Software Process and Measurement Cast

SPaMCAST 527, is our last podcast of 2018. We say goodbye to 2018 by talking about user story maps. User story maps are both versatile and an underused tool. Perhaps something that we can address in 2019? We also have a visit from Susan Parente. Susan brings her Not a Scrumdamentalist column to the cast to discuss agile risk management. Risk management is a requirement for any form of work. Why do some in the agile community feel it is not needed? Re-Read Saturday News We are re-reading Bad Blood, Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou (published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2018 – Buy a copy and read along). This week we move through three chapters. These three chapters continue to show the same pattern of abuse of the truth and employees that we have seen in other chapters. Arguably, conflating Theranos's mission with a religion (chapter 14) might take the story to a new level of crazy but it is only that, a new level. Week 10 - Chiat\Day, Going Live and Unicorn - https://bit.ly/2SrRpGv Previous Entries: Week 1 – Approach and Introduction – https://bit.ly/2J1pY2t Week 2 -- A Purposeful Life and Gluebot - https://bit.ly/2RZANGh Week 3 -- Apple Envy, Goodbye East Paly and Childhood Neighbors - https://bit.ly/2zbOTeO Week 4 -- A Reflection -https://bit.ly/2RA6AfT Week 5 -- Sunny - https://bit.ly/2AZ5tRq Week 6 - The miniLab - https://bit.ly/2rfmwJh Week 7 - Wellness Play - https://bit.ly/2rqUYk6 Week 8 - Who is LTC Shoemaker - https://bit.ly/2GkbWv0 Week 9 - Lightning a Fuisz and Ian Gibbons - https://bit.ly/2QR7poR Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 528 rings in the new year with an interview with Allan Kelley. Allan makes his third appearance on the cast to talk about his book Continuous Digital and the state of agile. A great way to start the year!

SPaMCAST 526 features an interview with Freddie Clark. Mr. Clark is a tester and Scrum Master by day and video game entrepreneur in the evening. We had an in-depth conversation about using Scrum and other agile techniques in a lean startup environment. It is not the same as the standard corporate environment. Freddie's Bio Freddie hails from Cleveland, Ohio where he discovered an enthusiasm for games at an early age. When he was not forced to play outside, he was enjoying co-op games with his friends at home. This excitement led him to earn a degree in Game Design and Development at Rochester Institute of Technology. During his college career, Freddie found a passion for the production process, which he fostered through various experiences in this industry. More recently, Freddie has been exploring the world of Agile and independent game development, which he is using as he oversees the production and design of his new independent game studio, Misfitmakers. Email: faclark16@gmail.com Twitter: @gwaanybyte Company Twitter: @misfitmakers Re-Read Saturday News We are re-reading Bad Blood, Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou (published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2018 – Buy a copy and read along). This week we tackle two related chapters. Over the course of the book to date, we have seen secrets and lies (hence the title), intellectual theft, poor diagnostics and careers being destroyed. This week we add a suicide to the hot mess that is Theranos. Week 9 - Lightning a Fuisz and Ian Gibbons - https://bit.ly/2QR7poR Previous Entries: Week 1 – Approach and Introduction – https://bit.ly/2J1pY2t Week 2 -- A Purposeful Life and Gluebot - https://bit.ly/2RZANGh Week 3 -- Apple Envy, Goodbye East Paly and Childhood Neighbors - https://bit.ly/2zbOTeO Week 4 -- A Reflection -https://bit.ly/2RA6AfT Week 5 -- Sunny - https://bit.ly/2AZ5tRq Week 6 - The miniLab - https://bit.ly/2rfmwJh Week 7 - Wellness Play - https://bit.ly/2rqUYk6 Week 8 - Who is LTC Shoemaker - https://bit.ly/2GkbWv0 Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 527, our last podcast this year, will feature our essay revisiting user story maps. User story maps are a versatile tool. A tool that is underused -- we seek to rectify that situation. We will also have a column from Susan Parente!

SPaMCAST 525 continues our conversation about story points. Many teams find that story points are only a partially useful tool to facilitate the flow of work within a team. Today we will highlight a behavioral fix and talk RATS. We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault with a discussion from the QA Corner. Jeremey and I talked about how the concept of a minimum viable product (MVP) impacts testing. Check out Mr. Berriault's blog at https://qacorner.blog/ Re-Read Saturday News We are re-reading Bad Blood, Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou (published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2018 – Buy a copy and read along). Chapter 10 focuses on what when Hollywood makes a movie from Bad Blood will be a titanic battle between the indomitable Elizabeth and a career military officer, but what is really a struggle between right and wrong. Week 8 - Who is LTC Shoemaker - https://bit.ly/2GkbWv0 Previous Entries: Week 1 – Approach and Introduction – https://bit.ly/2J1pY2t Week 2 -- A Purposeful Life and Gluebot - https://bit.ly/2RZANGh Week 3 -- Apple Envy, Goodbye East Paly and Childhood Neighbors - https://bit.ly/2zbOTeO Week 4 -- A Reflection -https://bit.ly/2RA6AfT Week 5 -- Sunny - https://bit.ly/2AZ5tRq Week 6 - The miniLab - https://bit.ly/2rfmwJh Week 7 - Wellness Play - https://bit.ly/2rqUYk6 Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 526 will feature an interview with Freddie Clark. Mr. Clark is a tester and Scrum Master by day and video game entrepreneur in the evening. We had a fun conversation about using Scrum in both environments, highlighting where they are the same and where they differ. Note: Freddie and I work together in our day jobs --I think the knowledge we have of each other helped the interview look more deeply at certain issues rather than keeping the discussion at surface levels.

SPaMCAST 524 features the return of Matt Heusser. Matt and I talk about the nuts and bolts of being a tester in today's software environment including agile testing. Matt and I had covered difficult areas that anyone that is interested in quality and risk needs to think about. Matt's bio: The Managing Director of Excelon Development and a member of the board of directors for the Association for Software Testing, Matt Heusser leads test training and change efforts while making as many contributions as he can to active projects. Learn more about Matt at www.xndev.com follow him on twitter at @mheusser or check out the testing show podcast on iTunes or online at https://www.qualitestgroup.com/resources/the-testing-show/ Re-Read Saturday News We are re-reading Bad Blood, Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou (published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2018 – Buy a copy and read along!). Chapter 9, titled Wellness Play, continues the focus on overpromising and the toxicity overpromising generates inside and outside Theranos. Week 7 - Wellness Play - https://bit.ly/2rqUYk6 Previous Entries: Week 1 – Approach and Introduction – https://bit.ly/2J1pY2t Week 2 -- A Purposeful Life and Gluebot - https://bit.ly/2RZANGh Week 3 -- Apple Envy, Goodbye East Paly and Childhood Neighbors - https://bit.ly/2zbOTeO Week 4 -- A Reflection -https://bit.ly/2RA6AfT Week 5 -- Sunny - https://bit.ly/2AZ5tRq Week 6 - The miniLab - https://bit.ly/2rfmwJh Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 525 will continue the conversation on story points. Many teams find that story points are only a partially useful tool to facilitate the flow of work within a team. Can story points be fixed, or better yet can story points still be useful? We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault with a discussion from the QA Corner.

SPaMCAST 523 features our essay on story points. Story points were a tool designed to give teams a rough understanding of their flow of work. It was a great idea at the time, but that time has passed. Unfortunately, story points now are being used improperly creating more problems than they solve. In addition, Jon M Quigley brings his Alpha and Omega of Product Development to the cast. In this installment, Jon discusses the risks of Centers of Excellence. They are another great idea that can and has been ill-used by many in the industry. Re-Read Saturday News We are back with Chapter 7 of Bad Blood, Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou (published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2018 – Buy a copy and read along!). Chapter 7, titled The miniLab, focuses on overpromising and continues to layer on toxicity to the Theranos story. Week 6 - The miniLab - https://bit.ly/2rfmwJh Previous Entries: Week 1 – Approach and Introduction – https://bit.ly/2J1pY2t Week 2 -- A Purposeful Life and Gluebot - https://bit.ly/2RZANGh Week 3 -- Apple Envy, Goodbye East Paly and Childhood Neighbors - https://bit.ly/2zbOTeO Week 4 -- A Reflection -https://bit.ly/2RA6AfT Week 5 -- Sunny - https://bit.ly/2AZ5tRq Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 524 will feature our interview with Matt Heusser. Matt is the Managing Director of Excelon Development, speaker and podcaster. Matt and I talk about the nuts and bolts of testing and agile testing.

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 role on a large number of enterprise-scale agile transformations, providing program management, operating model design and change-management services. Jeff frequently blogs about and presents on lean and agile adoption, and is the author of The Lean Change Method, which guides organizations through the application of lean startup techniques. His mission in life: to help knowledge workers be awesome at what they do. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasjeffreyandersontwin/ Website: http://agilebydesign.com/ Twitter: @thomasjeffrey Re-Read Saturday News The Software Process and Measurement Cast and Blog crew is still on the road this week. We will publish our thoughts on Chapter 7 next week. Please jump into the re-read of Bad Blood, Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou (published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2018 – Buy a copy and read along!). Previous Entries: Week 1 – Approach and Introduction – https://bit.ly/2J1pY2t Week 2 -- A Purposeful Life and Gluebot - https://bit.ly/2RZANGh Week 3 -- Apple Envy, Goodbye East Paly and Childhood Neighbors - https://bit.ly/2zbOTeO Week 4 -- A Reflection -https://bit.ly/2RA6AfT Week 5 -- Sunny - https://bit.ly/2AZ5tRq Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 523 features our essay on Story Points. Story points are a tool to help teams manage their flow of work. Unfortunately, story points aren't always used properly and can create more problems than they solve. We will also hear from Jon Quigley who brings his Alpha and Omega of Product Development to the cast.

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 value. This week we also have a visit from the Software Sensei, Kim Pries! Kim talks about training in a column titled, "Software Catechism." Can you help keep the podcast growing? Here are some ideas: Tell a friend about the cast. Tweet or post about the cast. Every mention helps. Review the podcast wherever you get the cast. Pitch a column to me. You are cool enough to be listening; you deserve to be heard. Sponsor an episode (text or call me to talk about the idea). Listen. Whether you do one or all six, being here is a big deal to everyone that helps get the podcast and blog together. Thank you! Re-Read Saturday News The Software Process and Measurement Cast and Blog crew is on the road this weekend so we are going to take a day off from our re-read of Bad Blood, Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou (published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2018 – Buy a copy and read along!) Today we re-visit an entry from 2013, In 2013 we ran a series titled "Motivational Sunday". In this entry, we talked about the relationship between commitment and habits. I have tweaked the works a little but the sentiments are no different. Habit and Commitment - https://bit.ly/2KbKq13 Previous Entries: Week 1 – Approach and Introduction – https://bit.ly/2J1pY2t Week 2 -- A Purposeful Life and Gluebot - https://bit.ly/2RZANGh Week 3 -- Apple Envy, Goodbye East Paly and Childhood Neighbors - https://bit.ly/2zbOTeO Week 4 -- A Reflection -https://bit.ly/2RA6AfT Week 5 -- Sunny - https://bit.ly/2AZ5tRq Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 522 features the return of Jeff Anderson. Jeff returns to discuss getting to a minimum viable product. Many teams and organizations struggle with the concepts of an MVP, Jeff provides three ways to get to an MVP without going crazy!

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 delivery and building great organizations. Once a dedicated code slinger, Doc has turned his energy toward helping teams, departments, and companies work better together in the pursuit of better software. Working with a wide range of companies such as Groupon, Nationwide Insurance, Belly, and JaTango, Doc has applied tenants of agile, lean, systems thinking, and servant leadership to develop highly effective cultures and drastically improve their ability to deliver valuable software and products. A Pluralsight Author, Clean Coders contributor, frequent blogger, international keynote speaker and coach, in his spare time, Doc has been working on his latest book, Escape Velocity: Better Metrics for Agile Teams. You can find his book on LeanPub at www.leanpub.com/EscapeVelocity Twitter: @DocOnDev Web: http://docondev.com/ Can you help keep the podcast growing? Here are some ideas: Tell a friend about the cast. Tweet or post about the cast. Every mention helps. Review the podcast wherever you get the cast. Pitch a column to me. You are cool enough to be listening; you deserve to be heard. Sponsor an episode (text or call me to talk about the idea). Listen. Whether you do one or all six, being here is a big deal to me. Thank you! Re-Read Saturday News This week we continue on our journey through Bad Blood, Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou (published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2018 – Buy a copy and read along!) Today we tackle a single chapter. Chapter 6, titled Sunny, introduces Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani to the story. Sunny, Holmes' live-in boyfriend (the stress on the live-in part is to shine a light on just how close Holmes was to Sunny), adds another layer of toxicity to the Theranos story. The toxicity feels extraordinary but is not that uncommon when teams break down. Current Entry: Week 5 -- Sunny - https://bit.ly/2AZ5tRq Past Entries! Week 1 – Approach and Introduction – https://bit.ly/2J1pY2t Week 2 -- A Purposeful Life and Gluebot - https://bit.ly/2RZANGh Week 3 -- Apple Envy, Goodbye East Paly and Childhood Neighbors - https://bit.ly/2zbOTeO Week 4 -- A Reflection -https://bit.ly/2RA6AfT Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 521 will feature 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. We will also have a visit from the Software Sensei, Kim Pries!

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, with her Not A Scrumdamentalist column. Susan discusses how to become an agilist. It is not as easy as learning any individual set of methods and techniques. One of the places to find Susan is at S3 Technologies, LLC. I know I promised a visit from Jon M. Quigley, but I had a minor problem with the drive and did not get the column into production soon enough to make the deadline. Interested in supporting the podcast? Here are some ideas: Tell a friend (or better yet listen to the podcast with them) about the cast. Tweet or post about the cast. Every mention helps. Review the podcast wherever you get the cast. Pitch a column to me. You are cool enough to be listening, you deserve to be heard. Sponsor an episode (text or call me to talk about the idea - tcagley@tomcagley.com). Listen. Whether you do one or all six, being there is a big deal to me. Thank you! Re-Read Saturday News This week we take a slight detour in our journey through Bad Blood, Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou (published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2018 – Buy a copy and read along!) As we have noted before, the book is at heart a cautionary tale; however, it is easy to pass the shenanigans (in private I might use stronger language) as confined to the boardroom, and therefore not something that can happen inside the boundaries of an agile team or in a department. Ahhhh, think again. To establish the basis for this brief respite we published a review of some of the common attributes of toxic organizations and toxic leaders. It would be easy to go through both of the lists and a find points in the first six chapters and tick the attributes off almost like you were watching a slow(ish)-motion train wreck. Week 1 – Approach and Introduction – https://bit.ly/2J1pY2t Week 2 -- A Purposeful Life and Gluebot - https://bit.ly/2RZANGh Week 3 -- Apple Envy, Goodbye East Paly and Childhood Neighbors - https://bit.ly/2zbOTeO Week 4 -- A Reflection -https://bit.ly/2RA6AfT Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 520 will feature our interview with Doc Norton. We talked about measurement and why velocity isn't generally a good measure for teams.

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 the president of Advantage Leadership, Inc. Where she works with companies around the world that want strategic leaders and engaged employees to increase bottom- and top-line results and delight customers. Clients achieve their goals through strategic planning and leadership, management, team, and organizational development. Rebecca's team works with clients to craft customized, successful solutions to their complex business issues in all economic sectors. Rebecca's says, "Our mission is your success." For over 25 years, Rebecca has contributed improved organizational value as a leader, manager, technologist, keynoter, educator, and consultant honored by organizations on four continents. She is a Ph.D. in organizational development, MBTI® Master Practitioner, a National Speakers Association Professional Member, St. Petersburg Engineering Academy Foreign Member, and Board of Directors Chairperson-Elect, Davie-Cooper City Chamber of Commerce. Contact Information: Rebecca Staton-Reinstein, Ph.D., President Advantage Leadership, Inc. 320 S Flamingo Road, Suite 291, Pembroke Pines, FL 33027 Rebecca@AdvantageLeadership.com Phone: +305-606-9312 Web: http://www.AdvantageLeadership.com Amazon Author Page: http://tinyurl.com/RSRpage Join me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccastatonreinstein Re-Read Saturday News We continue our journey through Bad Blood, Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou (published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2018). Today based on the advice of Stephen Adams we tackle chapters three, four and five. The chapters are titled, "Apple Envy", "Goodbye East Paly" and "Childhood Neighbors." The chapters we cover this week paint a picture of a toxic culture full of deceit, naiveté, and vindictiveness; this will be a blockbuster movie someday. While Theranos sounds extraordinary, it isn't hard to find similar corporate train wrecks. Bad Blood needs to be read as a cautionary tale. Current Week: Week 3 -- Apple Envy, Goodbye East Paly and Childhood Neighbors - https://bit.ly/2zbOTeO Week 1 – Approach and Introduction – https://bit.ly/2J1pY2t Week 2 -- A Purposeful Life and Gluebot - https://bit.ly/2RZANGh Conferences and More! ITMPI Webinar Virtual October 31 Register Now: https://bit.ly/2zo8MAV Webinar: Agile, Where Agile Fears to Tread Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 519 will feature our essay on a code of ethics for agile coaches. I am also considering a call to action to begin banding together to support a code of ethics. We will also have a discussion with Jon M. Quigley.