Software Process and Measurement Cast

The next Software Process and Measurement Cast features our interview with Brad Clark.  Brad and I talked about cost estimation, estimation in government and COCOMO II and what is on the way in COCOMO III. Even if you are firmly in the #NoEstimates camp this interview will give you ideas to think about! Brad’s Bio Dr. Brad Clark is Vice-President of Software Metrics Inc. – a Virginia-based consulting company. His area of expertise is in software cost and schedule data collection, analysis and modeling. He also works with clients to set up their own estimation capability for use in planning and managing. He has also helped clients with software cost and schedule feasibility analysis and cost estimation training. Dr. Clark received his Master’s in Software Engineering in 1995 and Ph.D. in Computer Science in 1997 from the University of Southern California. He is a co-author of the most widely used Software Cost Estimation model in the world, COCOMO II. This model estimates the effort and duration required to complete a software development project. Email: Re-Read Saturday News This week we tackle Chapter 5 of : The New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World by published by Henry Holt and Company in 2015.  , puts the roles and policies defined in to work.  Next week we will have some VERY exciting news about the next book in the Re-read Saturday feature! Catch up on the first four entries in the re-read Visit the to participate in this and previous re-reads.   A Call To Action If you got a new idea this week while listening to the podcast, please give the SPaMCAST a short, honest review in iTunes.  Reviews help guide people to the cast! Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will our essay re-visiting the product owner role.  The product owner role is hard, often messed up and a great opportunity for improvement. We will also have columns from Steve Tendon and Jeremy Berriault. This will be an important cast to start the summer season in the northern hemisphere! Shameless Ad for my book! co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: “This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team.” Support SPaMCAST by buying the book nglish and Chinese.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 442 features our essay on capability teams. The use of teams to deliver business value is at the core of most business models.  Capability teams are a tool to unlock the value delivery engine of teams. Gene Hughson brings his to the cast this week to discuss his recent blog entry titled, . We live in a complex world and just focusing on social systems or software systems misses the point! Our third column is from the Software Sensei, Kim Pries.  The entry this week is titled, Software Quality and the Art of Skateboard Maintenance. This entry is an homage to Robert M. Pirsig the author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, who recently died. Re-Read Saturday News And welcome back!  For those who are interested, The Frederick Half Marathon last weekend was great.  I met my goals: I crossed the finish line, collected my medal and got to hang out with my family in Frederick.  This week, we begin Part Two of : The New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World by published by Henry Holt and Company in 2015.  Part Two is titled Evolution At Play: Practicing Holacracy.  In my opinion, Part Two provides readers with the nuts and bolts needed to use Holacracy.  Chapter 4, titled Governance, takes all of the building blocks from previous chapters and starts to weave them together. Catch up on the first four entries in the re-read Visit the to participate in this and previous re-reads. A Call To Action If you got a new idea this week while listening to the podcast, please give the SPaMCAST a short, honest review in iTunes.  Reviews help guide people to the cast! Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature interview with Brad Clark.  Brad and I talked about cost estimation, estimation in government and Cocomo II and what is on the way in Cocomo III.   Shameless Ad for my book! co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: “This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team.” Support SPaMCAST by buying the book nglish and Chinese.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 441 features our interview with John Le Drew.  John and I discussed the concept of safety at work, and how safety, or the lack of it, affects the effectiveness of software teams. John’s bio . . . In almost 2 decades working in software engineering, John Le Drew has worked as a software engineer, team lead, project manager, product owner, trainer, agile coach, and consultant. Working with clients ranging from small start-ups to multinationals. Through he has helped organizations solve tough technical problems by untangling their people problems. John hosts ; producing in-depth audio documentaries on the topics that most affect organizations transitioning to agile ways of working. The manifesto for agile software development and the principles behind it is central to how John approaches software and value development. Working with organizations to help them learn to apply the principles has become a passion. There is nothing more exciting to John than seeing a team surprise themselves with potential they did not realize they had. Contact John via email at john@wisenoodles.com. Re-Read Saturday News We are taking a week off from our re-read of .  We are taking the break because I am participating in the Frederick Running Festival.  I will be slowly running my 4th ½ marathon and between the drive and festivities, the editing on this week’s entry is incomplete.    Please catch up on the first four entries in the re-read Next week, we will tackle governance. Visit the to participate in this and previous re-reads. A Call To Action I still need your help. I have observed that most podcasts and speakers at conferences over-represent people from Europe and North America.  I would like to work on changing that exposure. I would like to develop a feature featuring alternate software development voices beginning with Africa and Southeast Asia. If this feature works we will extend it to other areas.   If you can introduce me to practitioners that would be willing to share their observations (short interviews) I would be appreciative!   Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our essay on capability teams. The use of teams to deliver business value is at the core of most business models.  Capability teams are a tool to unlock the value delivery engine of teams.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 440 features our essay on two storytelling techniques: premortems and business obituaries.  Almost all work that takes more than a few days is subject to risks that are not immediately obvious without some form of structured process to focus the team's thought process. Teams often use storytelling techniques to generate a big picture/vision to guide a project or to help people frame their thoughts. A story provides a deeper and more nuanced connection between the team and information than most lists of PowerPoint bullets or a structured requirements documents. The same storytelling skill can be used as a risk management tool. Premortums and business obituaries are structured techniques for using storytelling for risk management. Our second column is from Jeremy Berriault. Jeremy discusses the importance of conferences for learning new ideas and for networking.  Jeremy suggests that if you are have not learned new ways to test and you are testing the same way you were last year then you are falling behind. Jeremy  blogs at   Jon M Quigley brings his column, The Alpha and Omega of Product Development, to the Cast. In this installment, Jon discusses mental models and their impact on how you develop and deliver value.  One of the places you can find Jon is at . Re-Read Saturday News Chapter 3 of completes Part 1 by laying out the structure needed for an organization to be able to quickly and continuously evolve how authority is distributed.  An organization’s structure needs to be conducive to the processes needed to distribute authority.  This chapter provides an alternative to the classic pyramid structure of organization design which is typically out of date, irrelevant and difficult to change. Visit the to participate in this and previous re-reads. A Call To Action I need your help. I have observed that most podcasts and speakers at conferences over-represent people from Europe and North America.  I would like to work on changing that exposure. I would like to develop a feature featuring alternate software development voices beginning with Africa and Southeast Asia. If this feature works we will extend it to other areas.   If you can introduce me to practitioners that would be willing to share their observations (short interviews) I would be appreciative! Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our interview with John Le Drew.  John and I discussed the concept of safety at work and how safety, or the lack of it, affects software teams.  John is the host of the I recommend you check out his podcast but make sure you are back here for our interview next week! Shameless Ad for my book! co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: “This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team.” Support SPaMCAST by buying the book nglish and Chinese.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 439 features Alex Yakyma.  Our discussion focused on the industry's broken mindset that prevents it from being Lean and Agile.  A powerful and a possibly controversial interview. Alex’s Bio Alex Yakyma brings unique, extensive, and field-based experience to the topic of implementing Lean and Agile at scale. Throughout his career, he has served as an engineering and program manager in multi-cultural, highly-distributed environments. As a methodologist, trainer and consultant, he has led numerous rollouts of Lean and Agile at scale, involving teams in North America, Europe and Asia, and has trained over a thousand coaches and change agents whose key role is to help their organizations achieve higher productivity and quality through the adoption of scalable, agile methods. Alex is a founder of Org Mindset (), a company whose mission is to help enterprises grow Lean-Agile mentality and build organizational habits in support of exploration and fast delivery of customer value. Re-Read Saturday News Chapter 2 of tackles why the consolidation of authority is harmful to the ability to nimble, agile (small a), and productive organizations and secondly, why the distribution of authority supports an organization’s ability to scale.  The argument in Chapter 2 is a central tenant of Holacracy. Visit the to participate in this and previous re-reads. A Call To Action I need your help. I have observed that most podcasts and speakers at conferences over-represent people from Europe and North America.  I would like to work on changing that exposure. I would like to develop a feature featuring alternate software development voices beginning with Africa and Southeast Asia. If this feature works we will extend it to other areas.   If you can introduce me to practitioners that would be willing to share their observations (short interviews) I would be appreciative! Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will be a big show!  SPaMCAST 440 will feature our essay on two storytelling techniques premortems and business obituaries.  We will also have columns from Jeremy Berriault, Jon M Quigley, and Steve Tendon. Shameless Ad for my book! co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: “This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team.” Support SPaMCAST by buying the book nglish and Chinese.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 438 features our essay on leveraging sizing in testing. Size can be a useful tool for budgeting and planning both at the portfolio level and the team level. Gene Hughson brings his to the cast this week to discuss his recent blog entry titled, . One of the highlights of the conversation is whether emergence is a primary factor driving change in a complex system. Our third column is from the Software Sensei, Kim Pries.  Kim discusses why blindly accepting canned solutions does not negate the need for active troubleshooting of for problems in software development. Re-Read Saturday News This week, we tackle chapter 1 of : The New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World by published by Henry Holt and Company in 2015. Chapter 1 is titled, .  Holacracy is an approach to address shortcomings that have appeared as organizations evolve. Holacracy is not a silver bullet, but rather provides a stable platform for identifying and addressing problems efficiently. Visit the to participate in this and previous re-reads. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our interview with Alex Yakyma.  Our discussion focused on the industry's broken mindset that prevents it from being Lean and Agile.  A powerful and possibly controversial interview. Shameless Ad for my book! co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: “This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team.” Support SPaMCAST by buying the book nglish and Chinese.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 437 features a discussion of our recent re-read of by Patrick Lencioni (Jossey-Bass, Copyright 2002, 33rd printing) with Steven Adams.  Steve has participated on nearly all of the re-reads, providing his unique wisdom.  It was a great talk that helped me understand why the book has (and continues to have) such a large impact on how I view Agile and software development. Steve also has some advice on how to get the most out of the re-read feature. Steve lives in the San Francisco Bay Area (a.k.a, Silicon Valley) where he has a successful career in software development.  Steve has worked for Hewlett Packard, Access Systems Inc, Trilliant Inc., and Sony Mobile Communications; plus has consulted at Cisco Systems.  Steve has a computer science degree from California State University at Chico, learned software project management at Hewlett-Packard and, in 2009, started his Agile journey with Sony Ericsson.  Steve enjoys listening to technical podcasts, and SPaMCAST was one of the first and is a favorite!  Steve is also an avid bicyclist (road) and is on track to log over 3,500 miles in 2016. Blog: Twitter: @stevena510 Re-Read Saturday News This week we begin our read of with a few logistics and a review of the introduction.  We have a short entry this week that will give you time to today and read along!  If you have not listened to my interview with Jeff Dalton on , I would suggest a quick listen. Jeff has practical experience with using the concepts of holacracy in his company and as a tool in his consultancy.   Holacracy: The New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World by was published by Henry Holt and Company in 2015.  The book is comprised of a forward, 10 chapters in three parts, notes, acknowledgments, and an index.  My plan is to read and review one chapter per week.  We will move on to a new book in approximately 12 weeks. Visit the to participate in this and previous re-reads. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our essay on leveraging sizing in testing. Size can be a useful tool for budgeting and planning both at the portfolio level and the team level. We will also have a new column from Gene Hughson who brings his Form Follows Function blog to the Cast and a new column from Kim Pries, the Software Sensei. Shameless Ad for my book! co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: “This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team.” Support SPaMCAST by buying the book nglish and Chinese.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 436 features our essay titled, , in which we answer the question of whether the state and culture of the organization or team, can have a large impact on whether a Big Bang approach or an incremental approach makes sense to change. Our second column is from Jeremy Berriault. Jeremy discusses user acceptance testing and Agile. There are lots of different ways to accomplish user acceptance testing in an Agile environment.  The only wrong way is not to do UAT in Agile.  Jeremy  blogs at   Jon M Quigley brings his column, The Alpha and Omega of Product Development, to the Cast. This week Jon puts all the pieces together and discusses systems thinking.  One of the places you can find Jon is at . Re-Read Saturday News This week we wrap-up our re-read of Carol Dweck’s : The New Psychology of Success (buy your copy and read along).  In the wrap-up, we discuss overall impressions of the book and suggest a set of exercises to reinforce your growth mindset. The next book in the series will be ) by Brian J. Robertson. After my recent interview with Jeff Dalton on , I realized that I had only read extracts from Holacracy, therefore we will read the whole book together. Every week we discuss a chapter then consider the implications of what we have “read” from the point of view of both someone pursuing an organizational transformation and using the material when coaching teams.   Visit the to participate in this and previous re-reads. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our discussion with Steven Adams on our recent re-read of by Patrick Lencioni (Jossey-Bass, Copyright 2002, 33rd printing).  Steven provides insight and some ideas on how to get the most from the re-read feature! Shameless Ad for my book! co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: “This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team.” Support SPaMCAST by buying the book nglish and Chinese.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 435 features our interview with Allan Kelly.  Our discussion touched on the concepts behind #NoProjects.  Allan describes how the concept of a project leads to a number of unintended consequences.  Those consequences aren’t pretty. Allan makes digital development teams more effective and improves delivery with continuous agile approaches to reduce delay and risk while increasing value delivered. He helps teams and smaller companies - including start-ups and scale-ups - with advice, coaching and training. Managers, product and technical staff are all involved in his improvements. He is the originator of Retrospective Dialogue Sheets and Value Poker, the author of four books, including "Xanpan - team-centric Agile Software Development" and "Business Patterns for Software Developers". On Twitter he is @allankellynet. Re-Read Saturday News This week we tackle Chapter 8 of Carol Dweck’s : The New Psychology of Success (buy your copy and read along).  Chapter 8, titled “Changing Mindsets.” The whole concept of mindsets would be an interesting footnote if we did not believe they could change. Chapter 8 drives home the point that has been made multiple times in the book, that mindsets are malleable with self-awareness and a lot of effort. The question of whether all people want to be that self-aware will be addressed next week as we wrap up our re-read. We are quickly closing in on the end of our re-read of Mindset.  I anticipate one more week.   The next book in the series will be ). After my recent interview with Jeff Dalton on , I realized that I had only read extracts from Holacracy by Brian J. Robertson, therefore we will read (first time for me) the whole book together. Every week we discuss a chapter then consider the implications of what we have “read” from the point of view of both someone pursuing an organizational transformation and using the material when coaching teams.   Remember to buy a copy of Carol Dweck’s and start the re-read from the beginning! Visit the to participate in this and previous re-reads. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our essay on incremental change approaches.  We will also have columns from Jeremy Berriault. Jeremy blogs at  and Jon M Quigley who brings his column, the Alpha and Omega of Product Development, to the Cast. One of the places you can find Jon is at .

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 434 features our essay on Change Implementations - To Big Bang or Not To Big Bang? The knee jerk reaction amongst transformation leaders is usually a loud NO! However, the answer is not nearly that cut and dry.  Big Bang approaches to change have a place in bag of tricks every transformation leader has at their fingertips. The second column this week is from Steve Tendon. Steve Tendon brings another chapter in his Tame The Flow: Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance, The to the cast.  In this installment, we talk about Chapter 16, The (Super)-Human Side of Flow. In Chapter 16 Steve and Wolfram go into detail on in Kotter’s attributes of flow state.  A good discussion and a good read. Our third column is from the Software Sensei, Kim Pries.  Kim discusses Fermi Problems. Fermi problems or questions are a tool to teach approximation and estimation.  These problems usually can be solved logically as a back-of-the-envelope calculation. The last time we talked about Fermi Problems was when we were re-reading How To Measure Anything (Hubbard). Re-Read Saturday News This week we tackle Chapter 7 of Carol Dweck’s : The New Psychology of Success (buy your copy and read along).  Chapter 7, titled “Parents, Teachers, Coaches: Where Do Mindsets Come From? explores the impact of some of the most intimate and earliest relationships on our mindsets. Understanding how parents, teachers, and coaches affect mindsets helps us learn to lead change. We are quickly closing in on the end of our re-read of Mindset.  I anticipate two more weeks (Chapter 8 and a round up).  The next book in the series will be ). After my recent interview with Jeff Dalton on , I realized that I had only read extracts from Holacracy by Brian J. Robertson, therefore we will read (first time for me) the whole book together. Every week we discuss a chapter then consider the implications of what we have “read” from the point of view of both someone pursuing an organizational transformation and using the material when coaching teams.   Remember to buy a copy of Carol Dweck’s and read along! Visit the to participate in this and previous re-reads. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our interview with Allan Kelly.  Our discussion touched on the concepts behind #NoProject.  Allan describes how the concept of projects leads to a number of unintended consequences.  Those consequences aren’t pretty. Shameless Ad for my book! co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: “This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team.” Support SPaMCAST by buying the book nglish and Chinese.