Improving the world with software
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Essays on software development, teams and the craft of building things that last.
Essays from 2013
23 essays from 2013
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Why processes fail us, and what to do about it
Organizations go through different levels of maturity as they grow. Some will say that they “learn to perform”, others will say that they “become ossified and slow”, yet others would say that they “mature”. In my view neither of these classifications is accurate, they all touch on possible outcomes of a process of “aging”. Organizations …
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What is Chaos? And how we found out about it…
As he looked at numbers e noticed that the oscillations of his model did not repeat. In fact he entered the numbers again, and again, and again but his model would refuse to behave the same way twice. During our long education we were taught that given the initial state of a system (the present …
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The most valuable question for your software project
Every time a software project is started, a dance starts: the dance of project approval. Decision makers and project delivery team take different positions at a table, some ask questions, others do their best to respond, given that these questions are typically about the future. Some of the questions are so much into the future …
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My secret to flow and a productive day
As I start my day, I have this routine I do. I review all the loose threads that I have in my mind, and write them down (a mindmap, usually). After I write them down I quickly evaluate what are the most important goals for the day. Then I write those goals on a post-it …
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Use #NoEstimates to create options and deliver value reliably
Why do I use #NoEstimates? Certainly the first reason is obvious in the name of this movement. But there are may other reasons. One of the reasons that does not get enough airtime is that it creates more options than using pre-estimated methods to manage software projects. Value is unpredictable, generate options to explore the …
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Which do we need the most, Project Managers or Line Managers?
Should we organize around the delivery of products or along the structure of our organization? Which organizational paradigm is the most effective or efficient? This is a question that most managers struggle with regularly. At least when they are asked to “re-organize” their respective organizations. In Europe (and I suspect elsewhere) this has led to …
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How to change an organization without changing its culture – a breakthrough concept
A few weeks ago while attending #AgileSlovenia I listened to Stephen Parry (aka @LeanVoices) talk about Climate at work, what he called “Work Climate”. He explained that, as he worked with many different organizations, he found that some organization were easier to change than others. Some organizations were able to adapt faster to new ideas, …
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Five signs your meetings are a waste of time!
Ever wondered why you just had a meeting? and what was the value from the time used? Or why meetings are organized the way they are? Here are 5 sure signs that tell you a meeting you just had was a waste of time: Sign 1: The solution/outcome for that meeting is available to everyone …
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Using #NoEstimates when deciding which projects to take on
One of the questions (Part I, Part II) that emerged from the #NoEstimatesQuestions discussion on twitter was: “How do I choose between options or opportunities (without having estimates regarding the cost)?” The thinking goes: I can spend some time doing A or B, but which should I do first? To answer this question we can …
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The #NoEstimates questions, Part II
Last week we did not cover all the questions on #NoEstimates. Twitter gave us a lot more questions than could be listed last week, and even more interesting ones. Read on for the questions and my take on their meaning. How do I choose between options or opportunities (without having estimates regarding the cost)? Choices …
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The #NoEstimates questions, Part I
There’s been a pretty active discussion on #NoEstimates over on twitter. There seems to be a fair ammount of people interested in learning more about how it is applied. Me, I’m interested in developing #NoEstimates further. How? Last week I put out a call for action. I asked people to post questions about #NoEstimates with …
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How Agile is disrupting the Manufacturing Industry #DisruptAllTheThings
When you have spent a few years researching and practicing Agile software development you tend to not be surprised by new developments. I know I wasn’t… until I saw Joe Justice at #ALE13. Joe is working on a project to build a car that will disrupt the automotive industry. You don’t believe me? Well, what …
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