Software Process and Measurement Cast

SPaMCAST 502 features our interview Marcus Hammarberg.  Marcus returns to talk about his new book (https://amzn.to/2u1ndYs).  The story provides a real-life example of how agile can save the world — or at least part of it. This is one of the most important and inspirational interviews I have done.   Marcus’s bio: For 15 years Marcus Hammarberg has been doing agile and lean software development and helping others do it. He has worked in many different settings, from big banks and insurance companies to start-ups and within retail. At one big insurance company, the first agile team, started by Marcus, eventually spread to a lean initiative across the business. As a consultant, Marcus helps individuals, teams, and whole organizations improve their value delivery flow. Marcus is still a keen programmer and continues to practice and teach the concepts that helped him become a good programmer: TDD, Specification by example, functional programming and Node. Marcus is a keynote speaker and co-author of Kanban In Action, which has been translated into 5 languages across the globe. He has blogged since 2006 at and spends his spare time playing euphonium in the Salvation Army band at Vasakåren, Stockholm. 2014-2015 Marcus moved to Indonesia with his family to work for the Salvation Army. Unexpectedly his previous experience with lean, agile and kanban was soon put to great use there too. This story is retold as it happened in his second book; Salvation: The Bungsu story FYI Marcus first appeared on SPaMCAST 414 https://bit.ly/2KZoxBN  Twitter: @marcusoftnet Blog: www.marcusoft.net Re-Read Saturday News This week we are full ahead in our re-read of L. David Marquet’s !  Today we tackle two more chapters, 26 and 27, which are titled: Combat Effectiveness and Homecoming.   The next book in the series will be  (use the link and buy a copy so you can read along) by  Atul Gawande. Current Installment: - https://bit.ly/2u3j8TI   Previous Installments: - - - -   - - - - ” – – - - - - - -   Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 503 will feature our essay “Culture: The Knife’s Edge of Change.”  I have often heard the line, culture eats change for breakfast. Culture, culture, culture – the success of every change that is considered or implemented balances on the knife-edge of culture. Aligning cultures so that change is possible requires seeing the differences and then minimizing enough of those differences. We will also have columns from Gene Hughson and Jon M. Quigley.

SPaMCAST 501 features our essay on Agile Metrics. Progress is easy to visualize when we use the yardstick of calendar time. My wife and I spent 17 days in Europe. There are 177 shopping days until Christmas (as of July 1, 2018) — I expect presents this year. How long it takes to deliver a piece of work, in days, is something nearly every human can understand. Over the past few months, I have been cataloging questions I have heard. Well over 70% of work-related questions center on how long a piece of work will take and whether the answer to that question has value. Cycle time metrics are ways to generate answers to ‘how long’ questions in a manner that is valuable and predictable. Our second column features Jeremy Berriault.  In the QA Corner, Jeremy and I discussed the idea of self-reliance rather than using third-party testing organizations.  Or when you have to use third parties for testing, Jeremy provides advice on getting the most out of your third party. Anchoring the cast is Susan Parente. Susan discusses certification. There are tons of certifications and more appear every day. Susan provides advice on which ones are important and which are not! Re-Read Saturday News This week we are full ahead in our re-read of L. David Marquet’s ! We dive into chapters 24 and 25, which are titled: A Dangerous Passage and Looking Ahead.   Pick the next book in the re-read series.  I will cut the poll off on 2 July. Current Installment: - Previous Installments: - - -   - - - - ” – – - - - - - -   Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 502 features our interview with Marcus Hammarberg.  Marcus returns to talk about his new book Salvation: The Bunshu Story.  The story provides a real-life example of how agile can save the world -- or at least part of it.

Show 500!  SPaMCAST 001 went live on Sunday January 28, 2007 at 9:28 PM - it has been a great journey from then to now!  The first interview was a two-parter with Will McKnight. Give it a listen at .    Show 500, SPaMCAST 500, Episode 500, #500  (I will probably say that 500 more times this week) features our interview with Marcus Blankenship.  Marcus and I talked teams and what makes a team good. We also discussed who owns the behaviors and values of a team. Team are core to most software development, enhancements, and maintenance. Understanding how teams work and how to make them work better makes ABSOLUTE sense.  Marcus provides great thoughts and advice on agile teams. I am thrilled that Marcus joined the SPaMCAST family on show 500! Marcus helps CTO’s fire-up their dev teams by creating an environment where everyone can fully participate in problem solving.  He helps great engineers become the great leader that their team deserves. Links: Join Marcus's list for articles on leading developers: Tech Leader Fortune Cookies: Twitter: Medium: Book: Listeners of the podcast will receive 30% off with discount code SPAMCAST. Show: - Live call-in show for technical managers every Friday at 10am Pacific. Re-Read Saturday News This week we are full ahead in our re-read of L. David Marquet’s ! We continue the story of the USSN Santa Fe with Chapters 22 and 23.  These two chapters focus on how an organization’s legacy can be used to shape deliberate actions and why principles have to be tied to behavior and decisions to be useful. Pick the next book in the re-read series.  I will cut the poll off on 2 July. [polldaddy poll=10037032] Current Installment: - https://bit.ly/2Imi5lS Previous Installments: - -   - - - - ” – – - - - - - - Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 501 will feature our essay on Hard Questions and Agile Metrics.  We will also have columns from Jeremy Berriault and Susan Parente!

SPaMCAST 499 will feature our essay on trust and coaching. Coaches are among most effective tools used to help teams improve. In I highlighted the need for trust between a coach and the team or person they are coaching. Without trust, a coach will not be very effective.  Two powerful and related tools! In the rocker, as they call it stock car racing is Wolfram Müller. Wolfram co-authored Hyper-Productive Knowledge Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach with Steve Tendon.  We talk about Chapter 23 titled Reliable Scrum and Reliable Kanban. Wolfram can be found on LinkedIn at Anchoring the cast is the Software Sensei, Kim Pries.  Kim discusses software safety. Tools and software languages can have a major impact on software safety and all of our lives depend on software these days! Re-Read Saturday News In week 14 of our re-read of L. David Marquet’s !  we begin Part IV of Turn The Ship Around and tackle chapter 21. The first three parts of the book bring the story to the beginning of the deployment of the Santa Fe.  Part IV picks up from that point! Part I - Starting Over - This section profile why Marquet is frustrated with leader-follower model of leadership. Part II - Control - This section profiles the change and command and begins to layout Marquet’s vision of a leader - leader model of leadership. This section delivers mechanisms for control in a leader - leader model. Part III - Competence - This section builds on the story of how the Santa Fe prepares for deployment and Marquet lays out mechanisms for building technical competence, the second leg of his leader-leader model. Part IV - Clarity - This section completes the leader - leader model, focusing on the third leg of the leader - leader model, clarity. What will be the next book? Options are Release It and The Checklist Manifesto.  Both are great . . . thoughts? Current Installment: - Previous Installments: -   - - - - ” – – - - - - - - Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 500 will feature our interview with Marcus Blankenship we talked teams and what makes a team good.  We also discussed who owns the behaviors and values of a team.

SPaMCAST 498 features our interview John Kordyback.  Agile is more than just Scrum or a bunch of values. Agile has a technical side that can’t be ignored. This week, John and I have a wide-ranging conversation covering the technical side of agile, the impact of tools on principles, and the difference in agile approaches for systems of engagement and systems of record. Bio: John Kordyback is a Principal Consultant with ThoughtWorks leading technology transformations and applying lean principles within complex enterprises. He is a strong advocate for applying the lean delivery and operational practices found in the Devops and Evolutionary Architecture movements to gain more value from existing technology investments. John has worked in insurance, telecommunications, commodity and securities trading, high tech, energy, and the airline industries. Before his technology career, John worked as a researcher and practitioner for people with disabilities. Email: Twitter: @jkordyback Re-Read Saturday News This week we tackle chapter 20 of L. David Marquet’s Turn the Ship Around! (have you bought your copy?). Chapter 20 completes part 3 which has focused on competence and the run-up to the deployment of the Santa Fe. The title of this chapter is Final Preparations.  We have six or seven weeks left – Steven Adams is pushing for the next book to be Release It, the other option is The Checklist Manifesto.  Both are great . . . thoughts? Current Installment: -   Previous Installments: - - - - ” – – - - - - - -   Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 499 will feature our essay on trust and coaching.  Two powerful and related tools! We will also include the voices of Wolfram Müller and the Software Sensei, himself, Kim Pries!

SPaMCAST 497 features our essay on micromanagement.  Micromanagement is a bane to employees that fall under a micromanager’s control. If you ask any manager if they think micromanagement is useful they will tell you no.  The problem is that many managers still do it and then rationalize the behavior. We also welcome back Susan Parente, with her “Not a Scrumdamentalist” column.  In this installment, Susan discusses using hybrid agile methods to deliver value. The message is that the development approach needs to meld with the organization's culture. Gene Hughson brings the cast home with another entry from his Form Follows Function blog.  In this installment Gene discusses his essay,  IT costs are a chronic problem. Ideas for getting a handle on costs are always useful. Re-Read Saturday News In week twelve of the re-read of L. David Marquet’s !  (Buy your copy now).  This week we tackle Underway for San Diego and All Present and Accounted For.  Two more tools that are immediately useful. Current Installment: - Previous Installments: - - - ” – – - - - - - - Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 498 will feature our interview John Kordyback.  John and I have a wide-ranging conversation covering the technical side of agile, the impact of tools on principles, and the difference in agile approaches for systems of engagement and systems of record.

SPaMCAST 496 features our interview with Sam Laing.  Sam and I talked about coaching agile teams. The goal of coaching is to help people unleash their inner power.  We also touch on the difference between coaching and mentoring. They are different and require different approaches but both are useful! Sam’s Bio - Sam writes: Samantha Laing (@samlaing) My personal motto is ‘be brave’, and I embody this by taking on challenges one small step at a time. Most of my career has been in the IT industry, specifically Software Development. Nowadays I find myself guiding and mentoring others with a passion for agile. This year my focus has been on experimenting and learning from my failures (and successes) – what a great journey so far. Contact Sam at: sam@growingagile.co.za www.growingagile.co.za Re-Read Saturday News In week eleven of the re-read of L. David Marquet’s !  (Buy Your Copy Now).  This week we begin Part III of the book and add two more mechanisms to our tool belt.  This week the two chapters are Mistakes Just Happen and We Learn. Current Installment: - Previous Installments: - - ” – – - - - - - -   Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 497 will feature our essay on micromanagement.  Micromanagement is almost always a bad idea. The problem is that people still do it and then rationalize the behavior. We will hold forth on the topic! We will also have columns from Gene Hughson and Susan Parente!

SPaMCAST 495 features our essay titled, The Definition of Done: Simplicity and Complexity Revisited. The Definition of Done is an important agile technique to help teams plan and execute work. The simplest definition of the Definition of Done is the criteria that a work product must meet to be considered to be complete. While the concept is simple, the implementation of the technique in the real world is rarely simple. Both context and interpretations make things just a bit gray! Our second column features Jon M Quigley’s column, The Alpha and Omega of Product Development. In this installment Jon and I discussed Muda, waste, and whether failed innovations are waste. Kim Pries, the Software Sensei, contributes his essay Kanban to the Kanban Power.  Kim talks about using kanban to guide and control work both in the workplace and at home.     Re-Read Saturday News In week ten of the re-read of L. David Marquet’s !  (Buy Your Copy Now) we add two more mechanisms for control and complete part two of the book.  This week the two chapters are A New Ship and We Have A Problem. Current Installment: - Previous Installments: - ” – – - - - - - - Upcoming Webinars and Conferences May 21-25, 2018, San Antonio, Texas Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 496 will feature our interview with Sam Liang.  Sam and I talked about agile coaching and the competencies needed to work more effectively.

SPaMCAST 494 features our interview with Alan Mallory.  We discussed his book ().  The book provides strong lessons on leadership and teamwork in an environment where failure can lead to death or worse!  Danger, mountaineering, and leadership in a single interview; a first for the Software Process and Measurement Cast. Alan’s Bio Alan Mallory is an international speaker, author, and performance coach who is passionate about leadership and human performance. A graduate from Queen's University, he has worked internationally with large organizations as a professional engineer and project manager. Living and working abroad has given Alan the opportunity to deepen his understanding of individual and team challenges, better appreciate cultural diversity and successfully adapt to different organizational structures. Through his work and life experiences, he has discovered that his true passion is helping people reach new heights by cultivating effective ways of thinking and taking action. Building experience through a lifestyle of adventure and challenge, in the spring of 2008 Alan embarked on the journey of a lifetime: to attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Along with three members of his immediate family, Alan climbed through some of the most challenging yet exciting conditions imaginable and set a world record when all four of them set foot on the summit. The expedition involved two years of planning and two months of climbing through immense challenges but they were able to overcome these obstacles through strategic planning, healthy team dynamics, self-awareness and perseverance. Alan delivers a number of exciting presentations and training programs designed to help individuals, team members and organizations reach new heights in the way we think and the actions we take in order to achieve breakthrough performance. For more information, visit . Contact Phone: 647-388-4044 Email: alan@alanmallory.com Web: Re-Read Saturday News In week nine of the re-read of L. David Marquet’s ! we discuss chapters 12 and 13, titled Up Scope! and ”A New Ship”. Current Installment: - Previous Installments: ” – – - - - - - - Upcoming Webinars and Conferences May 21-25, 2018, San Antonio, Texas Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 495 will feature our essay titled, The Definition of Done: Simplicity and Complexity Revisited. The Definition of Done is an important Agile technique to help teams plan and execute work.   The simplest definition of the Definition of Done is the criteria that a work product must meet to be considered to be complete. While the concept is simple, the implementation of the technique in the real world is rarely simple. Both context and interpretations make things just a bit gray! We will also have columns from Kim Pries and Jon M Quigley

SPaMCAST 493 features our essay titled The punchline is that the goal of continuous improvement is to help teams to eliminate waste (Muda, Muri, Mura), while improving an organization’s capability to deliver value. Our second column features Jeremy Berriault.  In this installment of the QA Corner (https://qacorner.blog/).  Jeremy and I talked about his upcoming appearance at QAI Quest. Jeremy is talking about TDD test cases and participating in the Managers Solutions Workshop.   Anchoring the cast is Wolfram Müller. Wolfram co-authored Hyper-Productive Knowledge Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach with Steve Tendon.  We talk about Chapter 22 titled In Practice with Scrum.  Wolfram can be found on LinkedIn at Re-Read Saturday News In week eight of the re-read of L. David Marquet’s ! we discuss chapters 10 and 11, titled Under Way on Nuclear Power and  I Intend To . . .”. Current Installment: ” - Previous Installments: - - - - - - - Upcoming Webinars and ConferencesMay 21-25, 2018, San Antonio, Texas Next SPaMCASTSPaMCAST 494 will feature our interview with Allan Mallory. We discussed leadership and his book,  the "The Family that Conquered Everest". Danger, mountaineering, and leadership!