All good things come to an end...to make space for more good things!!
Monday 19 May 2008
Tuesday 13 May 2008
Lean Software Development
I've been working in "officially" agile environments now since 2000, mainly influenced by Scrum and some eXtreme Programming. A while ago a I did a course on Lean Management amongst other topics and was struck by how some similar concepts (just in time, prioritised work queue, continuous reduction of waste, skilling people, empowering people) seem to be in agile.
The chance to get into my copy of Lean Software Development by Mary and Tom Poppendieck finally came along a few weeks ago after seeing it being referred to in high regard on the web and liking the essays I found on their web site: The Poppendiecks. Basically - "WOW"! This is just really really good stuff. For me it is the kind of jump (up or forward I am not sure) that Scrum makes from Agile fundamentals to real world tools that are completely understandable and easy to try.
The great thing is that they concentrate on fundamentals and then supply thinking tools to help you apply them in your context - ie, they KNOW the lesson that Best Practices are awful as it is the fundamental that must be understood and copied from one context to another to be successfully applied in the new context. Too many Best Practices have resulted in failure and too much waste for my liking!
They touch on some fundamental concepts that are important in modern software development:
- waste
- learning
- last responsible moment
- fast turnaround
- team empowerment
- perceptual and conceived integrity
- holistic view
Reason 2: Collaboration is better - cross disciplinary people working together are more efficient AND enjoy their work more AND result in a better product AND it is cheaper AND AND AND!
Reason 3: Specific facts, graphs and examples that you can refer to when justifying reasons why you would want to try something different in your own environment, all with a firm basis in Lean Management Theory and which has been studied, well understood, and implemented by some very successful organisations ranging from Toyota to 3M for between 60 and 100 years!!
Thankyou for supporting!
The chance to get into my copy of Lean Software Development by Mary and Tom Poppendieck finally came along a few weeks ago after seeing it being referred to in high regard on the web and liking the essays I found on their web site: The Poppendiecks. Basically - "WOW"! This is just really really good stuff. For me it is the kind of jump (up or forward I am not sure) that Scrum makes from Agile fundamentals to real world tools that are completely understandable and easy to try.
The great thing is that they concentrate on fundamentals and then supply thinking tools to help you apply them in your context - ie, they KNOW the lesson that Best Practices are awful as it is the fundamental that must be understood and copied from one context to another to be successfully applied in the new context. Too many Best Practices have resulted in failure and too much waste for my liking!
They touch on some fundamental concepts that are important in modern software development:
- waste
- learning
- last responsible moment
- fast turnaround
- team empowerment
- perceptual and conceived integrity
- holistic view
Why I recommend Lean Software Development:
Reason 1: Identify the value chain from point of need to point of delivery - it is strongly argued by some that anything but coding for that need fulfilment is just a waste of time. IE - as per Agile - lighter weight documentation, lighter weight project management, focus on delivering real value to the client!Reason 2: Collaboration is better - cross disciplinary people working together are more efficient AND enjoy their work more AND result in a better product AND it is cheaper AND AND AND!
Reason 3: Specific facts, graphs and examples that you can refer to when justifying reasons why you would want to try something different in your own environment, all with a firm basis in Lean Management Theory and which has been studied, well understood, and implemented by some very successful organisations ranging from Toyota to 3M for between 60 and 100 years!!
Thankyou for supporting!
Monday 12 May 2008
7 Things CIOs Should Know About Agile Development
I've been reading CIO articles for a number of years now - it is one of the sources that I find does a lot of integration for me between the domains of business, software development and IT system management - ie technology for business.
7 Things CIOs Should Know About Agile Development is an example of this integration. Often I find myself a little too focussed on my local project's agile process, and not neccessarily on what the "business drivers" are really after, or the Agile messages that might sell them on Agile more effectively. This is a little gentle reminder.
BTW, the shortcut to follow to get a glimpse of this site's value (IMHO): CIO's 50 Most Popular Articles. On this page articles that will definitely entice me back later:
- "You Used Perl/Python/Ruby/PHP to Write WHAT?!" (4 articles for the 4 languages)
- "Windows vs Linux vs OS X"
- "How to Get Real About Strategic Planning"
Thankyou for supporting!
7 Things CIOs Should Know About Agile Development is an example of this integration. Often I find myself a little too focussed on my local project's agile process, and not neccessarily on what the "business drivers" are really after, or the Agile messages that might sell them on Agile more effectively. This is a little gentle reminder.
BTW, the shortcut to follow to get a glimpse of this site's value (IMHO): CIO's 50 Most Popular Articles. On this page articles that will definitely entice me back later:
- "You Used Perl/Python/Ruby/PHP to Write WHAT?!" (4 articles for the 4 languages)
- "Windows vs Linux vs OS X"
- "How to Get Real About Strategic Planning"
Thankyou for supporting!
Wednesday 7 May 2008
Scot's Newsletter Best Firewall Recommendation Made!
After 1.5 years (!!), Scot's Newsletter has reached a conclusion on the Best [Personal] Firewall Software ... (drum roll) ... (more drum roll) ... Online Armor! Read all about it in detail at Scot's Newsletter!
This blog entry by Scot makes for very interesting reading, not just from an interested-in-firewall-software point of view, but also I believe there are some other big concepts clearly "in play":
- the power of online marketing,
- the power of a respected industry leader,
- the influence a key client has over a product's development,
- the ability and agility with which the 2 final contenders were responding to user requests
- and in the future we'll have to see what happens to both companies!
For now, I am still on the previous version of Comodo as I really have not had the time or requirement to migrate, upgrade or change anything else on my home system.
This blog entry by Scot makes for very interesting reading, not just from an interested-in-firewall-software point of view, but also I believe there are some other big concepts clearly "in play":
- the power of online marketing,
- the power of a respected industry leader,
- the influence a key client has over a product's development,
- the ability and agility with which the 2 final contenders were responding to user requests
- and in the future we'll have to see what happens to both companies!
For now, I am still on the previous version of Comodo as I really have not had the time or requirement to migrate, upgrade or change anything else on my home system.
Scrum and Organisational Patterns
Jeff Sutherland has posted an excellent short entry linking some sources together about how 33 Organisational Patterns of Agile Software Delivery that James Coplien and Neil Harrison formulated actually underlie Scrum. Read Jeff's post for further details: Agility and Organisational Patterns.
Thankyou for reading my blog!
Thankyou for reading my blog!
Tuesday 15 April 2008
Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono
One of my most influential recent reads: Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono. His books have been recommended to me by various people since I was back in first year university. Writing this blog entry has also inspired me to check for his web site and find the Edward De Bono Portal which makes it easy to access other online resources related to him/his thinking creations.
I read Six Thinking Hats directly after reading Lateral Thinking. Both are really excellent reads, but I discovered that I knew quite a bit about lateral thinking already having been exposed to that mode of thought through many people I know socially and have worked with over the years, in some respects it is a natural way for me to approach problems already. Whilst I highly recommend Six Thinking Hats, it contains many references to a number of thinking concerns, thus I believe you need to read at least one of his others, of which I believe none are better choice than Lateral Thinking.
Why I recommend Six Thinking Hats:
Reason 1: Increase in productivity, both my own, and during team based activities such as meetings or workshops.
Reason 2: I, and many software industry people I have met, pretty much rely on a single very useful and relevant style of creating solutions for problems - namely extreme pragmatism. This works well, but is very limited for a future vision, and business people (aka clients) generally are more interested in the future and the environment created for their people.
Reason 3: Increased knowledge of how I think and how others think is invaluable as we are all knowledge workers - aka thinkers.
amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
I read Six Thinking Hats directly after reading Lateral Thinking. Both are really excellent reads, but I discovered that I knew quite a bit about lateral thinking already having been exposed to that mode of thought through many people I know socially and have worked with over the years, in some respects it is a natural way for me to approach problems already. Whilst I highly recommend Six Thinking Hats, it contains many references to a number of thinking concerns, thus I believe you need to read at least one of his others, of which I believe none are better choice than Lateral Thinking.
amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
Why I recommend Six Thinking Hats:
Reason 1: Increase in productivity, both my own, and during team based activities such as meetings or workshops.
Reason 2: I, and many software industry people I have met, pretty much rely on a single very useful and relevant style of creating solutions for problems - namely extreme pragmatism. This works well, but is very limited for a future vision, and business people (aka clients) generally are more interested in the future and the environment created for their people.
Reason 3: Increased knowledge of how I think and how others think is invaluable as we are all knowledge workers - aka thinkers.
Friday 7 March 2008
Psychology of commuting in London - thank you Transport for London
Okay, on one hand, I am totally amazed by how good and useful the http://www.tfl.gov.uk site is for travellers planning their route from point A to point B. Coming from South Africa where one has to drive everywhere because the public transport system is not reliable or completely too unsafe to use, this facility for using a rather complex system of very good public transport is awesome!
However - onto my real point of cleverness on their side. Whenever I am especially bombarded by frequent public announcements of "We are pleased to report that all services are running well / There are no problems reported on the Transport For London services" I have started watching the time pass more closely. And I have started to take greater notice of the uncommented /non-excused pauses that occur during such journeys. And more often than not, my journey time is 20-50% longer on such days, than when such public "All is well" announcements are not as frequent.
This amazing little simple psychology trick works so well: telling people what they want to hear. I have noticed how people on the platform, crowding around waiting for the train to arrive are not as irritated by the fact that they are CROWDING and pushing each other for a place or a seat to sit down on. I have noticed how people are so much more at ease when they are jammed in like sardines and stepping on each others' £5-£500 shoes, and bashing each other with bags or newspapers. It really is amazing for me!
Whereas on a real "normal" day, the trains are less crowded, the platforms are less crowded, and my journey is over almost in a blink of the eye.
Interestingly enough, today was the first time I have noticed another commuter who was clearly irritated by the pauses, the crowding, the sardines, and the personal effects damage. And more noticeably, the fact that they too were going to be arriving late for work/wherever they were going, and they knew this even before the train had departed "as scheduled".
London provides so many little things like this - even the daily free newspapers - that make for easier fulfilment of my motto since arriving in London nearly 1 year ago - "every day an adventure"
However - onto my real point of cleverness on their side. Whenever I am especially bombarded by frequent public announcements of "We are pleased to report that all services are running well / There are no problems reported on the Transport For London services" I have started watching the time pass more closely. And I have started to take greater notice of the uncommented /non-excused pauses that occur during such journeys. And more often than not, my journey time is 20-50% longer on such days, than when such public "All is well" announcements are not as frequent.
This amazing little simple psychology trick works so well: telling people what they want to hear. I have noticed how people on the platform, crowding around waiting for the train to arrive are not as irritated by the fact that they are CROWDING and pushing each other for a place or a seat to sit down on. I have noticed how people are so much more at ease when they are jammed in like sardines and stepping on each others' £5-£500 shoes, and bashing each other with bags or newspapers. It really is amazing for me!
Whereas on a real "normal" day, the trains are less crowded, the platforms are less crowded, and my journey is over almost in a blink of the eye.
Interestingly enough, today was the first time I have noticed another commuter who was clearly irritated by the pauses, the crowding, the sardines, and the personal effects damage. And more noticeably, the fact that they too were going to be arriving late for work/wherever they were going, and they knew this even before the train had departed "as scheduled".
London provides so many little things like this - even the daily free newspapers - that make for easier fulfilment of my motto since arriving in London nearly 1 year ago - "every day an adventure"
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