Scope is a lie
20 April 2019
Software engineers learn early on that building stuff means taking little steps at a time. Once you get into the profession, that means tickets. Whether you're doing Scrum or Kanban,...
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Tech needs better leaders
Complexity costs.
18 March 2019
If there is one thing I wish this industry would understand better, it’s the cost of adding complexity. We train our analysts to describe what to build. We teach our...
Read MoreAgiletology
4 March 2019
Agile is not a religious cult. We don't have High Priests that preach our dogmas. We don't quote wisdom from books that everyone pretends to have read. To become one of...
Read MoreLean and slow.
16 February 2019
Large enterprises are unwieldy. Their people might be competent and their visions might be sound, but turning around the proverbial tanker takes time. Libraries have been written about change management and...
Read MoreProcess > plans
28 January 2019
When training for any sport, consistency is key. Amateur judoka will count their wins. Professionals will focus rigorously on their technique. A beginning football player goes home disappointed that he didn't...
Read MoreDefinition of Don’t
19 January 2019
Waterfall teams that finally get some customer feedback are usually in for a rude awakening. All of a sudden, people start to complain. Quality is low and the scope is...
Read MoreThe curse of middle management
6 December 2018
In a not so distant past, I was a project manager. I scoped projects, cleared the way for my team and solved problems when they arose. And boy, did they arise. I used...
Read MoreMeasuring is for students
9 November 2018
Managers seem to be obsessed with measuring stuff. Man-days, story points, KPI's...
Read MoreGuardians of the Gantt Chart
2 November 2018
The Project Manager in an Agile environment With the shift to self-organized teams and Agile Software Development, we've seen the traditional manager role erode. The boss has been replaced by coaches...
Read MoreThere is no WHY in TEAM.
7 October 2018
Nothing defines the success of a product more than the team that builds it. Without the right people and skills, nothing gets done. Well, nothing good at least...
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