Software Process and Measurement Cast

Several weeks ago I spent too much time in the middle of the night considering a scenario of apparent change resistance. I concluded that not everything that looks like resistance is what it appears. Rather there was a bigger issue hiding in plain sight; the concept of change indifference/change apathy. As a change leader, the difference is not academic because it impacts how to address the issue. As organizations remold themselves to address the culture and pressures of the 2020s we need to find a path to empower organizations and to improve their craft while at the same time struggling with pressures to contain costs and grow. The solution cannot merely be messaging. We also have a visit from Susan Parente. We discuss manipulation and persuasion from the Not A Scrumdamentalist perspective. Mastering Work Intake sponsors SPaMCAST! Look at your to-do list and tell me your work intake process is perfectly balanced. Whether you are reacting to your work or personal backlog, it's time to learn to take control! Buy a copy of Mastering Work Intake (your work-life balance will improve). Amazon (US) — https://lnkd.in/gPEHs3DE JRoss — https://lnkd.in/gWCSuYFf Do you want to test the water before spending part of your hard-earned paycheck? Jeremy Willets and I offer free 30-minute "office hours" sessions. In these sessions, we'll facilitate helping to identify and create a plan to tackle one of your work intake challenges. Book time with us here: https://lnkd.in/gtEvtcJd Re-read Saturday News In Chapter 2 of Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen, the author takes a deep dive into the goals and mechanisms of development. The chapter begins by contrasting two common opposing views of the development process. The "I win, you lose" approach - highly competitive markets where the strong win through the expenditure of blood, sweat, and tears. This contrasts with a "win-win" model where development results from mutually beneficial transactions. Adam Smith described the later form of markets (I added The Wealth of Nations to my to-read list for 2025). The latter approach is conducive to leveraging ' supportive activities such as social safety nets, political liberties, and social development. While probably imperfect, the comparison is between a laissez-faire and a managed market approach to development. The comparison is useful because it allows us to consider the clash between highly libertarian and more collective points of view on development and behavior. Previous installments of Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen: Week 1: Context and Logistics Week 2: Introduction and Preface Week 3: The Perspective of Freedom Week 4: The Ends and the Means of Development Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 851 will feature our interview with Mike Paciello. We discussed digital accessibility. If the web is a ubiquitous tool then everyone needs to be able to interact with as little friction as possible. Today that is a dream but it does not have to be.

SPaMCAST 849 features our interview with Prof. Barzan Mosafari. Mr Mosaari is the co-founder and CEO of Keebo.ai. We talked about the industrialization of AI and using AI to deliver value now that it is more than chatbots. If you have looked at your bills as you develop and run AI's in your business, you will want to spend a few minutes listening to this conversation. Barzan Mozafari is the co-founder and CEO of Keebo.ai, Associate Professor at the University of Michigan, and a dual patent holder for his award-winning research at the intersection of ML and database systems across the Univ. of Michigan, MIT, and UCLA. A sought-after expert in the space who has spoken on panels like Insight Jam, he's passionate about sharing his research and expertise for advancing and optimizing data teams everywhere. https://keebo.ai/ https://web.eecs.umich.edu/~mozafari/ Mastering Work Intake sponsors SPaMCAST! Look at your to-do list and tell me your work intake process is perfectly balanced. Whether you are reacting to your work or personal backlog, it's time to learn to take control! Buy a copy of Mastering Work Intake (your work-life balance will improve). Amazon (US) — https://lnkd.in/gPEHs3DE JRoss — https://lnkd.in/gWCSuYFf Do you want to test the water before spending part of your hard-earned paycheck? Jeremy Willets and I offer free 30-minute "office hours" sessions. In these sessions, we'll facilitate helping to identify and create a plan to tackle one of your work intake challenges. Book time with us here: https://lnkd.in/gtEvtcJd Re-read Saturday News In Chapter 2 of Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen, the author takes a deep dive into the goals and mechanisms of development. The chapter begins by contrasting two common opposing views of the development process. The "I win, you lose" approach - highly competitive markets where the strong win through the expenditure of blood, sweat, and tears. This contrasts with a "win-win" model where development results from mutually beneficial transactions. Adam Smith described the later form of markets (I added The Wealth of Nations to my to-read list for 2025). The latter approach is conducive to leveraging ' supportive activities such as social safety nets, political liberties, and social development. While probably imperfect, the comparison is between a laissez-faire and a managed market approach to development. The comparison is useful because it allows us to consider the clash between highly libertarian and more collective points of view on development and behavior. Previous installments of Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen: Week 1: Context and Logistics Week 2: Introduction and Preface Week 3: The Perspective of Freedom Week 4: The Ends and the Means of Development Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 850 will feature an essay on the difference between change apathy and indifference. This is not an academic discussion because it impacts how we approach change. We will also have a visit from Susan Patente who brings her Not A Scrumdamentalist column to the podcast.

I've often heard the argument that only outcomes matter, from bosses and colleagues to pundits, and more recently, even from coaches and change agents. This consequentialist view—that the ends justify the means ultimately harms individuals, organizations, and their stakeholders. In SPaMCAST 848 we discuss why the consequentialist argument that only the outcome matters is flawed for several reasons. We also have a visit from Jon M Quigley who brings his wonderful Alpha and Omega of Product Development column to the podcast. In this episode Jon and I discuss a topic aligned with consequentialism, the use of manipulation and persuasion. Mastering Work Intake sponsors SPaMCAST! Look at your to-do list and tell me your work intake process is perfectly balanced. Whether you are reacting to your work or personal backlog, it's time to learn to take control! Buy a copy of Mastering Work Intake (your work-life balance will improve). Amazon (US) — https://lnkd.in/gPEHs3DE JRoss — https://lnkd.in/gWCSuYFf Do you want to test the water before spending part of your hard-earned paycheck? Jeremy Willets and I offer free 30-minute "office hours" sessions. In these sessions, we'll facilitate helping to identify and create a plan to tackle one of your work intake challenges. Book time with us here: https://lnkd.in/gtEvtcJd Re-read Saturday News The first chapter of Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen (have you bought your copy?) explores the relationship between freedom and development. In the chapter, the author highlights the dichotomy between the concentration on economic wealth and a "broader" focus on the lives we can lead as different views of development. During my university career, I studied a lot of economics. I do mean a lot. At one point I considered economics as a vocation, at the time my math was not good enough and I was not a good enough student to understand that I could have remedied that issue. The brand of economics I studied would have put me into the "wealth as development" camp. Winding the calendar forward a few days (or decades) as I read this book, specifically in light of studying Stoicism, I find myself on the other end of the spectrum. Previous installments of Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen: Week 1: Context and Logistics Week 2: Introduction and Preface Week 3: The Perspective of Freedom Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 849 will feature our interview with Prof. Barzan Mosafari. Mr Mosaari is the co-founder and CEO of Keebo.ai. We talked about the industrialization of AI and using AI to deliver value. This conversation concerns moving AI from parlor tricks to the backbone of cost-conscious value delivery.

SPaMCAST 847 features a wide-ranging discussion with Pete Oliver-Krueger and Michael Dougherty. We discuss their new book, Shift: From Product To People. Shift is a business novel of organizational change. You will find this an important view into change and transformation. We also hit science fiction and psychology. I even dissed George RR Martin. Two notes. This is the last cast of year 18. We begin year 19 next week. Also a quick content warning – there is laughter in this podcast. If you don't like listening to people have fun while they discuss a serious topic listen anyway. Check it out on Oikosofy: https://oikosofy-app.hustlefree.co/shiftbook_beta/ Buy from Amazon: https://amzn.to/4gSKi50

SPaMCAST 846 features a discussion based on Seth Godin's blog, Seth stated. "Busy is a morally superior distraction. Busy gets us off the hook. Busy is a great place to hide." The comment greatly impacted me because I had a conversation in which someone had equated being busy to value and productivity. Efficiency is vital. It is however only a tool for improving productivity and value – not the ultimate goal. We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault, the Evolutionary Agilist. Mr. Berriault and I discuss the distinction between manipulation and persuasion. Mastering Work Intake sponsors SPaMCAST! As the new year builds up steam, have you looked at your to-do list and said, "Oh my" (or something saltier)? I know I have. This is a symptom of a work intake issue. Whether you are reacting to your work or personal backlog, it's time to learn to take control! Buy a copy of Mastering Work Intake (your work-life balance will improve). Amazon (US) — https://lnkd.in/gPEHs3DE JRoss — https://lnkd.in/gWCSuYFf Do you want to test the water before spending your year-end bonus? Jeremy Willets and I offer free 30-minute "office hours" sessions. In these sessions, we'll facilitate helping to identify and create a plan to tackle one of your work intake challenges. Book time with us here: https://lnkd.in/gtEvtcJd Re-read Saturday News Now for something completely different. Over the past few years, I have contemplated philosophy in the context of work and life. Our re-reading of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci is just the tip of the iceberg. Today we take the second exit at the roundabout and start the read/re-read of Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen. Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 847 will feature a discussion with Pete Oliver-Krueger and Michael Dougherty. We will discuss their new book, Shift: From Product To People. Shift is a business novel of organizational change. I think you will find this an important view into change and transformation.

The SPaMCAST 845 features our interview with David Minarsch. We discuss AI, co-owned AI, multi-agent systems in complex environments, and governance. These are singularly the most important technical topics for the new year. If you are in the "business" you need to listen carefully to David's perspective on agents. DAVID MINARSCH is a distinguished expert in the fields of Applied Game Theory and Multi-Agent Systems, holding a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. His groundbreaking work includes the creation of the first multi-agent system framework with native support for distributed ledger technologies. As the co-founder and CEO of Valory, David has been at the forefront of integrating AI and blockchain technology since 2021, pioneering the development of open-source and user-ownable autonomous agents. David has established himself as a visionary leader in the tech industry, most notably by his latest venture, Valory, which is a co-creator of Olas, the platform for co-owning AI, which has generated swarms of AI agents making over 900,000 transactions. David's mission through Valory is to enable communities, organizations, and countries to co-own AI systems, beginning with decentralized autonomous agents. His innovative work continues to shape the future of AI and blockchain integration, paving the way for more democratic and accessible artificial intelligence systems. Website: https://www.valory.xyz/LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/davidminarsch X: https://x.com/valoryag Master Work Intake! As the new year builds up steam, have you looked at your to-do list and said, "Oh my" (or something saltier)? I know I have. This is a symptom of a work intake issue. Whether you are reacting to your work or personal backlog, it's time to learn to take control! Buy a copy of Mastering Work Intake (your work-life balance will improve). Amazon (US) — https://lnkd.in/gPEHs3DE JRoss — https://lnkd.in/gWCSuYFf Do you want to test the water before spending your year-end bonus? Jeremy Willets and I offer free 30-minute "office hours" sessions. In these sessions, we'll facilitate helping to identify and create a plan to tackle one of your work intake challenges. Book time with us here: https://lnkd.in/gtEvtcJd Re-read Saturday News Today we wrap up our re-read of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci. There are several themes I would like to highlight. The first and perhaps the most important is the impact of an exceptional bookstore. I picked this book up at Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, MI. But for that small bit of serendipity, my life would have been different. Support your local bookstore and if you don't have one, take an occasional road trip to go and touch, smell, and sample physical books. The second theme is Epicitetus's concept of the dichotomy of control and then we proceed even deeper into Stoicism. Next week we begin the re-read of Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen. This re-read will expand the horizons on Re-read Saturday a bit. You will find the topic interesting and useful. Buy a copy and read or re-read along with us! https://amzn.to/3BLJHD4 Catch on all of the entries in the re-read of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along) Week 1: Logistics and Opening Thoughts Week 2: The Unstraightforward Path Week 3: A Roadmap For The Journey Week 4: Some Things Are In Our Power, Others Are Not Week 5: Live According To Nature Week 6: Playing Ball With Socrates Week 7: God or Atoms? Week 8: It's All About Character Week 9: A Very Crucial Word Week 10: The Role of Role Models Week 11: Disability And Mental Illness Week 12: On Death And Suicide Week 13: How To Deal With Anger, Anxiety, And Loneliness Week 14: Love and Friendship Week 15: Practical Spiritual Exercises Week 16: Final Thoughts Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 846 will discuss the importance of efficiency. It is easy to prioritize outcomes and value over output and efficiency, but that logic is problematic. We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault, the Evolutionary Agilist.

Another year has flown by, 2025 is near. The SPaMCAST 844 features our year-end panel discussion. This year Jeremy Willets, Jeremy Berriault, Susan Parente, Jon M Quigley and I discuss AI, Agile, mixing methods and try to forecast what comes next. This episode is a cornucopia of opinions and frivolity. Websites: Jeremy Berriault: https://berriaultandassociates.com/ Susan Parente: http://www.s3-tec.com/ Jon M Quigley: https://valuetransform.com/ Jeremy Willets: https://www.jeremywillets.com/ Master Work Intake! It has been nearly a year since JRoss Publishing published Mastering Work Intake. Jeremy Willets and I believe our book and workshops have helped numerous organizations, teams, and most importantly people bring order out of chaos – at least that is what they tell us. As the year winds down we are excited to offer a free 30-minute "office hours" session with us, we'll facilitate the session to help you create a plan to tackle your work intake challenges. Book time with us here: https://lnkd.in/gtEvtcJd Also, consider buying your boss a copy of Mastering Work Intake (your work-life balance will approve). Amazon (US) — https://lnkd.in/gPEHs3DE JRoss — https://lnkd.in/gWCSuYFf Re-read Saturday News "Admit not sleep into your tender eyelids till you have reckoned up each deed of the day large – how have I erred, what done or left undone? So Start, and so review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad." - Epictetus I have read and re-read the opening quote from Epictetus several times. I interpret the quote as a call for daily retrospectives. This is a practice that I do both personally and professionally. The word "try" reflects a lack of perfection and a requirement that I continue to work on the practice. Chapter 14 of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucc is all about continuing to learn and practice. Catch on all of the entries in the re-read of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along) Week 1: Logistics and Opening Thoughts Week 2: The Unstraightforward Path Week 3: A Roadmap For The Journey Week 4: Some Things Are In Our Power, Others Are Not Week 5: Live According To Nature Week 6: Playing Ball With Socrates Week 7: God or Atoms? Week 8: It's All About Character Week 9: A Very Crucial Word Week 10: The Role of Role Models Week 11: Disability And Mental Illness Week 12: On Death And Suicide Week 13: How To Deal With Anger, Anxiety, And Loneliness Week 14: Love and Friendship Week 15: Practical Spiritual Exercises Next SPaMCAST The SPaMCAST 845 will feature our interview with David Minarsch. We will discuss AI, co-owned AI, multi-agent systems in complex environments, and governance. These are important topics to begin what portends to be a complex and dynamic year.

Jeremy Willets and I have had a blast sharing the ideas in Mastering Work Intake (JRoss Publishing). This week Jeremy and I sat down to discuss the year in review and plans for 2025. One of the important things we have demonstrated is the link between the work teams and organizations put on their plate and what gets delivered. The relationship is not linear and gets ugly when you cross the tipping point. There is a path to avoid that pain! Master Work Intake! It has been nearly a year since JRoss Publishing published Mastering Work Intake. Jeremy Willets and I believe our book and workshops have helped numerous organizations, teams, and most importantly people bring order out of chaos – at least that is what they tell us. As the year winds down we are excited to offer a free 30-minute "office hours" session with us, we'll facilitate the session to help you create a plan to tackle your work intake challenges. Book time with us here: https://lnkd.in/gtEvtcJd Also, consider buying your boss a copy of Mastering Work Intake (your work-life balance will approve). Amazon (US) — https://lnkd.in/gPEHs3DE JRoss — https://lnkd.in/gWCSuYFf Re-read Saturday News This is the second to the last chapter of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci. In Chapter 13, Love and Friendship, we continue to address the third Stoic discipline, Assent (how to react to situations). The central core of the chapter is to show how a Stoic should interact with the influences of love and friendship. Remember that to a Stoic, character is key and anything that negatively influences character is to be avoided. In my second reading, there are two areas that I would like to highlight from the perspective of process improvement. Catch on all of the entries in the re-read of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along) Week 1: Logistics and Opening Thoughts Week 2: The Unstraightforward Path Week 3: A Roadmap For The Journey Week 4: Some Things Are In Our Power, Others Are Not Week 5: Live According To Nature Week 6: Playing Ball With Socrates Week 7: God or Atoms? Week 8: It's All About Character Week 9: A Very Crucial Word Week 10: The Role of Role Models Week 11: Disability And Mental Illness Week 12: On Death And Suicide Week 13: How To Deal With Anger, Anxiety, And Loneliness Week 14: Love and Friendship Next SPaMCAST The SPaMCAST 844 will feature our year-end panel of Jeremy Willets, Jeremy Berriault, Susan Parente and Jon M Quigley. This episode will be a cornucopia of topics, opinions, and frivolity.

In January of 2024, JRoss Publishing brought Mastering Work Intake by Jeremy Willets and I to the world. The activities supporting the book have been a blast! One of the common problems we have observed as we have spread the message is that often those with the biggest work intake problem get mesmerized by the symptoms and fail to see the root cause of the problem. When this happens the symptom becomes the root cause causing people and organizations to spend significant amounts of time and money fixing the wrong problem. To borrow a line from Manfred Mann, they are "Blinded by the light." We will discuss this topic in a minute or so. We also have a visit from the inestimable Susan Parente. Susan and I discussed how to integrate a new team member into a team. It is not easy when everyone has an opinion. Master Work Intake! It has been nearly a year since JRoss Publishing published Mastering Work Intake. Jeremy Willets and I believe our book and workshops have helped numerous organizations, teams, and most importantly people bring order out of chaos – at least that is what they tell us. As the year winds down we are excited to offer a free 30-minute "office hours" session with us. We'll facilitate the session to help you create a plan to tackle your work intake challenges. Book time with us here: https://lnkd.in/gtEvtcJd Also, consider buying your boss a copy of Mastering Work Intake (your work-life balance will approve). Amazon (US) — https://lnkd.in/gPEHs3DE JRoss — https://lnkd.in/gWCSuYFf Re-read Saturday News Chapter 12 of Massimo Pigliucci's How to Be a Stoic (buy a copy and read along) is How To Deal With Anger, Anxiety, And Loneliness. This is an interesting chapter to be re-reading in early November 2024. Anger, anxiety, and loneliness are difficult topics because they are personal. It is easy to take a myopic view and tell ourselves that these are someone else's problems. Or worse that they need to be walled up. They aren't and they shouldn't be. Catch on all of the entries in the re-read of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along) Week 1: Logistics and Opening Thoughts Week 2: The Unstraightforward Path Week 3: A Roadmap For The Journey Week 4: Some Things Are In Our Power, Others Are Not Week 5: Live According To Nature Week 6: Playing Ball With Socrates Week 7: God or Atoms? Week 8: It's All About Character Week 9: A Very Crucial Word Week 10: The Role of Role Models Week 11: Disability And Mental Illness Week 12: On Death And Suicide Week 13: How To Deal With Anger, Anxiety, And Loneliness Next SPaMCAST Speaking of Mastering Work Intake, Mr Willets and I are doing our year-end wrap-up for SPaMCAST 843. We will discuss the joys and unjoys of being authors and book salesmen. Not to spoil the suspense it has been mostly a joy.

We are back from our adventure and our trips down memory lane (at least for a while). Today we feature our interview with Gorkem Ercan. We discussed open source, leadership, and learning. FYI – this podcast has a ton of great advice for anyone pursuing a career in software development! Gorkem Ercan is a founding Distinguished Engineer and CTO of Jozu. Gorkem has experience working and leading teams with various technologies ranging from building IDEs, to building mobile phones, and CI/CD systems. He is an avid contributor and supporter of open source. Gorkem is the creator of the wildly popular Eclipse JDT language server and vscode-java extension, as well as the YAML Language server and vscode-yaml extension. He is a committer on various projects, including Eclipse Che, Eclipse Theia, and Apache Cordova. Gorkem is a member of the Eclipse Architecture Council and one of the longest-serving Eclipse committers. Contact Information: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gorkemercan/ Website:https://jozu.com/ Master Work Intake! It has been nearly a year since JRoss Publishing published Mastering Work Intake. Jeremy Willets and I believe our book and workshops have helped numerous organizations, teams, and most importantly people bring order out of chaos – at least that is what they tell us. As the year winds down we are excited to offer a free 30-minute "office hours" session with us. We'll facilitate the session to help you create a plan to tackle your work intake challenges. Book time with us here: https://lnkd.in/gtEvtcJd Also, consider buying your boss a copy of Mastering Work Intake (your work-life balance will approve). Amazon (US) — https://lnkd.in/gPEHs3DE JRoss — https://lnkd.in/gWCSuYFf Re-read Saturday News Chapter 11, On Death and Suicide, begins Part 3 of Massimo Pigliucci's How to Be a Stoic (buy a copy and read along). Death and suicide are not popular conversation topics at lunch even during the worst project. However, as I read this chapter for a second time I considered the topic from two directions which helped me extract ideas from the chapter that made the topic less likely to clear the room. Catch on all of the entries in the re-read of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along) Week 1: Logistics and Opening Thoughts Week 2: The Unstraightforward Path Week 3: A Roadmap For The Journey Week 4: Some Things Are In Our Power, Others Are Not Week 5: Live According To Nature Week 6: Playing Ball With Socrates Week 7: God or Atoms? Week 8: It's All About Character Week 9: A Very Crucial Word Week 10: The Role of Role Models Week 11: Disability And Mental Illness Week 12: On Death And Suicide Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 842 will feature our essay on how you can recognize if you have a work intake problem. Over the past year, it has become apparent that the symptoms sometimes obscure the root cause. We will also have a visit from the one and only Susan Parente!