Software Process and Measurement Cast

SPaMCAST 497 features our essay on micromanagement. Micromanagement is a bane to employees that fall under a micromanager's control. If you ask any manager if they think micromanagement is useful they will tell you no. The problem is that many managers still do it and then rationalize the behavior. We also welcome back Susan Parente, with her "Not a Scrumdamentalist" column. In this installment, Susan discusses using hybrid agile methods to deliver value. The message is that the development approach needs to meld with the organization's culture. Gene Hughson brings the cast home with another entry from his Form Follows Function blog. In this installment Gene discusses his essay, Getting a handle on IT costs by eliminating chargebacks? IT costs are a chronic problem. Ideas for getting a handle on costs are always useful. Re-Read Saturday News In week twelve of the re-read of L. David Marquet's Turn the Ship Around! (Buy your copy now). This week we tackle Underway for San Diego and All Present and Accounted For. Two more tools that are immediately useful. Current Installment: Week 12: Underway for San Diego and All Present and Accounted For - https://bit.ly/2J7AkRx Previous Installments: Week 11: Mistakes Just Happen and We Learn - https://bit.ly/2IMZYL2 Week 10: A New Ship and We Have A Problem - https://bit.ly/2IUJ6RL Week 9: Up Scope! and "A New Ship" - https://bit.ly/2KfDZbS Week 8: Under Way on Nuclear Power and "I Intend To . . ." – https://bit.ly/2rnvkgxWeek 7: Change, In a Word and Welcome Aboard Sante Fe – https://bit.ly/2r5l1hk Week 6: I Relieve You - https://bit.ly/2F7C5ag Week 5: Call to Action and Whatever they tell me to do! - https://bit.ly/2IXZugS Week 4: Change of Course and Frustration - https://bit.ly/2qbPzgK Week 3: Pain and Business as Usual - https://bit.ly/2qfd74g Week 2: Forward and Introduction - https://bit.ly/2H8K4Jg Week 1: Game Plan - https://bit.ly/2HgCdqW Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 498 will feature our interview John Kordyback. John and I have a wide-ranging conversation covering the technical side of agile, the impact of tools on principles, and the difference in agile approaches for systems of engagement and systems of record.

SPaMCAST 496 features our interview with Sam Laing. Sam and I talked about coaching agile teams. The goal of coaching is to help people unleash their inner power. We also touch on the difference between coaching and mentoring. They are different and require different approaches but both are useful! Sam's Bio - Sam writes: Samantha Laing (@samlaing) My personal motto is 'be brave', and I embody this by taking on challenges one small step at a time. Most of my career has been in the IT industry, specifically Software Development. Nowadays I find myself guiding and mentoring others with a passion for agile. This year my focus has been on experimenting and learning from my failures (and successes) – what a great journey so far. Contact Sam at: sam@growingagile.co.za www.growingagile.co.za Re-Read Saturday News In week eleven of the re-read of L. David Marquet's Turn the Ship Around! (Buy Your Copy Now). This week we begin Part III of the book and add two more mechanisms to our tool belt. This week the two chapters are Mistakes Just Happen and We Learn. Current Installment: Week 11: Mistakes Just Happen and We Learn - https://bit.ly/2IMZYL2 Previous Installments: Week 10: A New Ship and We Have A Problem - https://bit.ly/2IUJ6RL Week 9: Up Scope! and "A New Ship" - https://bit.ly/2KfDZbS Week 8: Under Way on Nuclear Power and "I Intend To . . ." – https://bit.ly/2rnvkgxWeek 7: Change, In a Word and Welcome Aboard Sante Fe – https://bit.ly/2r5l1hk Week 6: I Relieve You - https://bit.ly/2F7C5ag Week 5: Call to Action and Whatever they tell me to do! - https://bit.ly/2IXZugS Week 4: Change of Course and Frustration - https://bit.ly/2qbPzgK Week 3: Pain and Business as Usual - https://bit.ly/2qfd74g Week 2: Forward and Introduction - https://bit.ly/2H8K4Jg Week 1: Game Plan - https://bit.ly/2HgCdqW Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 497 will feature our essay on micromanagement. Micromanagement is almost always a bad idea. The problem is that people still do it and then rationalize the behavior. We will hold forth on the topic! We will also have columns from Gene Hughson and Susan Parente!

SPaMCAST 495 features our essay titled, The Definition of Done: Simplicity and Complexity Revisited. The Definition of Done is an important agile technique to help teams plan and execute work. The simplest definition of the Definition of Done is the criteria that a work product must meet to be considered to be complete. While the concept is simple, the implementation of the technique in the real world is rarely simple. Both context and interpretations make things just a bit gray! Our second column features Jon M Quigley's column, The Alpha and Omega of Product Development. In this installment Jon and I discussed Muda, waste, and whether failed innovations are waste. Kim Pries, the Software Sensei, contributes his essay Kanban to the Kanban Power. Kim talks about using kanban to guide and control work both in the workplace and at home. Re-Read Saturday News In week ten of the re-read of L. David Marquet's Turn the Ship Around! (Buy Your Copy Now) we add two more mechanisms for control and complete part two of the book. This week the two chapters are A New Ship and We Have A Problem. Current Installment: Week 10: A New Ship and We Have A Problem - https://bit.ly/2IUJ6RL Previous Installments: Week 9: Up Scope! and "A New Ship" - https://bit.ly/2KfDZbS Week 8: Under Way on Nuclear Power and "I Intend To . . ." – https://bit.ly/2rnvkgxWeek 7: Change, In a Word and Welcome Aboard Sante Fe – https://bit.ly/2r5l1hk Week 6: I Relieve You - https://bit.ly/2F7C5ag Week 5: Call to Action and Whatever they tell me to do! - https://bit.ly/2IXZugS Week 4: Change of Course and Frustration - https://bit.ly/2qbPzgK Week 3: Pain and Business as Usual - https://bit.ly/2qfd74g Week 2: Forward and Introduction - https://bit.ly/2H8K4Jg Week 1: Game Plan - https://bit.ly/2HgCdqW Upcoming Webinars and Conferences QAI Quest 2018The Three Amigo's Role in AgileMay 21-25, 2018, San Antonio, Texas Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 496 will feature our interview with Sam Liang. Sam and I talked about agile coaching and the competencies needed to work more effectively.

SPaMCAST 494 features our interview with Alan Mallory. We discussed his book The Family That Conquered Everest (https://amzn.to/2Iiz3Tc). The book provides strong lessons on leadership and teamwork in an environment where failure can lead to death or worse! Danger, mountaineering, and leadership in a single interview; a first for the Software Process and Measurement Cast. Alan's Bio Alan Mallory is an international speaker, author, and performance coach who is passionate about leadership and human performance. A graduate from Queen's University, he has worked internationally with large organizations as a professional engineer and project manager. Living and working abroad has given Alan the opportunity to deepen his understanding of individual and team challenges, better appreciate cultural diversity and successfully adapt to different organizational structures. Through his work and life experiences, he has discovered that his true passion is helping people reach new heights by cultivating effective ways of thinking and taking action. Building experience through a lifestyle of adventure and challenge, in the spring of 2008 Alan embarked on the journey of a lifetime: to attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Along with three members of his immediate family, Alan climbed through some of the most challenging yet exciting conditions imaginable and set a world record when all four of them set foot on the summit. The expedition involved two years of planning and two months of climbing through immense challenges but they were able to overcome these obstacles through strategic planning, healthy team dynamics, self-awareness and perseverance. Alan delivers a number of exciting presentations and training programs designed to help individuals, team members and organizations reach new heights in the way we think and the actions we take in order to achieve breakthrough performance. For more information, visit www.alanmallory.com. Contact Phone: 647-388-4044 Email: alan@alanmallory.com Web: alanmallory.com Re-Read Saturday News In week nine of the re-read of L. David Marquet's Turn the Ship Around! we discuss chapters 12 and 13, titled Up Scope! and "A New Ship". Current Installment: Week 9: Up Scope! and "A New Ship" - https://bit.ly/2KfDZbS Previous Installments: Week 8: Under Way on Nuclear Power and "I Intend To . . ." – https://bit.ly/2rnvkgx Week 7: Change, In a Word and Welcome Aboard Sante Fe – https://bit.ly/2r5l1hk Week 6: I Relieve You - https://bit.ly/2F7C5ag Week 5: Call to Action and Whatever they tell me to do! - https://bit.ly/2IXZugS Week 4: Change of Course and Frustration - https://bit.ly/2qbPzgK Week 3: Pain and Business as Usual - https://bit.ly/2qfd74g Week 2: Forward and Introduction - https://bit.ly/2H8K4Jg Week 1: Game Plan - https://bit.ly/2HgCdqW Upcoming Webinars and Conferences QAI Quest 2018 The Three Amigo's Role in Agile May 21-25, 2018, San Antonio, Texas Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 495 will feature our essay titled, The Definition of Done: Simplicity and Complexity Revisited. The Definition of Done is an important Agile technique to help teams plan and execute work. The simplest definition of the Definition of Done is the criteria that a work product must meet to be considered to be complete. While the concept is simple, the implementation of the technique in the real world is rarely simple. Both context and interpretations make things just a bit gray! We will also have columns from Kim Pries and Jon M Quigley

SPaMCAST 493 features our essay titled Thoughts on Kaizen. The punchline is that the goal of continuous improvement is to help teams to eliminate waste (Muda, Muri, Mura), while improving an organization's capability to deliver value. Our second column features Jeremy Berriault. In this installment of the QA Corner (https://qacorner.blog/). Jeremy and I talked about his upcoming appearance at QAI Quest. Jeremy is talking about TDD test cases and participating in the Managers Solutions Workshop. Anchoring the cast is Wolfram Müller. Wolfram co-authored Hyper-Productive Knowledge Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach with Steve Tendon. We talk about Chapter 22 titled In Practice with Scrum. Wolfram can be found on LinkedIn at https://bit.ly/2qXvgnw Re-Read Saturday News In week eight of the re-read of L. David Marquet's Turn the Ship Around! we discuss chapters 10 and 11, titled Under Way on Nuclear Power and I Intend To . . .". Current Installment: Week 8: Under Way on Nuclear Power and "I Intend To . . ." - https://bit.ly/2rnvkgx Previous Installments: Week 7: Change, In a Word and Welcome Aboard Sante Fe - https://bit.ly/2r5l1hk Week 6: I Relieve You - https://bit.ly/2F7C5ag Week 5: Call to Action and Whatever they tell me to do! - https://bit.ly/2IXZugS Week 4: Change of Course and Frustration - https://bit.ly/2qbPzgK Week 3: Pain and Business as Usual - https://bit.ly/2qfd74g Week 2: Forward and Introduction - https://bit.ly/2H8K4Jg Week 1: Game Plan - https://bit.ly/2HgCdqW Upcoming Webinars and ConferencesQAI Quest 2018The Three Amigo's Role in AgileMay 21-25, 2018, San Antonio, Texas Next SPaMCASTSPaMCAST 494 will feature our interview with Allan Mallory. We discussed leadership and his book, the "The Family that Conquered Everest". Danger, mountaineering, and leadership!

Software Process and Measurement Cast 492 features our recent interview with Murali Chemuturi. Murali and I discussed his new book tilted Software Design: A Comprehensive Guide to Software Development Projects (Link https://amzn.to/2qMAgKW). Murali makes a strong case that design can't be purely emergent. Design impacts usability, security, and data architecture to name just a few areas. Practical advice and strong opinions. Note Murali and I co-authored Mastering Software Project Management (buy a copy!) https://amzn.to/2F5LWxB). Murali's Bio Murali Chemuturi is an information technology and software development subject matter expert, hands-on programmer, author, consultant, and trainer. Since 2001, he is offering consultancy on information technology and training to organizations in India and the USA from Chemuturi Consultants. Chemuturi Consultants also offers a number of products to aid project managers and software development professionals such as PMPal, a software project management tool; and EstimatorPal, FPAPal & UCPPal, a set of software estimation tools. Chemuturi Consultants also offers material requirements planning software product MRPPal to assist small to medium manufacturing organizations to efficiently manage their materials. Web: www.chemuturi.com Email: murali@chemuturi.com Re-Read Saturday News In week seven of the re-read of L. David Marquet's Turn the Ship Around! we begin Part 2 of the book and tackle chapters 8 and 9, titled Change, In a Word and Welcome Aboard Sante Fe. Current Installment: Week 7: Change, In a Word and Welcome Aboard Sante Fe -https://bit.ly/2r5l1hk Previous Installments: Week 6: I Relieve You - https://bit.ly/2F7C5ag Week 5: Call to Action and Whatever they tell me to do! - https://bit.ly/2IXZugS Week 4: Change of Course and Frustration - https://bit.ly/2qbPzgK Week 3: Pain and Business as Usual - https://bit.ly/2qfd74g Week 2: Forward and Introduction - https://bit.ly/2H8K4Jg Week 1: Game Plan - https://bit.ly/2HgCdqW Upcoming Webinars and Conferences QAI Quest 2018 The Three Amigo's Role in Agile May 21-25, 2018, San Antonio, Texas ISMA 15 May 11 Rome, Italy Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 493 will feature our essay titled Thoughts on Kaizen The punchline is that the goal of continuous improvement is to help teams to eliminate waste (Muda, Muri, Mura) while improving an organization's capability to deliver value. We will also have columns from Jeremy Berriault and Wolfram Mueller. Jeremy and I talked about our upcoming appearance at QAI Quest. Wolfram picks up the discussion of Hyper-Productive Knowledge Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach with Chapter 22.

Software Process and Measurement Cast 491 features our essay titled, Can "Done" Be Allowed To Break Production? The most succinct answer to the question is always no, the story is not done. The reason is that the story is not implementable, and unless the goal of the story is to blow up production and anger customers it can't be considered to be done. Susan Parente brings her Not a Scrumdamentalist column to the cast this week. Susan discusses Kanban for You and Me. The discussion focuses on personal Kanban and how to use it to guide your day to day activities effectively and efficiently. Kim Pries, the Software Sensi, anchors the cast this week. Kim's essay is titled Real Software Quality. In this column, Kim warns us of the dangers of interventionism on quality. Re-Read Saturday News In week six of the re-read of L. David Marquet's Turn the Ship Around! we tackle chapter 7, titled I Relieve You. I am breaking the two chapter pattern to layup so that we can have a clean start the second part of the book next week Chapter Seven completes Part One of the book. Part one serves tells the story of how Captain Marquet came to be in command of the USSN Santa Fe rather than the Olympia. Much of Marquet's leadership model was emergent (like design in agile). Change may occur even without a shock, such as Marquet's reassignment, but adding energy will hasten change. In this case, the shock made the development of Marquet's leadership model inevitable. Current Installment: Week 6: I Relieve You - https://bit.ly/2F7C5ag Previous Installments: Week 5: Call to Action and Whatever they tell me to do! - https://bit.ly/2IXZugS Week 4: Change of Course and Frustration - https://bit.ly/2qbPzgK Week 3: Pain and Business as Usual - https://bit.ly/2qfd74g Week 2: Forward and Introduction - https://bit.ly/2H8K4Jg Week 1: Game Plan - https://bit.ly/2HgCdqW Upcoming Webinars and Conferences QAI Quest 2018 The Three Amigo's Role in Agile May 21-25, 2018, San Antonio, Texas ISMA 15 May 11 Rome, Italy Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 492 will feature our recent interview with Murali Chemuturi. Murali has just published a new book tilted Software Design: A Comprehensive Guide to Software Development Projects (Link https://amzn.to/2qMAgKW). The book offers practical design advice for anyone involved in software development. We discussed the impact of design on usability, security and data architecture to name just a few areas. Note Murali and I co-authored Mastering Software Project Management (buy a copy! https://amzn.to/2F5LWxB).

Software Process and Measurement Cast 490 features a return visit from Michael West. Michael West is the author of Return On Process (ROP): Getting Real Performance Results from Process Improvement and Real Process Improvement Using the CMMI! [LINKS] Michael and I talked about process improvement and how process improvement translates to the bottom line. Mr. West originally appeared on the SPaMCAST 308 [https://bit.ly/2ITlKsf] Michael's bio: Michael West is a life-long practitioner and student of process improvement. He is the co-founder of Natural Systems Process Improvement (Natural SPI), a consultancy specializing in designing, developing, and deploying process systems that enable measurable business performance improvement gains. Mr. West's process insights and innovations have helped many organizations in various sectors of the economy achieve real process and performance improvement. His process consulting clients include ATK, Autodesk, AVL, BAE, BB&T, Crane Aerospace, DCS, Deloitte, Sandia National Labs, Reliability First, and the US Navy. Mr. West frequently presents and speaks at industry conferences, and is the author of Real Process Improvement Using the CMMI (CRC Press, 2004) and Return On Process (ROP): Getting Real Performance Results from Process Improvement (CRC Press, 2013). Contact Michael at: Web: http://www.naturalspi.com/ Email: michael@naturalspi.com Twitter: @ItsTheProcess Re-Read Saturday News In week five of the re-read of L. David Marquet's Turn the Ship Around! (https://amzn.to/2qujXmL) we tackle chapters five and six. These two chapters, titled Call to Action and Whatever They Tell Me To Do! continue to tell the stories that form the basis for Marquet's leadership model. Current Installment: Week 5: Call to Action and Whatever they tell me to do! - https://bit.ly/2IXZugS Previous Installments: Week 4: Change of Course and Frustration - https://bit.ly/2qbPzgK Week 3: Pain and Business as Usual - https://bit.ly/2qfd74g Week 2: Forward and Introduction - https://bit.ly/2H8K4Jg Week 1: Game Plan - https://bit.ly/2HgCdqW Upcoming Webinars and Conferences QAI Quest 2018 The Three Amigo's Role in Agile May 21-25, 2018, San Antonio, Texas ISMA 15 May 11 Rome, Italy Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 491 will feature our essay titled, Can "Done" Be Allowed To Break Production? The most succinct answer to the question is always, "no, the story is not done". The reason is that the story is not implementable and unless the goal of the story is to blow up production and anger customers it can't be considered to be done. We will also have columns from Susan Parente and Kim Pries.

SPaMCAST 489 features our essay titled, Lean: The Science and Art of a Gemba Walk Deciding on the purpose and scope of a Gemba walk is part science and part art. The part that is science is driven by measurement and observation of the organization's value stream(s). The art is applied to decide where to look, to begin with, and in the empathy, you apply during the walk! Our second column features Jon M Quigley who brings his Alpha and Omega of Product Development to the cast. In this segment, we discuss agile development. Jon's previous column considered agile culture. Listen to SPaMCAST 483 (https://bit.ly/2GHzI41). Gene Hughson of Form Follows Function anchors the cast. He discusses his great article, There is no right way (though there are plenty of wrong ones) (https://bit.ly/2EsNqlj) Gene suggests "After all, at the end of the day, if there were only one right way to design a system, would anyone need an architect?" Re-Read Saturday News In week four of the re-read of L. David Marquet's Turn the Ship Around! we tackle Chapters three and four. These two chapters, titled Change of Course and Frustration, continue to build the basis for Marquet's leadership model. Buy a copy today and read along! http://amzn.to/2oGGOKV Current Installment: Week 4: Change of Course and Frustration - https://bit.ly/2qbPzgK Previous Installments: Week 3: Pain and Business as Usual - https://bit.ly/2qfd74g Week 2: Forward and Introduction - https://bit.ly/2H8K4Jg Week 1: Game Plan - https://bit.ly/2HgCdqW Upcoming Webinars and ConferencesQAI Quest 2018The Three Amigo's Role in AgileMay 21-25, 2018, San Antonio, Texas ISMA 15May 11 Rome, Italy Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 490 will feature the return of Michael West author of Return On Process (ROP): Getting Real Performance Results from Process Improvement and Real Process Improvement Using the CMMI! Michael and I talked about process improvement and how process improvement translates to the bottom line.

SPaMCAST 488 features our interview with Prem Ranganath. Prem and I discussed why organizations need to focus on innovation and excellence. The topic might sound trite; however, making innovation and excellence happen is hard. Prem provides examples and advice from the real world. Prem is responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive quality strategy for product engineering covering people, processes, tools and an enabling culture at Trilliant Networks. Prem takes an intrapreneurial approach to empower Trilliant's customers by enabling lean, agile solution delivery and a culture of quality. He enjoys working with teams to solve problems using design thinking and experimentation. In 2017, Prem was the Capability Challenge champion and is a member of ASQ's Influential Voices program. Company URL: www.trilliant.com Linked-In: linkedin.com/in/premranganath Twitter: @pgranganath Re-Read Saturday News We continue the re-read of L. David Marquet's Turn the Ship Around! This week we tackle Chapters one and two. The two chapters, titled Pain and Business as Usual, establish the foundation which positioned Marquet to build his management style. Chapters one and two are part of Part I. The book is broken into IV parts, which provide a macro change arc to drive the story. Current Installment: Week 3: Pain and Business as Usual Previous Installments: Week 2: Forward and Introduction Week 1: Game Plan Upcoming Webinars and Conferences QAI Quest 2018 The Three Amigo's Role in Agile May 21-25, 2018, San Antonio, Texas ISMA 15 May 11 Rome, Italy I will also be at Agile West on June 7th (my birthday!) Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 489 will feature our essay titled, Lean: The Science and Art of a Gemba Walk Deciding on the purpose and scope of a Gemba walk is part science and part art. The part that is science is driven by measurement and observation of the organization's value stream(s). The art is applied to decide where to look, to begin with and in the empathy, you apply during the walk! We will also have installments from Jon M Quigley and Gene Hughson.