Software Process and Measurement Cast

The Software Process and Measurement Cast Crew are off for an adventure. We will be back on December 8th with new content. In the interim, we share four gems from our back catalog of over 800 interviews, essays, and conversations. You can check out the entire catalog at www.spamcast.net. Today we return to June 202 (SPaMCAST 605) for a conversation with Jodie Kane. Jodie and I discussed involving product owners in retrospectives. Jodie suggests the answer should not be cut and dry but rather context-driven. Master Work Intake! Join one of two upcoming Mastering Work Intake Workshops to help you learn to address IT's nastiest, dirtiest little secret…poor work intake. The next workshop is taking a compressed approach to help kickstart 2025! Seats are available on: December 6th 9 AM EST Noon EST More information and registration at https://maven.com/jeremy-willets/masteringworkintake Simply put if you don't control work intake IT CONTROLS YOU! No workshops for you? Buy a copy of Mastering Work Intake and begin to take control of the flow of work for your team and organization. Order a copy of the book from JRoss Publishing - https://bit.ly/474ul6G or via Amazon - https://bit.ly/474ul6G Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 837 through 840 will be reruns of some of my favorite shows from the early 2000's. I am off on a vacation. We will be back with new content with SPaMCAST 841

The Software Process and Measurement Cast Crew are off for an adventure. We will be back on December 8th with new content. In the interim, we share four gems from our back catalog of over 800 interviews, essays, and conversations. You can check out the entire catalog at www.spamcast.net. Today we return to December 2021 to remember an interview with Mauricio Aguiar and Christine Green, We discussed their vision of the state and future of Software Measurement. Mauricio, Christine, and I are all Past Presidents of the International Function Point Users Group (the largest international software measurement association). The conversation is both provocative and enlightening. The original version of this interview was published in SPaMCAST 680. Master Work Intake! Join one of two upcoming Mastering Work Intake Workshops to help you learn to address IT's nastiest, dirtiest little secret…poor work intake. The next workshop is taking a compressed approach to help kickstart 2025! Seats are available on: December 6th 9 AM EST Noon EST More information and registration at https://maven.com/jeremy-willets/masteringworkintake Simply put if you don't control work intake IT CONTROLS YOU! No workshops for you? Buy a copy of Mastering Work Intake and begin to take control of the flow of work for your team and organization. Order a copy of the book from JRoss Publishing - https://bit.ly/474ul6G or via Amazon - https://bit.ly/474ul6G Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 837 through 840 will be reruns of some of my favorite shows from the early 2000's. I am off on a vacation. We will be back with new content with SPaMCAST 841.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast Crew are off for an adventure. We will be back on December 8th with new content. In the interim, we share four gems from our back catalog of over 800 interviews, essays, and conversations. You can check out the entire catalog at www.spamcast.net. We return to August 2019 for a two-parter, with Al Shalloway. This was a long interview. We originally spread over SPaMCAST 559 and SPaMCAST 560. Today both parts are united. The conversation with Al was full of huge ideas, concepts, and calls to action. Al and I talked about the troubles dogging classic agile, the Agile Industrial Complex, using a scientific approach to change, and FLEX. Master Work Intake! Join one of two upcoming Mastering Work Intake Workshops to help you learn to address IT's nastiest, dirtiest little secret…poor work intake. The next two workshops are taking a compressed approach to help kickstart 2025! Seats are available on: November 9th 9 AM EST - Noon EST December 6th 9 AM EST Noon EST More information and registration at https://maven.com/jeremy-willets/masteringworkintake Simply put if you don't control work intake IT CONTROLS YOU! No workshops for you? Buy a copy of Mastering Work Intake and begin to take control of the flow of work for your team and organization. Order a copy of the book from JRoss Publishing - https://bit.ly/474ul6G or via Amazon - https://bit.ly/474ul6G Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 837 through 840 will be reruns of some of my favorite shows from the early 2000's. I am off on a vacation. We will be back with new content with SPaMCAST 841

The Software Process and Measurement Cast Crew are off for an adventure. We will be back on December 8th with new content. In the interim, we share four gems from our back catalog of over 800 interviews, essays, and conversations. You can check out the entire catalog at www.spamcast.net. We return to August 2019 for a two-parter, with Al Shalloway. This was a long interview. We originally spread over SPaMCAST 559 and SPaMCAST 560. Today both parts are united. The conversation with Al was full of huge ideas, concepts, and calls to action. Al and I talked about the troubles dogging classic agile, the Agile Industrial Complex, using a scientific approach to change, and FLEX. Master Work Intake! Join one of two upcoming Mastering Work Intake Workshops to help you learn to address IT's nastiest, dirtiest little secret…poor work intake. The next two workshops are taking a compressed approach to help kickstart 2025! Seats are available on: November 9th 9 AM EST - Noon EST December 6th 9 AM EST Noon EST More information and registration at https://maven.com/jeremy-willets/masteringworkintake Simply put if you don't control work intake IT CONTROLS YOU! No workshops for you? Buy a copy of Mastering Work Intake and begin to take control of the flow of work for your team and organization. Order a copy of the book from JRoss Publishing - https://bit.ly/474ul6G or via Amazon - https://bit.ly/474ul6G Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 837 through 840 will be reruns of some of my favorite shows from the early 2000's. I am off on a vacation. We will be back with new content with SPaMCAST 841

SPaMCAST 836 celebrates Halloween. Over the years instead of just one night, people decorate their houses and celebrate for at least a month - we love a party. In celebration of what has become the seventh-largest retail holiday in the United States, let's take a spooky look at the outcome of poor work intake and celebrate that we can banish the spooks and shades of poor work intake. We also hear from Jeremy Berriault in his Evolutionary Agilist column. In this episode, we discuss the impact of adding new team members to a long-lived, high-performing team when the new person wants to strike out in a new direction. Master Work Intake! Join one of two upcoming Mastering Work Intake Workshops to help you learn to address IT's nastiest, dirtiest little secret…poor work intake. The next two workshops are taking a compressed approach to help kickstart 2025! Seats are available on: November 9th 9 AM EST - Noon EST December 6th 9 AM EST Noon EST More information and registration at https://maven.com/jeremy-willets/masteringworkintake Simply put if you don't control work intake IT CONTROLS YOU! No workshops for you? Buy a copy of Mastering Work Intake and begin to take control of the flow of work for your team and organization. Order a copy of the book from JRoss Publishing - https://bit.ly/474ul6G or via Amazon - https://bit.ly/474ul6G Re-read Saturday News Chapter 10 of Massimo Pigliucci's How to Be a Stoic (buy a copy and read along) is titled Disability And Mental Illness. Sounds like a downer? It isn't. The author begins this chapter by reminding us that Stoicism's goal is to help people live the best life possible. He uses the stories of three people to illustrate how Stoicism can help people deal with difficult problems. I see this chapter as related to chapter 9's discussion of role models. Catch on all of the entries in the re-read of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along) Week 1: Logistics and Opening Thoughts Week 2: The Unstraightforward Path Week 3: A Roadmap For The Journey Week 4: Some Things Are In Our Power, Others Are Not Week 5: Live According To Nature Week 6: Playing Ball With Socrates Week 7: God or Atoms? Week 8: It's All About Character Week 9: A Very Crucial Word Week 10: The Role of Role Models Week 11: Disability And Mental Illness Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 837 through 840 will be reruns of some of my favorite shows from the early 2000's. I am off on a vacation. We will be back with new content with SPaMCAST 841.

SPaMCAST 835 features our conversation with Elizabeth Bieniek. Elizabeth and I will discuss her new book, Cake on Tuesday, 25 Lessons to Unlock Corporate Innovation, and explore the basics of innovation and leadership. The insights into innovation and intrapreneurship will help all enterprises compete and deliver value to their stakeholders. Elizabeth Bieniek is an author, speaker, and consultant focused on "good peopling" as the secret to exceptional execution. As a founder and Fortune 100 innovation and engineering leadership veteran, her expertise lies in challenging assumptions, embracing diverse perspectives, and leading through ambiguity to build empowered, resilient teams that last. Named one of Toptal's 10 most influential "Female Pioneers in Technology," she has spoken on bridging the gap between human connection and innovation at EmTech NEXT, Chatham House, ITEXPO, AWE, and the Global AI Community. Her leadership and innovation philosophy have been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, Inc., International Business Times, and Women in Business. Elizabeth's Profile linkedin.com/in/elizabethbieniek Website https://www.elizabethbieniek.com/ Master Work Intake! Join one of two Upcoming Mastering Work Intake Workshops to help you learn to address IT's nastiest, dirtiest little secret…poor work intake. The next two workshops are taking a compressed approach to help kickstart 2025! Seats are available on: November 9th 9 AM EST - Noon EST December 6th 9 AM EST Noon EST More information and registration at https://maven.com/jeremy-willets/masteringworkintake If you don't control work intake IT CONTROLS YOU! Buy a copy and begin to control the flow of work for your team and organization. Order a copy of the book from JRoss Publishing - https://bit.ly/474ul6G or via Amazon - https://bit.ly/474ul6G Re-read Saturday News Chapter 9 of Massimo Pigliucci's How to Be a Stoic (buy a copy and read along) wrestles with the source of human virtue. The author, Massimo Pigliucci, is a professor of philosophy who holds Ph. Ds in philosophy, genetics, and evolutionary biology and has published extensively on nature versus nurture. In this chapter, he uses science as a lens to explore Stoic ideas focusing on role models as an area where nurture is effective. Catch on all of the entries in the re-read of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along) Week 1: Logistics and Opening Thoughts Week 2: The Unstraightforward Path Week 3: A Roadmap For The Journey Week 4: Some Things Are In Our Power, Others Are Not Week 5: Live According To Nature Week 6: Playing Ball With Socrates Week 7: God or Atoms? Week 8: It's All About Character Week 9: A Very Crucial Word Week 10: The Role of Role Models Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 836 considers the outcome of poor work entry using the metaphor of road kill. Hum a few stanzas of Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nssSIKOrSNk), and let's determine how not to get hit by a truck! We will also hear from Jeremy Berriault who will bring his Evolutionary Agilist column to the podcast

SPaMCAST 834 features our essay titled Battling The Walls Of Denial. The essay begins: One of the problems change agents face is promoting change when individuals, teams, and even organizations fail to recognize how their behavior hurts them and therefore don't see the need for change. In these circumstances, you often hear fatalistic rationalizations such as, "This is just how we always do it." Or the equally problematic, "You just don't understand; we are special." Just running away is not the only option. We also have a visit from Jon M. Quigley (https://valuetransform.com/) and his Alpha and Omega of Product Development. Master Work Intake! Mastering Work Intake by Jeremy Willets and myself is your path to addressing IT's nasty, dirty little secret…poor work intake. Simply put if you don't control work intake IT CONTROLS YOU! Buy a copy and begin to control the flow of work for your team and organization. Order a copy of the book from JRoss Publishing - https://bit.ly/474ul6G or via Amazon - https://bit.ly/474ul6G Re-read Saturday News The first concept that struck me while reading Chapter 8 of Massimo Pigliucci's How to Be a Stoic (buy a copy and read along) was the idea of the reification fallacy, also known as the fallacy of misplaced concreteness. Catch on all of the entries in the re-read of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along) Week 1: Logistics and Opening Thoughts Week 2: The Unstraightforward Path Week 3: A Roadmap For The Journey Week 4: Some Things Are In Our Power, Others Are Not Week 5: Live According To Nature Week 6: Playing Ball With Socrates Week 7: God or Atoms? Week 8: It's All About Character Week 9: A Very Crucial Word Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 835 features our conversation with Elizabeth Bieniek. We will discuss her new book, Cake on Tuesday, 25 Lessons to Unlock Corporate Innovation, and explore the basics of innovation and leadership.

SPaMCAST 833 features our interview with Brian Vallelunga, founder & CEO at Doppler. Brian and I discuss the importance of managing secrets. Brian states, "Secrets are the keys to the kingdom." Today any organization that does not secure the data they manage is asking for trouble (with a capital T).. Brian Vallelunga is the Founder and CEO of Doppler, the first secrets management platform for developers. Doppler empowers tens of thousands of engineering and DevOps teams to seamlessly orchestrate, govern, and manage their secrets across environments at scale. Brian has been featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 and worked at improving overall safety at Uber. Social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vallelungabrian/ Website:https://www.doppler.com/ Master Work Intake! Mastering Work Intake by Jeremy Willets and myself is your path to addressing IT's nasty, dirty little secret…poor work intake. Simply put if you don't control work intake IT CONTROLS YOU! Buy a copy and begin to control the flow of work for your team and organization. Order a copy of the book from JRoss Publishing - https://bit.ly/474ul6G or via Amazon - https://bit.ly/474ul6G Re-read Saturday News Recently, I have watched (read in the paper) the indictment of Eric Adams, mayor of NY (he resigned after I wrote this essay). While I understand that incitement and guilt are not synonymous, the words he has used in the past to define his character and his actions do not seem to be congruent. His character as defined by his actions (alleged) to a Stoic is found wanting. This week's chapter is all the more powerful with these current events as a backdrop. Chapter 7 begins the third section of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along). The section title is The Discipline Of Action: How To Behave In The World. Action is the second core discipline of Stoicism. Chapter 7 is titled It's All About Character (and Virtue). A better title might be "Hello Mr. Adam's. Catch on all of the entries in the re-read of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along) Week 1: Logistics and Opening Thoughts Week 2: The Unstraightforward Path Week 3: A Roadmap For The Journey Week 4: Some Things Are In Our Power, Others Are Not Week 5: Live According To Nature Week 6: Playing Ball With Socrates Week 7: God or Atoms? Week 8: It's All About Character Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 834 will feature twenty questions you can use to create work intake cognitive dissonance. Creating cognitive dissonance is important because if you can't get people to question the status quo, you will never generate change. We will also have a visit from Jon M. Quigley. Jon brings his Alpha and Omega of Product Development to the podcast.

SPaMCAST 832 is a later summer-early fall rerun! In July 2019, SPaMCAST 550 premiered. The cast included an essay titled, Intertwining Conway's Law And Agile and an episode of the QA Corner with Jeremy Berriault. Jeremy discussed the differences between test engineers and testers. These topics are favorites of mine, so…while I am hiking and camping I would like to reshare the core content of SPaMCAST 550 with you. Remember all 18 years of content are available at www.spamcast.net. We will be back next week with new programming. Master Work Intake! Mastering Work Intake by Jeremy Willets and myself is your path to addressing IT's most nefarious dirty little secret…poor work intake. Simply put if you don't control work intake IT CONTROLS YOU! Buy a copy and begin to control the flow of work for your team and organization. Order a copy of the book from JRoss Publishing - https://bit.ly/474ul6G or via Amazon - https://bit.ly/474ul6G Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 833 will feature our interview with Brian Vallelunga. Brian and I will discuss the importance of managing secrets. This will not be an episode of true spies!

SPaMCAST 831 features our essay, Cracking Groupthink - Solutions When Balancing Urgency and Importance. Issues occur when groupthink affects the balance between urgency and importance in decision-making. This leads to inefficiencies, risk aversion, and misaligned priorities. The key challenge is that groups tend to perceive urgency and importance differently from individuals, often influenced by psychological and social dynamics such as the diffusion of responsibility, conformity, and shared information bias. There are solutions! We also have a visit from Keis Kostaqi who brings her You Are Not Alone column to the podcast. Master Work Intake! Mastering Work Intake by Jeremy Willets and myself is your path to addressing IT's most nefarious dirty little secret…poor work intake. Simply put if you don't control work intake IT CONTROLS YOU! Buy a copy and begin to control the flow of work for your team and organization. Order a copy of the book from JRoss Publishing - https://bit.ly/474ul6G or via Amazon - https://bit.ly/474ul6G Re-read Saturday News Chapter 6 of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along) is titled God or Atoms? discusses the Stoic view of God. As I have discussed this chapter with friends it becomes very easy to conflate Stoism with religion. I remind myself in these scenarios that Stoicism is not a religion. At a high level, the difference is that philosophy seeks to understand and question while religion often provides answers and a framework for belief and practice. The difference and the interrelationship are stark. Week 1: Logistics and Opening Thoughts Week 2: The Unstraightforward Path Week 3: A Roadmap For The Journey Week 4: Some Things Are In Our Power, Others Are Not Week 5: Live According To Nature Week 6: Playing Ball With Socrates Week 7: God or Atoms? Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 832 is a rerun of SPaMCAST 550 (I will be hiking in the Appalachian Mountains). This cast features our essay titled, Intertwining Conway's Law And Agile. Conway's Law shines a spotlight on how an organization's structure impacts its product. The "Law" states that the structure of a software product will mimic the structure of the organization that produces the software. It can (and has) been said that you are shipping the "org structure." How you are structured therefore will impact just how much agility you can achieve. We also visit the QA Corner with Jeremy Berriault. Jeremy discusses the differences between test engineers and testers. We also tackle whether every person with the word test in their title should have the ability to code or script. Jeremy's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-berriault-mba/

Jeremy and I will host a 4-session book club to discuss Mastering Work Intake (4 sections => 4 sessions!) beginning October 18th. We are looking forward to a great set of conversations! Join us by registering on Maven. Use the QR code below at or follow the link - Mastering Work Intake Book Club by Jeremy Willets and Thomas Cagley on Maven Note: We are charging a nominal $1 fee, which Maven requires. Participation in the book club assumes you have (or have access to) a copy of the book and do the reading so you will be prepared.

SPaMCAST 830 features a conversation with Jeremy Berriault. Jeremy has a new book, "Beyond The Framework: Cultivating Agile Growthhttps://amzn.to/4evrM18." The back cover states, "Organizations that fail to embrace agility (small a-agiity) risk fading into obscurity." we discussed the basic assumptions of agile and why business agility differs from adopting any specific agile framework. Buy a copy of the book: https://amzn.to/4evrM18 Check out Jeremy's Company website: https://berriaultandassociates.com/ Master Work Intake! This episode is brought to you by Mastering Work Intake by Jeremy Willets and myself. Buy a copy and begin to control the flow of work for your team and organization. Simply put if you don't control work intake IT CONTROLS YOU! Order a copy of the book from the publisher - https://bit.ly/474ul6G or via Amazon - https://bit.ly/474ul6G Re-read Saturday News Chapter 5 of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along) is titled Playing Ball With Socrates. The author uses a sports analogy in the chapter to illustrate why we can be indifferent towards something and that something is still important. This chapter dives into the thorny concepts of preferred and dispreferred indifferences. Week 1: Logistics and Opening Thoughts Week 2: The Unstraightforward Path Week 3: A Roadmap For The Journey Week 4: Some Things Are In Our Power, Others Are Not Week 5: Live According To Nature Week 6: Playing Ball With Socrates Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 831 will feature our essay on how to improve prioritization and work intake when using consensus-groupthink techniques. Jeremy Berriault will return with his Evolutionary Agilist column to round out SPaMCAST 831.

In SPaMCAST 829 we will continue to expose the sometimes insidious impact of groupthink. Groupthink can lead a team to accept less challenging work, be misaligned with priorities, and poorly assess urgency and importance. The pressure to conform and maintain agreement can result in suboptimal decision-making, hampering effectiveness. We will also have a visit from Susan Parente who will bring her Not A Scrumdmentalist column to the podcast. In this installment, Susan tackles the need for core hours for teams of all types. Master Work Intake! This episode is brought to you by Mastering Work Intake by Jeremy Willets and myself. Buy a copy and begin to control the flow of work for your team and organization. Simply put if you don't control work intake IT CONTROLS YOU! Order a copy of the book from the publisher - https://bit.ly/474ul6G or Amazon - https://bit.ly/474ul6G Re-read Saturday News Chapter 4 of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along) is titled "Living According To Nature." Nature is defined as the community and world. In Meditations, Marcus Aurelius states, "Even chance is not divorced from nature." The laws of nature and physics define what is possible and we live within those possibilities/boundaries. There are several ideas within this chapter, I want to highlight two beginning with the relationship between nature and community. Week 1: Logistics and Opening Thoughts Week 2: The Unstraightforward Path Week 3: A Roadmap For The Journey Week 4: Some Things Are In Our Power, Others Are Not Week 5: Live According To Nature Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 830 will feature a conversation with Jeremy Berriault. Jeremy has a new book, "Beyond The Framework: Cultivating Agile Growth." The back cover states, "Organizations that fail to embrace agility (small a-agiity) risk fading into obscurity." We will discuss the rationale behind that statement.

The SPaMCast 828 spotlights Arash Parsania. We talk about his exciting new methodology, HYPERID. The method builds on and integrates pragmatic ideas from many disciplines to create something new. HYPERID is a flexible hybrid method that fits a wide range of different types of work. Arash Parsania is the creator of HYPERID, a hybrid methodology for project management and product development. He brings over 20 years of experience in project management, consulting, and digital business transformation. His expertise spans Software Engineering, Retail, Travel & Hospitality, Automotive, Telecommunications, Consumer Products, and Insurance industries. Throughout his career, he has advised numerous organizations on digital business transformation, process definition and optimization for project and product development, and project portfolio management. He has worked with global leaders to enhance project and product management quality, develop and establish specialized project management frameworks and methodologies, and implement audits, restructurings, and certification programs for project managers. HYPERID's website: https://HYPERID-Methodology.com Master Work Intake! Have you signed up for the Mastering Work Intake Open House on September 11th at 11 EDT? If not, there is still time! https://bit.ly/MasteringWorkIntake Mastering Work Intake by Jeremy Willets and I hit the bookshelves earlier this year. We have also been running cohort-based workshops to help expose and solve this dirty little secret. Two of the questions we have gotten as we have promoted the workshops are: What is a cohort-based workshop? What value will I get if I join? Both are greater questions and we have an answer! Join us for a one-hour open house on September 11th at 11 am EDT to explore how to diagnose and solve work intake challenges, the most critical issue facing organizations today. This session will provide an overview of our course designed to help you master work intake and ensure your organization thrives. We'll cover key takeaways such as effective prioritization, navigating organizational structures, measuring work intake flow, and diagnosing common work intake issues. You'll leave with actionable insights and a clear plan to address work intake problems immediately. Sign up on Eventbrite! https://bit.ly/MasteringWorkIntake Re-read Saturday News Chapter 3 of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along) is titled "Some Things Are In Our Power, Others Or Not." Chapter 3 begins to get into the nuts and bolts of Stoicism. Because Epictetus is the author's guide the opening quote from Epictetus both sets the tone and summarizes the chapter neatly: "We must make the best of those things that are in our power, and take the rest as nature gives it." If that does not work for you then there is always the Serenity Prayer. Check out Week 4 and all the previous weeks. Week 1: Logistics and Opening Thoughts Week 2: The Unstraightforward Path Week 3: A Roadmap For The Journey Week 4: Some Things Are In Our Power, Others Are Not Next SPaMCAST In SPaMCAST 829 we will continue to Crack Groupthink by unpacking the impact of groupthink on urgency and importance. They say knowledge is power, but I would rather consider it risk mitigation. We will also have a visit from Susan Parente who will bring her Not A Scrumdmentalist column to the podcast!

In the SPaMCast 827, we will begin cracking groupthink in prioritization with a discussion of urgency vs. importance Evaluating the interplay between urgency and importance is a powerful work intake approach. Teams and project management offices regularly use an Eisenhower Matrix or variant to visualize the relationship between these two factors. The bottom line in this approach is that you should prioritize work that is important and urgent above work that is just urgent. We also have a visit from Keis Kostaqi, MBA who brings her You Are Not Alone column to the podcast. Keis and I discuss the career path of a Scrum Master. Is there a career path or is the role a life avocation? Master Work Intake! Mastering Work Intake by Jeremy Willets and I hit the bookshelves earlier this year. We have also been running cohort-based workshops to help expose and solve this dirty little secret. Two of the questions we have gotten as we have promoted the workshops are: What is a cohort-based workshop? What value will I get if I join? Both are greater questions and we have an answer! Join us for a one-hour open house on September 11th at 11 am EDT to explore how to diagnose and solve work intake challenges, the most critical issue facing organizations today. This session will provide an overview of our course designed to help you master work intake and ensure your organization thrives. We'll cover key takeaways such as effective prioritization, navigating organizational structures, measuring work intake flow, and diagnosing common work intake issues. You'll leave with actionable insights and a clear plan to address work intake problems immediately. Sign up on Eventbrite! https://bit.ly/MasteringWorkIntake Re-read Saturday News Chapter 2 of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along) is titled "A Roadmap For The Journey." In recent months, my wife and I have been beginning to travel in a class B van. We are taking short trips (learning the ropes) with longer trips in the offing. We rely on GPS a lot. I guess that's not very different from most travelers. However, the more we deviate from the heavily populated and traveled routes, the less ubiquitous and solid WiFi and cell coverage we find. GPS becomes somewhat unreliable. When the GPS is intermittent you must plan for it to be unreliable. We have discovered that we need an old-school paper map. For those of a certain age, a paper map provides turn-by-turn instructions via a static interface. It also provides a sense of the overall broad journey; an early version of a search albeit manual. Chapter 2 titled "A Roadmap For The Journey" is a paper roadmap for the remainder of How To Be A Stoic. Week 1: Logistics and Opening Thoughts Week 2: The Unstraightforward Path Week 3: A Roadmap For The Journey Next SPaMCAST The SPaMCAST 828 will feature our conversation with Arash Parsania. We will talk about his exciting new methodology, Hyperid.is a flexible hybrid method that fits a wide range of different types of work.

Mastering Work Intake by Jeremy Willets and I hit the bookshelves earlier this year. We have also been running cohort-based workshops to help expose and solve this dirty little secret. Two of the questions we have gotten as we have promoted the workshops are: What is a cohort-based workshop? What value will I get if I join? Both are greater questions and we have an answer! Join us for a one-hour open house to explore how to diagnose and solve work intake challenges, the most critical issue facing organizations today. This session will provide an overview of our course designed to help you to master work intake and ensure your organization thrives. We'll cover key takeaways such as effective prioritization, navigating organizational structures, measuring work intake flow, and diagnosing common work intake issues. You'll leave with actionable insights and a clear plan to address work intake problems immediately. Sign up on Eventbrite! https://bit.ly/MasteringWorkIntake

The SPaMCAST 825 features our conversation with Richmond Alake. During our conversation, we discussed AI, Machine Learning, and most importantly why being a lifelong learner is important (really important). Need more? We also will discuss what comes next now that AI Chat has been done. Richmond's bio: Richmond Alake is an AI/ML Practitioner with an academic background in computer vision, robotics, and machine learning. He has worked in software development and machine learning roles since 2016. Richmond has also taught online AI/ML/Data courses and written over 200 technical articles with over 1 million views. He is passionate about using technology to solve real-world problems. Try out MongoDB for free: https://mdb.link/spmc_podcast_use_mongodb Get hands-on code for AI Agents: https://github.com/mongodb-developer/GenAI-Showcase/tree/main/notebooks/agents Connect with Richmond: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richmondalake/ Master Work Intake! Mastering Work Intake by Jeremy Willets and I hit the bookshelves earlier this year. We have also been running cohort-based workshops to help expose and solve this dirty little secret. Two of the questions we have gotten as we have promoted the workshops are: What is a cohort-based workshop? What value will I get if I join? Both are greater questions and we have an answer! Join us for a one-hour open house to explore how to diagnose and solve work intake challenges, the most critical issue facing organizations today. This session will provide an overview of our course designed to help you to master work intake and ensure your organization thrives. We'll cover key takeaways such as effective prioritization, navigating organizational structures, measuring work intake flow, and diagnosing common work intake issues. You'll leave with actionable insights and a clear plan to address work intake problems immediately. Sign up on Eventbrite! https://bit.ly/MasteringWorkIntake Re-read Saturday News Chapter 1 of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along) establishes that the central question of all cultures and philosophies is "how to live." Let's begin by dispelling the notion that Stoicism eschews emotion and feeling, rather the ancient philosophy based on the importance of wisdom, character, and balance. Pigilucci states, "Stoicism is an approach to living in which moral character is the only truly worthy thing to cultivate." While I believe Spock (Star Trek) has a high moral character, if you are expecting How To Be A Stoic to teach how to be a Vulcan, you will be disappointed. If nothing else, the Stoics have a wry sense of humor. Forewarned is forearmed. Week 1: Logistics and Opening Thoughts Week 2: The Unstraightforward Path Next SPaMCAST The SPaMCAST 826 will explore whether urgency has more power in prioritization in collaborative events. Importance is supposed to trump urgency but when you involve many voices things are murkier. We will also have a visit from Kies Kostaqi who will bring her You Are Not Alone column to the Software Process and Measurement Cast.

The SPaMCAST 824 compares the Great Avon Lake Tornado and power outage with the purported death of Agile. Cap that off with many in the industry doubling down on Agile purity to put the blush back on the rose. My upcoming high school reunion suggests you can never cross the same river twice but crossing any river is a challenge.. Also Jon M Quigley and I talk about who is the most important person on a team. This is a counterpoint to my recent conversation with Jeremy Berriault on SPaMCAST 822. They agree but it…depends. Master Work Intake! Mastering Work Intake by Jeremy Willets and I hit the bookshelves earlier this year. We have also been running cohort-based workshops to help expose and solve this dirty little secret. Two of the questions we have gotten as we have promoted the workshops are: What is a cohort-based workshop? What value will I get if I join? Both are greater questions and we have an answer! Join us for a one-hour open house to explore how to diagnose and solve work intake challenges, the most critical issue facing organizations today. This session will provide an overview of our course designed to help you to master work intake and ensure your organization thrives. We'll cover key takeaways such as effective prioritization, navigating organizational structures, measuring work intake flow, and diagnosing common work intake issues. You'll leave with actionable insights and a clear plan to address work intake problems immediately. Sign up on Eventbrite! https://bit.ly/MasteringWorkIntake Re-read Saturday News This week we begin the re-read of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along). I bought this book while on a trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan. I was there for a speaking engagement and my wife and I decided to make a weekend of it. My downfall was that the fabulous Literati Bookstore was near our Air B&B. Next SPaMCAST The SPaMCAST 825 will feature our interview with Richmond Alake. We discussed AI and Machine Learning. We also will discuss what comes next now that AI Chat has been done.

The introduction and outro words are abbreviated this week. I will regale you with the tale of the Avon Lake Toronado next. Now I need to find a way of making everything work without electricity and the Internet. I am not sure which is making me crazier. The SPaMCAST 823 features a discussion with Kirk Marple, Technical Founder and CEO at Graphit, by Unstruk Data. What is a technical founder you might ask? No? Well, I did. More importantly, we discussed AI, knowledge graphs, leadership, and how organizations learn as they understand their data. Check out Graphit at www.graphit.com Check out Kirk on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/kirkmarple Re-read Saturday News This week we have the concluding thoughts of Flow. We will begin the re-read of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along) next week. Buy a copy of Flow and read along – https://amzn.to/4b5kPmb Week 1: Preface and Logistics – https://bit.ly/3WLjFHU Week 2: Happiness – https://bit.ly/4dUSpNg Week 3: Consciousness – https://bit.ly/4bEu3pN Week 4: Enjoyment and The Quality of Life – https://bit.ly/4eeknDQ Week 5: The Conditions Of Flow Week 6: The Body In Flow Week 7: The Flow Of Thought Week 8: Work As Flow Week 9: Enjoying Solitude and Other People Week 10: Cheating Chaos Week 11: Making of Meaning Next SPaMCAST The SPaMCAST 824 will include the story of the Avon Lake tornado, the sound of and smell of generators in the morning, an addiction to electricity and the internet, and a conversation with Jon M. Quigley.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 822 features a discussion that Jeremy Willets and I had during the Work Intake Summer Camp. The tyranny of the urgent often eclipses work that is merely important. Not understanding the difference between the two concepts and the long-term implications of ignoring what is important can be catastrophic. We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault, the Evolutionary Agilist. We discussed why teams exist. The answer can be simplified into four words. Getting to those words is a wild ride. Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Work Intake Summer Camp is in session! Like a swimming pool, there is always time to join the fun. Jeremy Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We'll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event. The last weekly session begins at 12:30 EDT on August 7th (LinkedIn). Each session will: Define one work intake problem per session, Identify how to recognize the problem, Offer a pragmatic approach to tackling the issue, and At least one scary story of work entry gone wrong (this is summer camp) We would like you to register at our Maven page https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 so we can remind you when the session goes live. If you register we also have a Work Intake Problem Worksheet that we use in our workshops that we will email. However, if you'd rather not register on Maven you can set a reminder on LinkedIn (Session 7). In either case, we will announce when the sessions go live on LinkedIn. Replay Week 1: Goal Conflict Replay Week 2: Need Outstrips Demand Replay Week 3: Pay Practices Replay Week 4: Project Thinking v Product Thinking Replay Week 5: Urgency v Importance Replay Week 6: Classes of Service Replay Week 7: Control Share the invitation with others, wear sunscreen, and be kind to your fellow campers! Re-read Saturday News Chapter 10, Making of Meaning, culminates the book, Flow. Meaning provides a yardstick to evaluate the human condition and to consider what it means to be a human being in the context of our world. "Meaning" is a catalyst to provide energy and stimulate the intellectual vitality required for optimal experience. Without meaning it is difficult to find the rationale for tasks and cares that may feel mundane but are necessary to reach a goal or as we pivot toward another. Next week we will flow into concluding thoughts. Buy a copy and read along – https://amzn.to/4b5kPmb Week 1: Preface and Logistics – https://bit.ly/3WLjFHU Week 2: Happiness – https://bit.ly/4dUSpNg Week 3: Consciousness – https://bit.ly/4bEu3pN Week 4: Enjoyment and The Quality of Life – https://bit.ly/4eeknDQ Week 5: The Conditions Of Flow Week 6: The Body In Flow Week 7: The Flow Of Thought Week 8: Work As Flow Week 9: Enjoying Solitude and Other People Week 10: Cheating Chaos Next SPaMCAST The SPaMCAST 823 will feature our discussion with Kirk Marple, Technical Founder and CEO at Unstruk Data. We will discuss AI, knowledge graphs, and how organizations learn as they understand their data.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 821 features our interview with Alex Natskovich. We talk about the attributes of a leader when building a business but even more importantly learning to be a leader. Success requires knowing how to handle the transitions. Alex's Bio Alex is a seasoned engineering leader and CEO. Born in Belarus, he harbored a lifelong dream of becoming an engineer. After graduating from university, he moved to the USA. During the initial years, he resided in New York, working as a software engineer in various companies. One of the most notable was the startup Conductor, where he joined as the 5th employee. It has now evolved into the leading global SEO and content intelligence platform. During his tenure there, Alex was responsible for building and maintaining an industry-leading link-building system. Simultaneously, he embarked on building his own company, MEV (named after the mega-electron-volt) – a strategic software development partner for fast-growing companies. Afterward, he decided to settle in the Bay Area. While at the helm of his company, he assisted esteemed companies such as Cartier, Novo Nordisk, Daiichi Sankyo, and Avadel in overcoming complex business challenges through software solutions. Additionally, he aided numerous startups in developing stable and scalable digital products, making them attractive for acquisition. Alex is passionate about empowering businesses with the right technology. He firmly believes in the power of teams. Building a high-performing team, in his view, necessitates being open-minded and always striving to thoroughly understand the team's objectives and needs for success. This solution-oriented mindset and team focus form the cornerstone of his company. Website: https://mev.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natskovich/ Email: [email protected] Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Work Intake Summer Camp is in session! Like a swimming pool, there is always time to join the fun. Jeremy Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We'll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event. The next weekly session begins at 11:30 EDT on July 31st (LinkedIn). Each session will: Define one work intake problem per session, Identify how to recognize the problem, Offer a pragmatic approach to tackling the issue, and At least one scary story of work entry gone wrong (this is summer camp) We would like you to register at our Maven page https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 so we can remind you when the session goes live. If you register we also have a Work Intake Problem Worksheet that we use in our workshops that we will email. However, if you'd rather not register on Maven you can set a reminder on LinkedIn (Session 7). In either case, we will announce when the sessions go live on LinkedIn. Replay Week 1: Goal Conflict Replay Week 2: Need Outstrips Demand Replay Week 3: Pay Practices Replay Week 4: Project Thinking v Product Thinking Replay Week 5: Urgency v Importance Replay Week 6: Classes of Service Share the invitation with others, wear sunscreen, and be kind to your fellow campers! Re-read Saturday News Three main ideas struck me during this read of Chapter 9 of Flow. Chapter 9 is titled: Cheating Chaos. The chaos we are working to cheat is the random energy pushing us in random directions from inside and outside ourselves. Creating order provides a space for optimal experience and flow. Logistics note: Including this week, we anticipate completing this re-read in 4 weeks. Are there recommendations for the next book in the Re-read series? Buy a copy and read along – https://amzn.to/4b5kPmb Week 1: Preface and Logistics – https://bit.ly/3WLjFHU Week 2: Happiness – https://bit.ly/4dUSpNg Week 3: Consciousness – https://bit.ly/4bEu3pN Week 4: Enjoyment and The Quality of Life – https://bit.ly/4eeknDQ Week 5: The Conditions Of Flow Week 6: The Body In Flow Week 7: The Flow Of Thought Week 8: Work As Flow Week 9: Enjoying Solitude and Other People Week 10: Cheating Chaos Next SPaMCAST The Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature Jeremy Willets and me discussing Urgency versus Importance. We thought the Work Intake Summer Camp discussion was so important (not just urgent) that we decided to share it. We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault, the Evolutionary Agilist.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 820 continues the story of Innovatech. In this installment, Emma "sells" baselining the flow to generate ideas for improvement and a starting point. The story of Innovatech is an allegory for how a data-driven improvement initiative can be bootstrapped with courage and perseverance. We also have a visit from Susan Parente whose "Not a Scrumdamentalist" column delivers insights and advice. Susan and I discussed who the most important person on a team is and who isn't. Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Work Intake Summer Camp is in session! Like a swimming pool, there is always time to join the fun. Jeremy Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We'll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event. The next weekly session begins at 12:30 EDT on July 24th (LinkedIn). Each session will: Define one work intake problem per session, Identify how to recognize the problem, Offer a pragmatic approach to tackling the issue, and At least one scary story of work entry gone wrong (this is summer camp) We would like you to register at our Maven page https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 so we can remind you when the session goes live. If you register we also have a Work Intake Problem Worksheet that we use in our workshops that we will email. However, if you'd rather not register on Maven you can set a reminder on LinkedIn (Session 6%%%). In either case, we will announce when the sessions go live on LinkedIn. Replay Week 1: Goal Conflict Replay Week 2: Need Outstrips Demand Replay Week 3: Pay Practices Replay Week 4: Project Thinking v Product Thinking Replay Week 5: Share the invitation with others, wear sunscreen, and be kind to your fellow campers! Re-read Saturday News Chapter 8, of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's book Flow, titled Enjoying Solitude and Other People, discusses the impact of people on optimal experience and flow. The author grounds the chapter by reminding us that the quality of life depends on how we experience work and relationships with others. Chapter 7 wrestled with the work portion of the equation and Chapter 8 the people part. The two are highly intertwined. Logistics note: Including this week, we anticipate completing this re-read in 4 weeks. Are there recommendations for the next book in the Re-read series? Buy a copy and read along – https://amzn.to/4b5kPmb Week 1: Preface and Logistics – https://bit.ly/3WLjFHU Week 2: Happiness – https://bit.ly/4dUSpNg Week 3: Consciousness – https://bit.ly/4bEu3pN Week 4: Enjoyment and The Quality of Life – https://bit.ly/4eeknDQ Week 5: The Conditions Of Flow Week 6: The Body In Flow Week 7: The Flow Of Thought Week 8: Work As Flow Next SPaMCAST The Software Process and Measurement Cast features our interview with Alex Natskovich. We will talk about finding value in unstructured data, transitioning from developer to entrepreneur, and agile.

The Sofware Process and Measurement Cast 819 features our conversation with Soumyadeb Mitra, Founder and CEO of Rudderstack. We discuss the trials and tribulations of consolidating and effectively using customer data. Tools like machine learning and generative AI make generating insights easier but "easier" does not mean easy. We also discuss entrepreneurship and trust. Soumyadeb Mitra is the Founder and CEO of RudderStack, the Warehouse Native Customer Data Platform (CDP). RudderStack helps data leaders drive revenue by making it easy to collect, unify and activate customer data for every team and tool. With a strong background in software engineering and data analytics, Soumyadeb is passionate about helping data leaders and teams make data valuable in their companies. Before founding RudderStack in 2018, Soumyadeb worked in various technical roles at leading technology companies, where he gained valuable experience in big data, machine learning, and cloud computing. While Head of Machine Learning at 8×8 (Nasdaq: EGHT), a unified communication as a service company, he found existing CDP solutions unable to meet his requirements for security, reliability, and scalability. He left to start RudderStack to solve that critical roadblock for companies looking to deliver key projects like real-time personalization and recommendations. linkedin.com/in/soumyadeb-mitra [email protected] https://www.rudderstack.com/ Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Work Intake Summer Camp is in session! Jeremy Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We'll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event. The next weekly session begins at 11:30 EDT on July 17th (LinkedIn). Each session will: Define one work intake problem per session, Identify how to recognize the problem, Offer a pragmatic approach to tackling the issue, and At least one scary story of work entry gone wrong (this is summer camp) We would like you to register at our Maven page https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 so we can remind you when the session goes live. If you register we also have a Work Intake Problem Worksheet that we use in our workshops that we will email. However, if you'd rather not register on Maven you can set a reminder on LinkedIn (Session 5). In either case, we will announce when the sessions go live on LinkedIn. Replay Week 1: Goal Conflict Replay Week 2: Need Outstrips Demand Replay Week 3: Pay Practices Replay Week 4: Project Thinking v Product Thinking Share the invitation with others, wear sunscreen, and be kind to your fellow campers! Re-read Saturday News Chapter 7 of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow is titled, "Work As Flow." Work is one of the largest single blocks of time adults carve out of their 168 hours of breath in a week. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi states. "Work that requires skill and is done freely refines the complexity of self." Flow is the result of this refinement, at the least the potential for optimal experience from work. Juxtaposition work generates opportunities for flow with work which is the energy used to realize someone else's dreams, hopes, and ambitions. This is not a formula for optimal experience and flow. Buy a copy and read along – https://amzn.to/4b5kPmb Week 1: Preface and Logistics – https://bit.ly/3WLjFHU Week 2: Happiness – https://bit.ly/4dUSpNg Week 3: Consciousness – https://bit.ly/4bEu3pN Week 4: Enjoyment and The Quality of Life – https://bit.ly/4eeknDQ Week 5: The Conditions Of Flow Week 6: The Body In Flow Week 7: The Flow Of Thought Week 8: Work As Flow Next SPaMCAST We will continue the story of Innovatech and how a data-driven improvement initiative can be bootstrapped with courage and perseverance. We will also have a visit from Susan Parente whose "Not a Scrumdamentalist" column delivers insights and advice.

This week we continue with the story of Innovatech, the business novella David Herron and I are writing. Innovatech, the once a tech darling is struggling. The delivery of new functionality used to be so easy. Now it isn't, leading to all sorts of unproductive behaviors. Emma, the Director of Residential Construction Technology Products, leads a one-person crusade to wake the organization up before it approaches a death spiral. We also have a visit from Keis Kostaqi. In this installment of her You Are Not Alone column we discuss how Scrum Masters need to adapt when organizations "start over". Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Work Intake Summer Camp is in session! Jeremy Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We'll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event. The next weekly session begins at 11:30 EDT on July 10th (LinkedIn). Each session will: Define one work intake problem per session, Identify how to recognize the problem, Offer a pragmatic approach to tackling the issue, and At least one scary story of work entry gone wrong (this is summer camp) We would like you to register at our Maven page https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 so we can remind you when the session goes live. If you register we also have a Work Intake Problem Worksheet that we use in our workshops that we will email. However, if you'd rather not register on Maven you can set a reminder on LinkedIn (Session 3). In either case, we will announce when the sessions go live on LinkedIn. Replay Week 1: Goal Conflict Replay Week 2: Need Outstrips Demand Replay Week 3: Pay Practices Share the invitation with others, wear sunscreen, and be kind to your fellow campers! Re-read Saturday News While Chapter 5 of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow focuses on the body's impact on optimal experience in Chapter 6 we move upstairs. Chapter 6, titled The Flow of Thought, focuses on the mind's contribution. The author points out that most of us have little control over our minds. We are attracted to what is (seemingly) most important, at the moment. We fill the gaps with stimuli that don't evoke flow or optimal experiences. Buy a copy and read along – https://amzn.to/4b5kPmb Week 1: Preface and Logistics – https://bit.ly/3WLjFHU Week 2: Happiness – https://bit.ly/4dUSpNg Week 3: Consciousness – https://bit.ly/4bEu3pN Week 4: Enjoyment and The Quality of Life – https://bit.ly/4eeknDQ Week 5: The Conditions Of Flow Week 6: The Body In Flow Week 7: The Flow Of Thought Next SPaMCAST On the next Software Process and Measurement Cast, we will speak with Soumyadeb Mitra, Founder and CEO of Rudderstack. We will talk about the effective use of customer data.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 817 features our conversation with Artem Koren, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Sembly AI. We talk about AI, the role of AI, and the impact of agents on the workplace. Artem Koren grew up in New York City. He graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Computer Science and later attended the NYU Stern School of Business where he earned his MBA. Artem is passionate about using AI to enrich humanity and create positive change. He combines his experience as a systems engineer, product manager, management consultant, and entrepreneur to create innovative products, bringing to life new ways that technology can help us reach our goals. Sembly AI, which he co-founded with Gil Makleff in 2019, is at the forefront of augmented worker intelligence, empowering hundreds of organizations around the world with AI agent solutions that bridge the gap between meetings and results. Website: https://www.sembly.ai/ Sembly's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/semblyai/ Artem's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akoren/ Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Work Intake Summer Camp is in session! Jeremy Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We'll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event. The next weekly session begins at 11:30 EDT on July 3rd (LinkedIn). Each session will: Define one work intake problem per session, Identify how to recognize the problem, Offer a pragmatic approach to tackling the issue, and At least one scary story of work entry gone wrong (this is summer camp) We would like you to register at our Maven page https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 so we can remind you when the session goes live. If you register we also have a Work Intake Problem Worksheet that we use in our workshops that we will email. However, if you'd rather not register on Maven you can set a reminder on LinkedIn (Session 3). In either case, we will announce when the sessions go live on LinkedIn. Replay Week 1: Goal Conflict Replay Week: Need Outstrips Demand Feel free to share the invitation with others. Remind everyone to use sunscreen! Re-read Saturday News Chapter 5 of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow is titled, The Body In Flow. This Chapter deals with the kinesic contribution to optimal experiences and flow. The word contribute is an important descriptor; the author warns the reader: "The body does not produce flow merely by its movements. The mind is always involved as well." Buy a copy and read along – https://amzn.to/4b5kPmb Week 1: Preface and Logistics – https://bit.ly/3WLjFHU Week 2: Happiness – https://bit.ly/4dUSpNg Week 3: Consciousness – https://bit.ly/4bEu3pN Week 4: Enjoyment and The Quality of Life – https://bit.ly/4eeknDQ Week 5: The Conditions Of Flow Week 6: The Body In Flow Next SPaMCAST On the next Software Process and Measurement Cast, more of the story of Innovatech and what happens when responsibility and accountability get muddled. We will also have a visit from Keis Kostaqi who brings her You Are Not Alone column to the podcast!

A funny thing happened on the way to SPaMCAST 816, I had so much fun during our first Summer Camp session I talked Jeremy into letting me share the audio of our discussion on the podcast. We discussed goal conflicts, the first of eight work intake problems, from our book, Mastering Work Intake. If the video is more your style check out the video on LinkedIn and then join us at 11:30 EDT on June 16th. This week we also have a visit from Jon M Quigley. Jon and I discussed the question "If all work is collaborative, when do you find time to concentrate?" Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Jeremy Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We'll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event. The next weekly session begins at 11:30 EDT on June 16th. Each session will: Define one work intake problem per session, Identify how to recognize the problem, Offer a pragmatic approach to tackling the issue, and At least one scary story of work entry gone wrong (this is summer camp) We would like you to register at our Maven page https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 so we can remind you when the session goes live. If you register we also have a Work Intake Problem Worksheet that we use in our workshops that we will email. However, if you'd rather not register on Maven you can set a reminder on LinkedIn at https://bit.ly/4b8qtTu. In either case, we will announce when the sessions go live on LinkedIn. Replay Week 1: Goal Conflict Feel free to share the invitation with others. Remind everyone to use sunscreen! Re-read Saturday News Chapter 4 of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow is titled The Conditions of Flow. Flow states just don't occur randomly. They require several factors to align. Some factors can be "arranged" while others are context-driven or part of a large feedback loop. I find three concepts central to Chapter 4. Buy a copy and read along – https://amzn.to/4b5kPmb Week 1: Preface and Logistics – https://bit.ly/3WLjFHU Week 2: Happiness – https://bit.ly/4dUSpNg Week 3: Consciousness – https://bit.ly/4bEu3pN Week 4: Enjoyment and The Quality of Life – https://bit.ly/4eeknDQ Week 5: The Conditions Of Flow Next SPaMCAST On the next Software Process and Measurement Cast, we will talk with Artem Koren, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of - Sembly AI One of the topics we discussed is whether building an AI solution is different than building any other solution.

Earlier this year Mastering Work Intake (JRoss Publishing) co-authored by Jeremy Willets and myself was published. The book focuses on the full pipeline that work follows as it enters and exits your organization, including the different types of work that enter at multiple levels and times. It is a must-read for agile coaches, Scrum Masters, product owners, project and portfolio managers, team members, and anyone who touches the software development process. Mr Willets and I are announcing a free Work Intake Summer Camp. The camp will help across eight LinkedIn Live sessions and cover the eight primary causes of work intake problems. The first session will be held on June 19th at 11:30 AM EDT (for more information https://bit.ly/4b8qtTu ). Each session will: Define one work intake problem per session, Identify how to recognize the problem, Offer a pragmatic approach to tackling the issue, and At least one scary story of work entry gone wrong (this is summer camp) We would like you to register at our Maven page https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 so we can remind you when the session goes live. If you register we also have a Work Intake Problem Worksheet that we use in our workshops that we will email. However, if you'd rather not register on Maven you can set a reminder on LinkedIn at https://bit.ly/4b8qtTu. In either case, we will announce when the sessions go live on LinkedIn. Feel free to share the invitation with others. We will ensure we have enough virtual juice boxes for stories around the campfire.

This week on the Software Process and Measurement Cast we have a replay of an interview of Jim Benson from 2019. Jim and I focused on prioritization and how prioritization can be a reflection of more deep-seated problems. One of the ideas Jim shares is that processes are the social contract for getting work done. In the foreword of Mastering Work Intake, I wrote with Jeremy Willets(published in January 2024), we reflected that Mastering stood on the shoulders of Jim's Why Limit WIP. Reflecting on this interview I continue to see the relationship between work intake and the travails of prioritization. All of us at SPaMCAST look forward to your thoughts. Contact Jim LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimbenson Personal Kanban: http://www.personalkanban.com/pk/#sthash.MtOA96sV.dpbs Modus Cooperandi: http://moduscooperandi.com/ Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Jeremy Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We'll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event weekly beginning June 19th at 11:30. Register at https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 - registration is not necessary but it will help get a count for virtual juice boxes. Re-read Saturday News This week we revisit our first re-read from 2015, The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement ( Dead Tree Version or Kindle Version) written by Eli Goldratt. If you are interested in the flow of work you need to read The Goal – more than once. The link is https://bit.ly/45lckB7 Re-read Saturday Instalments Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Next week we will return to our re-read of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's book, Flow. Next SPaMCAST On the next Software Process and Measurement Cast, more of the story of Innovatech and what happens when responsibility and accountability get muddled. We will also have a visit from Jon M Quigley and his Alpha and Omega of Product Development.

Accountability and responsibility are intertwined. In most businesses, the concepts are intertwined, and when hierarchies are present, layered. In other words, determining who is responsible and accountable is harder than deciding how many layers were in the seven-layer dip several hours after it has been served to a hungry softball team. Let's use the example of developing a feature for a product for Innovatech, an imaginary firm. This 'case study' synthesizes several real-life stories. The story format protects the innocent and pokes fun at those acting like a "box of rocks." This is part of a larger business novella David Herron and I are developing that wh hope to share over the summer. Today we will begin with a bit of background. We also have a visit from the Evolutionary Agilist. Jeremy Berriault and I wrestle with the question, why do we still have testers in the age of automated testing and AI. Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Jeremy Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We'll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event weekly beginning June 19th at 11:30. Register at https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 - registration is not necessary but it will help getting a count for virtual juice boxes. Re-read Saturday News Chapter 3 of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow is titled Enjoyment and The Quality of Life. This chapter resonates strongly with me. I have always struggled with the idea that lounging around or mindlessly working is enjoyable. Thinking about those scenarios the word tedious comes to mind. Let's explore! Buy a copy and read along - https://amzn.to/4b5kPmb Week 1: Preface and Logistics - https://bit.ly/3WLjFHU Week 2: Happiness - https://bit.ly/4dUSpNg Week 3: Consciousness - https://bit.ly/4bEu3pN Week 4: Enjoyment and The Quality of Life - https://bit.ly/4eeknDQ Next SPaMCAST Next week, I will be traveling to attend a funeral of a family member. We will revisit a favorite from 2019, SPaMCAST 553 - Prioritization and Capability, An Interview with Jim Benson. We will be back with new programming on June 23rd.

In this week's SPaMCAST we speak with Brad Micklea, Founder & CEO of Jozu. We talk about the professionalization of AI and Machine Learning, the topic of Machine Learning Operations (MLOps), and why agile is integral to getting work done. Brad is the Founder & CEO of Jozu and a project lead for the open-source Kitops.ml project, a toolset designed to increase the speed and safety of building, testing, and managing AI/ML models in production. This is Brad's second startup, his first (Codenvy, the market's first container-based developer environment) was sold to Red Hat in 2017. In his 25-year career in the developer tools and DevOps software market, he's been the GM for Amazon's API Gateway, and built open- and closed-source products that have been leaders in Gartner Magic Quadrants. He enjoys cycling, reading, and vintage cars in his free time. Websites: Kitops: https://kitops.ml/ Jozu: https://jozu.com/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bradmicklea X: @BradMicklea Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Jeremy Willets and I are running two Mastering Work Intake cohorts over the next three months. Learn to solve IT's dirtiest secret — work intake. Stop ignoring it. Start fixing it. May 31—June 28, 2024 (Closed) July 12—26, 2024 Want to read the book first? Keyan Reid Stated in their review of Mastering Work Intake: "What first struck me, was the immediate tie to the human equation. Purchase a copy of the book from: JRoss Publishing: https://bit.ly/474ul6G Amazon: https://bit.ly/3NWOKn0 Re-read Saturday News We consider consciousness this week in our re-read of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow. Consciousness is a process of interpreting and processing thoughts and feelings. Buy a copy and read along - https://amzn.to/4b5kPmb Week 1: Preface and Logistics - https://bit.ly/3WLjFHU Week 2: Happiness - https://bit.ly/4dUSpNg Week 3: Consciousness - https://bit.ly/4bEu3pN Next SPaMCAST We return to the topics of accountability and responsibility. Hierarchies generate a tangled web of overlapping relationships that can obscure who has the ball. This type of scenario might be good in sports but in business, not so much. We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault, The Evolutionary Agilist.

When I published Accountability vs. Responsibility I did not anticipate being drawn back into the discussion of whether committees can be accountable and responsible. Over the last few weeks, I have observed several "product meetings." In these meetings, consensus decisions are being made about releases, what they will contain, and a marketing approach. These are committee meetings. Is the committee accountable for their decisions and to whom? It is not a moot point In mid-2008, I wrote "Responsibility, Got Some?" As I considered the topic of accountability and responsibility, I re-read the piece and polished it a bit. It speaks to the idea of committees and the diffusion of responsibility. So a little detour on our summer road trip. We also have a visit from Susan Parente. Susan and I discussed certifications. Does having a bunch make sense or does it reflect mass insanity? The answer is…it depends. Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Jeremy Willets and I are running two Mastering Work Intake cohorts over the next three months. Learn to solve IT's dirtiest secret — work intake. Stop ignoring it. Start fixing it. May 31—June 28, 2024 (only a few seats left) July 12—26, 2024 Want to read the book first? Jeremy Berriault, The Evolutionary Agilist™, described Mastering Work Intake as a "Fantastic work. Very practical and helps improve workflows." Purchase a copy of the book from: JRoss Publishing: https://bit.ly/474ul6G Amazon: https://bit.ly/3NWOKn0 Re-read Saturday News We begin the meat of our re-read of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow with Chapter 1, Happiness. Csikszentmihalyi highlights that happiness requires an individual perspective stating, "The best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile." Read and discuss! Buy a copy and read along - https://amzn.to/4b5kPmb Week 1: Preface and Logistics - https://bit.ly/3WLjFHU Week 2: Happiness - https://bit.ly/4dUSpNg Next SPaMCAST Next week we will feature our interview with Brad Micklea, Founder & CEO at Jozu on the topic of Machine Language Operations (MLOps) and why agile is integral to getting work done.

SPaMCAST 810 features our interview with D.J. Eshelman, author of Just Do This. DJ and I cover a wide range of topics including why one size fits all approaches are a prescription for burnout. We also tackle why everyone should invest in an outside mentor. D.J. Eshelman, author of Just Do THIS - Photo Credit Sarah Goff DJ with over 25 years of IT experience, dedicated his career to Citrix Systems since 2004. He authored books, runs blogs at ctxpro.com and thrive-it.com, hosts the "THRIVE-IT" YouTube channel and "THRIVEcast" show, interviewing IT leaders. Recognized as a Citrix Technology Advocate in 2017, he has been a senior consultant/architect at Citrix Consulting Services since 2011, serving both independently and with white-label services through BOT Consulting and THRIVE-IT.com. D.J.'s mission is to leave a positive impact on the world and inspire others to do the same. Contact Information: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/djeshelman/ Web Site http://djeshelman.com/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC884tHI1S92_s-b11GDxhpw Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Jeremy Willets and I are running two Mastering Work Intake cohorts over the next three months. Learn to solve IT's dirtiest secret — work intake. Stop ignoring it. Start fixing it. May 31—June 28, 2024 July 12—26, 2024 This course is for you if you're a… 01 Scrum Master / Agile Coach who aspires to help teams and organizations predictably deliver. 02 Project Manager / Program Manager / Portfolio Manager who craves better ways to facilitate conversations around scope, schedule, priority, a 03 Product Owner / Product Manager / Release Manager / Delivery Manager / Delivery Lead who truly wants to maximize value delivery. Want to read the book first? Purchase a copy of the book from: JRoss Publishing: https://bit.ly/474ul6G Amazon: https://bit.ly/3NWOKn0 Re-read Saturday News I have read and quoted parts of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow over the last ten years. It has been on my list to read cover to cover for several years. My wife pointed out that my copy has yellowed, so it's time to read now, better late than never :). We began the re-read on May 18 and plan to complete it on August 3 or 10th. Buy a copy and read along - https://amzn.to/4b5kPmb Week 1: Preface and Logistics - https://bit.ly/3WLjFHU Next SPaMCAST IN the next Software Process and Measurement Cast we will continue on the path of exploring how responsibility and accountability cascade in an organization. We will also have a visit from Kies Kostaqi who brings her You Are Not Alone column to the podcast..

SPaMCAST 809 features our essay discussing whether accountability and responsibility are ever separated in real life. In a corporate setting, if you are interested in instigating a no-holds-barred debate bring up the topic of the relationship between accountability and responsibility. Get your popcorn ready BEFORE you start the discussion. We will also have a visit from Jon M Quigley who brings his Alpha and Omega of Product Development to the podcast. Jon and I discuss a nefarious form of micromanagement. Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Whether you're creating, enhancing, or maintaining software products, work intake is a challenge you deal with constantly. Doing the right work at the right time can make or break your project, and there are surprisingly few resources to show you how to manage this process effectively. You need to know what your team is executing, what work is next, and the skill sets required to do the work. Buy a copy of Mastering Work Intake: From Chaos to Predictable Delivery by Tom Cagley and Jeremy Willets A testimonial! "I wholeheartedly recommend this book for anyone who has suffered through work intake missteps in Agile teams and wants to find a better way to deliver predictable results." Jeffrey A. Miller Senior Consultant Purchase a copy of the book from: JRoss Publishing: https://bit.ly/474ul6G Amazon: https://bit.ly/3NWOKn0 Re-read Saturday News We have just completed our re-read of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport. Newport concludes with a reminder that working deeply is a skill for getting important stuff done. We can learn and hone the skills needed for deep work by putting in the effort. The author suggests that deep work is not a moral or philosophical statement, I am not sure. Aristotle stated the most important virtue is wisdom. Deep work is required to develop wisdom. Remember to buy a copy of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World and read along. Week 1: Logistics and Introduction - https://bit.ly/43fGAMX Week 2: Deep Work Is Valuable - https://bit.ly/3TznAVd Week 3: Deep Work Is Rare - https://bit.ly/4afglsG Week 4: Deep Work Is Meaningful - https://bit.ly/3vRso09 Week 5: Work Deeply - https://bit.ly/4aQ5Uvq Week 6: Embrace Boredom - https://bit.ly/3JoBDIB Week 7: Quit Social Media - https://bit.ly/3Wk1dWK Week 8: Drain the Shallows - https://bit.ly/4drJ7YX Week 9: Conclusion - https://bit.ly/3WAGLRw Next week we begin Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Buy a copy and read along - https://amzn.to/4b5kPmb). I have read parts of this book, not the whole therefore I am going into this read with imperfect information. My biggest worry, however, is learning to pronounce the Author's name. I am wise enough to have already started practicing! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 810 features our interview with D.J. Eshelman, author of Just Do This. One of the topics we will discuss is how badly implemented methodologies like Agile and DevOps are causing burnout in IT Services. Fighting words?

SPaMCAST 808 features our discussion with Steven Schkolne. We talk about design thinking and about how design thinking impacts users and user satisfaction. We answer what happens when a design thinker builds a business. Steven Schkolne is a computer scientist, designer, and entrepreneur who's particularly passionate about the way humans work creatively with machines. His current focus is a web project called MightyMeld, a visualization and creation platform for sophisticated React codebases. LinkiedIn: linkedin.com/in/schkolne Websites https://www.mightymeld.com/ thevaincompany.com (biz) schkolne.com (personal) Steven called out Dinamo, a type design agency, during the podcast. Check them out at https://abcdinamo.com/ Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Are you ready to find the time to use design thinking? Stop letting your out-of-control backlog reduce the value your products deliver. Our next Mastering Work Intake cohort starts on 31 May through 28 June in five manageable 90-minute gatherings. A testimonial! "[A] great memorable session and a lot of inspiration to adopt this mindset and drive this across the organization. [A] big "THANK YOU" 👏 for hosting these sessions and writing this great book on "Work Intake" ✨. You both are just AWESOME. 🔥" Soumya Sikder Enterprise Agile Coach For more details hop over to our Maven site https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 for more information, sign up, or join the mailing list! SPaMCAST listeners get a $50 discount. Use the code, SPAM50 Re-read Saturday News Chapter 7 of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport is titled Rule #4: Drain the Shallows. During both my reads of this chapter I have been struck by the amount of shallow work that creeps into my day even after the experiments and tweaks tried over the past several weeks. This week we focus on reducing the amount of shallow work! Remember to buy a copy of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World and read along. Week 1: Logistics and Introduction - https://bit.ly/43fGAMX Week 2: Deep Work Is Valuable - https://bit.ly/3TznAVd Week 3: Deep Work Is Rare - https://bit.ly/4afglsG Week 4: Deep Work Is Meaningful - https://bit.ly/3vRso09 Week 5: Work Deeply - https://bit.ly/4aQ5Uvq Week 6: Embrace Boredom - https://bit.ly/3JoBDIB Week 7: Quit Social Media - https://bit.ly/3Wk1dWK Week 8: Drain the Shallows - https://bit.ly/4drJ7YX Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 809 features our essay discussing whether accountability and responsibility are really ever separated in real life. Segregating the two 'ilities might make sense for some roles but the nuances are generally far messier. We will also have a visit from Jon M Quigley who brings his Alpha and Omega of Product Development to the podcast.

SPaMCAST 807 looks at the Nine Core Work Intake Principles from the organization's middle. Each layer of the organization has an approach to work intake. While the macro outcome is the same for each layer – work is accepted – each has nuances. The simple three-tier view of organization design used in Mastering Work Intake begins with an executive layer followed by middle management and is anchored by teams. We addressed a team perspective in SPaMCAST 804. Middle management is an important anchor because it makes strategic or longer-term tactical decisions compared to teams. We also have a visit from the Evolutionary Agilist, Jeremy Berriult. Mr. Berriult discusses the need for seamless communication Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Jeremy Willets and I have opened two cohort-based workshops to help you learn to tame the work intake beast! The first kicks off May 3rd to May 24th and features a mixture of video and in-person gatherings. The second runs from 31 May to 28 June in five manageable 90-minute gatherings. A testimonial! "I thoroughly enjoyed participating … I walked away with new ideas to try within my organization, new agile connections from outside my organization, and an overall better understanding of work intake's direct impact on delivering software predictably." Cece Wolf Agile Release Manager | Agile Coach For more details hop over to our Maven site https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 for more information, sign up, or join the mailing list! For SPaMCASTs listener we would like to offer you a $50 off discount code - Re-read Saturday News Chapter 6 of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport is titled Rule #3: Quit Social Media. We use a wide variety of tools in our daily lives and many of us consider social media as tools. The internet tells us that these tools make our lives better. In this Chapter, Newport asks us to consider if the value outweighs the cost. Remember to buy a copy of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World and read along. Week 1: Logistics and Introduction - https://bit.ly/43fGAMX Week 2: Deep Work Is Valuable - https://bit.ly/3TznAVd Week 3: Deep Work Is Rare - https://bit.ly/4afglsG Week 4: Deep Work Is Meaningful - https://bit.ly/3vRso09 Week 5: Work Deeply - https://bit.ly/4aQ5Uvq Week 6: Embrace Boredom - https://bit.ly/3JoBDIB Week 7: Quit Social Media -https://bit.ly/3Wk1dWK Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 808 will feature our discussion with Steven Schkolne. We will talk about how design thinking impacts users and user satisfaction. We will also add whether AI has a role in development and design today.

Why write Mastering Work Intake? Because Jeremy Willets and Tom Cagley decided maybe things could be different. That just chanting "stop starting and stop finishing" wasn't enough. Our book provides the reader with ideas, principles, actionable advice, worksheets, and examples to help you tame the chaos of work entry. If you had the world enough and time maybe you could put off getting better, making better choices until tomorrow. However, things are the way they are and you can act. Buy a copy of Mastering Work Intake - https://bit.ly/474ul6G You could read the book on your own. Marcus Aurelius, Stoic Philosopher and Roman Emperor, wrote. "Mastery of reading and writing requires a master," Jeremy and I have created two cohort-based workshops (starting soon) to help you discover the context you need to find your path to Mastering Work Intake. Join us! The link to Maven to register and for more information: https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 SPaMCAST listeners, use SPAM50 at checkout to save 50 USD.

SPaMCAST 805 features our interview with Peter Schroeder. We discuss plane crashes, fatherhood, and the journey from DJ to a technologist and then to a business person. Organizational culture is critical in all organizations, double in distributed environments. Peter discusses how he learned to craft and defend organizational culture. Peter Schroeder is an accomplished DJ, entrepreneur, and technology pioneer. With over 20 platinum records, 40 gold records, and a triple nomination for the prestigious Danish DJ awards, Peter is one of Denmark's top DJs, entertaining audiences of up to 180,000. He was a featured radio host by the age of 12 and appeared on talk shows and TV stations across Denmark. In addition to his music career, Peter has over 20 years of experience creating cutting-edge technologies for companies such as Facebook, Samsung, and Airbnb. He's a true innovator who works closely with businesses to address mission-critical telecommunications, enabling them to quickly implement, manage, and expand for success. Peter's latest endeavor is Telzio, a pre-unicorn unified communications company he founded. With Telzio, Peter is developing game-changing technology and products that simplify and streamline repetitive tasks. Throughout his career, Peter has survived a plane crash and the birth of twins. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterrankschroeder/ Website: https://www.peterschroeder.com/ Telzio: https://telzio.com/ Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Jeremy Willets and I have opened two cohort-based workshops to help you learn to tame the work intake beast! The first kicks off May 3rd to May 24th and features a mixture of video and in-person gatherings. The second runs from 31 May to 28 June in five manageable 90-minute gatherings. A testimonial! "This class offered an outstanding learning experience … Engaging discussions and practical exercises illuminated the material, presenting a learning approach that was unique to me, but incredibly valuable. This class enriched my understanding and refined my practical skills, making it a truly great learning experience." Christine Green Program Manager & Advisor on Software Contracts For more details hop over to our Maven site https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 for more information, sign up, or join the mailing list! Re-read Saturday News Chapter 5 of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport is titled Rule #2: Embrace Boredom. Newport's idea in this chapter is less to be bored than to create space where you can do deep work. The pings, dings, and kitten videos need to be pushed aside. Remember to buy a copy of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World and read along. Week 1: Logistics and Introduction - https://bit.ly/43fGAMX Week 2: Deep Work Is Valuable - https://bit.ly/3TznAVd Week 3: Deep Work Is Rare - https://bit.ly/4afglsG Week 4: Deep Work Is Meaningful - https://bit.ly/3vRso09 Week 5: Work Deeply - https://bit.ly/4aQ5Uvq Week 6: Embrace Boredom - https://bit.ly/3JoBDIB Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 806 will feature the next installment of our essay on applying the Nine Core Principles of Work Intake. In this installment, we explore how the principles apply to middle management through Product Management. We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault who brings his Evolutionary Agilst™ Column to the podcast.

The Nine Core Principles of Work Intake are a key backbone of Mastering Work Intake by Jeremy Willets and Tom Cagley. Teams and organizations need to apply these principles to avoid chaos. In the SPaMCAST 804, we illustrate the application of the Nine Core Principles based on role and organizational hierarchy beginning with the classic Scrum team roles. We also have a visit from Susan Patente, who brings her Not A Scrumdamentalist column to the podcast. This installment discusses why organizations do projects and their role in society. Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Jeremy Willets and I have opened a new workshop cohort to help you learn to tame the work intake beast! The workshop will run from 31 May to 28 June in five manageable 90-minute chunks. For more details hop over to our Maven site https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 for more information, sign up, or join the mailing list! Re-read Saturday News Chapter 4, Deep Work is Meaningful begins Part 2 of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport. Part 2 contains Newport's rules and ideas for learning to work deeply. There are several ideas that I want to highlight in this chapter. The first is that attention and focus are finite AND consumable resources. Remember to buy a copy of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World and read along. Week 1: Logistics and Introduction - https://bit.ly/43fGAMX Week 2: Deep Work Is Valuable - https://bit.ly/3TznAVd Week 3: Deep Work Is Rare - https://bit.ly/4afglsG Week 4: Deep Work Is Meaningful - https://bit.ly/3vRso09 Week 5: Work Deeply - https://bit.ly/4aQ5Uvq Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 805 will feature our interview with Peter Schroeder. We will discuss plane crashes, fatherhood, and the journey from a technologist to a business person. This is not a two truths and a lie exercise.

Our video provides a quick overview of Work Intake and its importance. Enjoy and let's discuss the concept. Learn to solve IT's dirtiest secret — work intake. Stop ignoring it. Start fixing it. Today we are also announcing two new Mastering Work Intake training opportunities. Diagnose and solve work intake anti-patterns Become a work intake master. Work intake is the biggest challenge facing organizations today. If you don't get work intake right, you won't be in business for very long. We offer two different versions of the cohort — One with pre-recorded videos and less time in live sessions. (Begins May 3 - 24th) One with fewer videos and more time in live sessions. (Begins May 31 - June 28 Both versions include teaching, peer feedback & discussion, feedback from Jeremy and Tom, Q&A, templates, and an electronic copy of our book, Mastering Work Intake: From Chaos to Predictable Delivery. Enroll or join our mailing list using the links below: https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7

The SPaMCAST 802 features a panel discussion. Mark Metze, Jeremy Willets, and myself. discuss "Is agile still a movement or has it reached middle age?" We weigh the appropriateness of wailing and gnashing of teeth, hand wringing and sullen withdrawal, or pragmatism and philosophy. In the end perhaps the right answer is to buy a pair of mom or dad jeans and accept that all great movements reach middle age at some point. We look forward to your opinions and comments. Panelists Mark Metze: With a career spanning over 30 years in the software industry, Mark has evolved from a seasoned developer, dedicating 19 years to crafting high-quality and maintainable code that directly addressed real-world challenges. Transitioning into a management role, he spent the next 9 years leading development teams, gaining a holistic perspective on the various roles crucial for successful software delivery. Embracing the philosophy of servant leadership, he transitioned once again to the role of a Scrum Master. Over the last 3.5 years, his focus has been on fostering collaboration, continuous improvement, and empowering teams to excel in their agile practices. Mark's journey from a hands-on developer to a supportive Scrum Master reflects a deep understanding of the intricacies of software development, coupled with a passion for facilitating teams to achieve their highest potential. Mark also hosts The Agile Within podcast with new episodes debuting each week. It's mission is "Providing agile insights into human values and behaviors through genuine connections". You can listen on your favorite podcast platform or on the web: https://theagilewithin.buzzsprout.com Jeremy Willets is a coach, speaker, and author who has spent the last decade working with people and teams to achieve greatness in the workplace. He started out as a technical writer on a Scrum team and quickly fell in love with Scrum and the Agile Manifesto values and principles. Since then, he's served thriving organizations as a Scrum Master, Agile Coach, Senior Agile Coach, Release Train Engineer, people manager, and mentor. Jeremy has spoken at conferences throughout the midwestern United States. He's an avid Substack blogger and music maker. He holds a SAFe® Practice Consultant (SPC) certification. Jeremy can be found at www.jeremywillets.com Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Jeremy Willets and I have opened a new workshop cohort to help you learn to tame the work intake beast! The workshop will run from 31 May to 28 June in five manageable 90-minute chunks. For more details hop over to our Maven site https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 for more information, sign up, or join the mailing list! Re-read Saturday News Chapter 3, Deep Work is Meaningful completes Part 1 of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport. If you are reading this chapter for the first time, my interpretation of the author's intent is not to prove that deep work is meaningful but rather to argue that it is more meaningful than shallow work. On deeper reflection, there are even more cautionary notes for the always "in contact" amongst us. Read the chapter, this week's re-read post, and contemplate! Remember to buy a copy of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World and read along. Week 1: Logistics and Introduction - https://bit.ly/43fGAMX Week 2: Deep Work Is Valuable - https://bit.ly/3TznAVd Week 3: Deep Work Is Rare - https://bit.ly/4afglsG Week 4: Deep Work Is Meaningful - https://bit.ly/3vRso09 Next SPaMCAST In SPaMCAST 803 we will contemplate the product roles impact on work intake. These roles appear straightforward and at the same time offer many layers and nuances. Regardless of the approach or structure someone is using, making work intake decisions might enhance or trash product decisions. Someone is making those decisions, you need to understand the impact. We will also have a visit from Susan Parente who brings her Not a Scrumdamentalist column to the podcast.

The SPaMCAST 801 will examine the question, "When is not having clear priorities a winning strategy?" While the answer might seem self-evident, I am not sure people and organizations put their money where their mouth is. We also have Kies Kostaqi's You Are Not Alone column. This installment highlights the soft skills required to be an effective Scrum Master. Soft does not mean unimportant or easy to develop. How can you spread the word about Mastering Work Intake? The best way is to leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or wherever you buy your books. Reviews increase the likelihood that someone like you will discover the book! New Workshop Cohort Open! Jeremy Willets and I have opened a new workshop cohort to help you learn to tame the work intake beast! The workshop will run from 31 May to 28 June in five manageable one-hour chunks. For more details hop over to our Maven site https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 for more information, sign up, or join the mailing list! Re-read Saturday News Chapter 2 of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport. Is titled Deep Work Is Rare. It should be subtitled either "and that is our fault" or "stop doing what everyone else is doing". Read the chapter, this week's re-read post, and contemplate! Remember to buy a copy of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World and read along. Week 1: Logistics and Introduction - https://bit.ly/43fGAMX Week 2: Deep Work Is Valuable - https://bit.ly/3TznAVd Week 3: Deep Work Is Rare - https://bit.ly/4afglsG Next SPaMCAST In the next SPaMCAST 802, Mark Metze, Jeremy Willets and I discuss "Is agile still a movement or has it reached middle age?" Will it be wailing and gnashing of teeth, hand wringing and sullen withdrawal, or pragmatism and philosophy? Listen to find out!

In the Software Process and Measurement Cast 800 Johanna Rothman takes over the podcast and interviews Jeremy Willets and me. We discussed Mastering Work Intake, why principles make more sense than best practices, and how disciplined work intake is the core to getting work done. We learn that in practice, stop starting and start finishing only works when you pay attention to the work that goes into a system. Contact info: Johanna Rothman LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johannarothman Website: jrothman.com Jeremy Willets LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jeremywillets Website: https://www.jeremywillets.com/ Tom Calgey LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tcagley/ Website: https://tomcagley.com/ I was asked the best way to spread the word about Mastering Work Intake. The single best way is to leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or wherever you buy your books. Reviews increase the likelihood that someone like you will discover the book! New Workshop Cohort Open! Jeremy Willets and I have opened a new workshop cohort to help you learn to tame the work intake beast! The workshop will run from 31 May to 28 June in five manageable one-hour chunks. For more details hop over to our Maven site https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 for more information, sign up, or just join the mailing list! Re-read Saturday News Chapter 1, Deep Work Is Valuable, begins the first part of the book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport. Part 1, The Idea, comprises the book's first four chapters and focuses on making the case for Deep Work. One of the interesting arguments for the value of deep work is that we are in the throes of digital transformation. Combining that trend with position internationalization and incrementalism yields all-or-nothing jobs. Read the chapter, our re-read post and contemplate! Remember to buy a copy of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World and read along. Week 1: Logistics and Introduction - https://bit.ly/43fGAMX Week 2: Deep Work Is Valuable - https://bit.ly/3TznAVd Next SPaMCAST The SPaMCAST 801 will examine the question, "At what level does not having clear priorities create a winning strategy?" While the answer might seem self-evident, I am not sure people and organizations put their money where their mouth is. We will also have a visit from Kies Kostaqi who brings her You Are Not Alone column to the podcast.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 799 discusses why all communication is not collaboration. It is a commonly held belief that complex problems require collaborative efforts to solve. Couple that with an almost fad-like insistence that if a little collaboration is good, more is better, which leads to everything being deemed collaboration. We can do better with a little effort. We will also have a visit from Jon M Quigley and his Alpha and Omega of Product Development column. Mr Quigley and I talk about prioritization as micromanagement. And how if you are not there to pick up the pieces when work is pushed into an organization you have a poor perspective. .New Workshop Cohort Registration Open! Jeremy Willets and I have opened a new workshop cohort to help you learn to tame the work intake beast! The workshop will run from 31 May to 28 June in five manageable one-hour chunks. For more details hop over to our Maven site https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 for more information, sign up, or just join the mailing list! Re-read Saturday News I ran across the quote "I wasted time, and now doth time waste me" Shakespeare, Richard II as I was listening to Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport while jogging/walking the dog. The quote and the content of Newport's book made me decide to feature my second time through Deep Work in our Re-read Saturday feature. This week we discuss how the re-read approach and the Introduction which includes important definitions. Remember to buy a copy of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World and read along. Week 1: Logistics and Introduction - https://bit.ly/43fGAMX Next SPaMCAST The SPaMCAST 800 will feature Johanna Rothman interviewing Jeremy Willets and me. We discussed the book, Mastering Work Intake. Any conversation with Johanna ends up being a master class. I look forward to spending this milestone with Johanna, Jeremy, and you.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 798 features my interview with Steve Taplin of Sonatafy Technology. Steve and I discussed the nuances and benefits of nearshore software development. Steve also provided his thoughts on why building an uplifting culture both inside and outside the organization reaps powerful rewards for everyone it touches. Steve Taplin leads Sonatafy Technology as its CEO, bringing an entrepreneurial flair and inspirational leadership to the forefront of nearshore software development. His career is marked by a series of successful business scalings, showcasing his ability to tackle complex challenges within the tech industry. Steve's expertise spans across critical business domains, driving Sonatafy to excel in delivering top-tier software solutions. Contact Information: www.sonatafy.com linkedin.com/in/stevetaplin Re-read Saturday News This week we put a bow on our re-read of Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability with a few final thoughts. This book has earned a place on my useful bookshelf. The quote from last week sums up my rationale for Re-read Saturday. "We take action because of our relentless pursuit of improvement. That is what professionalism is all about." Next week we will begin our re-read of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport. Buy a copy and get reading – Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability. Week 1: Re-read Logistics and Preface – https://bit.ly/4adgxsC Week 2: Wilt The Stilt and Definition of Variation – https://bit.ly/4aldwGN Week 3: Variation and Predictability – https://bit.ly/3tAVWhq Week 4: Process Behavior Charts Part 1 – https://bit.ly/3Huainr Week 5: Process Behavior Charts Part 2 – https://bit.ly/424O5Wc Week 6: How Much Data? – https://bit.ly/47GVP24 Week 7: Detecting Signals – https://bit.ly/3SjwfdO Week 8: XmR Charts and the Four Basic Metrics of Flow – https://bit.ly/48j5AU9 Week 9: Myths and Other Considerations – https://bit.ly/3SvfgVU Week 10: VoP, VoC, Predictability, Monte Carlo - https://bit.ly/3UGdxzT Week 11: Different Sampling Methods and 85 Percent or Bust - https://bit.ly/48paPlu Week 12: Scaling Monte Carlo and A Parting Thought - https://bit.ly/433nvx7 Week 13: Final Thoughts - https://bit.ly/3It9OOy Next SPaMCAST The SPaMCAST 799 will feature an essay on why all communication is not collaboration. Like all trendy words, we are confusing the meaning and in the process losing the value of the act. One final thought before next week, just because you allow time for Q&A, a talk at an All Hands Meeting is not collaboration even if you say it is. We will also have a visit from Jon M Quigley and his Alpha and Omega of Product Development column. A little foreshadowing… SPaMCAST 800 will feature Johanna Rothman, Jeremy Willets, and me.

In the Software Process and Measurement Cast 797 we ponder a statement from Roger Turnau in SPaMCAST 796, "You can't expect the process to save you from yourself in every circumstance." The statement poses a leadership quandary leading to questions every leader must ask. When does process guidance make sense? When do processes infantilize teams and leaders? These are not the basis for an after-work philosophical discussion. Vast movements within the software industry have been spawned as cultures have swayed between directive and laissez-faire poles. We also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault who brings his Evolutionary Agilst™ Column to the podcast. We discussed whether testers are part of the team and if they own quality. Re-read Saturday News This week we finish our re-read of Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability with two chapters. Chapter 13 is titled Scaling Monte Carlo. In a perfect world, one team could do all of the work needed for a product or feature a manageable piece at a time. Unfortunately, this is the real world. In Chapter 14, titled A Parting Thought, Vacanti states, "We take action because of our relentless pursuit of improvement. That is what professionalism is all about." Buy a copy and get reading – Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability. Week 1: Re-read Logistics and Preface – https://bit.ly/4adgxsC Week 2: Wilt The Stilt and Definition of Variation – https://bit.ly/4aldwGN Week 3: Variation and Predictability – https://bit.ly/3tAVWhq Week 4: Process Behavior Charts Part 1 – https://bit.ly/3Huainr Week 5: Process Behavior Charts Part 2 – https://bit.ly/424O5Wc Week 6: How Much Data? – https://bit.ly/47GVP24 Week 7: Detecting Signals – https://bit.ly/3SjwfdO Week 8: XmR Charts and the Four Basic Metrics of Flow – https://bit.ly/48j5AU9 Week 9: Myths and Other Considerations – https://bit.ly/3SvfgVU Week 10: VoP, VoC, Predictability, Monte Carlo - https://bit.ly/3UGdxzT Week 11: Different Sampling Methods and 85 Percent or Bust - https://bit.ly/48paPlu Week 12: Scaling Monte Carlo and A Parting Thought - https://bit.ly/433nvx7 Next SPaMCAST The SPaMCAST 798 will feature our interview with Steve Taplin. Steve and I discussed sourcing nearshore and creating a culture inside and around an organization.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 796 features a conversation with Roger Turnau. Roger and I talk about prioritization using the cost of delay. Every organization and team I have ever worked with has a backlog of work and lots of people screaming that their piece of the backlog is the most important. The cost of delay is an important tool to filter out the noise and it can be as nuanced as you need it to be. Roger Turnau is an Agile Coach at Accenture. His mission is to empower and inspire leaders and organizations to create an environment where high performance feels effortless. His approach to achieving this combines an emphasis on psychological safety, building trust throughout the organization, and close attention to KPIs, OKRs and flow metrics to ensure durable results. For the past five years, Roger has specialized in enterprise and DevOps coaching, product development, and Agile transformations. Contact Information LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/roger-turnau Website: gatheringagility.com (Blog) Last Call for Cohort 1! Slay Work Intake Chaos: Become a Master in 5 Weeks! Based on Tom Cagley and Jeremy WIllet's new book Mastering Work Intake, learn to diagnose and solve work intake anti-patterns to stop drowning in work. Work intake is the biggest challenge facing organizations today. If you don't get work intake right, you won't be in business for very long. A 5-week cohort-based course, meeting weekly for an hour, includes teaching, peer feedback & discussion, feedback from the authors, time for Q&A, templates, and an electronic copy of our book, Mastering Work Intake: From Chaos to Predictable Delivery. Are you ready to commit? Join our cohort-based workshop. The first cohort is starting on March 1st, 2024. Details at https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 Re-read Saturday News This week we tackle two chapters of Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability. Chapter 11, "Different Sampling Methods". The chapter points out that random sampling techniques are just the tip of the iceberg in approaches. Chapter 12, "What Percentile Do I Choose?", discusses whether you always need to quote the 85th percentile range. The short answer is no but like most things, there is more to it than that. Buy a copy and get reading – Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability. Week 1: Re-read Logistics and Preface – https://bit.ly/4adgxsC Week 2: Wilt The Stilt and Definition of Variation – https://bit.ly/4aldwGN Week 3: Variation and Predictability – https://bit.ly/3tAVWhq Week 4: Process Behavior Charts Part 1 – https://bit.ly/3Huainr Week 5: Process Behavior Charts Part 2 – https://bit.ly/424O5Wc Week 6: How Much Data? – https://bit.ly/47GVP24 Week 7: Detecting Signals – https://bit.ly/3SjwfdO Week 8: XmR Charts and the Four Basic Metrics of Flow – https://bit.ly/48j5AU9 Week 9: Myths and Other Considerations – https://bit.ly/3SvfgVU Week 10: VoP, VoC, Predictability, Monte Carlo - https://bit.ly/3UGdxzT Week 11: Different Sampling Methods and 85 Percent or Bust - https://bit.ly/48paPlu Next SPaMCAST In the Software Process and Measurement Cast 797 we ponder the question, should the process save us from ourselves in every circumstance? We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault who brings his Evolutionary Agilst™ Column to the podcast

Part of every profession is the jargon practitioners adopt. Having a language links people together and creates a sense of community. It also creates private gardens: a profession set off from those around it. Jargon is a form of secret handshake. Jargon is a two-edged sword, both gathering and excluding people. Be wary! We also have a visit from Susan Parente and her Not A Scrumdamentalist column. We discussed her recent mini-sabbatical. Stepping back has the power to clear your mind. Slay Work Intake Chaos: Become a Master in 5 Weeks! Based on Tom Cagley and Jeremy WIllet's new book Mastering Work Intake, learn to diagnose and solve work intake anti-patterns to stop drowning in work. Work intake is the biggest challenge facing organizations today. If you don't get work intake right, you won't be in business for very long. A 5-week cohort-based course, meeting weekly for an hour, includes teaching, peer feedback & discussion, feedback from the authors, time for Q&A, templates, and an electronic copy of our book, Mastering Work Intake: From Chaos to Predictable Delivery. Are you ready to commit? Join our cohort-based workshop. The first cohort is starting on March 1st, 2024. Details at https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 Re-read Saturday News This week we tackle two chapters of Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability. We begin with Chapter 9 - VoP, VoC, and Predictability which sums up Section I, Variability and Predictability. Chapter 10, titled Monte Carlo Simulation, Revisited begins Section II, Advanced Monte Carlo Simulation and Predictability. Buy a copy and get reading – Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability. Week 1: Re-read Logistics and Preface – https://bit.ly/4adgxsC Week 2: Wilt The Stilt and Definition of Variation – https://bit.ly/4aldwGN Week 3: Variation and Predictability – https://bit.ly/3tAVWhq Week 4: Process Behavior Charts Part 1 – https://bit.ly/3Huainr Week 5: Process Behavior Charts Part 2 – https://bit.ly/424O5Wc Week 6: How Much Data? – https://bit.ly/47GVP24 Week 7: Detecting Signals – https://bit.ly/3SjwfdO Week 8: XmR Charts and the Four Basic Metrics of Flow – https://bit.ly/48j5AU9 Week 9: Myths and Other Considerations – https://bit.ly/3SvfgVU Week 10:VoP, VoC, Predictability, Monte Carlo - https://bit.ly/3UGdxzT Next SPaMCAST The Software Process and Measurement Cast 796 our conversation with Roger Turnau. Roger and I will delve deeply into prioritization using the cost of delay. Every organization and team I have ever worked with has a backlog of work and lots of people screaming that their piece of the backlog is the most important. Cost of delay is an important tool to filter out the noise.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 794 features our conversation with Nick Schrock. Nick and I discussed data engineering, AI, and entrepreneurship. As the Founder at Dagster Labs, Nick has the perfect standing to talk about three of the hottest topics of 2024. Nick's Bio: Nick is the Founder and CTO of Dagster Labs, the company behind Dagster, a popular open-source data orchestration platform. Before Dagster Labs, he was a Principal Engineer and Director at Facebook from 2009 to 2017, where he founded the Product Infrastructure team and co-created GraphQL. After cutting his teeth at Facebook, he pursued his passion for working on engineers' pain points after hearing that data infrastructure was a big issue. He founded Dagster to address this issue, highlighting how quickly open-source projects were able to make an impact at legacy companies. Dagster couldn't come at a more critical time as data and ML engineering are beginning to drive both human and business decision-making. Contact Information: Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/schrockn Website: https://dagster.io/ Stop Project Chaos: The Ultimate Guide to Predictable Work Intake Feeling overwhelmed by endless tasks and unpredictable deadlines? You're not alone. But what if you could transform your project into a well-oiled machine, delivering consistent value on time? Introducing Mastering Work Intake: From Chaos to Predictable Delivery. Ditch the black hole of endless requests. Discover practical strategies for capturing, filtering, and prioritizing work effectively. Gain control of your work pipeline. Learn how to navigate different types of work at different stages, ensuring smooth flow and efficient delivery. Become a master of saying "no". This book equips you with the tools and techniques to confidently decline unproductive work and protect your team's focus. Stop the chaos and start delivering! Grab your copy of Mastering Work Intake today and unleash your project's full potential. JRoss: https://bit.ly/474ul6G or Amazon (US): https://a.co/d/7nYupx5 Are you ready to commit to not letting bad work drag you down? Invest in your success and learn how to master work intake for a smoother, more rewarding project experience. Join our cohort-based workshop. The first cohort is starting on March 1st, 2024. Details at https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7 Re-read Saturday News Chapter 8 shatters myths! Once upon a time in a land far, far away, I believed a few of these myths. Ok, it was just about five years ago that I was dissuaded from the last of my misbeliefs. I believe that many of my misconceptions are founded in the collision of words between classical statistics and words Shewhart used for Process Behavior Charts (PBC). Buy a copy and get reading – Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability. Week 1: Re-read Logistics and Preface – https://bit.ly/4adgxsC Week 2: Wilt The Stilt and Definition of Variation – https://bit.ly/4aldwGN Week 3: Variation and Predictability – https://bit.ly/3tAVWhq Week 4: Process Behavior Charts Part 1 – https://bit.ly/3Huainr Week 5: Process Behavior Charts Part 2 - https://bit.ly/424O5Wc Week 6: How Much Data? - https://bit.ly/47GVP24 Week 7: Detecting Signals - https://bit.ly/3SjwfdO Week 8: XmR Charts and the Four Basic Metrics of Flow - https://bit.ly/48j5AU9 Week 9: Myths and Other Considerations - https://bit.ly/3SvfgVU Next SPaMCAST In the Software Process and Measurement Cast 795, why do teams, products, projects, and companies exist? Why do we care? (We really should!) We will also have a visit from Susan Parente who brings her Not A Scrumdamentalist column to the podcast!

Feeling overwhelmed by endless tasks and unpredictable deadlines? You're not alone. But what if you could transform your project into a well-oiled machine, delivering consistent value on time? Introducing Mastering Work Intake: From Chaos to Predictable Delivery. Ditch the black hole of endless requests. Discover practical strategies for capturing, filtering, and prioritizing work effectively. Gain control of your work pipeline. Learn how to navigate different types of work at different stages, ensuring smooth flow and efficient delivery. Become a master of saying "no". This book equips you with the tools and techniques to confidently decline unproductive work and protect your team's focus. Stop the chaos and start delivering! Grab your copy of Mastering Work Intake today and unleash your project's full potential. JRoss: https://bit.ly/474ul6G or Amazon (US): https://a.co/d/7nYupx5 Ready to commit to not letting bad work drag you down? Invest in your success and learn how to master work intake for a smoother, more rewarding project experience. Join our cohort-based workshop. The first cohort is starting on March 1st, 2024. Details at https://bit.ly/3HEsKK7

As you would suspect, I have recently been talking up Mastering Work Intake which Jeremy Willets and I co-authored. One conversation turned to the topic of whether value stream analysis was useful in controlling work intake. The simple answer is YES across the whole value stream and up and down the hierarchy. We will also have a visit from Kies Kostaqi who brings her "You Are Not Alone" column to the podcast. In this installment, we discuss whether anyone (within reason) can play the Scrum Master role. Mastering Work Intake by Tom Cagley and Jeremy Willets Have you purchased your copy of Mastering Work Intake: From Chaos to Predictable Delivery? Doing the right work at the right time can make or break your project, and there are surprisingly few resources to show you how to manage this process effectively - no longer. Mastering Work Intake: From Chaos to Predictable Delivery focuses on the full pipeline that work follows as it enters and exits your organization, including the different types of work that enter at different levels and times. It is a must-read for agile coaches, Scrum Masters, product owners, project and portfolio managers, team members, and anyone who touches the software development process. Mastering work intake involves recognizing that it's easy to say " yes" and much harder to say " no." Buy a copy today! J Ross: https://bit.ly/474ul6G Amazon (US): https://a.co/d/7nYupx5 For physical copies outside of the US and Canada: UK and EU: https://www.eurospanbookstore.com/ For international orders outside of Europe: https://a.co/d/7nYupx5 (or the Amazon store for your country) Re-read Saturday News Chapter Seven, of Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability, dives into the nuances of using XmR charts for the basic flow metrics including: Cycle Time Throughput WIP WIP Age This is a hugely useful chapter. There are three points that I draw out this week. They are the difference between XmR and Cycle Time (scatter plot) Charts, chunky data, and Total WIP Age charting. Buy a copy and get reading – Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability. Week 1: Re-read Logistics and Preface – https://bit.ly/4adgxsC Week 2: Wilt The Stilt and Definition of Variation – https://bit.ly/4aldwGN Week 3: Variation and Predictability – https://bit.ly/3tAVWhq Week 4: Process Behavior Charts Part 1 – https://bit.ly/3Huainr Week 5: Process Behavior Charts Part 2 - https://bit.ly/424O5Wc Week 6: How Much Data? - https://bit.ly/47GVP24 Week 7: Detecting Signals - https://bit.ly/3SjwfdO Next SPaMCAST The Software Process and Measurement Cast 794 will feature our conversation with Nick Schrock. We discussed data engineering, AI, and entrepreneurship. As the Founder at Dagster Labs, Nick had the perfect standing to talk about three of the hottest topics of 2024.