Delay

A quick update for readers and listeners: both the blog entries for Saturday and Sunday and the podcast episode scheduled for Sunday, May 31, 2020, are delayed due to issues with my month old laptop. It has decided to no longer boot (second time in one month that this issue has occurred). Since I was traveling this weekend I was not able to pull out the back-up machine until now. Rest assured, I will have things back on track beginning Tuesday.

 

Patterns Video Podcast Introduction

Play Now Medium Resolution

Play Now High Resolution

Today, a special announcement: I would like to introduce you to the Patterns Video Podcast.  Ben Woznicki and I have been working on this project for nearly six months and it is finally time to stop starting and start shipping (that’s an agile joke). 

Our idea is to share patterns (hence the name) for how teams and organizations can release sooner with higher confidence. Both Ben and I have helped a lot of different organizations. We’ve seen things that work well, seen things that work poorly, seen some things that do both, and unfortunately some things that would make your hair stand up. The effective patterns are what we are here to share as well as provide space for you to interact and learn. All of the videos will be on the shorter side.

 

IdeaFest 2020 – April 21- 22 Promo!

Join us to hear great ideas from industry leaders while they share their stories about CMMC, Agile, Transformation, Culture, CMMI V2.0, High Performance, and more! All from the comfort of your couch!

Audio Promo: https://bit.ly/2XuEw3K

Attendance is limited to 100 people, so register today – only $99!

Keynote: Ty Schieber, Chairman CMMC Accreditation Body
Keynote: Jim Bouchard, The Sensei Leader

16 of your favorite speakers throughout the day – live and virtual!

http://www.ideafest2020.org/

 

 

SPaMCAST 594 – Behold the Cryptopreneurs, An interview with Dennis Lewis

Listen Now! Subscribe: Apple Podcast Check out the podcast on Google Play Music   The SPaMCAST 594 features our interview with Dennis Lewis.  Mr. …

SPaMCAST 594 – Behold the Cryptopreneurs, An interview with Dennis Lewis

 

Simple Approaches To Build Trust On Remote Teams

Deconstructing Value Is Just Like Demolition!

Trust is an important component for building effective teams, unfortunately, you can’t buy a bag of trust and like plant fertilizer, sprinkle it on a team. In a special panel discussion aired on SPaMCAST 591, Jeff Dalton reminded us that trust is built; it does not magically appear because we want it to. Many of the Software Process and Measurement Cast and Blog listeners have been thrust into situations where they are suddenly remote and learning to build trust as part of newly remote teams. Sandeep Koorse made an interesting observation in the same podcast that many of us had been lulled in a false sense of trust and intimacy because we have been face-to-face for so long. The implication is that teams don’t invest the time needed to build trust that can withstand shocks like we are now facing. A few simple (no consultants needed) ideas to begin building trust on your suddenly remote team include:

 

SPaMCAST 560 – A Scientific Method For Agile, A Conversation With Al Shalloway Part 2

http://www.spamcast.net

Direct Playback
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Listen on Spotify!

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. 

 

When Meetings and Management Styles Are Collaboration Fails!

Is a root canal collaboration?

We ended Part 1 of our evaluation of activities confused with collaboration with a reminder of logic: all dogs are mammals, but not all mammals are dogs.  All collaborative processes include communication and have a workflow, but, if we flip the equation, not all communication and workflows are collaboration.  Management and meetings are the last two areas of activities in all software development and maintenance organizations (and I do mean ALL) that we will discuss. Collaboration a critical part of delivering quality, in order not to dilute the power at the core of collaboration it is important to clearly understand which behaviors are easy to conflate with collaboration.

 

The Pros for Big Bang Change Implementation

Well the computer cord has been replaced but I am still catching up so it is another refine

A big bang adoption of a process or system is an instant changeover, a “one-and-done” type of approach in which everyone associated with a new system or process switches over in mass at a specific point in time.  There are positives and negatives to big bang approaches.  We begin with the positives.

 

#NoProjects

#NoProjects Pure and Simple

#NoProjects reimagines the classic organization of work that has a definite beginning and end (limited duration) often with a temporary organization as an ongoing operation. The first attribution of the #NoProjects is from @joshuajames (Joshua J. Arnold) in the following tweet:

@DamienSchreurs Projects kill flow and teams. Focus on products, not projects. #NoProjects

Note:  Bob Marshall may have coined the hashtag earlier than June 2013, however, I have not found evidence (yet).

 

Lots of Seed Questions For Value Chain, Value Stream, and Process Stream Mapping

Seeds grow flowers!

Taking a very binary view of why people expend the effort to create value chain, value streams, and/or process maps, there are two reasons for mapping. The first is to generate a cost advantage by increasing efficiency. The second is to generate product differentiation. Each reason requires information about customers, how raw materials are transformed, and how the product is delivered.  The analysis and decision based on the maps are very different. Seed questions are a useful gathering data in a repeatable manner. Here are some sample mapping seed questions: