Software Process and Measurement Cast

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SPaMCAST opens with our essay, Don't Shortcut Shu Ha Ri. Recently I have been thinking about just how rigorously practitioners need to follow the processes, methods, and frameworks, and when it makes sense to tweak processes to fit the culture. Learn and practice first, then decide how to tweak agile, Scrum or any framework to your culture. The results will be better. Our second column will introduce a new column from Susan Parente titled, "I Am Not A Scrumdamentalist." Susan originally appeared on SPaMCAST 344 -- http://bit.ly/2GDl6Px Note: The material provided by Susan Parente, is copyright of Susan Parente and may not be used without her specific consent. Our final column in the SPaMCAST 487 features the Software Sensei, Kim Pries. In this column, Kim talks about what works and does not work. (I had originally scheduled Jon M Quigley this week, however, I took the wrong hard drive on the road this week). Re-Read Saturday News This week we explore the forward and the introduction of L. David Marquet's Turn the Ship Around! In one fell swoop, we take care of all of the pages numbered in italics. The introduction adds some extra context to how Marquet's leadership style and theories evolved. Current Installment: Week 2: Forward and Introduction Previous Installment: Week 1: Game Plan Upcoming Webinars and Conferences QAI Quest 2018 The Three Amigo's Role in Agile May 21-25, 2018, San Antonio, Texas ISMA 15 May 11 Rome, Italy I will also be at Agile West on June 7th (my birthday!) Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 488 will feature our interview with Prem Ranganath. Prem and I discussed why organizations need to focus on innovation and excellence. The topic might sound trite; however, making innovation and excellence happen is hard. Prem provides examples and advice from the real world.

SPaMCAST 486 features our interview with Daniel S. Vacanti. Mr. Vacanti is the author of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction. We discussed the concepts in the book, answered a question from Steven Adams, and talked about his new book. It was great to talk about a book with the author after the re-read. Daniel Vacanti's Bio: Daniel Vacanti is a 20-plus year software industry veteran who has spent most of his career focusing on Lean and Agile practices. In 2007, he helped to develop the Kanban Method for knowledge work and managed the world's first project implementation of Kanban that year. He has been conducting Lean-Agile training, coaching, and consulting ever since. In 2011 he founded ActionableAgileTM (previously Corporate Kanban) which provides industry-leading predictive analytics tools and services organizations that utilize Lean-Agile practices. In 2015 he published his book, "Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability", which is the definitive guide to flow-based metrics and analytics. Daniel holds an M.B.A. and regularly teaches a class on lean principles for software management at the University of California Berkeley. Contact Information: Twitter: @danvacanti LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielvacanti/ Mail: [email protected] Web: https://www.actionableagile.com/ Re-Read Saturday News We will begin the full-scale re-read of L. David Marquet's Turn the Ship Around! next week and I am stoked. Buy your copy and listen to the interview I did with Mr. Marquet (SPaMCAST 202) to get involved in the re-read. I am going to lead the re-read from my 2012 (7th printing) copy. The book has 29 chapters, not including the forward, a cast of characters, index, afterword, and a glossary. The book is an easy read because Marquet is such an excellent communicator. My intent is to knock out the preface material next week and then begin delivering 2 chapters per week. If my estimating ability holds true, we will complete our re-read in 18 weeks. I expect to miss two weeks due to travel. Upcoming Webinars and Conferences QAI Quest 2018 The Three Amigo's Role in Agile May 21-25, 2018, San Antonio, Texas ISMA 15 May 11 Rome, Italy I will also be at Agile West on June 7th (my birthday!) Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 487 opens with our essay, Don't Shortcut Shu Ha Ri. I spend several hours every week running – on purpose. I don't run very fast, which means I have the occasional fall because my mind wanders, I inflict very little damage to the ground due to the low inertial load. This is a preamble to let you know that I have lots of time to think when I run (which is the reason the ground occasionally gets in my way). Recently I have been thinking about just how rigorously practitioners need to follow processes, methods, and frameworks and when it makes sense to tweak processes to fit the culture. Our second column will introduce a new column from Susan Parente. Susan's new column is titled, "I Am Not A Scrumdamentalist." Susan originally appeared on SPaMCAST 344 -- http://bit.ly/2GDl6Px In our final column in the SPaMCAST 487 features Jon M Quigley who brings his Alpha and Omega of Product Development column to the cast.

SPaMCAST 485 features essay titled "A Simple Checklist for Choosing a Mentor." Everyone needs a mentor, but they are hard to find, and even when you find someone willing they might not be the right person! Enter: a checklist! Blog entries (in case you would rather read the entries) in our recent coaching/mentor theme include: A Mentor or Coach: Which Do You Need? A Checklist A Simple Checklist for Choosing a Mentor Attributes of a Good Mentor Coaching versus Mentoring In the second spot this week, Jeremy Berriault will bring his QA Corner to the cast. We will discuss trusting your team. Trust is a huge deal, and unless it goes both ways it is not really trust. FYI - Jeremy has recently moved the QA Corner to https://qacorner.blog/ Rounding out the cast, Kim Pries, the Software Sensei will return with the second part of his essay titled "Muddling Through." The essay is based on the article, "The Science of "Muddling Through" by Charles E. Lindblom. The article was originally published in 1959, but it still has an important message that resonates now. Part One was originally published in SPaMCAST 477 http://bit.ly/2IiGoCw Re-Read Saturday News Before we wrap up our re-read of Daniel S. Vacanti's Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction (buy a copy today) remember that we will begin our re-read of Turn the Ship Around by L. David Marquet next week! Buy your copy and listen to the interview I did with Mr. Marquet (SPaMCAST 202). If you want to get ahead, the book after that will be The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande (I recently bought a copy and want to share what I have gotten out of it). Now on with the main attraction! This week we conclude our re-read of Daniel S. Vacanti's Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction (buy a copy today). Over the past 18 weeks we have explored the power of a few metrics to help teams deliver value. None of the books we have explored in the re-read series are simple, one-idea books. The complexity of these books are the reason they are important, but also make it difficult to boil any of them down into a few words. If pressed for a one line summary for this book, it is that every team or organization should use data to pursue continuous improvement. Previous InstallmentsIntroduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: The Basics of Flow Metrics Week 4: An Introduction to Little's Law Week 5: Introduction to CFDs Week 6: Workflow Metrics and CFDs Week 7: Flow Metrics and CFSs Week 8: Conservation of Flow, Part I Week 9: Conservation of Flow, Part II Week 10: Flow Debt Week 11: Introduction to Cycle Time Scatterplots Week 12: Cycle Time Histograms Week 13: Interpreting Cycle Time Scatterplots Week 14: Service Level Agreements Week 15: Pull Policies Week 16: Introduction to Forecasting Week 17: Monte Carlo Method Introduction Week 18: Getting Started Week 19: Conclusion Upcoming Webinars and Conferences Using Size to Drive Testing in AgileTom Cagley & Associates and Sealights WebinarTue, Mar 13, 2018 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EDThttp://bit.ly/2CdBQZX QAI Quest 2018The Three Amigo's Role in AgileMay 21-25, 2018,San Antonio, TexasISMA 15May 11Rome, ItalyI will also be at Agile West on June 7th (my birthday!) Next SPaMCASTSPaMCAST 486 will feature our interview with Daniel S. Vacanti. Mr. Vacanti is the author of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction. We discussed the concepts in the book, answered a question from Steven Adams, and talked about his new book. It was great to talk about a book after a re-read with the author!

SPaMCAST 484 features our interview with Andriy Bas of UPTech. Andriy and his partner have created a firm that has truly embraced the ideas of agile, Teal and holacracy to create a highly productive, collaborative and safe workspace. We discussed the impact of the environment on satisfaction, quality, and productivity. We also discussed whether or not this type of approach works for all people. Andriy Bass an entrepreneur, programmer, reader and marathon runner. Andriy is a co-founder and Team Lead of the IT-company UPTech. The company is known for its unique culture - radical transparency, horizontal hierarchy, self-management. Andriy believes that a healthy culture and teamwork are the foundation for any successful business and that the best client service starts with taking care of your team. True creativity and human potential can also be fully unleashed only in the autonomous self-managed environment. Links: My twitter: https://twitter.com/bass_andriy My facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bass.andriy UPTech website: https://uptech.team/ Resources where visitors can learn more about Teal: http://www.reinventingorganizations.com/ Our company blog where we shared some of the practices: http://blog.uptech.team/ Re-Read Saturday News The Oscars are being announced on March 4, 2018. At some point in the process, someone will call for the envelope and boom: the big reveal. So in the spirit of the moment, we have our next book for the Re-read Saturday. We will begin re-reading Turn the Ship Around by L. David Marquet in two weeks (buy your copy today). I have interviewed Mr. Marquet twice for the podcast; I have gotten a ton from his books and the interviews, so I am pumped. I also want to announce the book after that, The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande (I recently bought a copy and want to share what I have gotten out of it). Now on with the main attraction! The title of Chapter 16 is Getting Started, in Daniel S. Vacanti's Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction (buy a copy today). The never-ending journey of process improvement needs to begin at the beginning. In this chapter, Vacanti lays out an outline for adopting a process improvement approach that uses the metrics discussed earlier in the book. Previous Installments Introduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: The Basics of Flow Metrics Week 4: An Introduction to Little's Law Week 5: Introduction to CFDs Week 6: Workflow Metrics and CFDs Week 7: Flow Metrics and CFSs Week 8: Conservation of Flow, Part I Week 9: Conservation of Flow, Part II Week 10: Flow Debt Week 11: Introduction to Cycle Time Scatterplots Week 12: Cycle Time Histograms Week 13: Interpreting Cycle Time Scatterplots Week 14: Service Level Agreements Week 15: Pull Policies Week 16: Introduction to Forecasting Week 17: Monte Carlo Method Introduction Week 18: Getting Started Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! Upcoming Webinars and Conferences Using Size to Drive Testing in Agile Tom Cagley & Associates and Sealights Webinar Tue, Mar 13, 2018 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EDT http://bit.ly/2CdBQZX QAI Quest 2018 The Three Amigo's Role in Agile May 21-25, 2018, San Antonio, Texas ISMA 15 May 11 Rome, Italy I will also be at Agile West. More information next week! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 485 will feature our essay titled "A Simple Checklist for Choosing a Mentor." Everyone needs a mentor, but they are hard to find, and even when you find someone willing they might not be the right person! Enter: a checklist! Jeremy Berriault will bring his QA Corner to the cast. We will discuss trusting your team. Jeremy has recently moved the QA Corner to https://qacorner.blog/ Kim Pries, the Software Sensei will return with the second part of his essay titled "Muddling Through."

SPaMCAST 483 will feature our essay on measuring the value delivered by agile. The essay begins: "Organizations and teams come to agile—for that matter, any concept, framework or technique—for a wide variety of reasons. Even if we are just the keeping up with the neighbors, we need feedback to know if we have met our goal. We need feedback because—to quote Paul Gibbons, author of The Science of Successful Organizational Change (Re-read Saturday)—"we confuse what we think ought to work" with what does work (quote from SPaMCAST 480)." Four Agile Value Entries: Does Agile Deliver Measurable Value? Measuring the Value of Agile Does Agile Deliver Value? You Can Prove it! Measuring The Impact of Change: An Example Our second column features Steve Tendon who brings his Tame The Flow: Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Application to Scrum and Kanban (buy a copy here) to the cast. Today we complete our discussion of Chapter 21. We have spent extra time on chapters 20 and 21 to get to the heart of the important concepts in these chapters. In our final column, Jon M Quigley brings his Alpha and Omega of Product Development column to the cast. In this segment, we discuss Agile Culture. Agile is often crippled when organizations don't spend the time and effort needed to adopt a culture and mindset that incents innovation and productivity. Re-Read Saturday News This week we are taking a break to remind you to vote in the poll to pick the next book! Many Bothans died to bring us this poll (Star Wars reference in case you missed the movie)! We will be back next week in full force! [polldaddy poll=9941343] Previous Installments Introduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: The Basics of Flow Metrics Week 4: An Introduction to Little's Law Week 5: Introduction to CFDs Week 6: Workflow Metrics and CFDs Week 7: Flow Metrics and CFSs Week 8: Conservation of Flow, Part I Week 9: Conservation of Flow, Part II Week 10: Flow Debt Week 11: Introduction to Cycle Time Scatterplots Week 12: Cycle Time Histograms Week 13: Interpreting Cycle Time Scatterplots Week 14: Service Level Agreements Week 15: Pull Policies Week 16: Introduction to Forecasting Week 17: Monte Carlo Method Introduction Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! Upcoming Webinars and Conferences Using Size to Drive Testing in Agile Tom Cagley & Associates and Sealights Webinar Tue, Mar 13, 2018 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EDT http://bit.ly/2CdBQZX QAI Quest 2018 The Three Amigo's Role in Agile May 21-25, 2018, San Antonio, Texas ISMA 15 May 11 Rome, Italy I will also be at Agile West. More information next week! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 484 will our interview with Andriy Bas of UPTech. Andriy and his partner have created a firm that has truly embraced the ideas of agile and holacracy to create a highly productive, collaborative and safe environment.

Software Process and Measurement Cast 482 features our interview with Natalie Warnert. We talked about the diversity of voice, thoughts and ideas and Women in Agile. Developing ideas and solving problems is the reason for software development, project management, process improvement, business systems analysis -- just about everything in life is about solving problems. Diversity helps us to generate better ideas and decisions. Bio Natalie Warnert is the primary founder of the Women in Agile initiative, which enables, empowers, and expands the distribution of new and diverse ideas in the agile and technology communities worldwide. She is a frequent speaker on business and agile topics including product strategy, user experience, and emotional intelligence. Her strategy focuses on actions you can implement tomorrow for the immediate impact that track toward longer-term vision and outcomes. Natalie also brings unparalleled humor to all her engagements (or so she thinks). Natalie is passionate about guiding companies as they design, execute, and support their approach to cultural change as a Principal Agile Consultant at CA Technologies. Her vast thought leadership experience is recognized by her numerous keynotes, podcasts, and publications. Natalie has earned various degrees and certifications over the past decade including her Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership, SAFe Program Consultant, Certified Scrum Professional, and Six Sigma Yellow Belt. For more of Natalie's work please visit www.nataliewarnert.com Re-Read Saturday News This week we tackled Chapter 15 of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti. Chapter 15 is titled Monte Carlo Method Introduction. Remember to buy your copy today and read along, and we will be back next week! What is next? Vote in the poll to pick the next book! Vote for two books! [polldaddy poll=9941343] Previous Installments Introduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: The Basics of Flow Metrics Week 4: An Introduction to Little's Law Week 5: Introduction to CFDs Week 6: Workflow Metrics and CFDs Week 7: Flow Metrics and CFSs Week 8: Conservation of Flow, Part I Week 9: Conservation of Flow, Part II Week 10: Flow Debt Week 11: Introduction to Cycle Time Scatterplots Week 12: Cycle Time Histograms Week 13: Interpreting Cycle Time Scatterplots Week 14: Service Level Agreements Week 15: Pull Policies Week 16: Introduction to Forecasting Week 17: Monte Carlo Method Introduction Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! Upcoming Webinars and Conferences Using Size to Drive Testing in Agile Tom Cagley & Associates and Sealights Webinar Tue, Mar 13, 2018 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EDT http://bit.ly/2CdBQZX QAI Quest 2018 The Three Amigo's Role in Agile May 21-25, 2018, San Antonio, Texas ISMA 15 May 11 Rome, Italy I will also be at Agile West. More information next week! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAT 483 will feature our essay on measuring the value delivered by agile. We also have columns from Steve Tendon and Jon M Quigley.

SPaMCAST 481 will feature our essay on the Life Cycle of A User Story. A user story - a brief, simple requirement statement from the user's perspective - tends to follow a loose life cycle. That life often begins even before the word 'user story' gets mentioned and typically by people that don't understand (or care to understand) the concept of a user story. We zoom in from 40,000 ft down to user stories in 500 or so words! Read other entries on user stories by following this link: https://tcagley.wordpress.com/?s=user+story The second column this week is from Kim Pries, the Software Sensei, Kim discusses using the Extended Backus-Naur Form as a tool to extract information out of nebulous text. Last but not least, Jeremy Berriault brings his QA Corner to the cast. In this entry, Jeremy discusses why QAs/testers should be given space to manage their own workflow. Jeremy has recently moved the QA Corner to https://qacorner.blog/ Re-Read Saturday News This week we tackled Chapter 14 of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti. Chapter 14 is titled Introduction to Forecasting. Predictability and forecasting are intimately related! Remember to buy your copy today and read along, and we will be back next week! One note: we are on Chapter 14 today out of 17. So, after today, we have approximately four more weeks. As a result, we will have to choose another book in the next couple of weeks. I have received some suggestions, and I have also asked the interviewees that appeared in the Software Process and Measurement Podcast in 2017 which was the most impactful book they have read. I would also like your input. What do you suggest that we read next? Previous Installments Introduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: The Basics of Flow Metrics Week 4: An Introduction to Little's Law Week 5: Introduction to CFDs Week 6: Workflow Metrics and CFDs Week 7: Flow Metrics and CFSs Week 8: Conservation of Flow, Part I Week 9: Conservation of Flow, Part II Week 10: Flow Debt Week 11: Introduction to Cycle Time Scatterplots Week 12: Cycle Time Histograms Week 13: Interpreting Cycle Time Scatterplots Week 14: Service Level Agreements Week 15: Pull Policies Week 16: Introduction to Forecasting Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! Upcoming Webinars Using Size to Drive Testing in Agile Tom Cagley & Associates and Sealights Webinar Tue, Mar 13, 2018 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EDT Link to register will come soon! I will also be at QAI Quest, ISMA 15 and Agile West. More information next week! Next SPaMCAST In the Software Process and Measurement Cast 482 we will feature our interview with Natalie Warnet. We talked about the diversity of voice, thoughts and ideas and Women in Agile.

SPaMCAST 480 features our interview with Paul Gibbons. Paul and I had a wide-ranging discussion that began with his wonderful book The Science of Successful Organization Change (Buy a copy now and then enjoy the re-read we held on the Software Process and Measurement Cast blog), and led us to the broader conversation: that change is hard but it is even harder if we fall prey to magical thinking. Pau's bio: Paul Gibbons is an author, speaker, and consultant. His "beat" is helping business leaders use science and philosophy to make better strategic decisions, implement change, innovate, change culture, and create workplaces where talent flourishes. His most recent book, The Science of Organizational Change has been hailed as "the most important book on change in fifteen years." Between writing projects, he consults, coaches, and speaks with businesses such as Microsoft, Google, HSBC, KPMG, and Comcast. Paul's Website: www.paulgibbons.net Email: [email protected] Facebook – Paul Gibbons (author) Twitter - @paulggibbons YouTube – Philosophyfirst LinkedIn – Paul G Gibbons Paul is a podcaster! His podcast, Think Bigger, Think Better asks the question How can contemporary philosophy and science help us make better choices, lead better lives, and create a sustainable, prosperous world? Check out Think Bigger, Think Better on Apple Podcasts or where ever you get your podcasts! Re-Read Saturday News This week we tackled Chapter 13 of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti. Chapter 13 is titled Pull Policies. Pull policies define how work is accepted by a team and gets worked on. Pull policies are important because they affect cycle time and predictability. Remember to buy your copy today and read along, and we will be back next week! Previous Installments Introduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: The Basics of Flow Metrics Week 4: An Introduction to Little's Law Week 5: Introduction to CFDs Week 6: Workflow Metrics and CFDs Week 7: Flow Metrics and CFSs Week 8: Conservation of Flow, Part I Week 9: Conservation of Flow, Part II Week 10: Flow Debt Week 11: Introduction to Cycle Time Scatterplots Week 12: Cycle Time Histograms Week 13: Interpreting Cycle Time Scatterplots Week 14: Service Level Agreements Week 15: Pull Policies Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! Upcoming Webinars February 6, 2018 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST AGILE best practices for STARTUPS San Antonio Software Startup Meetup Codeup 600 Navarro St, 3rd Floor · San Antonio, TX If you are in the San Antonio area, please RSVP guys and this will help the organizers plan. I will have opening remarks on business agility and then will focus on the questions and comments from the assembly! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 481 will feature our essay on the Life Cycle of A User Story. We will focus on the implied hierarchy of user stories. We will also have columns from Kim Pries and Jeremy Berriault.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 479 has three columns. The first column features a recent essay on the difference between a coach and a mentor in the form of a simple checklist. Which do you need? Check out the other three entries in this theme on the Software Process and Measurement Cast blog. Our second column features Steve Tendon who brings his Tame The Flow: Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Application to Scrum and Kanban to the cast (buy a copy here). Chapter 20 and 21 are extremely important to understanding and applying the TameFlow approach, therefore, we are spending time with the author to get to the heart of the concepts. Anchoring the cast is Jon M Quigley returning with his column, Alpha and Omega of Product Development. Jon and I discussed why employee engagement is more than an academic topic. Advertisement Thanks for all of your best wishes on the launch of Tom Cagley & Associates. Our goal is to work with organizations and teams to unlock their inherent greatness. As experienced thought leaders, we have studied a wide range of organizations to uncover what makes them the best at what they do. By delivering training, guidance, and coaching we can help make the transformation of your organization and team a success - and prove it. Lets talk! Email: [email protected]: 01 (440) 668-5717 Re-Read Saturday News This week we tackled Chapter 12 of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti. Chapter 12 is titled Service Level Agreements. Service Level Agreements (SLA) are an agreement to perform within certain limits based on past performance. SLAs can be derived based on data visualization. Remember to buy your copy today and read along, and we will be back next week! Previous InstallmentsIntroduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: The Basics of Flow Metrics Week 4: An Introduction to Little's Law Week 5: Introduction to CFDs Week 6: Workflow Metrics and CFDs Week 7: Flow Metrics and CFSs Week 8: Conservation of Flow, Part I Week 9: Conservation of Flow, Part II Week 10: Flow Debt Week 11: Introduction to Cycle Time Scatterplots Week 12: Cycle Time Histograms Week 13: Interpreting Cycle Time Scatterplots Week 14: Service Level Agreements Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! Upcoming Webinars February 2nd, 2018 - 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (CST) Agile Leadership for Agile Transformation or Fail! The International Institute for Software Testing Organizational change will be difficult at best without proper leadership. There are four leadership concepts that can double the chances that your agile transformation will be effective and stay that way! Register February 6, 2018 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST AGILE best practices for STARTUPS San Antonio Software Startup Meetup Codeup 600 Navarro St, 3rd Floor · San Antonio, TX If you are in the San Antonio area, please RSVP guys and this will help the organizers plan. I will have opening remarks on business agility and then will focus on the questions and comments from the assembly! Next SPaMCASTSPaMCAST 480 will feature our interview with Paul Gibbons. Paul and I had a wide-ranging discussion that began with his wonderful book The Science of Successful Organization Change, and led us to the broader conversation: that change is hard but it is even harder if we fall prey to magical thinking.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 478 features our interview with Evan Leybourn. Evan is back to discuss his new venture, The Business Agility Institute. Agile is not just for software anymore! Bio Evan is the Founder and CEO of the Business Agility Institute; an international membership body to both champions and supports the next generation of organizations. Companies that are agile, innovative and dynamic - perfectly designed to thrive in today's unpredictable markets. We connect leaders across industries and regions to share their experiences and insights with each other. Our flagship event, the Business Agility Conference will run in New York from March 14th. Evan is also the author of Directing the Agile Organisation and will soon be publishing his next book on #noprojects. Business Agility Institute: http://businessagility.institute/ Business Agility Conference: http://businessagilityconference.com/ Directing the Agile Organisation: http://amzn.to/2D7SStK Re-Read Saturday News This week we tackled Chapter 11 of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti. Chapter 11 is titled Interpreting Cycle Time Scatterplots. Visualization and patterns are a powerful way of visualizing data. Remember to buy your copy today and read along, and we will be back next week! Previous Installments Introduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: The Basics of Flow Metrics Week 4: An Introduction to Little's Law Week 5: Introduction to CFDs Week 6: Workflow Metrics and CFDs Week 7: Flow Metrics and CFSs Week 8: Conservation of Flow, Part I Week 9: Conservation of Flow, Part II Week 10: Flow Debt Week 11: Introduction to Cycle Time Scatterplots Week 12: Cycle Time Histograms Week 13: Interpreting Cycle Time Scatterplots Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! Advertisement The SPaMCAST 478 is sponsored by Tom Cagley & Associates. I have some very exciting news. As you know, I have spent the last ten years as part of Premios (formerly known as David Consulting Group and DCG Software Value). It is time for a change. As of January 16th, Tom Cagley & Associates begins business. Our goal is to work with organizations and teams to unlock their inherent greatness. As experienced thought leaders, we have studied a wide range of organizations to uncover what makes them the best at what they do. By delivering training, guidance, and coaching we can help make the transformation of your organization and team a success - and prove it. Lets talk! Email: [email protected] Phone: 01 (440) 668-5717 Upcoming Webinars January 25, 2018 11 AM EST - 12:30 EST Agile: Leadership Required ITMPI In this webinar, you will learn about the four leadership concepts that can double the chances that your agile transformation will be effective. February 2nd, 2018 - 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (CST) Agile Leadership for Agile Transformation or Fail! The International Institute for Software Testing Organizational change will be difficult at best without proper leadership. There are four leadership concepts that can double the chances that your agile transformation will be effective and stay that way! Register February 6, 2018 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST AGILE best practices for STARTUPS San Antonio Software Startup Meetup Codeup 600 Navarro St, 3rd Floor · San Antonio, TX If you are in the San Antonio area, please RSVP guys and this will help the organizers plan. I will have opening remarks on business agility and then will focus on the questions and comments from the assembly! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 478 will feature our essay, "You Know it is Virtual Agile When …" Just because someone says they are agile or are doing stand-ups doesn't mean they really have embraced agile. We will also have columns from Steve Tendon who brings his Tame The Flow: Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Application to Scrum and Kanban (buy a copy here) to the cast. Also, Jon M Quigley will return with his column, Alpha and Omega of Product Development.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 477 features our essay on silence. Silence is a powerful tool to guide conversations and mine information from the stream of consciousness that flows around us. If silence was just a tool to improve our connections with people and to improve listening, it would be worth practicing. But, silence is also a tool to peer deeper into our minds. Silence improves relaxation and helps individuals to focus. Trust me the podcast is not 30 minutes of silence! We will also have a column from Kim Pries, the Software Sensi. Kim brings us part one of his essay, Muddling Through. The essay is based on the article, "The Science of "Muddling Through" by Charles E. Lindblom. The article was originally published in 1959 but has an important message that resonates now. Gene Hughson of Form Follows Function anchors the cast. He discusses his great article, "What Makes a Monolith Monolithic?" Gene suggests that the problem with the term "monolith" is that, while it's a powerfully evocative term, it isn't a simple one to define. Re-Read Saturday News This week we tackled Chapter 10a of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti. Histograms are another powerful way of visualizing data Remember to buy your copy today and read along, and we will be back next week! The link: Week 12: Cycle Time Histograms Previous Installments Introduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: The Basics of Flow Metrics Week 4: An Introduction to Little's Law Week 5: Introduction to CFDs Week 6: Workflow Metrics and CFDs Week 7: Flow Metrics and CFSs Week 8: Conservation of Flow, Part I Week 9: Conservation of Flow, Part II Week 10: Flow Debt Week 11: Introduction to Cycle Time Scatterplots Week 12: Cycle Time Histograms Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! Upcoming Webinars January 25, 2018 11 AM EST - 12:30 EST Agile: Leadership Required ITMPI In this webinar, you will learn about the four leadership concepts that can double the chances that your agile transformation will be effective. February 2nd, 2018 - 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (CST) Agile Leadership for Agile Transformation or Fail! The International Institute for Software Testing Organizational change will be difficult at best without proper leadership. There are four leadership concepts that can double the chances that your agile transformation will be effective and stay that way! Register February 6, 2018 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST AGILE best practices for STARTUPS San Antonio Software Startup Meetup Codeup 600 Navarro St, 3rd Floor · San Antonio, TX If you are in the San Antonio area, please RSVP guys and this will help the organizers plan. I will have opening remarks on business agility and then will focus on the questions and comments from the assembly! More next week! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 478 will feature our interview with Evan Leybourn. Evan is back to discuss his new venture, The Business Agility Institute. Agile is not just for software anymore!

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 476 features our interview with Kyle Siemens. Kyle is CEO at Brightest. We discussed the case for certifications. The whole concept of certifications is a lightning rod for the excesses of agile and the Agile (big A) industry. Mr. Siemens makes a strong argument for certification when done properly. Kyle's Bio Kyle Siemens is an energetic, loyal and hard-working Canadian from Winnipeg, Manitoba. After completing my Bachelor's degree at the University of Manitoba in German literature and mathematics, I moved to Berlin in 2006 with a DAAD scholarship and got my Masters in communication and languages. After working several years at various agencies (running campaigns for national and international brands), I stumbled upon an incredible path by chance, which led me to where I am today - Online Marketing Volunteer of the TMMi Foundation and CEO of a global ISTQB exam provider called Brightest: www.brightest.org. Reach out to Kyle on LinkedIn Re-Read Saturday News This week we tackled Chapter 10 of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti. Today we begin Part 3 with Chapter 10 which is titled, Introduction to Cycle Time Scatterplots. Scatterplots take us beyond the analysis of average cycle time (or even approximate average cycle time). Scatterplots provide a visual representation of the data so we can begin to use the data to predict the future. Remember to buy your copy today and read along, and we will be back next week! Previous Installments Introduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: The Basics of Flow Metrics Week 4: An Introduction to Little's Law Week 5: Introduction to CFDs Week 6: Workflow Metrics and CFDs Week 7: Flow Metrics and CFSs Week 8: Conservation of Flow, Part I Week 9: Conservation of Flow, Part II Week 10: Flow Debt Week 11: Introduction to Cycle Time Scatterplots Support the author (and the blog), buy a copy of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! Upcoming Webinars January 25, 2018 11 AM EST - 12:30 EST Agile: Leadership Required In this webinar, you will learn about the four leadership concepts that can double the chances that your agile transformation will be effective. Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 477 features our essay on silence. Silence is a powerful tool to guide conversations and mine information from the stream of consciousness that flows around us. If silence was just a tool to improve our connections with people and to improve listening, it would be worth practicing. But, silence is also a tool to peer deeper into our minds. Silence improves relaxation and helps individuals to focus. We will also have columns from Kim Pries the Software Sensi and Gene Hughson of Form Follows Function.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 475 features the majority of the SPaMCAST Crew in a round-robin discussion. The recording session covered three topics; however, today we tackle the first topic: Whether agile can be used in other parts of the business. We will return to the next two topics in February! Six people with strong opinions. It is a pretty amazing discussion. Voices you often hear on the SPaMCAST include this cast of incredible minds: Gene Hughson (Architecture) Jeremy Berriault (Quality Assurance) Kim Pries (Software Development) Steve Tendon (Lean and Kanban) Jon M Quigley (Product Development) - not on this week's cast Steven Adams (Agile Practitioner) Re-Read Saturday News This week we take a break from our re-read of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti. Remember to buy your copy today and read along, and we will be back next week! Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! Upcoming Webinars January 25, 2018 11 AM EST - 12:30 EST Agile: Leadership Required In this webinar, you will learn about the four leadership concepts that can double the chances that your agile transformation will be effective. Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 476 features our interview with Kyle Siemens. Kyle is CEO at Brightest. We discussed the case for certifications. The whole concept of certifications is a lightning rod for the excesses of agile and the Agile (big A) industry. Mr. Siemens makes a strong argument for certification when done properly.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 474 features our interview with Tom Henricksen. Tom recently organized and executed the Agile Online Summit that I participated in. We get behind the scene story about how the Summit came together and how it enhanced the Agile community! Tom's Bio Tom Henricksen is a speaker and career coach who leads others to turn their dreams into plans. Throughout Tom's career, he has learned firsthand how hard it can be to find a good career match. As a result of his trials, he's created a simple process designed to help find a career that inspires passion, encourages optimal performance, and results in profit. Website: http://myitcareercoach.com/ Online Agile Summit: https://www.agileonlinesummit.com/ Twitter: @TomHenricksen Facebook: Facebook profile LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomhenricksen Re-Read Saturday News Chapter 9 of Daniel S. Vacanti's Actionable Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction (buy a copy today) is titled, "Flow Debt." In this chapter, we use the approximate average cycle time to guide teams and other stakeholders to ask good questions so that the flow of value can be improved! Buy your copy today and read along! Catch up on the all the installments of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction Introduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: The Basics of Flow Metrics Week 4: An Introduction to Little's Law Week 5: Introduction to CFDs Week 6: Flow Metrics and CFDs Week 7: Interpreting CFDs Week 8: Conservation of Flow, Part I Week 9: Conservation of Flow, Part II Week 10: Flow Debt Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! A Call To Action I still need a few more leaders of Agile PMOs for a special podcast and for background interviews. Please contact me to discuss the topic at [email protected] if you are interested in telling me your story! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 475 features the majority of the SPaMCAST Crew in a round-robin discussion. Six people with strong opinions, three tough topics and lots of note-taking This is one of my favorite moments of the podcast year. Topics included the extensibility of Agile to other parts of the business, why do software development leaders spend so much time telling developers how to do their job and what is keeping us from consistently delivering quality. Pretty amazing!

SPaMCAST 473 features our essay on 6 Important Flow Metrics! Getting the most value out of a process is important to any leader. Balancing getting the most value with getting value sooner complicates the discussion. In some cases, getting some value sooner is worth more than the same value delivered later. Guiding the delivery of value is more complicated than a rank ordering a list of user stories and then magically hoping that everything will happen in the most effective and efficient manner possible. Measurement is an important tool to help teams and organizations ask the right questions. The 6 flow metrics provide process transparency into organizations that leverage continuous flow, scrumban, and/or Scrum as the basis for their Agile implementations. We will also complete our discussion of part 3 (3 of 3) of chapter 20 of Tame The Flow: Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Application to Scrum and Kanban (buy a copy here). Re-Read Saturday News This week, we tackle Chapter 8 of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti. Chapter 8 is titled, Conversion of Flow Part II. Remember that requirement in Little's Law.that work that enters the process, completes and leaves. We do a deeper dive on why that is important. Buy your copy today and read along! Catch up on the all the installments of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction Introduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: The Basics of Flow Metrics Week 4: An Introduction to Little's Law Week 5: Introduction to CFDs Week 6: Flow Metrics and CFDs Week 7: Interpreting CFDs Week 8: Conservation of Flow, Part I Week 9: Conservation of Flow, Part II Buy a Copy! Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! A Call To Action I still need a few more leaders of Agile PMOs for a special podcast and for background interviews. Please contact me to discuss the topic at [email protected] if you are interested in telling me your story! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 474 features our interview with Tom Henricksen. Tom recently organized and executed the Agile Online Summit that I participated in. We get behind the scene story about how the Summit came together and how it enhanced the Agile community!

SPaMCAST 472 features our interview with Mike Harris. We discussed his new book, The Business Value of Software. We discussed the definition of value and why value matters! In reality, software development, enhancements, and maintenance that don't deliver value are a waste. Therefore it behooves all of us to understand value, how to recognize it, and how to measure it! Mike's Bio Michael Harris brings a wide range of perspectives on IT, specifically in the area of delivering business value, to this book. His international career has taken him from production management, through R&D, project management and academia to consulting before planting him firmly in charge of a large software engineering group for a public company. It has been over ten years since he decided that he liked one of his former vendors so much that he would buy the company; and last year, he decided it was time to change the name of the company to reflect his passion. In 2016, the David Consulting Group became DCG Software Value. Mike is a Chartered Engineer (CEng.) and Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (MIET) in the United Kingdom and a Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (MIEE) in the United States of America. He is a SAFE Program Consultant and Certified Scrum Master. With their much-loved, high-achieving kids all grown up and pursuing their independent lives, Mike lives with his high school sweetheart, Jane, outside Philadelphia, in southern Colorado and on the coast of northern England as time, work and whim permit. Contact Information: Email: [email protected] Web: www.premiosgroup.com Transparency Note: Michael Harris is the President and CEO of the Premios Group. I am part of the Premios Group. The focus of the interview was Mike's new book and followed the pattern I have used for all authors appearing on the cast. Re-Read Saturday News This week, we tackle Chapter 7 of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti. The chapter is titled, Conservation of Flow Part I. The flow of work into and out of a process is incredibly important for establishing predictability. Chapter 7 explains the concept of conservation of flow mentioned (almost in passing in Chapter 6). Buy your copy today and read along! Catch up on the all the installments of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction Introduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: The Basics of Flow Metrics Week 4: An Introduction to Little's Law Week 5: Introduction to CFDs Week 6: Flow Metrics and CFDs Week 7: Interpreting CFDs Week 8: Conservation of Flow Part I Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! A Call To Action I still need a few more leaders of Agile PMOs for a special podcast and for background interviews. Please contact me to discuss the topic at [email protected] if you are interested in telling me your story! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 472 will feature our essay on 6 Important Flow Metrics! Getting the most value out of a process is important to any leader. Balancing getting the most value with getting value sooner complicates the discussion. In some cases, getting some value sooner is worth more than the same value delivered later. Guiding the delivery of value is more complicated than a rank ordering a list of user stories and then magically hoping that everything will happen in the most effective and efficient manner possible. Measurement is an important tool to help the team and organizations ask the right questions. The 6 flow metrics provide process transparency into organizations that leverage continuous flow, scrumban, and/or Scrum as the basis for their Agile implementations. We will also complete our discussion of part 3 (3 of 3) of our discussion of chapter 20 of Tame The Flow: Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Application to Scrum and Kanban (buy a copy here). We will also have a column from the Software Sensei, Kim Pries. Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 471 features our essay on the top 20 transformation killers. Each transformation killer is a big deal, but if you combine two or more you are in big trouble. That said, forewarned is forearmed . . .hopefully? In the second spot, this week is Jeremy Berriault and the QA Corner! Jeremy and I discussed involving testers in requirements. The ultimate in shifting "left." In the third spot, Gene Hughson completes the cast by bringing a discussion of a recent missive, Systems Thinking Complicates Things. Rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock and more! Re-Read Saturday News This week, we tackle Chapter 6 of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti. Chapter 6 is titled, Interpreting CFDs. Learning to read CFDs provides teams and individuals with a huge amount of information through data visualization. Chapter six continues to build on flow metrics, data visualization, and Little's Law. Buy your copy today and read along! Catch up on the all the installments of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction Introduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: The Basics of Flow Metrics Week 4: An Introduction to Little's Law Week 5: Introduction to CFDs Week 6: Flow Metrics and CFDs Week 7: Interpreting CFDs Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! A Call To Action I still need a few more leaders of Agile PMOs for a special podcast and for background interviews. Please contact me to discuss the topic at [email protected] if you are interested in telling me your story! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 472 will feature my interview with Mike Harris. We discussed his new book, The Business Value of Software. We discussed the definition of value and why value matters! Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 470 features the return of Ben Linders. Ben and I discussed his new book, What Drives Quality. Quality is something we all want and is required by our customers and clients BUT determining how we get quality is not easy! We explored the definition of quality, who owns quality and what teams can do to deliver quality. If you are into excellence in value delivery, this interview will inform and delight you. Ben's Bio: Ben Linders is an Independent Consultant in Agile, Lean, Quality, and Continuous Improvement, based in The Netherlands. Author of Getting Value out of Agile Retrospectives, Waardevolle Agile Retrospectives, What Drives Quality and Continuous Improvement. Ben is the creator of the Agile Self-assessment Game. As an adviser, coach, and trainer he helps organizations with deploying effective software development and management practices. He focuses on continuous improvement, collaboration and communication, and professional development, to deliver business value to customers. Ben is an active member of networks on Agile, Lean, and Quality, and a well-known speaker and author. He shares his experiences in a bilingual blog (Dutch and English), as an editor for Culture and Methods at InfoQ, and as an expert in communities like Computable, Quora, DZone, and TechTarget. Follow him on twitter: @BenLinders. My Upcoming Appearances Metricas 2017 I will be keynoting on Agile leadership and delivering one my favorite presentations, Function Points and Pokémon Go 29 November 2017 Sao Paulo, Brazil ⇒ Register Re-Read Saturday News This week we are talking a short break in our re-read of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti. Buy your copy today and read along! This week we have a book shopping list based on our most recent reviews and interviews. Check out the list and buy yourself, your team or a friend a copy of any of the great books on our list. Support the authors and support the podcast! After shopping catch up on the previous Installments of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction Introduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: The Basics of Flow Metrics Week 4: An Introduction to Little's Law Week 5: Introduction to CFDs Week 6: Flow Metrics and CFDs Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! A Call To Action I am looking for few more leaders of Agile PMOs for a special podcast and for background interviews. Please contact me to discuss the topic at [email protected] if you are interested in telling me your story! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 471 will feature our essay on the 20 Top Transformation Killers! Changing an organization, a team or even yourself is hard and there are lots of pitfalls to avoid. Forewarned is forearmed! We will also have columns from Jeremy Berriault and Gene Hughson. Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 469 features our essay on consensus decision-making. Consensus decision-making is one of the most prevalent decision-making tools in organizations today. But, consensus decision-making has its plusses and minuses. We came to a consensus and decided to discuss the topic. Our second column this week is from Kim Pries (The Software Sensei). Kim revisits the topic of cognitive biases. Biases can blind us unless we are vigilant. Kim's advice is to ask for data rather than just allowing our biases to decide for us. Our third column is via Steve Tendon, who will bring us part 2 (2 of 3) of our discussion of chapter 20 of Tame The Flow: Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Application to Scrum and Kanban (buy a copy here). Upcoming Appearances Metricas 2017 I will be keynoting on Agile leadership and delivering one my favorite presentations, Function Points and Pokémon Go 29 November 2017 Sao Paulo, Brazil ⇒ Register e-Read Saturday News This week we re-read Chapter 5 of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti. Chapter 5 is titled, Flow Metrics and CFDs. The chapter puts the ideas of flow metrics and the power of cumulative flow diagrams together to provide a boatload of information.. Buy your copy today and read along! Previous Installments Introduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: The Basics of Flow Metrics Week 4: An Introduction to Little's Law Week 5: Introduction to CFDs Week 6: Flow Metrics and CFDs Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! A Call To Action I am looking for leaders of Agile PMOs for a special podcast and for background interviews. Please contact me to discuss the topic at [email protected] or [email protected]. Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 470 features the return of Ben Linders. Ben and I discussed his new book, What Drives Quality. We explored the definition of quality, who owns quality and what teams can do to deliver quality. If you are into excellence in value delivery, this interview will inform and delight you.. Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 468 features the return of Johanna Rothman. Johanna and I discussed her new book, Create Your Successful Agile Project: Collaborate, Measure, Estimate, Deliver. (Buy your copy today and support Johanna and the SPaMCAST). Johanna provides incredibly useful and pragmatic insights for delivering value to your customers and stakeholders! Johanna Rothman, known as the "Pragmatic Manager," provides frank advice for your tough product development problems. Johanna is the author of more than ten books, including: Create Your Successful Agile Project: Collaborate, Measure, Estimate, Deliver Agile and Lean Program Management: Scaling Collaboration Across the Organization Manage Your Project Portfolio: Increase Your Capacity and Finish More Projects, 2nd ed Diving for Hidden Treasures: Finding the Value in Your Project Portfolio (with Jutta Eckstein) Predicting the Unpredictable: Pragmatic Approaches to Estimating Project Schedule or Cost See more of Johanna's writing on http://www.jrothman.com, and http://www.createadaptablelife.com. Contact Johanna at: Email: [email protected] Web: www.jrothman.com Previous interview with Johanna SPaMCAST 180 - Johanna Rothman, Transparency and Trust SPaMCAST 23 - Rothman, Project Management, Traceability Upcoming Appearances Metricas 2017 I will be keynoting on Agile leadership and delivering one my favorite presentations, Function Points and Pokémon Go 29 November 2017 Sao Paulo, Brazil ⇒ Register Re-Read Saturday News This week we re-read Chapter 4 of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti. Chapter 4 is titled, An Introduction to CFDs. Cumulative Flow Diagrams deliver a huge amount of actionable information. This chapter lays down the basics needed to build a CFD. Buy your copy today and read along! Previous Installments Introduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: The Basics of Flow Metrics Week 4: An Introduction to Little's Law Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! A Call To Action Can you tell a friend about Software Process and Measurement Cast? I know you enjoy the podcast and if you are like your friends, so will they. Tell them about the cast and perhaps show them how to download the podcast. Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 469 features our essay on consensus decision-making. Consensus decision-making is one of the most prevalent decision-making tools in organizations today. But, consensus decision-making has it plusses and minuses. We will decide to discuss this. We will also have columns from Kim Pries (The Software Sensei) and from Steve Tendon, who will bring us part 2 of chapter 20 of Tame The Flow: Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Application to Scrum and Kanban (buy a copy here). Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 467 features our essay on value. Value is the most talked about and least understood concept in Agile. In terms of software development, enhancements, and maintenance, the value of a piece of work is the worth of the outcome that results from doing the work. In the second position is Jeremy Berriault and the QA Corner! Jeremy discusses testing in difficult situations. Are there differences? Jeremy has the answers! Gene Hughson completes the cast by bringing a discussion of a recent missive, Management, Simple and Wrong – Semantics, Systems, and Self-Correction. This entry at Form Follows Function even includes a reference to Snidely Whiplash! Upcoming Appearances Metricas 2017 I will be keynoting on Agile leadership and then delivering one my favorites, Function Points and Pokémon Go 29 November 2017 Sao Paulo, Brazil ⇒ Register Re-Read Saturday News This week we re-read Chapter 3 of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti. Chapter 3 is titled An Introduction to Little's Law. More than just queuing theory, Little's law provides a way to use the flow metrics noted in Chapter 2 to forecast and estimate. Buy your copy today and read along! Previous Installments Introduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: The Basics of Flow Metrics Week 4: An Introduction to Little's Law Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! A Call To Action Can you tell a friend about Software Process and Measurement Cast? I know you enjoy the podcast and if you are like your friends, so will they. Tell them about the cast and perhaps show them how to download the podcast. Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 468 features the return of Johanna Rothman. Johanna and I discussed her new book, Create Your Successful Agile Project: Collaborate, Measure, Estimate, Deliver. (Buy your copy today and support Johanna and the SPaMCAST). In our interview, Johanna provides incredibly useful and pragmatic insights for delivering value to your customers and stakeholders! Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 466 features our interview with Ross Smith. Ross and I discussed legacy application modernization. Legacy application modernization delivers quantitative and qualitative value to organizations. Modernization can breathe new life into old applications. We also discussed why organizations sometimes avoid biting the modernization bullet! Ross Smith is Chief Architect at PITSS America. He has been on the PITSS team for five years, a time during which the company transformed from an Oracle Forms upgrade vendor into a business process and application transformation provider. He recently spoke at Oracle Open World about the untapped potential of leaving vital legacy applications out of a digital transformation strategy, and the realities of integrating them into a modern enterprise environment. Email: [email protected] Web: https://pitss.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ross-smith-5427497 I am participating in the Agile Online Summit 30 Oct - 3 Nov 2017 At the summit, I talk about the power of storytelling with Tom Henricksen! ⇒ Register Metricas 2017 I will be keynoting on Agile leadership and delivering one my favorites, Function Points and Pokémon Go 29 November 2017 Sao Paulo, Brazil ⇒ Register Re-Read Saturday News This week we re-read Chapter 2 of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti. Chapter 2 is titled The Basic Metrics of Flow. We go deep on WIP, Cycle Time and Throughput. Powerful metrics that every team needs to understand and leverage. Buy your copy today and read along! Previous Installments Introduction and Game Plan Week 2: Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability Week 3: THe Basics of Flow Metrics Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! A Call To Action Can you tell a friend about Software Process and Measurement Cast? I know you enjoy the podcast and if you are like your friends, so will they. Tell them about the cast and perhaps show them how to download the podcast. Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 467 features out essay on value. Value is the most talked about and least understood concept in Agile. In terms of software development, enhancements, and maintenance the value of a piece of work is the worth of the outcome that results from doing the work. We will also have columns from Jeremy Berriault and Gene Hughson. Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 465 features our essay on re-booting teams. Not every team issue can be solved with a standard pallet of techniques. However, nearly every consultant (internal or external) will have set of tools that they have ready just in case. We discuss techniques and impacts! We will also have a column from Kim Pries (The Software Sensei). Kim discusses why software structure can be a blessing and a curse. While Kim tends to favor structure there are times when it does not deliver the benefits promised. Steve Tendon brings Chapter 20 of Tame The Flow: Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Application to Scrum and Kanban (buy a copy here). Our discussion of Chapter 20 was passionate and in-depth. It will be released in two or 3 parts. A promo! I am participating in the Agile Online Summit 30 Oct - 3 Nov 2017 At the summit, I talk about the power of storytelling with Tom Henricksen! ⇒ Register For other events SPaMCAST team members will be attending check the recent blog entry titled Upcoming Conferences and Webinars! Re-Read Saturday News This week we re-read Action Metrics for Predictability Chapter 1 of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti. Chapter 1 of Daniel S. Vacanti's Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability. Chapter 1 is titled Flow, Flow Metrics, and Predictability. Vacanti jumps directly into the deep end by suggesting a way to answer the age-old question, "when are you going to deliver?" Buy your copy today and read along! Previous Installments Introduction and Game Plan Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! A Call To Action Can you tell a friend about Software Process and Measurement Cast? I know you enjoy the podcast and if you are like your friends, so will they. Tell them about the cast and perhaps show them how to download the podcast If you interested in promoting your conference or event on the Software Process and Measurement Cast please reach out to us at [email protected] to discuss how that can happen! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 466 features our interview with Ross Smith. Ross and I discussed legacy application modernization. Legacy application modernization delivers quantitative and qualitative value to organizations. We also discussed why organizations sometimes avoid biting the modernization bullet! Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

Agile Online Summit 30 Oct – 3 Nov 2017 The Agile Online Summit gives you a chance to see great agile speakers from your device. At the summit, I talk about the power of storytelling with Tom Henricksen! General Admission You will get access to all the content for the week of the conference. FREE VIP This ticket will give you access to the content after the conference concludes. You will also get access to some bonus materials provided by many of the speakers. 25.00 USD VIP + Group Training This ticket will give you access to the content after the conference concludes plus you will be enrolled in the agile group training. We will dive deeper into all of the topics covered over a ten-week 95.00 USD ⇒ Register at https://www.agileonlinesummit.com/

SPaMCAST 464 features our interview with Beth Leonard. Beth and I talked about innovative thinking, risk-based reviews, the CMMI and making the software development process more effective and efficient. Beth is an incredible person for her innovative thinking in the software development world...and more! Ms. Beth Leonard is an executive with over 20 years of IT/IS management, quality assurance, and process improvement experience across the government contracting industry. She is an ITIL Expert, ISO Internal and External Auditor (ISO standards: 9001, 19011, 20000, 27001), A2LA accredited ISO/IEC 17020:2012 assessor, Black Belt Six Sigma, and PMP, and is an expert in CMMI-DEV, CMMI-SVC, and NIST 800.53 security controls. She has previously held positions in multiple areas of program/project, security, service management (e.g., ITIL), and is passionate about increasing customer satisfaction, implementing realistic best practices across organizations, and mentorship. Beth is an award-winning speaker in her field; frequently invited to both local and international-level industry events to speak about such topics as customer satisfaction, organizational metrics development, CMMI, ISO, management reviews and techniques, as well as quality assurance. On a personal level, she is the mom of two boys, loves paddle boarding and aerial yoga, and has a blog about Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer. Website:https://www.attain.com/ Twitter: @guruofprocess Linkedin; https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-leonard/ A couple of promos! First is a promo for my upcoming ITMPI Webinar! Wed, Oct 18, 2017 11:00 AM (EST) Product Owners In Agile – The Really Hard Role In this webinar, you will learn why an Agile team's product owner has a special obligation for leadership and value delivery. It's a hard role but we will discuss making it work! ⇒ Register Second, I am participating in the Agile Online Summit 30 Oct - 3 Nov 2017At the summit, I talk about the power of storytelling with Tom Henricksen! ⇒ Register For other events, SPaMCAST team members will be attending check the recent blog entry titled Upcoming Conferences and Webinars! Re-Read Saturday News This week we begin the re-read of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti. Actionable Agile Metrics is published by Leanpub, 2015 and has 17 chapters with a preface and bibliography across 307 pages. Buy your copy today and read along! Re-read Game Plan: Vacanti indicates that he wrote the book to be read in a serial fashion, chapter by chapter, even though each chapter can be read and used alone. My re-read plan is to read and review the material a chapter a week. If the pacing is too slow I will combine chapters. This has been the standard re-read approach. A new twist that we will add to this re-read is that after every three chapters I will host a group discussion that will be posted on the Software Process and Measurement feed. Our current plan is to complete the re-read in 19 weeks (tentatively completed on February 17th). Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! A Call To Action Can you tell a friend about Software Process and Measurement Cast? I know you enjoy the podcast and if you are like your friends, so will they. Tell them about the cast and perhaps show them how to download the podcast If you interested in promoting your conference or event on the Software Process and Measurement Cast please reach out to us at [email protected] to discuss how that can happen! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 465 will feature our essay on re-booting teams. Not every team issue can be solved with a standard pallet of techniques. However, nearly every consultant (internal or external) will have a set of tools that they have ready just in case. We discuss techniques and impacts! We will also have columns from Kim Pries (The Software Sensei) and from Steve Tendon, who will bring chapter 20 of Tame The Flow: Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Application to Scrum and Kanban (buy a copy here). Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 463 features our essay on using big picture stories to generate resonance. Early in the history of Agile, most descriptions of Agile included the need to define a central metaphor to help guide the work. Somewhere over time, the idea of a central metaphor has disappeared as Agile thought leaders have focused on more tactical facets of Agile methods and frameworks. It's time to reconsider the big picture story! We will also have columns from Gene Hughson of Form Follows Function fame. Gene and I discuss his recent essay, Management, Simple and Wrong – Semantics, Systems, and Self-Correction. This essay is about the meaning and includes an appearance from Snidely Whiplash. Anchoring the cast, Jeremy Berriault brings the QA Corner to the podcast. Jeremy and I discussed motivating testers. Testers like any other discipline require the correct care and feeding to effectively deliver value. Here is a promo for my upcoming ITMPI Webinar! Wed, Oct 18, 2017, 11:00 AM (EST) Product Owners In Agile – The Really Hard Role In this webinar, you will learn why an Agile team's product owner has a special obligation for leadership and value delivery. It's a hard role but we will discuss making it work! ⇒ Register For other events, SPaMCAST team members will be attending check the recent blog entry titled Upcoming Conferences and Webinars! Re-Read Saturday News This week we take a quick break to deliver a review of The Goal: A Business Graphic Novel. In the review I sought to answer three questions: Is the material true to the original author's ideas? Are critical concepts easier to consume? Do the characters translate from text to pictures well? Next in the Re-read Series is . . . . Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti (Author) Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! A Call To Action The Software Process and Measurement Cast needs your help! Please give the SPaMCAST a short, honest review in iTunes, Stitcher or wherever you are listening. If you leave a review somewhere, please send a copy to [email protected] we will call you out on the show! Reviews help guide people to the cast and blog! If you interested in promoting your conference or event on the Software Process and Measurement Cast please reach out to us at [email protected] to discuss how that can happen! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 464 will feature our interview with Beth Leonard. Beth and I talked about innovative thinking, risk-based reviews and making the software development process more effective and efficient. Beth is one of the most innovative and forward thinkers we have talked with on the podcast. Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 462 features our interview with Jon M Quigley We discussed his new book Project Management for Automotive Engineers. Jon co-authored the book with Roopa Shenoy. The book and the ideas in the book are relevant to all types of projects whether they use Agile or not! A fun and informative conversation! Jon's Bio: Jon M. Quigley PMP CTFL is a principal and founding member of Value Transformation, a product development training and cost improvement organization established in 2009, as well as being an Electrical / Electronic Process Manager at Volvo Trucks North America. Jon has an Engineering Degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and two Master Degrees from the City University of Seattle. Jon has nearly twenty-five years of product development experience, ranging from embedded hardware and software through verification and project management. Jon has written or contributed to a huge number of books, presentations, and articles including: Project Management for Automotive Engineers ISBN 978-0768080773 Configuration Management: Theory, Practice, and Application ISBN 978-148222935 Contact Jon at: [email protected] http://www.valuetransform.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/value-transformation-llc https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonmquigley Here is a promo for my upcoming ITMPI Webinar! Wed, Oct 18, 2017, 11:00 AM (EST) Product Owners In Agile – The Really Hard Role In this webinar, you will learn why an Agile team's product owner has a special obligation for leadership and value delivery. It's a hard role but we will discuss making it work! ⇒ Register For other events, SPaMCAST team members will be attending check the recent blog entry titled Upcoming Conferences and Webinars! Re-Read Saturday News This week Steven completes Paul Gibbons' book The Science of Successful Organizational Change. Steven delivers final thoughts. Special thanks to Steven for tackling the re-read duties for the past thirteen weeks. Next in the Re-read Series is . . . . Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction by Daniel S. Vacanti (Author) Dead Tree Book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098643633X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098643633X&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=3488b22252fbe0c99b33ea226f9dcdf5 Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013ZQ5TUQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013ZQ5TUQ&linkCode=as2&tag=softprocandme-20&linkId=f5bdfb462b1cb570344bba7dff6e3c37 Get your copy and begin reading (or re-reading)! A Call To Action The Software Process and Measurement Cast needs your help! Please give the SPaMCAST a short, honest review in iTunes, Stitcher or wherever you are listening. If you leave a review somewhere, please send a copy to [email protected] we will call you out on the show! Reviews help guide people to the cast and blog! If you interested in promoting your conference or event on the Software Process and Measurement Cast please reach out to us at [email protected] to discuss how that can happen! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 463 will feature our essay on using big picture stories to generate resonance. Early in the history of Agile, most descriptions of Agile included the need to define a central metaphor to help guide the work. Somewhere over time, the idea of a central metaphor has disappeared as Agile thought leaders have focused on more tactical facets of Agile methods and frameworks. It's time to reconsider the big picture story! We will also have columns from Gene Hughson (Form Follows Function) and Jeremy Berriault (QA Corner). Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 461 features our essay - Agile -- Leadership Required. For an Agile transformation to be effective and then stay effective there are four cornerstones of Agile leadership constancy that must be addressed with passion and constancy of purpose. Our second column this week is from Kim Pries (The Software Sensei). Kim fills in the middle of the cast with a discussion of the conceptual skills a software developer should have. To be good in this industry you need to be more than a set of coding languages or testing techniques. Steve Tendon, brings chapter 19 of Tame The Flow: Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Application to Scrum and Kanban published J Ross (buy a copy here). We tackle Chapter 19, which is titled Understanding Common Cause Variation. Steve share insights that caused me to rethink the whole idea of common cause variation. Here is a promo for my appearance during the Denver Startup Week. On Thursday, September 28th at 8 AM I will be sharing Storytelling: Developing the Big Picture for Agile Efforts. The presentation, in Denver, Colorado, will be at held at Industry. Register and be there!!!! A well-done Agile project reminds us that the focus of any set of requirements needs to be on an outcome rather than a collection of "whats" and "whos". Storytelling is a powerful tool to elevate even the most diehard requirements analyst from a discussion of individual requirements to a discussion of outcomes. Attend this session and learn how to peel away the proverbial layers of the backlog evolution "onion" by using storytelling techniques to understand the big picture. Perfect for PMs and leaders of any agile driven project. For other events, SPaMCAST team members will be attending check the recent blog entry titled Upcoming Conferences and Webinars! Re-Read Saturday News This week Steven completes Chapter 9 of Paul Gibbons' book The Science of Successful Organizational Change. Chapter 9 is the capstone of the book, putting all of the pieces-parts together. Steve sums the chapter up and ties a bow on it! We will have a final wrap up next week then . . . Vote for the next re-read book here! I will hold the poll open for a few more days. Currently, we seem to be experiencing a slugfest between Vacanti and Senge; however, I am starting to see rally flags for Kevin Kruse's book! This week and previous installments: Week 1: Game Plan Week 2: Introduction Week 3: Failed Change Week 4: Introduction to Part 1 and Fragility to Change-Agility Week 5: Governance and the Psychology of Risk Week 6: Decision Making in Complex and Ambiguous Environments Week 7: Chapter 5: Cognitive Bias and Failed Strategies Week 8: Misunderstanding Human Behavior Week 9: The Science of Changing Behaviors Week 10: Chapter 8: The Science of Changing Hearts and Minds Week 11: Leading With Science (Part 1) Week 12 Leading With Science (Part 2) A Call To Action The Software Process and Measurement Cast needs your help! Please give the SPaMCAST a short, honest review in iTunes, Stitcher or wherever you are listening. If you leave a review somewhere, please send a copy to [email protected] we will call you out on the show! Reviews help guide people to the cast and blog! If you interested in promoting your conference or event on the Software Process and Measurement Cast please reach out to us at [email protected] to discuss how that can happen! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 462 will feature our interview with Jon M Quigley (remember him?) We discussed his new book Project Management for Automotive Engineers. Jon co-authored the book with Roopa Shenoy. The book and the ideas in the book are relevant to all types of projects whether they use Agile or not! A fun and informative conversation! Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 460 features our interview with Peter Varhol. Peter and I discussed machine learning and AI, and how it will impact software development and testing. We also discussed how anyone can stay current and enhance their careers. Peter's Bio Peter Varhol is a well-known writer and speaker on software and technology topics, having authored dozens of articles and spoken at a number of industry conferences and webcasts. He has advanced degrees in computer science, applied mathematics, and psychology, and is Principal at his company, Technology Strategy Research, LLC. His past roles include technology journalist, software product manager, software developer, and university professor. Twitter: @pvarhol Blog: https://pvarhol.wordpress.com/ Email:[email protected] A promo for 2017 Agile Leadership Summit: Mark your calendar for an entirely new class of business conference. More "business theater" than a conference, the 2017 Agile Leadership Summit (September 22nd in Washington, DC) is sponsored by AgileCxO (agilecxo.org). It features an integrated mix of six vignettes on Agile leadership, two fantastic industry keynotes, and onstage jazz musicians who are demonstrating agility, iteration, and excellence throughout. Learn more at http://agilecxo.org. For other events, SPaMCAST team members will be attending check the recent blog entry titled Upcoming Conferences and Webinars! Re-Read Saturday News This week Steven dives into Chapter 9 of Paul Gibbons' book The Science of Successful Organizational Change. Chapter 9 is the capstone of the book, putting all of the pieces-parts together. Steve is tackling Chapter 9 in two parts. Two more weeks are left in this re-read. Vote for the next re-read book here! This week and previous installments: Week 1: Game Plan Week 2: Introduction Week 3: Failed Change Week 4: Introduction to Part 1 and Fragility to Change-Agility Week 5: Governance and the Psychology of Risk Week 6: Decision Making in Complex and Ambiguous Environments Week 7: Chapter 5: Cognitive Bias and Failed Strategies Week 8: Misunderstanding Human Behavior Week 9: The Science of Changing Behaviors Week 10: Chapter 8: The Science of Changing Hearts and Minds Week 11: Leading With Science (Part 1) A Call To Action The Software Process and Measurement Cast needs your help! Please give the SPaMCAST a short, honest review in iTunes, Stitcher or wherever you are listening. If you leave a review somewhere, please send a copy to [email protected] we will call you out on the show! Reviews help guide people to the cast and blog! If you interested in promoting your conference or event on the Software Process and Measurement Cast please reach out to us at [email protected] to discuss how that can happen! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 461 will feature our essay on the four leadership concepts that can double the chances that your agile transformation will be effective. We will also have columns from Kim Pries and Jon M Quigley! Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 459 features our essay on resistance. Organizational change is a common, almost ubiquitous, feature in today's business world. Change is known under many monikers ranging from transformation to creative destruction. The variety of names is a portent to the one constant in any organizational change: resistance. Some resistance is inevitable, even if everyone is involved in the plan.Organizational change will always foment some degree of resistance that unless recognized can fester and lead to failure. This essay will help you find and mitigate the risk of resistance! The second column this week is from Gene Hughson and his Form Follows Function column. Gene discusses his essay titled Innovation, Intention, Planning, and Execution. One of the gems Gene delivers in our discussion is that effectiveness requires reasoned, intentional action. While we might all agree, why is it so hard to remember that when push comes to shove in a project? Jeremy Berriault brings his QA Corner to the cast in order to discuss testing packages. Jeremy weighs in on whether testing a package is any different than testing any other piece of code. A promo for 2017 Agile Leadership Summit: Mark your calendar for an entirely new class of business conference. More "business theater" than conference, the 2017 Agile Leadership Summit (September 22nd in Washington, DC) is sponsored by AgileCxO (agilecxo.org). It features an integrated mix of six vignettes on Agile leadership, two fantastic industry keynotes, and onstage jazz musicians who are demonstrating agility, iteration, and excellence throughout. Learn more at http://agilecxo.org. For other events, SPaMCAST team members will be attending check the recent blog entry titled Upcoming Conferences and Webinars! Re-Read Saturday News This week Steven dives into Chapter 8 of Paul Gibbons' book The Science of Successful Organizational Change. Change is a central activity of every organization. Three more weeks are left Steven intends to spend two weeks on Chapter 9 and then we will have a grand finale. Remember to use the link in the essay to buy a copy of the book to support the author, the podcast, and the blog! Special note – I will publish a poll for the next book early next week soon. Are there other suggestions? The current list of suggestions are: Peter Senge – The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization Daniel S. Vacanti – Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability (An Introduction) Kahneman – Thinking fast and slow Burrows – Kanban from the inside Kruse – 15 secrets successful people know about time management This week and previous installments: Week 1: Game Plan Week 2: Introduction Week 3: Failed Change Week 4: Introduction to Part 1 and Fragility to Change-Agility Week 5: Governance and the Psychology of Risk Week 6: Decision Making in Complex and Ambiguous Environments Week 7: Chapter 5: Cognitive Bias and Failed Strategies Week 8: Misunderstanding Human Behavior Week 9: The Science of Changing Behaviors Week 10:Chapter 8: The Science of Changing Hearts and Minds A Call To Action You can help bring more listeners to the Software Process and Measurement Cast! If you even got a single new idea this week while listening to the podcast, please give the SPaMCAST a short, honest review in iTunes, Stitcher or wherever you are listening. If you leave a review somewhere, please send a copy to [email protected] we will call you out on the show! Reviews help guide people to the cast and blog! If you interested in promoting your conference or event on the Software Process and Measurement Cast please reach out to us at [email protected] to discuss how that can happen! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 460 features our interview with Peter Varhol. Peter and I discussed machine learning and how it will impact software development and testing. Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 458 features our interview with Billie Schuttpelz. We discussed why many organizations need help learning to use agile and lean. We delved into the role of the coach and facilitator in helping an organization change and shape the message of change. If you are involved in organizational transformations this is a must-listen interview. Billie's short bio: Billie is a 'force of nature' breaking up the boulders blocking transformation; building bridges between technical people and business partners. She applies the perspective gained in a 20 year career including engagements in 5 countries to provide dynamic creativity and positive energy to everything she does. Billie's ability to make the impossible seem possible is what powers agile transformations. We also have a promo for 2017 Agile Leadership Summit: Mark your calendar for an entirely new class of business conference. More "business theater" than conference, the 2017 Agile Leadership Summit (September 22nd in Washington, DC) is sponsored by AgileCxO (agilecxo.org). It features an integrated mix of six vignettes on Agile leadership, two fantastic industry keynotes, and onstage jazz musicians who are demonstrating agility, iteration, and excellence throughout. Learn more at http://agilecxo.org. For other events, SPaMCAST team members will be attending check the recent blog entry titled Upcoming Conferences and Webinars! Re-Read Saturday News This week Steven dives into Chapter 7 of Paul Gibbons' book The Science of Successful Organizational Change. Change is a central activity of every organization. How changes happen is not as straightforward as commanding that change happens. No one likes to be changed or manipulated. Self-organization maximizes the impact of change but alas no change is like waving a magic wand. Remember to use the link in the essay to buy a copy of the book to support the author, the podcast, and the blog! This week and previous installments: Week 1: Game Plan Week 2: Introduction Week 3: Failed Change Week 4: Introduction to Part 1 and Fragility to Change-Agility Week 5: Governance and the Psychology of Risk Week 6: Decision Making in Complex and Ambiguous Environments Week 7: Chapter 5: Cognitive Bias and Failed Strategies Week 8: Misunderstanding Human Behavior Week 9: The Science of Changing Behaviors A Call To Action You can help bring more listeners to the Software Process and Measurement Cast! If you even got a single new idea this week while listening to the podcast, please give the SPaMCAST a short, honest review in iTunes, Stitcher or wherever you are listening. If you leave a review somewhere, please send a copy to [email protected] we will call you out on the show! Reviews help guide people to the cast and blog! If you interested in promoting your conference or event on the Software Process and Measurement Cast please reach out to us at [email protected] to discuss how that can happen! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 459 will feature our essay on resistance. Organizational change is a common, almost ubiquitous, feature in today's business world. Change is known under many monikers ranging from transformation to creative destruction. The variety of names is a portent to the one constant in any organizational change, that of resistance. Some resistance is inevitable even if everyone is involved in the plan. We will also have columns from Gene Hughson (Form Follows Function) and Jeremy Berriault (QA Corner). Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 457 features our essay on cognitive biases and their impact on decision making. If you doubt the impact of biases on decision making, read chapter five of The Science of Successful Organizational Change (current Re-read Saturday Book) and listen to this week's podcast! Our second column this week is from Jon M Quigley (The Alpha and Omega of Product Development), Jon continues his theme of learning organizations with penetrating insight on how a learning organization evolves. Kim Pries (The Software Sensei) anchors the cast this week with a strong argument that if you want to improve the software you are delivering begin by hiring the right people! We also have a promo for 2017 Agile Leadership Summit: Mark your calendar for an entirely new class of business conference. More "business theater" than a conference, the 2017 Agile Leadership Summit (September 22nd in Washington, DC) is sponsored by AgileCxO (agilecxo.org). It features an integrated mix of six vignettes on Agile leadership, two fantastic industry keynotes, and onstage jazz musicians who are demonstrating agility, iteration, and excellence throughout. Learn more at http://agilecxo.org. Re-Read Saturday News This week Steven dives into Chapter 6 of Paul Gibbons' book The Science of Successful Organizational Change. There are a lot of techniques that I see used on a daily basis that are based on pop psychology. Confronting the true believers is often a lot like jousting at windmills. Remember to use the link in the essay to buy a copy of the book to support the author, the podcast, and the blog! This week and previous installments: Week 1: Game Plan Week 2: Introduction Week 3: Failed Change Week 4: Introduction to Part 1 and Fragility to Change-Agility Week 5: Governance and the Psychology of Risk Week 6: Decision Making in Complex and Ambiguous Environments Week 7: Chapter 5: Cognitive Bias and Failed Strategies Week 8: Misunderstanding Human Behavior A Call To Action You can help bring more listeners to the Software Process and Measurement Cast! If you even got a single new idea this week while listening to the podcast, please give the SPaMCAST a short, honest review in iTunes, Stitcher or wherever you are listening. If you leave a review somewhere, please send a copy to [email protected] we will call you out on the show! Reviews help guide people to the cast and blog! If you interested in promoting your conference or event on the Software Process and Measurement Cast please reach out to us at [email protected] to discuss how that can happen! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 458 will feature our interview with Billie Schuttpelz. We discussed why many organizations need help learning to use agile and lean. We delved into the role of the facilitator helping an organization change and shaping the message. If you are involved in organizational transformations this is a must-listen interview. Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 456 features our interview with Jeff Dalton. Jeff makes his fifth appearance as an interviewee. Jeff discussed leadership and whether leadership is more or less important in the Agile, dynamic world we find ourselves inhabiting. Jeff Dalton is President of Broadsword, a Process Innovation firm, and Chief Evangelist at AgileCxO.org, an Agile Leadership Research and Development center that develops models for high-performing agile teams. Jeff is the principal author of "A Guide to Scrum and CMMI," published by the CMMI Institute, and is a SCAMPI Lead Appraiser and Certified Agile Leadership Consultant that specializes in software product development, self-organizing teams, and performance modeling. Jeff's previous appearances on the Software Process and Measurement Cast include SPaMCAST 433 - Jeff Dalton, Holacracy is the Future SPaMCAST 366 – Jeff Dalton, 12 Attributes of Great and Agile Organizations SPaMCAST 296 – Jeff Dalton, CMMI, Agile, Resiliency SPaMCAST 176 - Jeff Dalton, CMMI, Scrum and Agile We also have a promo for 2017 Agile Leadership Summit: Mark your calendar for an entirely new class of business conference. More "business theater" than a conference, the 2017 Agile Leadership Summit (September 22nd in Washington, DC) is sponsored by AgileCxO (agilecxo.org). It features an integrated mix of six vignettes on Agile leadership, two fantastic industry keynotes, and onstage jazz musicians who are demonstrating agility, iteration, and excellence throughout. Learn more at http://agilecxo.org. Re-Read Saturday News This week Steven dives into Chapter 5 of Paul Gibbons' book The Science of Successful Organizational Change. Cognitive biases are a topic that the Software Process and Measurement Blog has explored multiple times. Cognitive biases are important decision-making tools. Gibbons' words have helped to crystallize our thinking on cognitive biases and logical fallacies in this chapter. Remember to use the link in the essay to buy a copy of the book to support the author, the podcast, and the blog! This week and previous installments: Week 1: Game Plan Week 2: Introduction Week 3: Failed Change Week 4: Introduction to Part 1 and Fragility to Change-Agility Week 5: Governance and the Psychology of Risk Week 6: Decision Making in Complex and Ambiguous Environments Week 7: Chapter 5: Cognitive Bias and Failed Strategies A Call To Action You can help bring more listeners to the Software Process and Measurement Cast! If you even got a single new idea this week while listening to the podcast, please give the SPaMCAST a short, honest review in iTunes, Stitcher or wherever you are listening. If you leave a review somewhere, please send a copy to [email protected] we will call you out on the show! Reviews help guide people to the cast and blog! If you interested in promoting your conference or event on the Software Process and Measurement Cast please reach out to us at [email protected] to discuss how that can happen! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 457 will feature our most recent essay on cognitive biases and their impact on decision making. If you doubt the impact of biases on decision making, read chapter five of The Science of Successful Organizational Change then listen to next week's podcast! We will also have columns from Jon M Quigley (The Alpha and Omega of Product Development) and Kim Pries (The Software Sensei). Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 455 features our interview with Michael King. We talked about Michael's approach to Agile, process improvement and the CMMI at Halfaker and Associates. Michael provides a glimpse into making a change in the real world. Mr. King delivers more than just theory. One word describes the interview - insightful. Michael's Bio: Michael King serves as Chief Technology Officer at Halfaker and Associates (www.halfaker.com), leading customer solution architecture, internal IT operations, business process architecture, and quality management activities. Michael has 14 years of systems engineering, project management, and process design experience within the Federal contracting industry. He has previously served as Halfaker's Chief Operating Officer. Prior to Halfaker, Michael worked within Lockheed Martin's Critical Infrastructure Protection group, providing system engineering support related to identity management, physical security, and cyber security. Michael holds a Bachelors in Computer Engineering from the University of Virginia, a Masters in Information Systems and Technology from Johns Hopkins, and several professional certifications (PMP, PMI-ACP, SAFe SA). Michael King writes about organization design, Agile, and process management at https://designinggreatorganizations.com. Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikehking LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikehking/D Re-Read Saturday News This week Steven dives into Chapter 3 of Paul Gibbons' book The Science of Successful Organizational Change. This chapter has provided me several sleepless nights considering the difference between complicated and complex systems. Understanding the difference is important making change happen, work, and stick! Remember to use the link in the essay to buy a copy of the book to support the author, the podcast, and the blog! This week and previous installments: Week 1: Game Plan Week 2: Introduction Week 3: Failed Change Week 4: Introduction to Part 1 and Fragility to Change-Agility Week 5: Governance and the Psychology of Risk Week 6: Decision Making in Complex and Ambiguous Environments A Call To Action You can help bring more listeners to the Software Process and Measurement Cast! If you even got a single new idea this week while listening to the podcast, please give the SPaMCAST a short, honest review in iTunes, Stitcher or wherever you are listening. If you leave a review somewhere, please send a copy to [email protected] we will call you out on the show! Reviews help guide people to the cast and blog! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 456 will feature our interview with Jeff Dalton. We are going back to the even episode paradigm (even number episodes will be interviews) beginning next week. Jeff discussed leadership and whether leaderships more or less important in the Agile, dynamic world we find ourselves inhabiting. Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 454 features three columns! The first is our essay and checklists on iteration planning. Aristotle stated that "well begun is half done." While we might argue the half part, planning is required to be well begun and that is important on any measurement scale. Jeremy Berriault delivers a new entry in the QA Corner. In this installment of the QA Corner, we discuss the function of a QA Lead. Check out Jeremy's blog at the QA Corner! Gene Hughson anchors the cast with his Form Follows Function blog to the SPaMCAST to discuss the entry, Trash or Treasure – What's Your Legacy? Gene begins with the contentious topic of legacy systems. Re-Read Saturday News We continue re-reading The Science of Successful Organizational Change. Steven Adams is leading this re-read. In this week's entry, we cover the introduction to Part 2 and chapter 3. Gibbon's takes us down the path of strategy and uncertainty. Remember to buy your copy. This week and previous installments: Week 1: Game Plan Week 2: Introduction Week 3: Failed Change Week 4: Introduction to Part 1 and Fragility to Change-Agility Week 5: Governance and the Psychology of Risk A Call To Action You can help bring more listeners to the Software Process and Measurement Cast! If you even got a single new idea this week while listening to the podcast, please give the SPaMCAST a short, honest review in iTunes, Stitcher or wherever you are listening. If you leave a review somewhere, please send a copy to [email protected]. Reviews help guide people to the cast! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 455 will feature our interview with Michael King. We talked about his approach to Agile, process improvement and the CMMI at Halfaker and Associates. When you deliver contracting and consulting, effectiveness for your clients it is the bottom line that matters. Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 453 features our interview with James Shore. We began with a discussion of the Agile Fluency Model, including the concepts and ideas that led to the model and then got into topics such as whether Agile can ever be method agnostic. James's bio: James Shore teaches, writes, and consults on Agile development processes. He is a recipient of the Agile Alliance's Gordon Pask Award for Contributions to Agile Practice, co-creator of the Agile Fluency™ Model, co-author of /The Art of Agile Development/, and host of "Let's Code: Test-Driven JavaScript." InfoQ has named him one of the "most influential people in Agile." You can find his screencasts at letscodejavascript.com, essays at jamesshore.com, and more about the Agile Fluency Project at agilefluency.org. Re-Read Saturday News Today we continue re-reading The Science of Successful Organizational Change led by Steven Adams. This week Steven addresses the introduction to Part 1 and Chapter 2. In the introduction to Part 1 Gibbon's tells us that we live in a world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) and in Chapter 2 that we have to transition from change fragility to change-agility. Remember to buy your copy. Previous installments: Week 1: Game Plan Week 2: Introduction Week 3: Failed Change Week 4: Introduction to Part 1 and Fragility to Change-Agility A Call To Action We are often asked how listeners can help the Software Process and Measurement Cast. The simplest and effective way you can help is to give the SPaMCAST a short, honest review in iTunes, Stitcher or wherever you are listening. If you leave a review, please send a copy to [email protected]. Reviews help guide people to the cast! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 454 will feature our essay and checklists for iteration planning. Starting well and ending well are highly related! We will also have columns from Gene Hughson (Form Follows Function) and Jeremy Berriault (QA Corner). Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 452 features our essay on personal process improvement. We are responsible for our own path in life. Stepping back and reviewing where we are today and where we want to be tomorrow is a form of a retrospective. Just like any other retrospective, the goal is to change the trajectory of the path you are on. Kim Pries, the Software Sensei, discusses ethics in software. Ethics guide (or they don't) practitioners of all types. Many certification organizations include ethics statements but rarely have the teeth to enforce those ethics. Kim asks whether this approach makes sense. Anchoring the cast is Jon M Quigley with his Alpha and Omega of Product Development column. Jon is beginning a three column theme on the impact of people and learning on product development. One of the places you can find Jon is at Value Transformation LLC. Re-Read Saturday News Today we continue re-reading The Science of Successful Organizational Change led by Steven Adams. THis week we dive into Chapter One titled Failed Change: The Greatest Preventable Cost to Business? The frightening part of this chapter is how intimately it resonates based on personal observation. Remember to buy your copy. Previous installments: Week 1: Game Plan Week 2: Introduction Week 3: Failed Change A Call To Action You can help share the Software Process and Measurement Cast! If you even got a single new idea this week while listening to the podcast, please give the SPaMCAST a short, honest review in iTunes, Stitcher or wherever you are listening. If you leave a review somewhere, please send a copy to [email protected]. Reviews help guide people to the cast! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 453 will feature our interview with James Shore. We began with a discussion of the Agile Fluency Model, the concepts, and ideas that led to the model and then got into topics such as whether Agile can ever be method agnostic. Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 451 features our interview with Askhat Urazbaev. Askhat brings a very pragmatic view of Agile in all of its many forms to the Software Process and Measurement Cast. This interview covers a lot of ground, ranging from defining Agile to the impact of corporate and national cultures on what works and what doesn't work. We dove directly into the interview with very little preamble! Askhat's bio: Askhat Urazbaev made a typical career moving from junior developer to project manager in different software companies. Later on, in Luxoft, Askhat as a process architect was he was engaged in adopting "heavyweight" methodologies in different departments of the company. Happily, thanks to one of the customers, Askhatwas exposed to some knowledge of Agile. The new way of development looked very effective. Askhat has participated in several Agile projects in different roles. In 2006 Askhat started to help teams and departments to adopt Agile methodologies in Luxoft. In March, he has started Russian Agile Community (AgileRussia.ru). In 2008 Askhat founded company ScrumTrek which consults, trains and helps companies in their transition to Agile. Among the customers of ScrumTrek such companies as Skype, Yandex, Rambler, Alfa-Bank, Sberbank and many others. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/urazbaev Twitter: zibsun Web: https://scrumtrek.ru/ Re-Read Saturday News Today we continue re-reading The Science of Successful Organizational Change. Steven Adams (SPaMCAST 437, SPaMCAST 412 and nearly every entry in the Re-read Saturday series) is doing a great job leading this re-read. Remember to use the link to buy a copy to support the podcast and blog. This week, Steven discusses the introduction to "The Science of Successful Organizational Change" (get your copy). Gibbons dives directly into the meat of the book in the introduction. If you typically jump over the introduction to get to chapter one I would urge you to change your pattern at least for this book! Previous installments: Week 1: Game Plan Week 2: Introduction A Call To Action You can help share the Software Process and Measurement Cast! If you even got a single new idea this week while listening to the podcast, please give the SPaMCAST a short, honest review in iTunes, Stitcher or wherever you are listening. If you leave a review somewhere, please send a copy to [email protected]. Reviews help guide people to the cast! Next SPaMCAST THe Software Process and Measurement Cast 452 will feature our essay on personal process improvement along with columns from Jon M Quigley (The Alpha and Omega of Product Development) and Kim Pries (The Software Sensei).

SPaMCAST 450 features our essay on Product Roadmaps. Roadmaps link an organization's strategy to action. Product roadmaps are directional and answer the question of where we are going and why. As with any powerful tool, roadmaps giveth when used wisely and taketh away when used less wisely. We also visit with Gene Hughson. Gene brings his great Form Follows Function blog to the podcast. We discussed the entry Holistic Architecture – Keeping the Gears Turning. After you listen to our conversation remember that roadmaps are a way to avoid your products not to resemble a bunch of spare parts flying in close formation. Re-Read Saturday News Today we will begin the next book in the Re-read Saturday Series, The Science of Successful Organizational Change. Steven Adams (SPaMCAST 437, SPaMCAST 412 and nearly every entry in the Re-read Saturday series) will lead this re-read. Remember to use the link to buy a copy to support the podcast and blog. Steven begins the re-read by describing how he found the Paul Gibbon's book "The Science of Successful Organizational Change" (get your copy) searching "Agile Change Management" on Amazon. A Call To Action You can help the podcast. If you even got a single new idea this week while listening to the podcast, please give the SPaMCAST a short, honest review in iTunes, Stitcher or wherever you are listening. If you leave a review somewhere, please send a copy to [email protected]. Reviews help guide people to the cast! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 451 will feature our interview with James Shore. We began with a discussion of the Agile Fluency Model, the concepts, and ideas that led to the model and then got into topics such as whether Agile can ever be method agnostic. Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.

SPaMCAST 449 features our interview with Jasveer Singh. We discussed his new book, Functional Software Size Measurement Methodology with Effort Estimation and Performance Indication. Jasveer proposes a new sizing methodology for estimation and other measurement processes. Jasveer Singh holds a Master of Technology degree in Computer Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and has studied Executive Master in Management at École de Commerce Solvay, Brussels, Belgium. He has about 30 years of valuable senior-level international experience in the ICT area and has worked in the top IT/Telecom equipment manufacturer, operator, consultancy, and service companies in different countries (Bharat Electronics Limited, Alcatel, Siemens Business Services, WorldCom, Logica, and Sigos in India, France, Australia, Belgium, and Germany). A significant part of this experience has been in the management of software development (analysis, design, coding, testing), system design, quality assurance/control, and project management while working with different programming languages, object-oriented technology, database management systems, etc. His in-depth experience in these software domains led him to realize the improvements needed in the currently available methodologies for software size measurement and to develop the Functional Software Size Measurement Methodology with Effort Estimation and Performance Indication (FSSM) which is a thorough methodology and great help for software projects. Currently, he is based in Belgium and is the director of EUSFP. E-mail: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasveer-singh-11230a12/ FSSM book: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1119238056.html FSSM online book: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/book/10.1002/9781119238126 FSSM website: www.fssm.software Re-Read Saturday News This week we wrap up our re-read of Holacracy: The New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World by Brian J. Robertson which was published by Henry Holt and Company in 2015. The concepts in Holacracy are an important addition to the discussion of management, governance, and leadership in the 21st Century. Read or re-read this week's installment for more thoughts and comments! Catch up on the all of the Holacracy entries: Week 1: Logistics and Introduction Week 2: Evolving Organization Week 3: Distribution Authority Week 4: Organizational Structure Week 5: Governance Week 6: Operations Week 7: Facilitating Governance Week 8: Strategy and Dynamic Control Week 9 Adopting Holacracy Week 10: Moving Toward Holacracy Week 11: Experience of Holacracy Week 12: The Wrap Up Next, we will begin the next book in our Re-read series, The Science of Successful Organizational Change. (I ordered my copy have you?). Remember to use the link to buy a copy in order to support the podcast and blog. The reread will be led by Steven Adams. I am looking forward to sitting on the other side of the table during the next re-read! Visit the Software Process and Measurement Cast blog to participate in this and previous re-reads. Reviews and A Call To Action A recent review on ITunes from Yetanotherjr was titled, Always something to learn. Yetanotherjr wrote, "What I love about this podcast is that I learn something from every guest. I might not agree with everything that a guest says, but I learned something. A terrific source of thinking and learning." Thank you! I am humbled and look forward to bringing new ideas and voices to the software community for a long time to come! You can help the podcast. If you even got a single new idea this week while listening to the podcast, please give the SPaMCAST a short, honest review in iTunes, Stitcher or wherever you are listening. If you leave a review please send a copy to [email protected]. Reviews help guide people to the cast! Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 450 will feature an essay on Product Roadmaps. Roadmaps link an organization's strategy to action. Product roadmaps are directional, answer the question of where we are going and why. As with any powerful tool, roadmaps giveth when used wisely and taketh away when used less wisely. We will also have columns from Gene Hughson and Jon M Quigley! Shameless Ad for my book! Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: "This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team." Support SPaMCAST by buying the book here. Available in English and Chinese.