We have a disconnect in the agile community. Agile approaches to software development are not about technology departments like Information Technology, Engineering or Research and Development. Agile development approaches are about customers, knowledge workers, and successful outcomes. This fundamental concept seems to be difficult for many companies to grasp. Or, maybe many managers and developers […]
Category: Business
The Simplest Way To Get More Done Is To Do Less
Software developers, testers, analysts and managers are known to be detail oriented. We need to know exactly what needs to be done so we can devise and implement software algorithms. We need answers to detailed questions so we can make the right implementation decisions. Meanwhile, business people don’t always have all the answers. This is […]
At Yahoo!, Working From Home Is Not The Real Issue
I feel compelled to weigh in regarding the recent decision by Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!, dropping the company’s work-from-home option beginning in June. Yahoo will require that employees work in an office location (unless they have a need to work from home such as a visit by the “cable guy”). Firstly, I have to […]
Change Is Good, Upheaval Is Not
You want your software development team to switch from using a waterfall approach to using an agile approach like Scrum, Kanban, Lean or XP. Should you do it gradually or go cold turkey (all at once)? Before you answer that question there are a few things to consider. Let’s walk through an example. This will […]
Agility Depends on Your Ability to Learn
Guest Blog I’m pleased to have Anders Ingerstedt, founding partner of Colabpro Outsourcing Ltd, as a guest blogger today. Agile is a buzzword. It is replicating and spreading into new domains beyond technology and software development, where it originated. Agility is — no denials accepted — a good capacity in any corporate environment, as it […]
7 Steps for Energizing Your Software Development Team in 2013
As we say goodbye to 2012 and prepare to greet 2013, we need to think about what we want to accomplish in 2013. Specific goals and objectives will vary widely among companies, workgroups and individuals. I can’t help you with those. What I hope to help you with is how you achieve those goals and […]
Meg Whitman and HP Can Do Better, Much Better
Enterprise Agile Development Takes Positioning, Preparation and Passion
Getting a big company to change the way it operates in any meaningful sense is always tough. They invest lots of time and money in establishing best practices and training people to follow them. Change happens but it’s never simple or quick when hundreds or even thousands of people are involved. This causes major issues […]
Software Development Is Business Not Science
Some software projects stay in “beta” status for what seems like forever — a kind of perpetual beta. It may seem odd but let’s think about this. Most businesses are effectively in perpetual beta, so the software they develop must be too. How can a mature business be in perpetual beta? How can it not! […]
It’s Time to End the Games Between Business and Development Teams
Software development estimates are horribly inaccurate. The business people want to know how long it will take and what it will cost to build a software system — fair enough. Businesses routinely operate with schedules and budgets. However, because businesses have schedules and budgets, the business leaders already know how much time they’re willing to […]
PMOs Often Create More Problems Than They Solve
Companies create Project Management Offices (PMO) as a means of improving software project success rates and establishing best practices. Regrettably, many of these PMOs fail to offer anything constructive. They are often burdensome, costly and wasteful. PMOs are a good idea, in principle. They can be enormously beneficial when done right. When done poorly – […]
Apple Maps Can Teach Software Development Teams a Lesson
Did Apple make a major blunder in dumping Google Maps and rolling out its own mapping solution? Was Apple dumb enough to believe that its iOS mapping app is as good as or better than Google’s app? Not a chance! I think many people are missing the boat with regard to Apple’s actions and motivations. […]
Software Impossible – 6 Questions You Need to Answer
You’ve delivered a new or improved software application. Congratulations! Now you find that the software is not receiving the enthusiastic reception you expected. Some people are complaining about defects. Others are whining about missing features. Something seems to have gone wrong. Unfortunately, this scenario is more common than not in software development. We can try […]
The Trial and Error Approach Really Works
Much of what happens around us involves trial and error or the process of elimination. For example, if you’ve ever gone to a medical doctor complaining of not feeling right, you’ve seen this in action. Doctors rarely pinpoint a medical condition immediately. They usually start eliminating possibilities by asking questions. They run some tests that […]
The Preservation Trap Steals Productivity and Depletes Morale
Have you ever noticed that start-up companies have a sense of urgency while established companies have a sense of preservation? It makes sense when you think about it. Start-ups have nothing to lose. They have little or nothing to preserve. They need to build something and get it out into their target markets. Only then […]
Car Racing and Software Development Have Something in Common
Enterprise-scale software development is bit like car racing. I’m not thinking about speed or agility. I’m thinking about complexity. Hear me out. Let’s take NASCAR racing as an example. It looks simple. Drivers go round and round on a track as fast as they can. Fastest car wins, right? Not at all! Racing crews win […]
Stop Managing. Start Leading. Be Agile.
Managers: Want your company to be more agile? Learn to let go! Managers are trained to maintain control. Their annual reviews reinforce the need to make good decisions and stay in control. And then along comes agile software development. There’s an immediate and harsh conflict. Agile teams need to take control. They can’t be agile […]
Are You a Software Development Extremist?
Some of us tend toward extremism. It manifests itself in many ways in both our personal and professional lives. It could appear in the clothes we buy, the cars we drive, the way we work, or the way we look. In many situations, we’re not even aware that we’re extremists. In software development, there are […]
The Advantages of Distributed Software Development Are Enticing
Distributed software development teams are becoming more common. There are some good reasons for it. Here are a few: Access to potentially lower cost talent Ability to attract highly-specialized and hard-to-find talent Outreach to a larger and more diverse labor pool Advantages of an extended work day via time differences The potential benefits are enticing […]
In Agile Software Development, Context Really Matters
Mark Mansour over at Agile Bench published a blog post titled “10 Agile Bloggers You Should Know About, But Don’t”. It’s worth reading. (Please note: In the interest of full disclosure, this BrainsLink blog appears in the post.) A phrase in Mark’s post got my thinking. There are several lists of top agile bloggers around, […]