Software Process and Measurement Cast

SPaMCAST 571 features our essay titled the Art of Saying No. I recently presented a workshop on saying no -- a simple word that is very difficult to say. During the session, three specific reasons why participants could not say no generated a huge debate. Today we ask you to decide how you feel about the impact of a history of performance, interruptions, and demands. Feel free to share your opinio...

SPaMCAST 570 features our essay on the components of good sprint goals. Sprint goals provide direction and energy, and they communicate with the outside world. A sprint goal should be a straightforward statement that a product owner should be able to craft quickly and then agree upon with a team. We provide a structure to keep goals simple and impactful. We will also have a visit from Susan Parent...

SPaMCAST 569 features our essay on the five types of meetings. Meetings are the most important event in any organization — well that is what it seems like. It can also be said that meetings are the bane of every human that isn't buying or selling something (and that caveat might be an overstatement). Let's put a name on the five most common types in software-centric organizations. We will also hav...

This week in SPaMCAST 568 marks the return of Sandeep Koorse. Sandeep brings deep insight into the Agile mindset, passion, and experimentation. All three are required for a healthy team. Sandeep last appeared as part of SPaMCAST 511. Sandeep is an innovative leader with over 15 years of experience in helping companies achieve higher results through a careful evaluation of their processes and their...

This week in SPaMCAST 567 we discuss the impact of herding on work entry. Herding in decision making effectively takes "no" off the table, leading to uncontrolled work entry. This type of behavior is response-driven and dangerous. We will also have a visit from Gene Hughson to complete his three-part discussion of the solution architect. Today we discuss the solution architect as risk mitigation....

SPaMCAST 566 features our interview with Christopher Gerg. Security issues can range from clicking on the wrong thing in emails to ransomware and is painful and costly. Security might be everybody's responsibility however someone needs to lead the charge. Our conversation covered the role of the CISO in today's organization, security in software development, and cybersecurity in the real world. Ch...

The dates for the third Agile Online Summit is getting close! If history is a harbinger, Tom Henricksen will serve up marvelous content for all agile practitioners in easily consumed chunks. I hope to "see" you there! Watch the video and then sign up at https://www.agileonlinesummit.com/2019 October 7 -11th online!

SPaMCAST 565 tackles three ways to mess up sprint goals. Sprint goals are a statement of the value that teams strive to deliver. It is possible to complete all of the stories or work items only to realize that the team has lost sight of the goal. Alternately, it is possible to meet the goal and not complete all of the stories. We also have a promo for the Agile Online Summit https://www.agileonlin...

SPaMCAST 564 is part 2 of my conversation with Steve Tendon and Daniel Dioron. We discussed their new book Tame Your Work Flow. Steve and Danie ask the question "Do you need a high-performance enterprise management & governance approach improving planning, execution, and delivery while dealing with multiple projects, events, stakeholders and teams?", the book and the interview probes potential ans...

SPaMCAST 563 is part one of my conversation with Steve Tendon and Daniel Dioron. We discussed their new book Tame Your Work Flow. Steve and Daniel share deep insights into applying Goldratt's Theory of Constraints in the real world. After you have listened to the conversation you will never view the flow of work as an esoteric topic. Steve, Daniel, and I had a wide-ranging conversation, I decided...

SPaMCAST 562 features our essay on the power of saying no. I firmly believe that unless you have control over the amount of work you take, you are asking for a trainwreck. The problem is that saying no is often harder than being late or over budget. We will also have a visit from the Software Sensei. Kim Pries is back to kick off September with an essay titled, Real Planning. While the actual plan...

In SPaMCAST 561 we discuss making the Daily Scrum work for the mission it was intended. When a Daily Scrum or daily stand-up is not used for micro-planning and collaborating to achieve the team's goal, they are occurring for a reason. Those meetings are scratching some other itch than planning, an itch that however unagile is often defended. When the goal of a daily meeting is something other than...

In SPaMCAST 560 we complete our wide-ranging interview with Al Shalloway. We continue our conversations about the troubles dogging classic agile, the Agile Industrial Complex, using a scientific approach to change, and FLEX. I recommend that you listen to SPaMCAST 559 before listening to this week's podcast Mr. Shalloway's bio: Al Shalloway is the creator of FLEX (FLow for Enterprise Transformatio...

SPaMCAST 559 part one of our interview with Al Shalloway. I am breaking two guidelines this week. First, rarely do I bring guests back so quickly. And secondly, I have not broken an interview into two parts for 7 years (ish). The conversation with Al was full of huge ideas, s, concepts, and calls to action cutting any of the content did not make sense. Al and I talked about about the troubles dogg...

SPaMCAST 558 features our essay Story Points – Leave Them, Don't Love Them. Story Points are not evil and they may be useful in some circumstances. But like most tools, at some point, they lose focus. They have outlived their usefulness, therefore, I will leave them when at all possible. This week, Jeremy Berriault brings his QA Corner to the podcast. We talked about focus. How much focus is enoug...

SPaMCAST 557 features our interview with Jorgen Hesselberg. We talked about his book Unlocking Agility, assessing agility, and whether leadership and structure lead culture when adopting an agile mindset. It is a thought-provoking and fun interview. Jorgen's irrepressible nature shines through even when tackling tough topics! Jorgens Bio: "Jorgen Hesselberg is the author of Unlocking Agility and c...

SPaMCAST 556 features our essay on Socratic Questioning. Questions are a critical tool that every coach, mentor or leader uses to help shape and improve the performance of those they interact with — I don't think this statement should surprise anyone. That said, pushing past the concept of just asking questions, Socratic questioning is a formal and disciplined approach to getting the person answer...

SPaMCAST 555 features our essay applying a simple filter to determine whether an interaction or event is collaborative. In this essay we put the simple four attribute model we introduced in SPaMCAST 554 to use. Collaboration is an important tool, so let's recognize what is or isn't collaboration and stop calling everything collaboration. We will also have a visit from the Software Sensei, Kim Prie...

SPaMCAST 554 features our essay on the misuse of the word 'collaboration'. Collaboration is a hallmark of agile techniques, but people confuse collaboration with many other forms of interactions. When that happens everyone gets confused and disheartened. In order to stop the cycle, we identify four attributes to help recognize collaboration. We'll also hear from Gene Hughson who brings his Form Fo...

SPaMCAST 553 features our interview with Jim Benson. Jim and I focused on prioritization and how prioritization can be a reflection of more deep-seated problems. One of the ideas Jim shares is that processes are the social contract for getting work done. I really enjoy talking with Jim and think you will enjoy the conversation. During the close of the interview, Jim talks about Modus Cooperandi's...

SPaMCAST 552 features our essay on the idea of "fit for purpose" and its impact on the definition of quality. Even if you don't deliver any defects, not being fit for purpose wipes quality off the board. BOOM! (Rather read the essay? http://bit.ly/2wZxkxX) In the second spot this week, Jon M Quigley delivers with his Alpha and Omega of Product Development! In this installment, Jon discusses the ne...

SPaMCAST 551 features our interview with Michael (Mike) Lynn. Mike and I talked about leadership and agile. Leadership is important any time two or more people get together to pursue a goal. Mike shares his expertise, experience, and wisdom to help shine a light on the relationship between agile and leadership. Mike's Bio Mike Lynn is a seasoned learning/leadership/organizational development profe...

SPaMCAST 550 features our essay titled, Intertwining Conway's Law And Agile. Conway's Law trains a spotlight on how an organization's structure impacts the product they ship. The "Law" states that the structure of a software product will mimic the structure of the organization that produces the software. It can (and has) been said that you are shipping the "org structure." How you are structured t...

SPaMCAST 549 features our essay Seven Issues Testers Experience Being Agile. Recently I attended the QAI Quest Conference in Chicago, during the conference I got to talk with lots of people from across the development spectrum. From the conversations and workshops, I identified seven common threads that test and quality focused personal experience being or trying to be agile. In order to be agile,...

SPaMCAST 548 features our interview with Heidi Helfand. Heidi and I discussed teams and her book Dynamic Reteaming: The Art and Wisdom of Changing Teams. Heidi challenges the conventional wisdom that in agile (or any walk of life) that you need to keep your teams "the same" in order to be successful. In short, there are no absolutes except for change. Heidi's Bio Heidi Helfand is Director of Engin...