Context is the Only Absolute
Particularly in the software world, we are inundated by absolutes. Someone will argue that one platform is always the best, someone else will unequivocally state that outsourcing never works. Always this, never that: a barrage of absolute positions that take on the fervor of religious debate. I have learned that the only right answer really is “it depends”, in every situation save one. There is only one absolute: that everything else depends on a clear, common understanding of the context of the situation. Read more
What's In a Name?
One of the products I offer that has been in most demand is software requirements training. A great course to deliver, with lots of information about the things that you could do (if the situation warranted) in software projects. Certainly not dogmatic or pitching a particular approach, one of the key messages is to consider your product, culture and environment, and choose accordingly. Over the years, though, I would sometimes get some pushback along the lines of “we do hardware (or firmware, or drivers…), this isn’t relevant for us”. I disagree. Read more
DIY
As our team size grows, we compartmentalize ourselves into more and more specific roles: project manager, scrum master, developer, tester, a wide range of others. With this often comes the assumption that each role has the responsibility to produce specific products or artifacts: a project schedule, a specification, the product of our roles. Problems arise when we take that assumption to mean that we are the sole proprietors of the products of our roles: that we have the responsibility of doing it ourselves. Read more
Choosing Approaches Below the Project Level
In the book Artful Making, by Rob Austin (who also wrote Measuring and Managing Performance in Organizations) and Lee Devlin, the authors present similarities between how a theatre company prepares for a performance and how agile software teams do their job. The authors identify a number of parallels, but I am most impressed in how they are careful to repeatedly make the point that the approach is not appropriate in all situations. In reflecting on what the authors say, it is possible that no one approach is correct or sufficient for any project. Read more
