When working in a system with rapid iterations, the opportunity to adjust course, or adapt implementation methods happens a lot. Many times, changes are suggested — that seem like a good idea on the surface. Upon reflection, we discover that those ideas had a more negative impact than expected.
- Weaponized Scrum (Part 1)The following is an Experience Report I presented at Agile 2009 in Chicago (Part 1 of 4). Abstract Scrum provides a framework for managing agile development projects. It encourages transparency at all times, which helps reinforce the cycle of trust that must exist between development teams, management and the customer. Over the course of two years, our team ...
- Weaponized Scrum (Part 2)The following is an Experience Report I presented at Agile 2009 in Chicago (Part 2 of 4) Weaponizing Scrum Which brings us to our fourth Workstation Scrum project: a sub-revision which would release in tandem with the first-ever Scrum Firmware project. This project kept the same project manager, but ran with a different product owner and technical ...
- Weaponized Scrum (Part 3)The following is an Experience Report I presented at Agile 2009 in Chicago (Part 3 of 4) Countermeasures As luck would have it, Scrum Gathering 2008 was in Chicago that year, and three of us were allowed to use our decompression time to attend the conference. Our goal was simple. Talk to people at the Gathering and ...
- Weaponized Scrum (Part 4)The following is an Experience Report I presented at Agile 2009 in Chicago (Part 4 of 4) Damage Assessment In the end, the product shipped on time, which was the most important constraint. This project has now been filed under the ‘what not to do’ category, and has joined our cautionary tales section in the Scrum Team ...
- Agile vs. Waterfall – Improved Performance is NOT GuaranteedI am frequently asked to give a brief overview of Scrum to people who are unfamiliar with Agile concepts. In the course of giving those lessons, I almost always see a look of shock at the almost cavalier way that we agilists claim that Agile methods will give a better result than traditional methods. I ...
- Give a Boy a Hammer…“If you give a boy a hammer, he will suddenly find that everything looks like a nail.” In some ways, this is how Agile is being applied in the industry today. It doesn’t matter what problem you need to solve, hit that nail with a Hammer. You want to get better predictability? Hammer. Quicker time to ...
- Accentuate the Negative?The instant message app chimed on my desktop. “How confident are you that we won’t find any more defects in testing?”, the department head asked. I glanced over at the task board, at the lone sticky note sitting in the “In Progress” section: “Architecture Review”, it read. I popped open the chat window, and responded, ...
- Instilling a Sense of Urgency“The team just isn’t demonstrating a sense of urgency.“ The manager looked earnestly at me across the table. I took a deep breath. “If I may clarify. Is your wish that the team understands the urgency of the situation, or that they demonstrate a sense of … panic?” This was supposed to be one of those rhetorical questions. ...
- Infamous Fragile QuotesThat process of yours, that I never tried, didn’t work for us. Don’t snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Do what you have to do to not let agile get in your way. Don’t worry, we have a hardening sprint.
- The High-Wire Safety NetCoach: “I’m concerned about the quality of delivery. The defect counts seem very high.” Manager: “That’s why we have testers. To root out the defects.” Coach: “I understand the value your testers are bringing. I’m referring to the frequency with which they bring it.” Manager: “What difference does it make? The bugs are getting addressed.” Coach: “The difference? It’s ...