Better ROI from Software Development

Continuing my mini-series on security, I want to talk about passwords. Passwords are historically our ubiquitous method of proving our identity.  In the episode I talk about what happens when you lose control of those passwords ... and how prevalent it is. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/105 Have an idea for an episode topic, or want to see what is comi...

If you're new to thinking about cyber security, in this episode I give you my top 5 recommendations to address in your organisation: Patching Backups No shared credentials Single Sign On (SSO) Solution reviews ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/104 Have an idea for an episode topic, or want to see what is coming up: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/roadmap

In this first of a mini-series on security, I look at why cyber security is so critical. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/103 Have an idea for an episode topic, or want to see what is coming up: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/roadmap

In this episode, I discuss the Theory of Constraints as introduced in the book The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt. Modern software development methodologies (Agile, Lean, DevOps) place a heavy focus on the flow of quality work through the development process - and the continual improvement of that flow. The Theory of Constraints helps us to identify areas of improvement within that flow. Note: I orig...

In this episode, I discuss the Theory of Constraints as introduced in the book The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt. Modern software development methodologies (Agile, Lean, DevOps) place a heavy focus on the flow of quality work through the development process - and the continual improvement of that flow. The Theory of Constraints helps us to identify areas of improvement within that flow. Note: I orig...

Welcome to the 100th episode of the Better ROI from Software Development podcast. In this episode, I introduce the second book that I would recommend to any non-technical CxO. Project to Product by Mik Kersten joins War and Peace and IT by Mark Schwartz on the mandatory reading list for any business leader navigating the modern digital age. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-...

In this episode, I introduce Value Streams and Value Stream Mapping. Value Streams and Value Stream Mapping, I believe, are exceptionally useful tools to help us understand what we're doing, how we are doing it, and where&nbs...

Continuing the conversation on Open Source, in this episode I look at common licences. There are a variety of licences in Open Source - covering legal use and commitments you must abide by.  Like any legal contract, its important that you understand what you're committing too. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/98 Have an idea for an episode topic, or want...

Continuing the conversation on Open Source, in this episode I look at the motivation behind why it exists. Why would individuals, groups and even organisations give up their time, their work, and their intellectual property for free?  ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/97 Have an idea for an episode topic, or want to see what is coming up: https://red-fold...

Open Source is everywhere - in our software, in our servers, and in the services we use every day - and its here to stay. In this episode, I give an introduction to what Open Source is, why its incorrect to think of it as free, and why there needs to be governance to protect your organisation. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/96 Have an idea for an episode to...

Continuing the conversation on Software Application Speed, I look at one of the means of improvement - using a Content Delivery Network (CDN). In this episode I introduce the Content Delivery Network (CDN); how it works, why you would consider it, and the concerns that may come with it. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/95 Have an idea for an episode topic, or...

Continuing the conversation on Software Application Speed, I look at one of the means of improvement - Caching. In this episode I introduce Caching - how prevalent it is within modern computing, why we use it in software development, the pros and cons, the dangers of staleness, and why its an important business decision. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/94 Ha...

Continuing the conversation on Software Application Speed, I look at one of the means of improvement - Website Performance Optimisation. In this episode I introduce Website Performance Optimisation - what it is, why we do it and how to make a start. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/93 Have an idea for an episode topic, or want to see what is coming up: https:...

Continuing the conversation on Software Application Speed, I look at one of the means of improvement - User Experience Design. In this episode I introduce User Experience Design, its subset User Interface Design and how they can help your users get things done easier, with less frustration, and greater efficiency.  ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/92 Hav...

Speed of our software applications is rarely considered until it becomes a problem.  In this episode I talk about why speed it important in all of our software application - not just the consumer facing ones. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/91 Have an idea for an episode topic, or want to see what is coming up: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/roadmap

Following on from last week's introduction into Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), I wanted to provide my advice how to avoid the bad and the ugly of the industry. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/90 Have an idea for an episode topic, or want to see what is coming up: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/roadmap

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is seen as highly desirable for driving traffic to your website. In this episode I address the myth of SEO being "free traffic" and provide my thoughts on avoiding the bad and the ugly of SEO advice. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/89 Have an idea for an episode topic, or want to see what is coming up: https://red-folder.com/...

Have you ever come across a website or mobile app that occasionally takes time to reflect changes? This maybe due to Eventual Consistency - a side-effect of decisions being made by technologists over the CAP Theorem. Import decisions that the business must be, but often aren't, aware of. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/88 Have an idea for an episode topic, o...

In episode 83, I had a long chat with Trevor Ewen about how he provides software service to non-technical clients. If you've not listened to it, it was an excellent interview full of wonderful insights. So much so that I want to pull a number of topics from that podcast and look at them in more depth. In this episode, I want to look at the value of meeting agendas. ----- Find this episodes show no...

In episode 83, I had a long chat with Trevor Ewen about how he provides software service to non-technical clients. If you've not listened to it, it was an excellent interview full of wonderful insights. So much so that I want to pull a number of topics from that podcast and look at them in more depth. In this episode, I want to look at using Video for Rapid Feedback ----- Find this episodes show n...

In episode 83, I had a long chat with Trevor Ewen about how he provides software service to non-technical clients. If you've not listened to it, it was an excellent interview full of wonderful insights. So much so that I want to pull a number of topics from that podcast and look at them in more depth. In this episode, I want to look at the regular software releases. ----- Find this episodes show n...

In episode 83, I had a long chat with Trevor Ewen about how he provides software service to non-technical clients. If you've not listened to it, it was an excellent interview full of wonderful insights. So much so that I want to pull a number of topics from that podcast and look at them in more depth. In this episode, I want to look at the SLA ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-fo...

In this episode I talk to Trevor Ewen about providing software solutions to the non-technical buyer. Trevor shares with us his experience on who a non-technical buyer is, why he enjoys working with them, how they differ from the technical buyer, along with advice on how to get the best out of the relationship. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/83 Have an idea...

This episode is based on LinkedIn poll which asked the question: " Will you be judging jobseekers on whether or not they were furloughed during the pandemic? " I talk about my own response to the question and explore reasons why a "yes" response may be provided. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/82 Have an idea for an episode topic, or want to see what is comi...

Completing my mini-series on the Scrum Framework, I wanted to talk about the dangers of misunderstanding Scrum. Scrum is deceptively simple to understand - but difficult to implement.  It can be too easy to misunderstand or mis-implement Scrum; only to be left wondering why it is so recommended. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/81 Have an idea for an epi...