Software Process and Measurement Cast

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 522 features the return of Jeff Anderson. Jeff returns to discuss scaling agile and getting to a minimum viable product. Many teams and organizations struggle with the concepts of scaling and getting to an MVP, Jeff provides advice for not going crazy! Jeff's Bio Jeff is the President of Agile by Design. Over the last decade, Jeff has played a leadership r...

SPaMCAST 521 features our essay on user stories and legacy code. A common question is how user stories can be developed for legacy code or for problems that crop up in production. The implication is that creating user stories is too hard when dealing with legacy code changes or too slow when dealing with production problems. User stories are a core tenet for most agile approaches and have a lot of...

SPaMCAST 520 features our interview with Doc Norton. We talked about his new book Escape Velocity, measurement, and why velocity isn't generally a good measure for teams. By the time teams get to a point where story point velocity is consistent and predictable, they will have better tools that have fewer negative side effects. Doc's Bio Doc Norton is passionate about working with teams to improve...

SPaMCAST 519 features our essay on a code of ethics for agile coaches. A code of ethics is a compilation of ethical principles brought together into a framework. Most professions have a code of ethics that guide their behaviors, typically guided by an association that provides credentials. I think it is time to discuss a code of ethics for agile coaches. We also have a visit from Susan Parente, wi...

SPaMCAST 518 features our interview with Rebecca Staton-Reinstein. We discussed leadership, the difference between leadership and management, coaching versus mentoring and who should own your improvement program. Rebecca and I have known each other for years and I have always enjoyed her wisdom and pragmatic advice. She really delivers the goods. Rebecca's bio: REBECCA STATON-REINSTEIN, Ph. D. is...

SPaMCAST 517 is very different from my original plan -- and pretty cool if I do say so my self. This week I spoke at ISMA 16 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I was originally scheduled to open the session, however, the translators were two hours late. The Portuguese speaking speakers were moved earlier so that the conference could get started. During my wait, I discovered that I could record sessions on my i...

SPaMCAST 516 features our interview with Nishi Grover Garg. Nishi and I started by discussing the major differences in agile and non-agile testing and ended with a discussion of agile pods. This is a wonderfully idea-rich interview. Note: I am recording part of this episode remotely from a hotel in Brazil! Nishi's Bio: Nishi is a Consulting Agile and Software testing trainer. With a decade of expe...

SPaMCAST 515 features our essay on transformation and agile metrics. Whether you like the word transformation or not, many in the process improvement and agile communities help to facilitate change. Involvement in any non-trivial change effort requires resources, people, support and the expenditure of political capital. Metrics are tools for getting the people and resources you need. We also featu...

SPaMCAST 514 features our interview with John Clapham. John and I talked DevOps, people, agile, and how all those pieces fit together coherently or not. John even quoted Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. This is a big, fun, informative interview! John Clapham is an experienced coach, trainer, and consultant, specializing in DevOps and Agile. He helps teams to build great products, creating envir...

SPaMCAST 513 features a second essay on reciprocity. One of the hardest lessons I have had to learn is that some people on a team are passengers and others play different, more involved, roles. Being a passenger long-term on a team or in an organization is a form of rent-seeking and is not valued highly by others. We also have columns from Susan Parente (I Am Not a Scrumdamentalist) and Jeremy Ber...

SPaMCAST 512 marks the return of Jeff Dalton. Jeff and I talked about the CMMI Version 2.0 and the Agile Performance Holarchy. The CMMI is often maligned as promoting anti-agile behaviors. Jeff makes the case that Version 2.0 promotes agile. We dive into the Agile Performance Holarchy during the second half of the interview. The Agile Performance Holarchy provides technology leaders with a model t...

SPaMCAST 511 features our essay on reciprocity. Reciprocal agreements are part of working and playing well with others that we begin learning on the playground and then bring to the office with us. There are many types of reciprocal agreements in a typical agile project. Entries in the Reciprocity theme: Reciprocity and Reciprocal Agreements In Action - https://bit.ly/2MbxIP3 Five Reciprocal Agree...

We are doing something special in SPaMCAST 510. Over the past couple of years, we have talked to Steve Tendon and Wolfram Müller about their book, Hyper-Productive Knowledge Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Application to Scrum and Kanban. Today as part of our conversation Steve and Wolfram shine a light on some of the finer points in the book! They also share how they became collab...

SPaMCAST 509 will feature our essay discussing if you can demonstrate incomplete work. My knee-jerk reaction is no...or maybe heck no, but knee-jerk reactions are not always right. Blog entries in the what happens to incomplete work theme: Frequently Asked Questions: The Sprint Is Over, What Do I Do With Incomplete Stories? https://bit.ly/2P9mm09 Frequently Asked Questions: Can I Demo Work That Is...

SPaMCAST 508 features our interview with Vasco Duarte! Vasco and I discuss vision and product owners. The product owner role is crucial. To be effective, the product owner must be able to articulate a vision for the product they champion. Vasco Duarte's Bio in his own words: I want to transform product development organizations into product business organizations. I do that by focusing the work of...

SPaMCAST 507 opens with our essay on consensus decision making. Consensus decision-making techniques are used by almost every team. The process of getting to a decision or solution that the whole team can at least live will make sure that everyone on the team has a seat at the table and that team builds both majority and minority views into the deliberation process. Want to read about consensus de...

SPaMCAST 506 features our interview with Mark Kilby. Mark and I explored distributed agile teams. Agile in distributed environments is doable, but it isn't easy. Mark provides guidance and advice. Mark recently co-authored From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams with Johanna Rothman (LeanPub). Mark's bio and contact information: MARK KILBY has cultivated more distributed, dispersed, and v...

SPaMCAST 505 features our recent essay titled, Coaching: Six Modes of Operation. On the surface, coaching is a fairly simple role. A coach has six basic modes of operation. But…if you peel back the layers just a little bit you will find that coaching is part art and part science. In the second spot of this week's magazine have the penultimate session of our read of Steve Tendon and Wolfram Müller'...

SPaMCAST 504 features our interview with Gerie Owen. Gerie and I discussed continuous testing, DevOps, and testing in an agile culture! We worked through big ideas that can have a big impact on how you work and deliver value immediately. Gerie Owen is the VP of Knowledge and Innovation at QualiTest. Gerie Owen represents the QualiTest team at the client site and manages the offshore team's test ac...

SPaMCAST 503 features our essay "Culture: The Knife's Edge of Change." I have often heard the line, culture eats change for breakfast. Culture, culture, culture – the success of every change that is considered or implemented balances on the knife-edge of culture. Aligning cultures so that change is possible requires seeing the differences and then minimizing enough of those differences to allow ch...

SPaMCAST 502 features our interview Marcus Hammarberg. Marcus returns to talk about his new book Salvation: The Bungsu Story (https://amzn.to/2u1ndYs). The story provides a real-life example of how agile can save the world — or at least part of it. This is one of the most important and inspirational interviews I have done. Marcus's bio: For 15 years Marcus Hammarberg has been doing agile and lean...

SPaMCAST 501 features our essay on Agile Metrics. Progress is easy to visualize when we use the yardstick of calendar time. My wife and I spent 17 days in Europe. There are 177 shopping days until Christmas (as of July 1, 2018) — I expect presents this year. How long it takes to deliver a piece of work, in days, is something nearly every human can understand. Over the past few months, I have been...

Show 500! SPaMCAST 001 went live on Sunday January 28, 2007 at 9:28 PM - it has been a great journey from then to now! The first interview was a two-parter with Will McKnight. Give it a listen at https://bit.ly/2lryNaC. Show 500, SPaMCAST 500, Episode 500, #500 (I will probably say that 500 more times this week) features our interview with Marcus Blankenship. Marcus and I talked teams and what mak...

SPaMCAST 499 will feature our essay on trust and coaching. Coaches are among most effective tools used to help teams improve. In SPaMCAST 496 – Sam Laing I highlighted the need for trust between a coach and the team or person they are coaching. Without trust, a coach will not be very effective. Two powerful and related tools! In the rocker, as they call it stock car racing is Wolfram Müller. Wolfr...

SPaMCAST 498 features our interview John Kordyback. Agile is more than just Scrum or a bunch of values. Agile has a technical side that can't be ignored. This week, John and I have a wide-ranging conversation covering the technical side of agile, the impact of tools on principles, and the difference in agile approaches for systems of engagement and systems of record. Bio: John Kordyback is a Princ...