Software Process and Measurement Cast

SPaMCAST 448 features our essay on uncertainty. Al Pittampalli said, "uncertainty and complexity produce anxiety we wish to escape." Dealing with uncertainty is part of nearly everything we do our goal should be to address uncertainty head on. The second column features Steve Tendon talking about Tame The Flow: Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Application...

SPaMCAST 447 features our interview with Angela Wick on the role of the Product Owner and Business Analyst in Agile efforts. These two roles are critically important for delivering value in an Agile environment. Angela provides a fresh take on the Product Owner role and the Product Owner's relationship to other roles Agile teams. Angela is the founder of BA-Squared, LLC, a training and consulting...

SPaMCAST 446 will feature our essay on questions. Questions are a coach and facilitator's secret power! But, with great power comes great responsibility. Our second column is from Gene Hughson. Gene and I discussed his essay Go-to People Considered Harmful originally published on his blog Form Follows Function (www.genehughson.wordpress.com). The concept may sound counterintuitive, but it is not....

SPaMCAST 445 features the return of a favorite, Capers Jones. It is always fun to talk with someone with their own page in Wikepedia. Capers and I talked about his new book, A Guide to Selecting Software Measures and Metrics. Capers is passionate about software quality and measurement. Capers said, "High-quality software is not expensive. High-quality software is faster and cheaper to build and ma...

This week's Software Process and Measurement Cast features our essay revisiting the product owner role. The product owner role is hard, often messed up and a great opportunity for improvement. The second column features the return of Steve Tendon talking about Tame The Flow: Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Application to Scrum and Kanban published J Ross...

The next Software Process and Measurement Cast features our interview with Brad Clark. Brad and I talked about cost estimation, estimation in government and COCOMO II and what is on the way in COCOMO III. Even if you are firmly in the #NoEstimates camp this interview will give you ideas to think about! Brad's Bio Dr. Brad Clark is Vice-President of Software Metrics Inc. – a Virginia-based consulti...

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 442 features our essay on capability teams. The use of teams to deliver business value is at the core of most business models. Capability teams are a tool to unlock the value delivery engine of teams. Gene Hughson brings his Form Follows Function Blog to the cast this week to discuss his recent blog entry titled, Systems of Social Systems and the Software...

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 441 features our interview with John Le Drew. John and I discussed the concept of safety at work, and how safety, or the lack of it, affects the effectiveness of software teams. John's bio . . . In almost 2 decades working in software engineering, John Le Drew has worked as a software engineer, team lead, project manager, product owner, trainer, agile coac...

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 440 features our essay on two storytelling techniques: premortems and business obituaries. Almost all work that takes more than a few days is subject to risks that are not immediately obvious without some form of structured process to focus the team's thought process. Teams often use storytelling techniques to generate a big picture/vision to guide a proje...

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 439 features Alex Yakyma. Our discussion focused on the industry's broken mindset that prevents it from being Lean and Agile. A powerful and a possibly controversial interview. Alex's Bio Alex Yakyma brings unique, extensive, and field-based experience to the topic of implementing Lean and Agile at scale. Throughout his career, he has served as an engineer...

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 438 features our essay on leveraging sizing in testing. Size can be a useful tool for budgeting and planning both at the portfolio level and the team level. Gene Hughson brings his Form Follows Function Blog to the cast this week to discuss his recent blog entry titled, Organizations as Systems and Innovation. One of the highlights of the conversation is w...

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 437 features a discussion of our recent re-read of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni (Jossey-Bass, Copyright 2002, 33rd printing) with Steven Adams. Steve has participated on nearly all of the re-reads, providing his unique wisdom. It was a great talk that helped me understand why the book has (and continues to have) such a large impact o...

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 436 features our essay titled, Change Fatigue, Tunnel Vision, and Watts Humphrey, in which we answer the question of whether the state and culture of the organization or team, can have a large impact on whether a Big Bang approach or an incremental approach makes sense to change. Our second column is from Jeremy Berriault. Jeremy discusses user acceptance...

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 435 features our interview with Allan Kelly. Our discussion touched on the concepts behind #NoProjects. Allan describes how the concept of a project leads to a number of unintended consequences. Those consequences aren't pretty. Allan makes digital development teams more effective and improves delivery with continuous agile approaches to reduce delay and r...

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 434 features our essay on Change Implementations - To Big Bang or Not To Big Bang? The knee jerk reaction amongst transformation leaders is usually a loud NO! However, the answer is not nearly that cut and dry. Big Bang approaches to change have a place in bag of tricks every transformation leader has at their fingertips. The second column this week is fro...

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 433 features our interview with Jeff Dalton discussing holacracy. Holocracy.org defines holacracy as, "a complete, packaged system for self-management in organizations. Holacracy replaces the traditional management hierarchy with a new peer-to-peer "operating system" that increases transparency, accountability, and organizational agility." Jeff has impleme...

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 432 begins with an essay on the impact of leadership types on adopting and sustaining Agile. Leadership style has a direct impact on an organization's ability to adopt and sustain Agile. Some leadership styles are more supportive, while others evoke more of a response that is epitomized by locking feral cats and dogs in a room (nobody wins). Next up, Jerem...

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 431 features our interview with Andrew Neitlich on leadership. We discussed whether leadership can be learned and if tech leadership is different than other kinds of leadership. Leadership is a core requirement for making all teams, Agile or not, effective! Andrew's bio: Andrew Neitlich is the founder and director of the Center for Executive Coaching (http...

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 430 features an essay on product owners. The product owner role is nuanced, always complicated and sometimes hard. The essay will help you sort things out. Steve Tendon brings another chapter in his Tame The Flow: Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Application to Scrum and Kanban, published by J Ross (buy a copy here...

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 429 is a special event. Ryan Ripley (who appeared on SPaMCAST 404 and is the host of the Agile for Humans Podcast) and the I recently connected virtually to discuss the role and impact of certifications on the Agile movement. Certifications are an important gating tool in the job market and may provide evidence that people are keeping up to date with chang...

One my favorite serial interviewees, Dr. Mark Bojeun, returns to the Software Process and Measurement Cast for a third time (we may need to get him a permanent seat at the table soon). Mark and I discussed the role and impact of project and product visions on the ability to effectively deliver value. The vision is an important directional statement that can't be left to chance! Mark has last visit...

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 427 begins with an essay on the Post-Agile Age, titled Onward to Post-Agile Age. The Post-Agile Age is coming and it is a bed that human nature and commercial pressures have created. Next Jeremy Berriault brings his QA Corner to the Cast to discuss how he views the role of product owner in Agile testing . Visit Jermey's new blog at https://jberria.wordpres...

SPaMCAST 426 marks a milestone! SPaMCAST 426 is the end of Year 10. The Cast features our second annual roundtable. Almost all of the SPaMCAST contributors gathered virtually to discuss a number of topics, including: Is software quality really one of the most important focuses in IT in 2017? Even though people are adopting agile, is agile a principle-driven movement over? In 2017 will security tru...

Happy New Year! SPaMCAST 425 features our annual tune-up ideas. We need to strive to be more effective and efficient every day or the world will pass us by! These are suggestions that have worked for me and might be useful for you. We will also have columns from Steve Tendon with another chapter in his Tame The Flow: Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Applic...

Happy New Year! SPaMCAST 424 features our interview with Penny Pullin. Penny returns to the SPaMCAST to discuss her new book Virtual Leadership: Practical Strategies for Getting the Best Out of Virtual Work and Virtual Teams. Virtual teams and therefore the need for virtual leadership is a critical success factor for delivering value in the 21st Century. Penny's Bio: Dr. Penny Pullan's latest book...