Software Process and Measurement Cast

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 408 features our interview with Kupe Kupersmith. Kupe and I discussed the role of the business analyst in today's dynamic environment. It is critical to defining and facilitating the delivery of value. Weighty topics, but we also had a bit of fun. "Kupe" Kupersmith, President, B2T Training, possesses over 18 years of experience in software systems development. He has served as the lead Business Analyst and Project Manager on projects in the energy, television and sports management and marketing industries. Additionally, he serves as a mentor for business analysis professionals. Kupe is the co-author of Business Analysis for Dummies, a Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP®) and a former IIBA® Board Member. Kupe is a requested speaker and has presented at many conferences around the world. Being a trained improvisational comedian, Kupe is sure to make you laugh while you're learning. For a feel for Kupe's view on business analysis topics check out his blog on BA Times. Kupe is a connector and has a goal in life to meet everyone! Contact Information https://www.linkedin.com/in/kupetheba https://www.b2ttraining.com/ Re-Read Saturday News This week we continue our re-read of Kent Beck's XP Explained, Second Edition with a discussion of Chapters 18 and 19. Chapters 18 and 19 provide a view into two very different management philosophies that shaped software development in general and have had a major impact on XP. Chapter 18 discusses Taylorism and scientific management; a management knows best view of the world. Chapter 19 talks about the Toyota Production System, which puts significant power back in the hands of the practitioner to deliver a quality product. Use the link to XP Explained in the show notes when you buy your copy to read along to support both the blog and podcast. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday. Next, we are going to read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Jossey-Bass. This will be a new book for me, therefore, an initial read, not a re-read! Steven Adams suggested the book and it has been on my list for a few years! Click the link (The Five Dysfunctions of a Team), buy a copy and in a few weeks, we will begin to read the book together. Next SPaMCAST In the next Software Process and Measurement Cast, we will feature essay on whether a team is really one or two teams. While the essay is a result of answering a friend's question, the ideas in the essay can be applied when you are building any sort of team. We will also have columns from Jeremy Berriault's QA Corner and Jon M. Quigley' column, "The Alpha-Omega of Product Development." Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 407 includes four separate columns. We begin with a short essay refreshing the pros and cons of Test Driven Development. Test Driven Development promises a lot of benefits but all is not light, kittens and puppies. Still, TDD is well worth doing if you go into it with your eyes open. Our second column features Kim Pries, the Software Sensei. Kim discusses what makes software "good." The Software Sensei puts the "good" in quotes because it is actually a difficult word to define but Kim is willing to give the discussion a go! In our third column, we return to Tame The Flow: Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Application to Scrum and Kanban published J Ross (buy a copy here). We tackle Chapter 10 which is titled The Thinking Processes. Thinking processes are key to effectively using Agile, lean and kanban processes. Gene Hughson anchors the cast with an entry from his Form Follows Function Blog. In this installment, we discuss the blog entry titled "Learning to Deal with the Inevitable." Gene and I discussed change which is inevitable and innovation which is not quite as inevitable. Re-Read Saturday News This week we continue our re-read of Kent Beck's XP Explained, Second Edition with a discussion of Chapters 16 and 17. Chapter 16 ends Section One with an interview with Brad Jensen. Section Two addresses the philosophies of XP. Chapter 17 tells the creation story of XP from Beck's point of view. We are going to read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Jossey-Bass . This will be a new book for me, therefore, an initial read (I have not read this book yet), not a re-read! Steven Adams suggested the book and it has been on my list for a few years! Click the link (The Five Dysfunctions of a Team), buy a copy and in a few weeks, we will begin to read the book together. Use the link to XP Explained in the show notes when you buy your copy to read along to support both the blog and podcast. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday. Next SPaMCAST In the next Software Process and Measurement Cast, we will feature our interview with Kupe Kupersmith. Kupe brings his refreshing take on the role of the business analyst in today's dynamic environment. This interview was informative, provocative and entertaining. Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 406 features our interview with Erik van Veenendaal. We discussed Agile testing, risk and testing, the Test Maturity Model Integrated (TMMi), and why in an Agile world quality and testing still matter. Erik van Veenendaal (www.erikvanveenendaal.nl) is a leading international consultant and trainer, and a recognized expert in the area of software testing and requirement engineering. He is the author of a number of books and papers within the profession, one of the core developers of the TMap testing methodology, a participant in working parties of the International Requirements Engineering Board (IREB). He is one of the founding members of the TMMi Foundation, the lead developer of the TMMi model and currently a member of the TMMi executive committee. Erik is a frequent keynote and tutorial speaker at international testing and quality conferences. For his major contribution to the field of testing, Erik received the European Testing Excellence Award (2007) and the ISTQB International Testing Excellence Award (2015). You can follow Erik on twitter via @ErikvVeenendaal. Re-Read Saturday News This week we continue our re-read of Kent Beck's XP Explained, Second Edition with a discussion of Chapters 14 and 15. This week we dive into design and scaling. These chapters address two critical and controversial topics that XP profoundly rethought. I am still collecting thoughts on what to read next. Is it time to start thinking about what is next: a re-read or a new read? Thoughts? Use the link to XP Explained in the show notes when you buy your copy to read along to support both the blog and podcast. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will focus on our recent revisit of Test Driven Development (TDD). TDD is an important feature of XP that can be (and should be) used if quality and efficiency are important to your organization. We will also have a new column from Steve Tendon (welcome back Steve!) and Gene Hughson AND maybe one more but we will see! Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

Software Process and Measurement Cast 405 is a cornucopia of topics! We begin by exploring a bit of the psychology of change in four short essays. These topics are important for any change agent at any level to understand. Change at any scale is not an easy task. Change requires establishing a goal, recruiting a sponsor, acquiring a budget, developing a set of plans and then there is the part where the miracle happens and people change. The last step is always the hardest and is often akin to herding cats. Psychology and sociology have identified many of the reasons why people embrace change and innovation in different ways. Our second column is from Jon M. Quigley. We have settled on a name for the column, "The Alpha-Omega of Product Development." In this month's column, we discuss using metrics to dispel assumptions. One item we discussed was using planning poker to expose assumptions and then to find tactics to address them. Anchoring the cast, Jeremy Berriault brings the QA Corner to the Software Process and Measurement Cast. In this installment of the QA Corner, Jeremy talks about whether test automation scripting for new functions should be tackled or not. Jeremy has an opinion and provides advice for testing professionals on a sticky topic. Re-Read Saturday News This week we continue our re-read of Kent Beck's XP Explained, Second Edition with a discussion of Chapters 12 and 13. This week we tackle two concepts central to XP: planning and testing both done the XP way. We are exactly halfway through the book. We will have seven more installments including an entry for reflections on the overall book. It is time to start thinking about what is next: a re-read or a new read? Thoughts? Use the link to XP Explained in the show notes when you buy your copy to read along to support both the blog and podcast. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature interview with Erik van Veenendaal. We discussed the Test Maturity Model Integrated, TMMi, and why in an Agile world quality and testing really matter. Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

Software Process and Measurement Cast 404 features our interview with Ryan Ripley. We discussed The Business of Agile: Better, Faster, Cheaper at Agile. We discussed why having the answer for whether Agile is better, faster and cheaper is still important in the business world. Along the way, we wrestled with the concept of value and why having value sooner is not the same as going fast. Ryan Ripley has worked on agile teams for the past 10 years in development, scrum master, and management roles. He's worked at various Fortune 500 companies in the medical device, wholesale, and financial services industries. Ryan is great at taking tests and holds the PMI-ACP, PSM I, PSM II, PSE, PSPO I, PSD I, CSM and CSPO agile certifications. Ryan lives in Indiana with his wife Kristin and their three children. He blogs at ryanripley.com and hosts the Agile for Humans podcast. You can also follow Ryan on twitter: @ryanripley Re-Read Saturday News This week we continue our re-read of Kent Beck's XP Explained, Second Edition with a discussion of Chapters 9 and 10. It is great to see the concepts we explored when we re-read Goldratt's The Goal come back to roost. This week we focus on roles, the definition of team, flow and more flow. Use the link to XP Explained in the show notes when you buy your copy to read along to support both the blog and podcast. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our essay productivity. A lot of people would tell you productivity does not matter or that discussing productivity in today's Agile world is irrational. They are wrong. Productivity is about jobs. We will also have columns from the QA Corner and for Jon M Quigley. I think 405 might be just a bit controversial. Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 403 features our essay on Agile practices at Scale. Scaling Agile is a contentious topic. Frameworks and techniques for scaling are often lambasted as semi-Agile or perhaps even backdoor waterfall techniques. Occasionally you still hear that if a piece of work is too big for one team to complete in a reasonable period of time it should be broken down or just not done. Rather than throw the baby out with the bathwater, many organizations have taken a more pragmatic approach and adopted techniques to scale Agile. We discuss the issues and some of the steps that can be taken to address them! We will also have a visit from the Software Sensei, Kim Pries. Kim discusses making real transformations using his experience learning Tai Chi. Kim points out that change like deep learning is not instantaneous. Gene Hughson anchors the cast with an entry from his Form Follows Function Blog. We discussed his article titled, NPM, Tay, and the Need for Design. Gene points out that being forewarned is forearmed. While it has always been true, in today's dynamic environment, an architect needs to be forearmed. Re-Read Saturday News This week we continue our re-read of Kent Beck's XP Explained, Second Edition with a discussion of Chapters 8 and 9. Chapter 8 changes gears and provides advice on how to get started with XP. Beck suggests that there is no single place to start for everyone. Where you start depends on where you are beginning. Chapter 9 provides a list of corollary practices that build on the primary practices discussed in Chapter 7. Use the link to XP Explained in the show notes when you buy your copy to read along to support both the blog and podcast. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our interview with Ryan Ripley. We discussed the presentation he is going to do at Agile 2016: The Business of Agile: Better, Faster, Cheaper at Agile. We discussed why having the answer for whether Agile is better, faster and cheaper is still important in the business world! Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 402 features our interview with Ulises Torres. Ulises and I talked about how his firm, Intellego, has leveraged Agile and the CMMI to improve quality, increase customer satisfaction and business. Ulises makes a strong argument that for his company, Agile and the CMMI are better together. Ulises Torres has over 24 years of experience in IT, either as a Developer, Team Leader, Project Manager or as an Architect, analyzing, designing, building and implementing a large number of applications, mainly with regard to retail, manufacturing, logistics/distribution and financials. He has worked in software factories, running different projects at the same time and has formal training and proficiency in QA, Scrum, Lean Kanban, Six sigma, OOP, UML, RUP, CMMI and PMI frameworks. Ulises work at Intellego, a development of solutions and information management services company with offices in México,Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Perú, and USA. Contact Information: Email: utorres@intellego.com.mx Web: http://www.grupointellego.com/en/the-company/ o http://www.grupointellego.com/la-compania/ Re-Read Saturday News This week we continue the Re-read Saturday of Kent Beck's XP Explained, Second Edition with a discussion of Chapters 6 and 7. Practices, Beck notes represent endpoints that need to be pursued using "baby steps" but they are at the core of how we practice XP. Use the link to XP Explained in the show notes when you buy your copy to read along to support both the blog and podcast. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will our essay on Agile practices at scale (Meg 2/23, 2/25 3/1 and 3/2 … others?). We will also have a visit from the Software Sensei Kim Pries and Gene Hughson will bring his Form Follows Function Blog to the Software Process and Measurement Cast. Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 401 features three columns! We begin with our essay on listening. Every time we answer the phone, interact with a co-worker or even turn on the television we need to hear and interpret the messages that are being sent. Our complicated business and life environments impact how we listen through the situations we face. Listening is important. Like reading, it is fundamental to almost every activity needed to build, enhance or maintain a product; therefore, learning and understanding how to listen, and as importantly how not to listen, are table stakes for getting anything done! Jon M. Quigley's second column discusses the topic of cost, quality, testing and contract closure. All of the parts of a product have to fit together for everyone to feel comfortable and pay the bill! Jeremy Berriault and the QA Corner anchor the cast. I asked Jeremy to talk about whether developers should test. (Don't tell anyone, but the answer is HECK YES.) Re-Read Saturday News This week we continue the Re-read Saturday of Kent Beck's XP Explained, Second Edition with a discussion of Chapters 4 and 5. We do a deep dive into values and principles. Values and principles are the basis for all of the practices we will explore as we read. Use the link to XP Explained in the show notes when you buy your copy to read along to support both the blog and podcast. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our interview with Ulises Torres. Ulises and I talked about how his firm, Intellego, has leveraged Agile and the CMMI to improve quality, increase customer satisfaction and business. Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

Software Process and Measurement Cast 400 features our interview with Jim Benson. Jim and I talked about personal Kanban, micromanagement, work-in-process limits, pattern matching, Pomodoro and more. A great interview to cap our first 400 episodes! Jim's career path has taken him through government agencies, Fortune 10 corporations, and start-ups. Through them all his passion has remained consistent – applying new technologies to workgroups. In each case asking how they can be leveraged to collaborate and cooperate more effectively. Jim loves ideas, creation, and building opportunities. He loves working with teams who are passionate about the future, pushing boundaries, and inclusion. His goal with all technologies is to increase beneficial contact between people and reduce the bureaucratic noise which so often tends to increase costs and destroy creativity. Jim is the author of the Shingo Research Award-winning book Personal Kanban (use the link to buy a copy and support the podcast). He is a noted expert in business process, personal work management, and the application of Lean to personal work and life. Jim believes that the best process is the least process necessary to achieve goals. He has zero tolerance for process waste. All said, Jim enjoys helping people and teams work out sticky problems, an advocate of people actually seeing their work, and inventing new ways to work at the intersection of Lean thinking, brain science, and leadership. Contact Jim Twitter: https://twitter.com/ourfounder LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimbenson Personal Kanban: http://www.personalkanban.com/pk/#sthash.MtOA96sV.dpbs Modus Cooperandi: http://moduscooperandi.com/ Re-Read Saturday News This week we continue the Re-read Saturday of Kent Beck's XP Explained, Second Edition with a discussion of Chapters 2 and 3. The first two chapters in section One provide us with an overview of the conceptual framework that underpins XP. Use the link to XP Explained in the show notes when you buy your copy to read along to support both the blog and podcast. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our essay on listening. Effective listening is CRITICAL to every aspect of software development and maintenance. Listening is a complex set of tasks that is more than simply receiving audio data. You also need to interpret that data. We will also have columns from Jeremy Berriault who brings us the QA Corner and Jon M. Quigley's second column which covers the gamut of product development. Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 399 features our essay titled, Storytelling: Developing The Big Picture for Agile Efforts. Agile reminds us that the focus of any set of requirements needs to be on an outcome rather than a collection of whats and whos. Storytelling is a powerful tool to elevate even the most diehard requirements analyst from a discussion of individual requirements to a discussion of outcomes. Before we can generate a backlog composed of features, epics, and user stories, we need to understand the big picture. Our second column is a visit to Gene Hughson's Form Follows Function Blog. We discussed an entry titled A Meaningful Manifesto for IT. Do we need a manifesto to know that how well we are meeting the needs of our customers is a reflection of how fit IT is for purpose? Perhaps the answer is yes, if for no other purpose than to ensure we make sure that what we deliver is not a waste of money. Anchoring the cast this week is the Software Sensei, Kim Pries. Kim discusses the role of deliberate practice in increasing the capability and capacity of teams. Kim's provides practical advice on improving team performance. Re-Read Saturday News This week we begin the Re-read Saturday of Kent Beck's XP Explained, Second Edition with a discussion of the Preface and Chapter 1. These sections provide a definition of XP and context for the diving into the principles and techniques. Using the link to XP Explained when you buy your copy to read along will support both the blog and podcast. Visit the Software Process and Measurement Blog (www.tcagley.wordpress.com) to catch up on past installments of Re-Read Saturday. Next SPaMCAST The next Software Process and Measurement Cast, #400!, features our interview with Jim Benson. Jim and I talked about personal Kanban, micromanagement, work-in-process limits, pattern matching, pomodoro and more. This was a marvelous interview to commemorate our first 400 shows! Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.