Software Process and Measurement Cast

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 403 features our essay on Agile practices at Scale. Scaling Agile is a contentious topic.  Frameworks and techniques for scaling are often lambasted as semi-Agile or perhaps even backdoor waterfall techniques. Occasionally you still hear that if a piece of work is too big for one team to complete in a reasonable period of time it should be broken down or just not done. Rather than throw the baby out with the bathwater, many organizations have taken a more pragmatic approach and adopted techniques to scale Agile. We discuss the issues and some of the steps that can be taken to address them! We will also have a visit from the Software Sensei, Kim Pries. Kim discusses making real transformations using his experience learning Tai Chi.  Kim points out that change like deep learning is not instantaneous. Gene Hughson anchors the cast with an entry from his . We discussed his article titled,  .  Gene points out that being forewarned is forearmed. While it has always been true, in today’s dynamic environment, an architect needs to be forearmed. Re-Read Saturday News This week we continue our re-read of ’s , Second Edition with a discussion of Chapters 8 and 9.  Chapter 8 changes gears and provides advice on how to get started with XP.  Beck suggests that there is no single place to start for everyone. Where you start depends on where you are beginning.  Chapter 9 provides a list of corollary practices that build on the primary practices discussed in Chapter 7.   Use the link to X in the show notes when you buy your copy to read along to support both the blog and podcast. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our interview with Ryan Ripley.  We discussed the presentation he is going to do at Agile 2016: The Business of Agile: Better, Faster, Cheaper at Agile.  We discussed why having the answer for whether Agile is better, faster and cheaper is still important in the business world!   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 402 features our interview with Ulises Torres.  Ulises and I talked about how his firm, Intellego, has leveraged Agile and the CMMI to improve quality, increase customer satisfaction and business. Ulises makes a strong argument that for his company, Agile and the CMMI are better together. Ulises Torres has over 24 years of experience in IT, either as a Developer, Team Leader, Project Manager or as an Architect, analyzing, designing, building and implementing a large number of applications, mainly with regard to retail, manufacturing, logistics/distribution and financials.  He has worked in software factories, running different projects at the same time and has formal training and proficiency in QA, Scrum, Lean Kanban, Six sigma, OOP, UML, RUP,  CMMI and PMI frameworks. Ulises work at Intellego, a development of solutions and information management services company with offices in México,Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Perú, and USA. Contact Information: Email: Web: o http://www.grupointellego.com/la-compania/   Re-Read Saturday News This week we continue the Re-read Saturday of  ’s , Second Edition with a discussion of .  Practices, Beck notes represent endpoints that need to be pursued using “baby steps” but they are at the core of how we practice XP. Use the link to X in the show notes when you buy your copy to read along to support both the blog and podcast. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will our essay on Agile practices at scale (Meg 2/23, 2/25 3/1 and 3/2 … others?). We will also have a visit from the Software Sensei Kim Pries and Gene Hughson will bring his Form Follows Function Blog to the Software Process and Measurement Cast.   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 401 features three columns!  We begin with our essay on listening.  Every time we answer the phone, interact with a co-worker or even turn on the television we need to hear and interpret the messages that are being sent. Our complicated business and life environments impact how we listen through the situations we face. Listening is important. Like reading, it is fundamental to almost every activity needed to build, enhance or maintain a product; therefore, learning and understanding how to listen, and as importantly how not to listen, are table stakes for getting anything done! Jon M. Quigley’s second column discusses the topic of cost, quality, testing and contract closure. All of the parts of a product have to fit together for everyone to feel comfortable and pay the bill! Jeremy Berriault and the QA Corner anchor the cast.  I asked Jeremy to talk about whether developers should test.  (Don’t tell anyone, but the answer is HECK YES.)   Re-Read Saturday News This week we continue the Re-read Saturday of  ’s , Second Edition with a discussion of Chapters 4 and 5.  We do a deep dive into values and principles.  Values and principles are the basis for all of the practices we will explore as we read.  Use the link to X in the show notes when you buy your copy to read along to support both the blog and podcast. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our interview with Ulises Torres.  Ulises and I talked about how his firm, Intellego, has leveraged Agile and the CMMI to improve quality, increase customer satisfaction and business.   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.

Software Process and Measurement Cast 400 features our interview with Jim Benson. Jim and I talked about personal Kanban, micromanagement, work-in-process limits, pattern matching, Pomodoro and more. A great interview to cap our first 400 episodes! 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 This week we continue the Re-read Saturday of  ’s , Second Edition with a discussion of Chapters 2 and 3.  The first two chapters in section One provide us with an overview of the conceptual framework that underpins XP.  Use the link to X in the show notes when you buy your copy to read along to support both the blog and podcast. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday.   Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our essay on listening.  Effective listening is CRITICAL to every aspect of software development  and maintenance. Listening is a complex set of tasks that is more than simply receiving audio data. You also need to interpret that data. We will also have columns from Jeremy Berriault who brings us the QA Corner and Jon M. Quigley’s second column which covers the gamut of product development.   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 399 features our essay titled, Storytelling: Developing The Big Picture for Agile Efforts. Agile reminds us that the focus of any set of requirements needs to be on an outcome rather than a collection of whats and whos.  Storytelling is a powerful tool to elevate even the most diehard requirements analyst from a discussion of individual requirements to a discussion of outcomes. Before we can generate a backlog composed of features, epics, and user stories, we need to understand the big picture. Our second column is a visit to Gene Hughson’s Form Follows Function Blog.  We discussed an entry titled .  Do we need a manifesto to know that how well we are meeting the needs of our customers is a reflection of how fit IT is for purpose? Perhaps the answer is yes, if for no other purpose than to ensure we make sure that what we deliver is not a waste of money. Anchoring the cast this week is the Software Sensei, Kim Pries.  Kim discusses the role of deliberate practice in increasing the capability and capacity of teams. Kim’s provides practical advice on improving team performance.   Re-Read Saturday News This week we begin the Re-read Saturday of  ’s , Second Edition with a discussion of the Preface and Chapter 1.  These sections provide a definition of XP and context for the diving into the principles and techniques. Using the link to X when you buy your copy to read along will support both the blog and podcast. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday.   Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast, #400!, features our interview with Jim Benson. Jim and I talked about personal Kanban, micromanagement, work-in-process limits, pattern matching, pomodoro and more. This was a marvelous interview to commemorate our first 400 shows!   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 398 features our interview with bestselling author Kevin Kruse.  We discussed his new book, .  The ideas Kevin presents on managing time and more accurately managing focus are extremely useful and in some cases just a bit controversial. Surprising findings include:         Most high achievers do NOT use to-do lists.         The Harvard experiment that showed how 3 questions saved 8 hours a week.         Procrastination is cured by “time traveling” to defeat your future self.         Most high achievers practice a consistent morning ritual.         How high achievers manage their email If you haven’t bought a copy of , I would recommend that you start your personal program to improve your productivity by using the link in the show notes and buying a copy! Kevin Kruse is an Inc 500 serial entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, and Forbes columnist. Kruse has been named a Top 100 Business Thought Leader by Trust Across America. Over the last 20 years Kevin has started or co-founded several multi-million dollar companies which have won awards for both fast growth (Inc 500) as well as employee engagement (#4 Best Place to Work in PA). As a keynote speaker and performance coach, Kevin has worked with Fortune 500 CEOs, startup founders, US Marine Corps officers and non-profit leaders.   Contact Information: twitter.com/Kruse facebook.com/KruseAuthor instagram.com/kevin__kruse info@kevinkruse.com   Re-Read Saturday News We concluded the read of by Maassen, Matts, and Geary. This week’s installment will addresses the epilogue (everybody lives happily ever after) and summarizes some of the key concepts that I have already found useful.  Next week we will begin re-reading  ’s , Second Edition. I originally read the first edition several years ago on flights traveling between clients.  The book provides an important explanation for xP and the even today confronts us with the realization that Agile is more than just Scrum. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday.   Next SPaMCAST In the next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our essay on using storytelling to jumpstart Agile efforts. Telling stories is a natural human activity from time immemorial that can be used to create a succinct and informative story to describe a business need or the future of an organization.  The essay provides an approach for using storytelling and suggests that sometimes the journey an organization must take to achieve a goal needs facilitation. We will also have columns from the Software Sensi, Kim Pries and an entry from Gene Hughson’s Form Follows Function Blog.   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 397 features our essay on cumulative flow diagrams. A CFD can help everyone from team members to program managers to gain insight into issues, cycle time and likely completion dates. Cumulative flow diagrams are extremely versatile tools for managing work. Figures for this essay are included as a separate entry in the feed. Our second column is a visit to the QA Corner. Jeremy Berriault weighs in on the thorny question of who signs off or approves the results of testing for projects. We discuss some strange behaviors that occur when responsibility and authority for the results of testing are ambiguous. We also have the debut column from Jon M. Quigley. Jon inaugurates his column with a discussion of whether project risk, scope and strategy are related. The short answer is yes, and the longer answer suggests what happens when all of the options are not considered. Jon is a principle at Value Transformation, LLC (www.valuetransform.com) along with being a teacher, coach, serial author and past guest on SPaMCAST 346. Re-Read Saturday News We continue the read of Commitment – Novel About Managing Project Risk by Maassen, Matts, and Geary. Buy your copy today and read along (use the link to support the podcast). This week’s installment will address Chapter 7, which using the monomyth structure represents both atonement and the return home, the completion of the cycle. Next week we will conclude with a few final thoughts. The next book in the Re-read Saturday Series will be Kent Beck’s xP Explained, Second Edition. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast features our interview of with bestselling author Kevin Kruse. We discussed his new book, 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management. The ideas on managing time and more accurately managing focus are extremely useful and in some cases just a bit controversial. Listen to the interview, then buy a copy of his book and become more productive! Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques 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 here. Available in English and Chinese.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 396 begins our run up to Episode 400 with our interview of with Mike Burrows. Mike and I talked about his game changing idea of Agendashift. Agendashift identifies opportunities for positive change by exploring an organization’s alignment to the values of transparency, balance, collaboration, customer focus, flow, and leadership. Along the way, we also revisited parts of our previous interview on the podcast covering Mike’s book, Kanban From The Inside. Mike’s Bio Mike is the founder of Agendashift, author of the book Kanban from the Inside, consultant, coach, and trainer. In recent months, he has been the interim delivery manager for two UK government digital "exemplar" projects and consultant to public and private sector organisations at home and abroad. Prior to his consulting career, he was global development manager and Executive Director at a top tier investment bank, and IT Director for an energy risk management startup. Agendashift Blog: https://www.agendashift.com/ Twitter: @asplake and @KanbanInside Re-Read Saturday News We continue the read of Commitment – Novel About Managing Project Risk by Maassen, Matts, and Geary. Buy your copy today and read along (use the link to support the podcast). This week we tackle chapter 6. Chapter 6 layers ideas from game theory to explain why real options works. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast includes three columns. The first is our essay on cumulative flow diagrams. Cumulative flow diagrams are extremely versatile tools for managing work. I am becoming more and more convinced that they should be used universally. We will also have a visit to the QA Corner with Jeremy Berriault. Jeremy brings us his unique wisdom to testing topics. Our conversations are always illuminating! Jon M. Quigley. Jon is a serial author and consultant, who first appeared on SPaMCAST 346. We discussed. We began his unnamed column (we need your help) with a discussion of project risk and scope and strategy selection. Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques 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 here. Available in English and Chinese.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 395 features our essay on productivity. While productivity might not be the coolest subject, understanding the concept is critical to every company’s and every worker’s financial well-being. Gene Hughson brings another entry from his Form Follows Function blog to the Software Process and Measurement Cast. Gene discusses the idea of accidental innovation. Gene suggests that innovation is not a happy accident, but is a result of a process, structure, and technology that can enhance innovation. However, it can just as easily get in the way. In our third column this week, Kim Pries, the Software Sensei, brings us a discussion of how software developers leverage assimilation and accommodation in the acquisition of knowledge. Re-Read Saturday News We continue the read of Commitment – Novel About Managing Project Risk by Maassen, Matts, and Geary. Buy your copy today and read along (use the link to support the podcast). This week we tackle chapter 5. It is a relatively short chapter, but it exposes one of the critical mechanisms for how Agile teams are able to self-organize and self-manage. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast begins the final approach to Episode 400 with our interview of with Mike Burrows. Mike and I talked about his game changing idea of Agenda Shift . Agenda Shift Identifies opportunities for positive change by exploring an organization’s alignment to the values of transparency, balance, collaboration, customer focus, flow, and leadership. Along the way, we also revisited parts of our first interview on the podcast covering Mike’s book, Kanban From The Inside. 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 here. Available in English and Chinese.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 394 features our interview with Yves Hanoulle. Yves returns to the Software Process and Measurement Cast to discuss his experiences as a coach with CoderDojo Ghent which brings coding and life lessons to children in Ghent, Belgium. We also explored how Yves has been able to incorporate the lessons he has learned volunteering into his day job. This is a fun interview that has a profound message about our obligation to the future. This is a great interview to come back from vacation to edit and deliver! Yves’s Bio: Yves Hanoulle started working in IT in 1994. He has worked as software support, developer, team lead, trainer, agile coach, change artist, first follower, thought jockey. These days he calls himself Creative Collaboration Agent. Yves believes that IT is mainly about working with people. A skill that can never be learned enough. Mr. Hanoulle is deeply involved in many communities including starting the book “Who is agile” together with a team of 20 people. There are now multiple local country spin-offs of the book (we talked about this project near the end of the interview) Yearly Yves spends 10 to 20% of his revenue on training and books so that he stays at the forefront of thought on software development. Since 2005, he has worked as coach or trainer for a wide range of firms across the globe. Connect with Yves at: Twitter: @yveshanoulle LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yveshanoulle Re-Read Saturday News We continue the read Commitment – Novel About Managing Project Risk by Maassen, Matts, and Geary. Buy your copy today and read along (use the link to support the podcast). This week we tackle chapter four, which delves into the visualization of work, staff liquidity and a focus on outcomes. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement cast will feature an essay on productivity metrics: the good, the bad and the ugly. We will also feature columns from Kim Pries and Gene Hughson. Also, I hope to have news about a new columnist joining the SPaMCAST family and more! 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 here. Available in English and Chinese.