Software Process and Measurement Cast

This week we continue in the minefield of why starting everything you are asked to do is problematic that we began in SPaMCAST 785. Framing the discussion is a text from a friend of the cast which highlights those requests that you just can’t say no to. Lots of rationalizations and negative impacts. We will also have a visit from Susan Parente and her Not A Scrumdamentalist column. In this installment, we discuss the idea that everyone has a book in them.  Re-Read Saturday News Vacanti begins Chapter 3 of , by reminding the reader: “A predictable process behaves in a way we expect it to.” Further a predictable process exhibits only routine variation which means learning to distinguish signal and noise. Buy a copy and get reading - .  The current re-read entry Week 1:  – Week 2: – Week 3:   -     Learn to Solve IT's Dirtiest Secret! Work input, which includes prioritization and sequencing, is how work gets to an organization or team. If you get it wrong you are throwing time and money away. Simply put, poor work intake means “no agile for you”. Jeremy Willets and I have written tackling the topic that JRoss Publishing will publish in January 2024. In support of the book, we are building a live, workshop-based course for anyone deciding on what work gets completed!  This includes Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Project Managers, Program Managers, and Portfolio Managers - lots of people are involved which is part of the problem! The workshop will cover why work intake is the biggest challenge to teams and organizations today. Attendees will also learn what to do to solve this challenge. This cohort-based course will combine concise lectures, discussions, and exercises. It will provide space to learn and share with peers. We’re using a survey to build a waitlist for the first cohort – link below. We will use the list to alert you when the workshop is available.     Next SPaMCAST  SPaMCAST 788 we will feature the annual SPaMCAST panel. As always the conversation will be rollicking. The topics will cover AI, working in the office, and a look into 2024.

Software Process and Measurement Cast 784 features our conversation with Kevin Surace. Kevin is an AI Inventor, Futurist, and Keynote Speaker. We talk about the hype and promise of AI and whether you can ignore using AI in the workplace. My synopsis, embrace AI or live under a bridge. That might be a bit of hyperbole but if you lived through the PC revolution and the birth of the internet I think not.  Kevin’s Bio Kevin Surace, is a renowned futurist, disruptive innovation keynote speaker, and pioneer in the AI space since the 1990s He is the  CTO of Appvance.ai which applies AI in the testing space.   Kevin has an impressive portfolio of nearly 100 worldwide patents, including the groundbreaking technology behind Siri and other virtual assistants. He is the visionary creator of one of the world's first smartphones and a dynamic speaker featured in over 15 thought-provoking TED and TEDx talks. His accomplishments have earned him accolades such as Inc. Magazine's Entrepreneur of the Year, CNBC's Innovator of the Decade, and an esteemed induction into RIT's prestigious Innovation Hall of Fame. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ksurace/ Personal Website: KevinSurace.com Twitter: @kevinsurace Business Website: https://appvance.ai/ Re-Read Saturday News This week we begin the read of by Daniel S. Vacanti in earnest covering Chapters One and Two. These two chapters provide a statistical cautionary tale and then go on to define variability. The definition of variability is a foundation that much of AA Volume II builds on. Buy a copy and get reading - .  The current re-read entry Week 1:  - Week 2: -     Learn to Solve IT's Dirtiest Secret! Work input, which includes prioritization and sequencing, is how work gets to an organization or team. If you get it wrong you are throwing time and money away. Simply put, poor work intake means “no agile for you”. Jeremy Willets and I have written tackling the topic that JRoss Publishing will publish in January 2024. In support of the book, we are building a live, workshop-based course for anyone deciding on what work gets completed!  This includes Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Project Managers, Program Managers, and Portfolio Managers - lots of people are involved which is part of the problem! The workshop will cover why work intake is the biggest challenge to teams and organizations today. Attendees will also learn what to do to solve this challenge. This cohort-based course will combine concise lectures, discussions, and exercises. It will provide space to learn and share with peers. We’re using a survey to build a waitlist for the first cohort – link below. We will use the list to alert you when the workshop is available.   Next SPaMCAST  In SPaMCAST 787 we continue in the minefield of why starting everything you are asked to do is problematic. Framing the discussion is a text from a friend of the cast which highlights those requests that you just can’t say no to. We will also have a visit from Susan Parente and her Not A Scrumdamentalist column.

I was asked, “Why shouldn’t I say yes and start everything that comes my way?” As we celebrate the impending publication of (it is going to the printers very soon) we continue the discussion of work intake scenarios that bedevil teams and organizations. Controlling work entry is controlling WIP which helps us be our best selves. But are there times when you have to say yes when you don’t want to?   We also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault bringing his Evolutionary Agilist Column to the cast! Mr Berriault and I discussed the concept of root cause. Everybody is looking for one but very few understand the concept.  Re-Read Saturday News This week we begin the read of by Daniel S. Vacanti. This is the second of Mr. Vacanti’s books we have covered in Re-read Saturday. The 260-page book includes a Preface, 14 Chapters broken into two sections, two appendices, endnotes, a bibliography, and an index (hooray).  I am planning to cover this book in approximately 16 weeks. Reviewing the book, there are several chapters that I can see combining into a single week and a few chapters that will take a couple of weeks to think through. I also suspect that I may lose one or so weekends to holidays. I am targeting completing this read on March 31st.  Buy a copy and get reading - .  The current re-read entry Week 1:  - https://bit.ly/4adgxsC   Learn to Solve IT's Dirtiest Secret! Work input, which includes prioritization and sequencing, is how work gets to an organization or team. If you get it wrong you are throwing time and money away. Simply put, poor work intake means “no agile for you”. Jeremy Willets and I have written tackling the topic that JRoss Publishing will publish in January 2024. In support of the book, we are building a live, workshop-based course for anyone deciding on what work gets completed!  This includes Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Project Managers, Program Managers, and Portfolio Managers - lots of people are involved which is part of the problem! The workshop will cover why work intake is the biggest challenge to teams and organizations today. Attendees will also learn what to do to solve this challenge. This cohort-based course will combine concise lectures, discussions, and exercises. It will provide space to learn and share with peers. We’re using a survey to build a waitlist for the first cohort – link below. We will use the list to alert you when the workshop is available.   Next SPaMCAST  Software Process and Measurement Cast 784 will feature my conversation with Kevin Surace, AI Inventor,  Futurist and Keynote Speaker. We will discuss the hype and promise of AI.

Software Process and Measurement Cast 784 features our interview with Michaele Gardner and Brian Hackerson. We talk about their Agile Best Self Initiative. We also, and perhaps more importantly, discuss being in control of yourself so you can truly deliver value to those around you. As we start to close out 2023 it is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on how you can be your best self. Michaele Gardner started out as a counselor at an emergency crisis line. Clients were too messy: clear inputs did not lead to predetermined outputs. So she moved into the world of IT and has not looked back. Becoming a developer on an XP team brought together her interests in psychology, flow, teamwork and problem solving. She quickly realized that many teams (and organizations) poured their hearts and souls into projects that added little value. Her next natural step was to help engineers and organizations understand business value at a micro and macro level. At all levels, Michaele loves giving change agents tools to define their own “why” and stay emotionally resilient. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaele-gardner-0829205/ Brian R. Hackerson is the co-creator of the Agile Best Self mindset, the VP of People Operations and Enterprise Agile Consultant at . An innovator at the intersection of Agile practices and personal development, Brian has revolutionized team engagement and performance in various leadership roles. His approach uniquely blends professional growth with personal empowerment, embodying his belief in the transformative power of aligning individual journeys with Agile principles. LinkedIn:   Agile Best Self:   Re-Read Saturday News Chapter 11 of is titled Saving The El Faro. In this final chapter, the author could have just as easily reimagined the outcomes of the Pinto design or the Deepwater Horizon disasters. The theme throughout the book is that Industrial-age thinking fails more often in the age of Knowledge Work.    My final thoughts on this book? Not to put too fine a point on it, this is Marquet’s most important book yet. Use the links below to read all of my final thoughts on and to catch up on previous installments. Week 1: –   Week 2: –   Week 3: –   Week 4: – Week 5: –    Week 6: –   Week 7: –    Week 8: –   Week 9: –   Week 10: –   Week 11: –   Week 12: -   Next week we begin the READ (my first time) of ; which is available at LeanPub.  We re-read Volume I in 2018 () that book was life changing…I am looking forward to Volume II. Learn to Solve IT's Dirtiest Secret! Work input, which includes prioritization and sequencing, is how work gets to an organization or team. If you get it wrong you are throwing time and money away. Simply put, poor work intake means “no agile for you”. Jeremy Willets and I have written tackling the topic that JRoss Publishing will publish in January 2024. In support of the book, we are building a live, workshop-based course for anyone involved in deciding on what work gets completed!  This includes Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Project Managers, Program Managers, and Portfolio Managers - lots of people are involved which is part of the problem! The workshop will cover why work intake is the biggest challenge to teams and organizations today. Attendees will also learn what to do to solve this challenge. This cohort-based course will combine very short lectures, discussions, and exercises. It will provide space to learn and share with peers. We’re using a survey to build a waitlist for the first cohort – link below. We will use the list to alert you when the workshop is available.     Next SPaMCAST  As we celebrate the impending publication of (it is going to the printers very soon) I will continue the discussion of work intake scenarios that bedevil teams and organizations. Controlling work entry is controlling WIP which helps us be our best selves.   We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault bringing his Evolutionary Agilist Column to the cast!

Software Process and Measurement Cast 783 tackles a classic work intake problem, “Do you have the authority to ask for this work?” Work input processes need to vet more than just requirements.  We also have a visit from Jon M Quigley. Jon and I discussed taking control of your personal growth. It is not your organization's responsibility.  Re-Read Saturday News Chapter 10 of is titled, The Red-Blue Operating System. Marquet starts this chapter with the cautionary tale of the Ford Pinto. The chapter highlights the outcome of the industrial approach to leadership going wrong. My wife had a Pinto when we first started dating. It was our only car and we both remember waiting for it to be recalled, even as we drove to work every morning. We discussed the potential of the fuel tank exploding. What we were oblivious to was the reason for the problem. The failure of leadership and the failure of the decision-making model literally sentenced people to death to achieve a goal.   Previous installments of our re-read of (buy a copy)! Week 1: –   Week 2: –   Week 3: –   Week 4: – Week 5: –    Week 6: -   Week 7: -    Week 8: -   Week 9: -   Week 10: -   Week 11: -   Learn to Solve IT's Dirtiest Secret! Work input, which includes prioritization and sequencing, is how work gets to an organization or team. If you get it wrong you are throwing time and money away. Simply put, poor work intake means no agile for you. Jeremy Willets and I have written tackling the topic that JRoss Publishing will publish in January 2024. In support of the book, we are building a live, workshop-based course for anyone involved in deciding on what work gets completed!  This includes Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Project Managers, Program Managers, and Portfolio Managers - lots of people are involved which is part of the problem! The workshop will cover why work intake is the biggest challenge to teams and organizations today. Attendees will also learn what to do to solve this challenge. This cohort-based course will combine very short lectures, discussions, and exercises. It will provide space to learn and share with peers. We’re using a survey to build a waitlist for the first cohort – link below. We will use the list to alert you when the workshop is available.     Next SPaMCAST  Software Process and Measurement Cast 784 will feature our interview with Michaele Gardner and Brian Hackerson. We talked about Agile Best Self and being in control of our agile.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 782 features our conversation with Govind Balu on the importance of data and the concept of data transformations. Data represents the gold rush of the 21st Century! Govind Balu is a visionary entrepreneur and experienced executive with a strong background in leveraging data and AI to drive business growth across different industries. As the Founder and CEO of QuaXigma, he spearheads the company’s vision to transform organizations into data-driven enterprises.  Govind observed that small and medium businesses struggle to effectively extract value from data and are unable to compete in a landscape where larger organizations more effectively leverage AI. Motivated to make data and AI easily accessible to SMBs, Govind founded QuaXigma with a clear mission to develop and deliver solutions that deliver business value by focusing on innovation, customer satisfaction, and strategic consulting. Govind’s LinkedIn Profile:  Email:   Company Website:   Re-Read Saturday News In Chapter 9 of , Marquet provides several examples of using the new plays. As a reminder, the plays in the new playbook are: Control The Clock Collaborate Commit Complete Improve Connect Each play is powerful; however, the combination of the plays is where the real power is.  For example, controlling the clock — calling a pause — allows a person or team time to think. During that pause, if they surface issues that are addressed the post-industrial plays of collaboration and improving are in evidence. Leveraging short iterations so that work can be demonstrated and inspected combines the control the clock, complete, and connect plays. Iterative planning, a hallmark of agile, combines control the clock and commit plays. Use the links below to explore more of the re-read. Previous installments of our re-read of (buy a copy)! Week 1: –   Week 2: –   Week 3: –   Week 4: – Week 5: –    Week 6: -   Week 7: -    Week 8: -   Week 9: -   Week 10: -     Learn to Solve IT's Dirtiest Secret! Work input, which includes prioritization and sequencing, is how work gets to an organization or team. If you get it wrong you are throwing time and money away. Simply put, poor work intake means no agile for you. Jeremy Willets and I have written tackling the topic that JRoss Publishing will publish in January 2024. In support of the book, we are building a live, workshop-based course for anyone involved in deciding on what work gets completed!  This includes Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Project Managers, Program Managers, and Portfolio Managers - lots of people are involved which is part of the problem! The workshop will cover why work intake is the biggest challenge to teams and organizations today. Attendees will also learn what to do to solve this challenge. This cohort-based course will combine very short lectures, discussions, and exercises. It will provide space to learn and share with peers. We’re using a survey to build a waitlist for the first cohort – link below. We will use the list to alert you when the workshop is available.     Next SPaMCAST  Software Process and Measurement Cast 783 will tackle a classic work intake problem, “Did I forget to tell you, the requirements changed?” What happens when you don’t have a clear line to the business to get feedback as you are doing work? Often you get to do things over and over and maybe over again.  We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault bringing his Evolutionary Agilist Coumn to the cast!

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 781 begins with a discussion of prioritization and sequencing. These two ideas often get conflated. Work might be important but if it has predecessors and successors it will require sequencing. You can’t deploy a new piece of hardware unless you have it. The acquisition of the equipment comes before deployment. Not letting teams control or have input into sequencing has consequences. Let us discuss avoiding those negative outcomes. We also have a visit from Keis Kostaqi who returns with her You Are Not Alone column. Keis and I discuss the new Scrum Master that gets thrown to the wolves. Get a coach or risk being eaten? Re-Read Saturday News Chapter 8 is titled, The Enabling Play: Connect. This Chapter begins with the story of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The disaster may have been avoided if a single button had been pushed. The button went unpushed until it was too late because the person did not have permission. Marquet states  “How is it that a person could be more afraid of pushing a button without permission, than dying in a fiery explosion?” Hierarchy above all is a power play from the Industrial Age, a play that remains entrenched in corporate life. Fear supported by steep hierarchies, distorts common sense in environments with a strong culture of control and compliance.  Previous installments of our re-read of  (buy a copy)! Week 1: –   Week 2: –   Week 3: –   Week 4: – Week 5: –    Week 6: -   Week 7: -    Week 8: -   Week 9: -     Learn to Solve IT's Dirtiest Secret! Work input, which includes prioritization and sequencing, is how work gets to an organization or team. If you get it wrong you are throwing time and money away. Simply put, poor work intake means no agile for you. Jeremy Willets and I have written tackling the topic that JRoss Publishing will publish in January 2024. In support of the book, we are building a live, workshop-based course for anyone involved in deciding on what work gets completed!  This includes Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Project Managers, Program Managers, and Portfolio Managers - there are a lot of people involved and that is part of the problem! The workshop will cover why work intake is the biggest challenge to teams and organizations today. Attendees will also learn what to do to solve this challenge. This cohort-based course will combine very short lectures, discussions, and exercises. It will provide space to learn and share with peers. We’re using a survey to build a waitlist for the first cohort – link below. We will use the list to alert you when the workshop is available.  Link to Survey!      Next SPaMCAST  Software Process and Measurement Cast 782 will feature our interview with Govind Balu. We will discuss the importance of data and how organizations are tackling data transformations.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 780 features our interview with Billie Johnson. Our discussion focuses on the role of delivering outcomes and values using agile teams. We also discussed her book, which she co-authored with Kelley Burns.  Re-Read Saturday News The improve play is one of the most powerful aspects of Marquet’s suggested framework. Improve is chapter 7 of . Improve is a time for stepping back from the pressure of getting stuff done to consider whether you are doing the right thing, right. We have spoken about the need to pause, reflect, and replan periodically – this is the heart of the Improve play. Previous installments of our re-read of  (buy a copy)! Week 1: –   Week 2: –   Week 3: –   Week 4: – Week 5: –    Week 6: -   Week 7: -    Week 8: -   Learn to Solve IT's Dirtiest Secret! Work input is how work gets to an organization or team. If you get it wrong you are throwing time and money away. SImply put, poor work intake means no agile for you. Jeremy Willets and I have written a book tackling the topic that will be published by JRoss Publishing in January 2024. In support of the book we are building a live, cohort-based course for Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Project Managers, Program Managers, and Portfolio Managers on taming work intake. The cohort will cover why work intake is the biggest challenge to teams and organizations today. Attendees will also learn what to do to solve this challenge. We’ve held workshops on this topic at conferences. We even have a book coming out in January on this topic. This cohort-based course will combine very short lectures, discussions, and exercises. It will provide space to learn and share with peers. We’re using this survey to build a waitlist for the first cohort:     Next SPaMCAST  Software Process and Measurement Cast 781 wrestles with whether overprioritization’s impact extends beyond poor leadership to bad products. Just because you have a prioritized backlog does not ensure delivering value. We will also have a visit from Keis Kostaqi who returns with her You Are Not Alone column.

Software Process and Measurement Cast 779 wrestles with the question, When prioritization involves overly detailed or excessive control over how someone accomplishes their tasks or when it impedes an employee's ability to make their own decisions it becomes micromanagement. Let's explore and look for a path to healing. We will also have a visit from Susan Parente and her Not A Scrumdamentalist column. Susan talks about her impending sabbatical and why taking a pause can be powerful.  Re-Read Saturday News Complete is the next chapter in . This concept suggests breaking goals into smaller chunks with pauses to think and replan between each. Another solution to over-prioritization and micromanagement. Previous installments of our re-read of  (buy a copy)! Week 1: –   Week 2: –   Week 3: –   Week 4: – Week 5: –    Week 6: -   Week 7: -      A Call to Action! Jeremy Willets and I are building a live, cohort-based course for Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Project Managers, Program Managers, and Portfolio Managers on taming work intake. I wanted to see if you’d be up for sharing it with folks who would find it valuable. The cohort will cover why work intake is the biggest challenge to teams and organizations today. Attendees will also learn what to do to solve this challenge. We’ve held workshops on this topic at conferences. We even have a book coming out in January on this topic. This cohort-based course will combine very short lectures, discussions, and exercises. It will provide space to learn and share with peers. We’re using this survey to build a waitlist for the first cohort:       Next SPaMCAST  The Software Process and Measurement Cast 780 will feature our interview with Billie Johnson. We will discuss her book, which she co-authored with Kelley Burns. We also talked about using business analysis to power agile teams.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 778 marks our return from Iceland.  WICKED trip, great country, great people!  We return with our interview with Bill Fox. Bill and I discussed his new book, , transformation, dialog, listening, and leadership. The many conversations Bill and I have had over the years leave me in a better place.   Bill states, “I believe that the great leaders and companies in the 21st century will go on a Forward Thinking journey and be built from the inside out.’ The world has shifted, and new rules apply. It used to be that you would win by managing change, following best practices, working harder, or even smarter. It was the age of Industrial Thinking and people as profit-producing units. Bill’s LinkedIn Profile Websites (Company) (Personal) (Blog) Email bill@billfox.co   Re-Read Saturday News This week in our re-read of L. David Marquet’s, , Leaving Bluework Behind: Commit. Whether you classify thinking as System Two thinking or bluework, at some point you have to cross the barrier from contemplation to doing. Chapter Five focuses on reducing the barrier between thinking and action.  The process that bridges that barrier is commitment. The author begins the chapter by making the distinction between commitment and coercion.  Previous installments of our re-read of  (buy a copy)! Week 1: –   Week 2: –   Week 3: –   Week 4: – Week 5: –    Week 6: -   Next SPaMCAST  The Software Process and Measurement Cast 779 will wrestle with the question, when is prioritization micro-management? The answer is not straightforward but often can be yes. We will also have a visit from Susan Parente and her Not A Scrumdamentalist column.