Are your clients reading your documents?
I was working at a client a few years back. Lets call this client Futz Inc. Futz was building a very complex application that was getting ready to go into the construction phase. Just as the...
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Don't have enough time to do a task - Time Box it
We have all faced with the situation where there is too much to do an not enough time to do it. Sometimes the technique of Time Boxing can save the day.Time Boxing is useful when you have tasks like...
View ArticleAutomated Builds - Test Driven Development
IntroductionYour development process can be improved if you automate your build process and implement some form of test driven development. All of us have been on projects where the integration phase...
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Manage your time using the Agile Technique of Kanban
I have read two blogs recently that I found very informative and caused me to change the way I work.Jim Riviello’s blog titled Less is more discusses the importance of identifying what you should work...
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Be a Flashlight
As the year ends, I thought I would like to stand back and review why agile is so powerful. Using an agile approach manages many of the challenges we face in the delivery of software. By following a...
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Watch out for Smells It may be Limburger Cheese but …
As an Agile Coach or Scrum Master, a critical part of your job is to keep an eye or nose open for smells. A smell is an indication that something May be wrong. Everything may be ok, but then again,...
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Use Skype Groups to Improve Team Communications
What I love about my job is that I have the opportunity to work with many teams. From time to time, I learn something that is so good; it changes the way I work. The team I am currently working with...
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The Agile Manifesto is Misunderstood
The Agile Manifesto was authored in 2001 at a ski lodge in Utah. A group of software experts got together and re-imagined how software should be delivered. They came up with four general guidelines and...
View ArticleServant Leadership
We have moved from the command and control project manager approach of delivering software to a more coaching role. Here are a few guiding principles that are moving us in this direction:People...
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The Product Backlog and How to Manage Your Way Out
The Product Backlog contains a prioritized list of the Features we wish to build. The Product Owner works with the Customer to develop and prioritize the backlog.Features are broken into User Stories...
View ArticleAn Agile Perspective Why Bother
I thought I would step back a bit for this blog post and revisit the reason why we are even doing this. Why completely change the way we deliver software? So, in this article, we will discuss some of...
View ArticleExploring Three Agile Principles - Design Excellence
This article explores three of the Agile Manifesto Principlesthat I have categorized as Design Excellence.If we hope to maximize an agile approach we need to design and build excellent software...
View ArticleFor 90 Seconds You Have Little Control - After That it is up to You !
I learned something very interesting this week at my therapist. She told me that scientific studies have found that when a person is exposed to negative emotional situations like anger, surprise or...
View ArticleFree or Almost Free Software to Run Your Business
It is a challenge these days to start a small business and get it up and running. This article provides information and links to vendors who provide free or almost free cloud based software.Many...
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Some Considerations for Cross Functional Teams
The typical goal of forming Cross Functional Teams is to compose a team with a set of skills that are individually balanced and that meet the needs of the Product being developed. In Scrum, the term...
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Agile and Geographically Separate Teams
It is common these days to have delivery teams who are geographically separate. This may occur because offshore resources have been selected for cost saving purposes or simply because teams are split...
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Scaling Agile - What does this even mean?
I have been thinking about this topic for some time. A tweet from @MooneyDev asking for my thoughts on an article written by @jbandi prompted me to write this article. Mr. Bandi’s article, Why I Don't...
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Why a Chicken Farmer is Like a Corporate Re-Org
A chicken farmer is driving down the road in a truck. All of his chickens are comfortable sitting on their roosts in the back of the truck. They are happy and content in their place. They know the...
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Improve Your Process Using Kanban
Kananban was developed in the late 1940's by Taiichi Onho at Toyota to improve Toyota's production process. It is important to note, this had nothing to do with software, it was all about managing...
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Global SCRUM GATHERING® New Orleans 2014 - The Team
I just returned from the Scrum Alliance Global Scrum Gathering in New Orleans. This was an excellent conference and I learned many new things. Also, practices that I use regularly were expanded and...
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