Software Process and Measurement Cast

This week’s Software Process and Measurement Cast opens with our essay on quality and measuring quality. Software quality is a simple phrase that is sometimes difficult to define. In SPaMCAST 374, Jerry Weinberg defined software quality as value. In our essay, we see how others have tackled the subject and add our perspective. Jeremy Berriault brings the QA Corner to the first SPaMCAST of 2016, discussing the sticky topic of estimating testing. Estimating has always been a hot button issue that only gets hotter when you add in testing. Jeremy provides a number of pragmatic observations that can help reduce heat the topic generates. Wrapping up the cast, Steve Tendon discusses the topic of discovery driven planning from his book, Tame The Flow. Discovery driven planning is a set of ideas that recognizes that most decisions are made in situations that are full of uncertainty and complexity. We need new tools and mechanisms to avoid disaster. Help grow the podcast by reviewing the SPaMCAST on iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcatcher/player and then share the review! Help your friends find the Software Process and Measurement Cast. After all, friends help friends find great podcasts! Re-Read Saturday News We continue the re-read of How to Measure Anything, Finding the Value of “Intangibles in Business” Third Edition by Douglas W. Hubbard on the Software Process and Measurement Blog. In Chapter Three, Hubbard explores three misconceptions of measurement that lead people to believe they can’t measure something, three reasons why people think something shouldn’t be measured and four useful measurement assumptions. Upcoming Events I am facilitating the CMMI Capability Challenge. This new competition showcases thought leaders who are building organizational capability and improving performance. The next CMMI Capability Challenge will be held on January 12 at 1 PM EST. http://cmmiinstitute.com/conferences#thecapabilitychallenge The Challenge will continue on February 17th at 11 AM. In other events, I will give a webinar, titled: Discover The Quality of Your Testing Process on January 19, 2016, at 11:00 am EST Organizations that seek to understand and improve their current testing capabilities can use the Test Maturity Model integration (TMMi) as a guide for best practices. The TMMi is the industry standard model of testing capabilities. Comparing your testing organization's performance to the model provides a gap analysis and outlines a path towards greater capabilities and efficiency. This webinar will walk attendees through a testing assessment that delivers a baseline of performance and a set of prioritized process improvements. Next week even more! Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast is a panel discussion featuring all of the regulars from the Software Process and Measurement Cast, including Jeremy Berriault, Steve Tendon, Kim Pries, Gene Hughson and myself. We prognosticated a bit on the topics that will motivate software development and process improvement in 2016. 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.

In this Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our interview with Gerald M. Weinberg. We discussed quality and the how quality is related to value. A talk with Jerry is always profound; however, I must admit that Jerry's humor caused me to laugh more times than I can count during our conversation. Gerald Weinberg is the author of more than 100 books, including the best-selling Secrets of Consulting, other non-fiction series, and the ever-popular Women of Power novels. He is a principal in the international consulting firm of Weinberg and Weinberg. The festschrift, The Gift of Time (Fiona Charles, ed.) honors his work for his 75th birthday. His websites may be found at http://www.geraldmweinberg.com and http://www.thewomenofpower.org. Call to Action! Review the SPaMCAST on iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcatcher/player and then share the review! Help your friends find the Software Process and Measurement Cast. After all, friends help friends find great podcasts! Re-Read Saturday News We continue the re-read of How to Measure Anything, Finding the Value of "Intangibles in Business" Third Edition by Douglas W. Hubbard on the Software Process and Measurement Blog. Chapter Two provides the evidence that measurement does not need to be complex or expensive, and that in the end everything is measurable. Upcoming Events Details on 2016 Conferences that include QAI Quest and ISMA12 to name a few after the New Year. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our essay on quality and measuring quality. Software quality is a simple phrase that is sometimes difficult to define. We will also hear from Steve Tendon on Tame The Flow and from the QA Corner with Jeremy Berriault. In two weeks on the Software Process and Measurement Cast, we have something even more really special than normal!

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 373 features our essay #NotImplementedNoValue. The twelve principles that underpin the Agile Manifesto include several that link the concept of value to the delivery of working software. The focus on working software stems from one of the four values, “Working software over comprehensive documentation,” which is a reaction to projects and programs that seem to value reports and PowerPoint presentations more than putting software in the hands of users. For a typical IT organization that develops, enhances and maintains the software that the broader organization uses to do their ultimate business; value is only delivered when software can be used in production. We visit Gene Hughson’s Form Follows Function Blog! Gene suggests that while most models have value, some models are can lead to poor decisions. The punchline for the discussion is “Simple is good, but not when it’s too good to be true” Gene builds the case that we need to be cognizant of our biases when using and building models. Call to Action! Review the SPaMCAST on iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcatcher/player and then share the review! Help your friends find the Software Process and Measurement Cast. After all, friends help friends find great podcasts! Re-Read Saturday News We began the re-read of How to Measure Anything, Finding the Value of “Intangibles in Business” Third Edition by Douglas W. Hubbard on the Software Process and Measurement Blog. Chapter one lays out Hubbard’s philosophy and approach to measurement. What do you think is intangible or unmeasurable? Upcoming Events Details on 2016 Conferences that include QAI Quest and ISMA12 to name a few in a few weeks. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our interview with Gerald M. Weinberg. Jerry and I discussed quality. With over 42 books to his name (fiction and non-fiction), Jerry is a leader amongst leaders in the software engineering industry. 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 372 features our interview with Vasco Duarte. Vasco returns to the podcast to discuss his new book, #NoEstimates Book. In the interview, Vasco and I discussed the underlying concepts behind #NoEstimates and how the concept has matured. If you are interested in project management, estimation and delivering value, the ideas that Vasco discusses will be both controversial and valuable. If we paraphrase Shakespeare, then Estimates or #NoEstimates has to be the question. Let’s answer it! Introducing Vasco: Vasco wants to transform product development organizations into product business organizations. He does that by focusing the work of the product development teams on the end-to-end life-cycle of their products. From Concept to Cash and Back! Vasco Duarte is currently a Managing Partner at Oikosofy. Product Manager, Scrum Master, Project Manager, Director, Agile Coach are only some of the roles that he has taken in software development organizations. Having worked in the software industry since 1997, and Agile practitioner since 2004. He has worked in small, medium and large software organizations as an Agile Coach or leader in agile adoption at those organizations. Vasco was one of the leaders and catalysts of Agile methods and Agile culture adoption at Avira, Nokia and F-Secure. You can read more from Vasco on his blog: http://SoftwareDevelopmentToday.com and join him on twitter: @duarte_vasco Twitter: http://twitter.com/duarte_Vasco Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: http://scrum-master-toolbox.com/ NoEstimates book: http://noestimatesbook.com/ Call to Action! Review the SPaMCAST on iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcatcher/player and then share the review! Help your friends find the Software Process and Measurement Cast. After all, friends help friends find great podcasts! Re-Read Saturday News The readers have spoken and next week we will begin the re-read of How to Measure Anything, Finding the Value of “Intangibles in Business” Third Edition by Douglas W. Hubbard. Like The Mythical Man-Month that we completed last week, the version we are reading is not the same version I originally read in 2007. Check out the introduction to the next re-read at Software Process and Measurement Blog. Upcoming Events Details on 2016 Conferences that include QAI Quest and ISMA12 to name a few in a few weeks. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our essay #NotImplementedNoValue. The twelve principles that underpin the Agile Manifesto include several that link the concept of value to the delivery of working software. The focus on working software stems from one of the four values, “Working software over comprehensive documentation,” which is a reaction to projects and programs that seem to value reports and PowerPoint presentations more than putting software in the hands of users. For a typical IT organization that develops, enhances and maintains the software that the broader organization uses to do their ultimate business, value is only delivered when software can be used in production We will also have a new column from the Software Sensei and will revisit Gene Hughson with an entry from the Form Follows Function Blog! 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 371 features our essay on Focus and the Pomodoro technique. Focus might be just about the most important technique available for getting work done. Focus and attention are critical assets that need to be managed or we risk wasting time and energy. We will also include Steve Tendon discussing management’s role in a learning organization from his new book, Tame The Flow. Management needs to both facilitate and participate in a learning organization. A learning organization is a critical success factor for engaging in a knowledge economy. Finally, we will anchor the cast with a visit to the QA Corner with Jeremy Berriault. Jeremy and I discussed testing environments. Jeremy puts his stamp on the perennial discussion of whether all testing environments need to be production like. Call to Action! Review the SPaMCAST on iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcatcher/player and then share the review! Help your friends find the Software Process and Measurement Cast. After all, friends help friends find great podcasts! Re-Read Saturday News We have just completed the re-read of The Mythical Man-Month with the essay titled “The Mythical Man-Month 20 Years Later” Check out the new installment at Software Process and Measurement Blog. We will be choosing the next re-read book to be? One last call for votes. Please vote on the blog! Currently we have a tight battle between: Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business - Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency – Vote Here Upcoming Events Details on 2016 Conferences that include QAI Quest and StarEast to name a few in a few weeks. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will our interview with Vasco Duarte . Vasco returns to the podcast to discuss his new book #NoEstimates Book. In the interview Vasco and I discussed the underlying concepts behind #NoEstimates and how the concept has matured. If you are interested in project management, estimation and delivering value, the ideas the Vasco discusses will be both controversial and valuable. 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

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 370 features my discussion with Greger Wikstrand. Greger and I discussed his article titled “Should you distrust Agile?” and other topics. Greger discussed why some people distrust Agile and whether you and your customers should also distrust Agile software development. After you listen to the podcast, read Greger’s blog on the topic. Greger Wikstrand, Ph.D. M.Sc. is a TOGAF 9 certified enterprise architect with an interest in e-heatlh, m-health and all things agile as well as processes, methods and tools. Greger Wikstrand works as a CTO at Capgemini where he alternates between enterprise advisory services, business development and working with thought leadership. Contact Blog: http://www.gregerwikstrand.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregerwikstrand Call to Action! Review the SPaMCAST on iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcatcher/player and then share the review! Help your friends find the Software Process and Measurement Cast. After all, friends help friends find great podcasts! Re-Read Saturday News Remember that the Re-Read Saturday of The Mythical Man-Month is winding down (we will pick things up next week). We will tackle the essay titled “The Mythical Man-Month 20 Years Later” Check out the new installment at Software Process and Measurement Blog. What would you like the next re-read book to be? Please vote on the blog! Currently, we have a tight battle between: Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business - Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency – Vote Here Upcoming Events Details on 2016 Conferences that include QAI Quest and StarEast to name a few in a few weeks. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our article on Focus and the Pomodoro technique. A discussion on focus during the festive this season might be helpful for making sure you can get to everything that needs to be done. We will also include Steve Tendon discussing the next chapter in his new book, Tame The Flow. Finally, we will anchor the cast with a visit to the QA Corner with Jeremy Berriault. 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 369 features our essay on stand-up meetings. Stand-up meetings are a combination of tactical planning on steroids and the perfect start to a great day. Stand-up meetings are one the easiest Agile practices to adopt and often one the easiest to mess up. Also, this week features we have Kim Pries and his Software Sensei column. Kim discusses what it takes to move toward mastery. Mastery implies more than just being good at any particular task. The Software Sensei provides a path forward. Gene Hughson brings the first of his discussions on the topic of #NoEstimates from his Form Follows Function blog! Specifically Gene provided a more detail and background on his essay #NoEstimates – Questions, Answers, and Credibility. Call to Action! Review the SPaMCAST on iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcatcher/player and then share the review! Help your friends find the Software Process and Measurement Cast. After all, friends help friends find great podcasts! Re-Read Saturday News Remember that the Re-Read Saturday of The Mythical Man-Month is winding down. THis week we are running a quick poll to identify the next book on the Software Process and Measurement Blog. What would you like the next re-read book to be? Upcoming Events Details on 2016 Conferences that include QAI Quest and StarEast to name a few in a few weeks. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature a discussion with Steve Tendon discussing more of his new book Tame The Flow, and more. (Subject to change due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the States). 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, neither for you or your team.” Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 368 features our interview with Pedro Serrador. We discussed his research, paper, and presentation titled “Does Agile Work?” Pedro lays out his research on whether and not Agile really works. Pedro’s Bio The Software Process and Measurement Cast 368 features our interview with Pedro Serrador. We discussed his research, paper and presentation titled “Does Agile Work?” Pedro lays out his research on whether or not Agile really works. Pedro’s Bio: Pedro M. Serrador, PMP, P.Eng., MBA, PhD is a writer and researcher on project management topics and owner of Serrador Project Management, a consultancy in Toronto, Canada He specializes in technically complex and high risk projects, vendor management engagements, and tailoring and implementing project management methodologies; he has worked on projects in the financial, telecommunications, utility, medical imaging, and simulations sectors for some of Canada's largest companies. His areas of research interest are project success, planning, and agile and he has presented a number of peer-reviewed papers on these topics at academic conferences. He an author of books and articles on project management and is also a regular speaker at PMI global congresses. He currently teaches project management as a part-time faculty member at Humber College in Toronto. He was the recipient of the PMI 2012 James R. Snyder International Student Paper of the Year Award and the Major de Promotion Award for best PhD Thesis 2012-2013 from SKEMA business school. Contact Data LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedro-serrador-326b751Website: http://www.serrador.net/index.html Call to Action! Review the SPaMCAST on iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcatcher/player and then share the review! Help your friends find the Software Process and Measurement Cast. After all, friends help friends find great podcasts! Re-Read Saturday News Remember that the Re-Read Saturday of The Mythical Man-Month returns this week when we tackle the essay titled “No Silver Bullet, Refired.” Check out the new installment at Software Process and Measurement Blog. Upcoming Events Details on 2016 Conferences that include QAI Quest and StarEast to name a few in a few weeks! Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our essay on stand-up meetings. Stand-up meetings are a combination of tactical planning on steroids and the perfect start to a great day! We will also have new installments of Kim Pries’s Software Sensei and Gene Hughson’s Form Follows Function Columns! 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, neither for you or your team.” Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast includes two columns this week. The first is our essay: Scaled Agile Charters. A scaled Agile charter is not just a thicker team charter because a scaled Agile project is not just a bigger Agile project. Scaled Agile charters need to be assembled part by part based on the needs of the project. This week’s essay provides a path to getting value from scaled Agile charters. The second column is a new installment of Jeremy Berriault’s QA Corner! We discussed using communities of practice to spread testing knowledge. A community of practices is a wonderful tool to transfer knowledge and to generate a network among practitioners. Call to Action! Review the SPaMCAST on iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcatcher/player and then share the review! Help your friends find the Software Process and Measurement Cast. After all, friends help friends find great podcasts! Re-Read Saturday News Remember that the Re-Read Saturday of The Mythical Man-Month returns this week when we tackle the essay titled “No Silver Bullet” Check out the new installment at Software Process and Measurement Blog. Upcoming Events Agile Development Conference EastNovember 8-13, 2015Orlando, Floridahttp://adceast.techwell.com/ I will be speaking on November 12th on the topic of Agile Risk. Let me know if you are going and we will have a SPaMCAST Meetup. In the next few weeks we will start to lay out the 2016 conference calendar. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our interview with Pedro Serrador. We discussed his presentation titled Does Agile Work?, based on the paper he co-authored by the same name. Pedro lays out his research on whether Agile really works. The answer is . . . see you next week. 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 features my interview with Jeff Dalton. Jeff returns to the Software Process and Measurement Cast to discuss the 12 attributes of successful Agile organizations. Jeff talks about the relatively small set of attributes that successful Agile organizations possess and exhibit. These attributes don't occur by accident, but rather are a reflection of hard work and consistency of purpose. We can all reflect and adopt these attributes in our pursuit of success. Jeff shows us how! Jeff's Bio: Jeff Dalton is President of Broadsword, a Certified Lead Appraiser, CMMI Instructor, ScrumMaster and author of "agileCMMI," Broadsword's leading methodology for incremental and iterative process improvement, as well as many published articles and ebooks on performance innovation. Jeff has been selected Keynote Speaker at numerous conferences including the International Conference on CMMI in Lima, Peru, the PMI Great Lakes 2013 Symposium, the 2014 QUEST Conference and Expo, the CMMI SEPG Conference 2014, the CMMI Global Congress 2015, the PM Symposium Indianapolis 2015 and the PM Symposium Chicago 2015. He has appeared multiple times at Agile Development West, Better Software, Agile Processes and Tools, AgileDC, and at Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) and Agile Leadership Network (ALN) meetups throughout North America. Jeff served as the Chairman of the Partner Advisory Board at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) and CMMI Institute from 2011-2014 during their transition period. He has been president of Great Lakes Software Process Improvement Network, and is a recipient of the prestigious Software Engineering Institute's SEI Member Award for Outstanding Representative for his work uniting the Agile and CMMI communities through his popular blog "Ask the CMMI Appraiser." He holds degrees in Music and Computer Science and builds experimental airplanes in his spare time. Jeff can be reached at appraiser@broadswordsolutions.com. Contact Data: Email: appraiser@broadswordsolutions.com. Twitter: @CMMIAppraiser Blog: http://askthecmmiappraiser.blogspot.com/ Web: http://www.broadswordsolutions.com/ also see: www.cmmi-tv.com Previous Appearances on the podcast: SPaMCAST 296 – Jeff Dalton, CMMI, Agile, Resiliency SPaMCAST 176 - Jeff Dalton, CMMI, Scrum and Agile Call to Action! Review the SPaMCAST on iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcatcher/player and then share the review! Help your friends find the Software Process and Measurement Cast. After all, friends help friends find great podcasts! Re-Read Saturday News Remember that the Re-Read Saturday of The Mythical Man-Month returns this week when we tackle the essay titled "The Other Face" Check out the new installment at Software Process and Measurement Blog. Upcoming Events Agile Development Conference East November 8-13, 2015 Orlando, Florida http://adceast.techwell.com/ I will be speaking on November 12th on the topic of Agile Risk. Let me know if you are going and we will have a SPaMCAST Meetup. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast returns to the topic of Agile Project Charters, tackling the concepts needed to scale a charter to an Agile project or program. When Agile projects scale up to handle larger efforts additional steps are often required. Additional steps can lead to bloat if you do not take care. We will also have a new installment of Jeremy Berriault's QA Corner! We discussed the definition of test cases and why they are so important to delivering quality code! 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.