Software Process And Measurement Cast

SPaMCAST 502 features our interview Marcus Hammarberg.  Marcus returns to talk about his new book Salvation: The Bungsu Story (https://amzn.to/2u1ndYs).  The story provides a real-life example of how agile can save the world — or at least part of it. This is one of the most important and inspirational interviews I have done.   Marcus’s bio: For 15 years Marcus Hammarberg has been doing agile and lean software development and helping others do it. He has worked in many different settings, from big banks and insurance companies to start-ups and within retail. At one big insurance company, the first agile team, started by Marcus, eventually spread to a lean initiative across the business. As a consultant, Marcus helps individuals, teams, and whole organizations improve their value delivery flow. Marcus is still a keen programmer and continues to practice and teach the concepts that helped him become a good programmer: TDD, Specification by example, functional programming and Node. Marcus is a keynote speaker an

SPaMCAST 501 features our essay on Agile Metrics. Progress is easy to visualize when we use the yardstick of calendar time. My wife and I spent 17 days in Europe. There are 177 shopping days until Christmas (as of July 1, 2018) — I expect presents this year. How long it takes to deliver a piece of work, in days, is something nearly every human can understand. Over the past few months, I have been cataloging questions I have heard. Well over 70% of work-related questions center on how long a piece of work will take and whether the answer to that question has value. Cycle time metrics are ways to generate answers to ‘how long’ questions in a manner that is valuable and predictable. Our second column features Jeremy Berriault.  In the QA Corner, Jeremy and I discussed the idea of self-reliance rather than using third-party testing organizations.  Or when you have to use third parties for testing, Jeremy provides advice on getting the most out of your third party. Anchoring the cast is Susan Parente. Susan discus

Show 500!  SPaMCAST 001 went live on Sunday January 28, 2007 at 9:28 PM - it has been a great journey from then to now!  The first interview was a two-parter with Will McKnight. Give it a listen at https://bit.ly/2lryNaC.    Show 500, SPaMCAST 500, Episode 500, #500  (I will probably say that 500 more times this week) features our interview with Marcus Blankenship.  Marcus and I talked teams and what makes a team good. We also discussed who owns the behaviors and values of a team. Team are core to most software development, enhancements, and maintenance. Understanding how teams work and how to make them work better makes ABSOLUTE sense.  Marcus provides great thoughts and advice on agile teams. I am thrilled that Marcus joined the SPaMCAST family on show 500! Marcus helps CTO’s fire-up their dev teams by creating an environment where everyone can fully participate in problem solving.  He helps great engineers become the great leader that their team deserves. Links: Join Marcus's list for articles on leading d

SPaMCAST 499 will feature our essay on trust and coaching. Coaches are among most effective tools used to help teams improve. In SPaMCAST 496 – Sam Laing I highlighted the need for trust between a coach and the team or person they are coaching. Without trust, a coach will not be very effective.  Two powerful and related tools! In the rocker as they call it stock car racing is Wolfram Müller. Wolfram co-authored Hyper-Productive Knowledge Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach with Steve Tendon.  We talk about Chapter 23 titled Reliable Scrum and Reliable Kanban. Wolfram can be found on LinkedIn at https://bit.ly/2qXvgnw Anchoring the cast is the Software Sensei, Kim Pries.  Kim discusses software safety. Tools and software languages can have a major impact on software safety and all of our lives depend on software these days! Re-Read Saturday News In week 14 of our re-read of L. David Marquet’s Turn the Ship Around!  we begin Part IV of Turn The Ship Around and tackle chapter 21. The first three parts of the

SPaMCAST 498 features our interview John Kordyback.  Agile is more than just Scrum or a bunch values. Agile has a technical side that can’t be ignored. This week, John and I have a wide-ranging conversation covering the technical side of agile, the impact of tools on principles, and the difference in agile approaches for systems of engagement and systems of record. Bio: John Kordyback is a Principal Consultant with ThoughtWorks leading technology transformations and applying lean principles within complex enterprises. He is a strong advocate for applying the lean delivery and operational practices found in the Devops and Evolutionary Architecture movements to gain more value from existing technology investments. John has worked in insurance, telecommunications, commodity and securities trading, high tech, energy, and the airline industries. Before his technology career, John worked as a researcher and practitioner for people with disabilities. Email: jkordyba@thoughtworks.com Twitter: @jkordyback Re-Read Sat

SPaMCAST 497 features our essay on micromanagement.  Micromanagement is a bane to employees that fall under a micromanager’s control. If you ask any manager if they think micromanagement is useful they will tell you no.  The problem is that many managers still do it and then rationalize the behavior. We also welcome back Dr. Susan Parente, with her “Not a Scrumdamentalist” column.  In this installment, Susan discusses using hybrid agile methods to deliver value. The message is that the development approach needs to meld with the organization's culture. Gene Hughson brings the cast home with another entry from his Form Follows Function blog.  In this installment Gene discusses his essay, Getting a handle on IT costs by eliminating chargebacks?  IT costs are a chronic problem. Ideas for getting a handle on costs are always useful. Re-Read Saturday News In week twelve of the re-read of L. David Marquet’s Turn the Ship Around!  (Buy your copy now).  This week we tackle Underway for San Diego and All Present and

SPaMCAST 496 features our interview with Sam Laing.  Sam and I talked about coaching agile teams. The goal of coaching is to help people unleash their inner power.  We also touch on the difference between coaching and mentoring. They are different and require different approaches but both are useful! Sam’s Bio - Sam writes: Samantha Laing (@samlaing) My personal motto is ‘be brave’, and I embody this by taking on challenges one small step at a time. Most of my career has been in the IT industry, specifically Software Development. Nowadays I find myself guiding and mentoring others with a passion for agile. This year my focus has been on experimenting and learning from my failures (and successes) – what a great journey so far. Contact Sam at: sam@growingagile.co.za www.growingagile.co.za Re-Read Saturday News In week eleven of the re-read of L. David Marquet’s Turn the Ship Around!  (Buy Your Copy Now).  This week we begin Part III of the book and add two more mechanisms to our tool belt.  This week the two c

SPaMCAST 495 features our essay titled, The Definition of Done: Simplicity and Complexity Revisited. The Definition of Done is an important agile technique to help teams plan and execute work. The simplest definition of the Definition of Done is the criteria that a work product must meet to be considered to be complete. While the concept is simple, the implementation of the technique in the real world is rarely simple. Both context and interpretations make things just a bit gray! Our second column features Jon M Quigley’s column, The Alpha and Omega of Product Development. In this installment Jon and I discussed Muda, waste, and whether failed innovations are waste. Kim Pries, the Software Sensei, contributes his essay Kanban to the Kanban Power.  Kim talks about using kanban to guide and control work both in the workplace and at home.     Re-Read Saturday News In week ten of the re-read of L. David Marquet’s Turn the Ship Around!  (Buy Your Copy Now) we add two more mechanisms for control and complete part t

SPaMCAST 494 features our interview with Alan Mallory.  We discussed his book The Family That Conquered Everest (https://amzn.to/2Iiz3Tc).  The book provides strong lessons on leadership and teamwork in an environment where failure can lead to death or worse!  Danger, mountaineering, and leadership in a single interview; a first for the Software Process and Measurement Cast. Alan’s Bio Alan Mallory is an international speaker, author and performance coach who is passionate about leadership and human performance. A graduate from Queen's University, he has worked internationally with large organizations as a professional engineer and project manager. Living and working abroad has given Alan the opportunity to deepen his understanding of individual and team challenges, better appreciate cultural diversity and successfully adapt to different organizational structures. Through his work and life experiences, he has discovered that his true passion is helping people reach new heights by cultivating effective ways of

SPaMCAST 493 features our essay titled Thoughts on Kaizen. The punchline is that the goal of continuous improvement is to help teams to eliminate waste (Muda, Muri, Mura), while improving an organization’s capability to deliver value. Our second column features Jeremy Berriault.  In this installment of the QA Corner (https://qacorner.blog/).  Jeremy and I talked about his upcoming appearance at QAI Quest. Jeremy is talking about TDD test cases and participating in the Managers Solutions Workshop.   Anchoring the cast is Wolfram Müller. Wolfram co-authored Hyper-Productive Knowledge Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach with Steve Tendon.  We talk about Chapter 22 titled In Practice with Scrum.  Wolfram can be found on LinkedIn at https://bit.ly/2qXvgnw Re-Read Saturday News In week eight of the re-read of L. David Marquet’s Turn the Ship Around! we discuss chapters 10 and 11, titled Under Way on Nuclear Power and  I Intend To . . .”. Current Installment: Week 8: Under Way on Nuclear Power and ”I Intend To

Software Process and Measurement Cast 492 features our recent interview with Murali Chemuturi.  Murali and I discussed his new book tilted Software Design: A Comprehensive Guide to Software Development Projects (Link https://amzn.to/2qMAgKW).  Murali makes a strong case that design can’t be purely emergent.  Design impacts usability, security and data architecture to name just a few areas. Practical advice and strong opinions. Note Murali and I co-authored Mastering Software Project Management (buy a copy!) https://amzn.to/2F5LWxB). Murali’s Bio Murali Chemuturi is an information technology and software development subject matter expert, hands-on programmer, author, consultant and trainer. Since 2001, he is offering consultancy on information technology and training to organizations in India and USA from Chemuturi Consultants. Chemuturi Consultants also offers a number of products to aid project managers and software development professionals such as PMPal, a software project management tool; and EstimatorPal

Software Process and Measurement Cast 491 features our essay titled, Can “Done” Be Allowed To Break Production?  The most succinct answer to the question is always no, the story is not done. The reason is that the story is not implementable, and unless the goal of the story is to blow up production and anger customers it can’t be considered to be done. Susan Parente brings her Not a Scrumdamentalist column to the cast this week.  Susan discusses Kanban for You and Me.  The discussion focuses on personal Kanban and how to use it to guide your day to day activities effectively and efficiently. Kim Pries, the Software Sensi, anchors the cast this week.  Kim’s essay is titled Real Software Quality.  In this column, Kim warns us of the dangers of interventionism on quality. Re-Read Saturday News In week six of the re-read of L. David Marquet’s Turn the Ship Around! we tackle chapter 7, titled I Relieve You. I am breaking the two chapter pattern to layup so that we can have a clean start the second part of the book

Software Process and Measurement Cast 490 features a return visit from Michael West.  Michael West is the author of Return On Process (ROP): Getting Real Performance Results from Process Improvement and Real Process Improvement Using the CMMI! [LINKS] Michael and I talked process improvement and how process improvement translates to the bottom line.  Mr West originally appeared on the SPaMCAST 308 [https://bit.ly/2ITlKsf] Michael’s bio: Michael West is a life-long practitioner and student of process improvement. He is the co-founder of Natural Systems Process Improvement (Natural SPI), a consultancy specializing in designing, developing, and deploying process systems that enable measurable business performance improvement gains. Mr. West’s process insights and innovations have helped many organizations in various sectors of the economy achieve real process and performance improvement. His process consulting clients include ATK, Autodesk, AVL, BAE, BB&T, Crane Aerospace, DCS, Deloitte, Sandia National Labs

SPaMCAST 489 features our essay titled, Lean: The Science and Art of a Gemba Walk Deciding on the purpose and scope of a Gemba walk is part science and part art. The part that is science is driven by measurement and observation of the organization’s value stream(s). The art is applied to decide where to look to begin with and in the empathy, you apply during the walk! Our second column features Jon M Quigley who brings his Alpha and Omega of Product Development to the cast.  In this segment, we discuss agile development. Jon’s previous column considered agile culture. Listen to SPaMCAST 483 (https://bit.ly/2GHzI41).   Gene Hughson of Form Follows Function anchors the cast.  He discusses his great article, There is no right way (though there are plenty of wrong ones) (https://bit.ly/2EsNqlj) Gene suggests “After all, at the end of the day, if there were only one right way to design a system, would anyone need an architect?” Re-Read Saturday News In week four of the re-read of L. David Marquet’s Turn the Ship

SPaMCAST 488 features our interview with Prem Ranganath. Prem and I discussed why organizations need to focus on innovation and excellence.  The topic might sound trite; however, making innovation and excellence happen is hard. Prem provides examples and advice from the real world. Prem is responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive quality strategy for product engineering covering people, process, tools and an enabling culture at Trilliant Networks.  Prem takes an intrapreneurial approach to empowering Trilliant’s customers by enabling lean, agile solution delivery and a culture of quality. He enjoys working with teams to solve problems using design thinking and experimentation. In 2017, Prem was the Capability Challenge champion and is a member of ASQ’s Influential Voices program. Company URL: www.trilliant.com   Linked-In: linkedin.com/in/premranganath Twitter: @pgranganath Re-Read Saturday News We continue the re-read of L. David Marquet’s Turn the Ship Around! This week we tackle Chapters

SPaMCAST opens with our essay, Don’t Shortcut Shu Ha Ri. Recently I have been thinking about just how rigorously practitioners need to follow the processes, methods, and frameworks, and when it makes sense to tweak processes to fit the culture. Learn and practice first, then decide how to tweak agile, Scrum or any framework to your culture. The results will be better. Our second column will introduce a new column from Susan Parente titled, “I Am Not A Scrumdamentalist.”  Susan originally appeared on SPaMCAST 344 -- http://bit.ly/2GDl6Px  Note: The material provided by Susan Parente, is copyright of Susan Parente and may not be used without her specific consent.   Our final column in the SPaMCAST 487 features the Software Sensi, Kim Pries.  In this column, Kim talks about what works and does not work. (I had originally scheduled Jon M Quigley this week, however, I took the wrong hard drive on the road this week). Re-Read Saturday News This week we explore the forward and the introduction of L. David Marquet’s

SPaMCAST 486 features our interview with Daniel S. Vacanti.  Mr. Vacanti is the author of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction.  We discussed the concepts in the book, answered a question from Steven Adams, and talked about his new book.  It was great to talk about a book with the author after the re-read. Daniel Vacanti’s Bio: Daniel Vacanti is a 20-plus year software industry veteran who has spent most of his career focusing on Lean and Agile practices.  In 2007, he helped to develop the Kanban Method for knowledge work and managed the world’s first project implementation of Kanban that year.  He has been conducting Lean-Agile training, coaching, and consulting ever since. In 2011 he founded ActionableAgileTM (previously Corporate Kanban) which provides industry-leading predictive analytics tools and services organizations that utilize Lean-Agile practices.  In 2015 he published his book, “Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability”, which is the definitive guide to flow-based metr

SPaMCAST 485 features essay titled “A Simple Checklist for Choosing a Mentor.” Everyone needs a mentor, but they are hard to find, and even when you find someone willing they might not be the right person!  Enter: a checklist! Blog entries (in case you would rather read the entries) in our recent coaching/mentor theme include: A Mentor or Coach: Which Do You Need? A Checklist A Simple Checklist for Choosing a Mentor Attributes of a Good Mentor Coaching versus Mentoring In the second spot this week, Jeremy Berriault will bring his QA Corner to the cast. We will discuss trusting your team. Trust is a huge deal, and unless it goes both ways it is not really trust.  FYI - Jeremy has recently moved the QA Corner to https://qacorner.blog/ Rounding out the cast, Kim Pries, the Software Sensei will return with the second part of his essay titled “Muddling Through.” The essay is based on the article, “The Science of “Muddling Through” by Charles E. Lindblom.  The article was originally published in 1959, but it st

SPaMCAST 484 features our interview with Andriy Bas of UPTech.  Andriy and his partner have created a firm that has truly embraced the ideas of agile, Teal and holacracy to create a highly productive, collaborative and safe workspace. We discussed the impact of the environment on satisfaction, quality, and productivity.  We also discussed whether or not this type of approach works for all people. Andriy Bass an entrepreneur, programmer, reader and marathon runner. Andriy is a co-founder and Team Lead of the IT-company UPTech. The company is known for their unique culture - radical transparency, horizontal hierarchy, self-management. Andriy believes that healthy culture and teamwork is the foundation for any successful business and that the best client service starts with taking care of your team. The true creativity and human potential can also be fully unleashed only in the autonomous self-managed environment. Links: My twitter: https://twitter.com/bass_andriy My facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bass.andri

SPaMCAST 483 will feature our essay on measuring the value delivered by agile. The essay begins: “Organizations and teams come to agile—for that matter, any concept, framework or technique—for a wide variety of reasons.  Even if we are just the keeping up with the neighbors, we need feedback to know if we have met our goal.  We need feedback because—to quote Paul Gibbons, author of The Science of Successful Organizational Change (Re-read Saturday)—“we confuse what we think ought to work” with what does work (quote from SPaMCAST 480).” Four Agile Value Entries: Does Agile Deliver Measurable Value? Measuring the Value of Agile Does Agile Deliver Value? You Can Prove it! Measuring The Impact of Change: An Example Our second column features Steve Tendon who brings his Tame The Flow: Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Application to Scrum and Kanban  (buy a copy here) to the cast.  Today we complete our discussion of Chapter 21.  We have spent extra time on chapters 20 a