploring why a coach is needed, the path to becoming a coach, and both the mindsets and skills a coach needs.    Read all of Week 1’s entry and next week we will cover Part 1, Chapter 1: Will I Be A Good Coach.    Remember to buy a copy of and read along. Previous Installments Week 1: -   Week 2: -   Next SPaMCAST  We will map the attributes of flow explored in SPaMCAST 708 to a basic palette of flow metrics. This will complete the circle defining flow, establishing basic attributes, and then identifying how to measure flow through its attributes.    We will also have a visit from Jon M. Quigley who brings his Alpha and Omega of Product Development to the cast!

Definitions provide several benefits. The first is that once a definition for an object or concept is agreed upon, it is far easier to have a discussion without getting confused. A second and equally important benefit is that definitions provide a platform for establishing attributes that can be used to describe the object or idea. Attributes are critical because even with a definition we need to communicate and measure nuances. Just think if you only had one word to describe rain or hot; a lot would be lost. Today we identify four basic attributes of flow.  We will also have a visit from Tony Timbol who brings his “To Tell A Story” column to the podcast. In this installment, Tony and I talk about agile requirements. They really exist…really! Re-read Saturday  News This week we began our re-read of Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Adkins (SPaMCAST Amazon affiliate line buy a copy). I am re-reading my Kindle version of the book.  The front matter includes Forwards by Mike Cohn, Jim Highsmith, Acknowledgments, Introduction, and a section titled, About the Author. The main body of the book is in three parts comprised of 13 chapters. It is indexed -- useful for reference books! I estimate 16 or 17 weeks to complete the re-read depending on my travel. Note: The Kindle edition of the book has not been updated and will not run on the Paperwhite Version 10 models, so we will re-read it on the iPhone and Laptop -- I did not have a happy chat with Kindle support on this issue.  Wake up, Addison Wesley! Read all of Week 1’s Entry and next week we will cover Part 1, Chapter 1: Will I Be A Good Coach.    Remember to buy a copy of and read along. If you are still catching up on the re-read of are are all of the links”: Week 1: – Week 2: –   Week 3: - Week 4: -   Week 5: -   Week 6: -    Week 7: s -   Week 8: -   Week 9: -   Week 10: -   Week 11: -   Week 12: -   Next SPaMCAST  Daniel Dorion returns to the podcast next week to talk about his new book, Throughput Accounting - Seeing Money Clearly. Daniel begins the Prologue of his new book with the statement “My aim is to have you think differently and lose your reflexes and cognitive biases that are the fabric of society.” You will have a lot to think about after you listen!

107 podcasts ago (just a little over two years ago) on I interviewed Brian Weaver of Torch.AI about leadership. Lots of things have happened since then, a pandemic, Europe in flames again and Torch.AI thriving.  It was great to touch base with Brian to talk about how his perspective as a leader has changed.  While not needed for this interview, I highly recommend listening to either before or after.   Brian serves as CEO of Torch.AI and has more than 20 years of experience leading mission-driven, high-growth, technology-focused companies. Torch.AI helps leading organizations leverage artificial intelligence in a unique way via a proprietary enterprise data management software solution. Today, Torch.AI supports clients like H&R Block with fraud detection and mitigation and the U.S. Department of Defense with machine learning-enabled background investigations for all federal employees, supporting the determination of an individual’s trustworthiness and security credentialing. LinkedIn: Torch.AI – Re-read Saturday  News Completing a re-read is always bittersweet. Today we say goodbye to a friend, . The final chapter is the Epilogue and interwoven are our final notes.  Next week we lay out the logistics for our re-read of Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Arkins .    Remember to buy a copy and read along.  Amazon Affiliate LInk:      Previous Entries Week 1: – Week 2: –   Week 3: - Week 4: -   Week 5: -   Week 6: -    Week 7: s -   Week 8: -   Week 9: -   Week 10: -   Week 11: -   Week 12: -     Next SPaMCAST  Everyone has a set of attributes they use to describe and measure flow.  Let's narrow the field to the most important few and start from there. We will also have a visit from Tony TImbol and his To Tell A Story Column.

In SPaMCAST 707 Susan Parente and I discuss the difference between leadership and management in her Not A Scrumdamentalist column. These two concepts are related but not the same.  The votes are in!  The next three books for Re-read Saturday are: Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Arkins   Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching by Bob Galen   Team Topologies by Matthew Skelton, Manuel Pais, and Ruth Malan   Re-read Saturday  News This week, we are revisiting (and re-editing) the conclusion of the first re-read to tide you over to the completion of Why Limit WIP.  I have been backpacking, glamping, and visiting my father for the past eight days. That in its own right would not have precluded completing our re-read, but I also forgot the power cord for my laptop.  Next week we will conclude our re-read of . Remember to buy a copy and read along.  Amazon Affiliate LInk:    Previous Entries Week 1: – Week 2: –   Week 3: - Week 4: -   Week 5: -   Week 6: -    Week 7: s -   Week 8: -   Week 9: -   Week 10: -   Week 11: -   Next SPaMCAST  Brian Weaver returns to the Software Process and Measurement Cast to discuss the impact of AI on business, leadership, and development.