Misguided Consistency
In almost every process improvement initiative I have seen, whether based on some sort of guidance (such as CMMI, ISO, RUP, Scrum, or…pick your favourite) or not, there is significant emphasis on standardization of process. PMO implementations usually provide a process binder, maybe a bunch of templates to complete on each project. Often, the people that drive these implementations see the job as done once these ‘deliverables’ are delivered. All this consistency is completely misguided. Read more
Looking Forward
Filed under: Agility, Leadership, Process, Quality, Teamwork
As usual, heading down to Portland for the PNSQC conference this week provided me with a great deal of food for thought. This year, more than ever, I see signs that this industry might finally be maturing, getting over some of the bickering and posturing that seems to characterize the software sector more than anywhere else. Read more
Hardly a Silver Bullet
We’ve been collecting data on a number of teams over the years, and now have responses from close to 800 participants. The questions cover demographics, practices and performance, and are designed to understand what is going on, not to pitch a particular approach or practice. I thought it would be interesting to compare the results from those that claim they are using agile approaches against those using other industry frameworks. Read more
Attacking Technical Debt
Two of the artifacts of incremental or iterative development are that you tend to use scaffolding as you go to prop up the product, and you tend to build similar capabilities in several different locations. Over time these can add up to quite a bit of cruft, or technical debt. Read more
The 5 Biggest Team Delusions
Filed under: Agility, Process, Project management, Teamwork
Over the years, there are a number of statements that I hear that make me step back for a moment. Some are relatively new, some have been around as long as I can remember, but every one of these, in my experience, usually means something very different (and less effective) than what the words might indicate. I’m sure there are more, but this is a start. Read more
À la Carte
It is common in many French restaurants to highlight a table d’hôte on the menu, which literally means ‘host’s table’. Most will simply go with this option, but my preference is usually to pick and choose to find the meal that suits me best, to order à la carte. My experience with development processes and software companies is quite similar. Read more
Feet to the Fire
In recent years, there have been several movements in software development that would suggest that we wait until the latest possible moment to make decisions, so as to avoid or delay the associated costs of change that would seem inevitable if we decide too early. Read more
Finding Time
I spent a couple of days last week up in Campbell River, working with a group at their very isolated location there, going through tips on personal productivity. Whenever I run that program, I am reminded of tips that I had forgotten myself, and get a bit of a boost myself. Read more
Blurring the Boundaries
We have been running our own small business for more than 7 years now, and from most accounts, everything is running quite smoothly. While the pipeline has thinned a little as training budgets are slashed, there are indications that even this is turning around. Receivables have been very good, something that I would attribute to personally knowing who cuts the cheque in most places (the biggest challenges have come from the biggest vendors, where I am an anonymous ‘little guy’ with no apparent clout, but I have my ways to get things done there as well…). There remains one area that I struggle with – the traditional boundaries of the workplace. Read more
Agile Hype: VanDev Podcast
There is no single development, in either technology or management technique, which by itself promises even one order-of-magnitude improvement within a decade in productivity, in reliability, in simplicity. – Fred Brooks, from his No Silver Bullet essay
It has been almost 8 years since seventeen men got together in Utah to craft the Agile Manifesto. Since then, depending on who you listen to, agile practices have either totally turned the software industry around, or we are witnessing the latest attempt at defining that silver bullet. Read more
