SPaMCAST 386 – Jason Little, Storytelling in Change Management

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 386 features our interview with Jason Little. Jason and I discussed his exploration of storytelling in change management.  Stories are a powerful tool to develop and hone a big picture view of organizational change.

Jason began his career as a web developer when Cold Fusion roamed the earth. Over the following years, he moved into management, Agile Coaching and consulting. The bumps and bruises collected along the way brought him to the realization that helping organizations adopt Agile practices is less about the practices, and all about change.

In 2008, he attended an experiential learning conference about how people experience change, and since then he’s been writing and speaking all over the world about helping organizations discover more effective practices for managing organizational change. He is the author of Lean Change Management and an international speaker who has spoken all over the world from Canada, the US, Finland, Germany, Australia, Belgium and more.

Contact Data:
http://www.agilecoach.ca/about/
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/jasonlittle/
http://www.twitter.com/jasonlittle

Re-Read Saturday News

This week we are back with Chapter 13 of How to Measure Anything, Finding the Value of “Intangibles in Business” Third Edition by Douglas W. Hubbard on the Software Process and Measurement Blog. In Chapter 13 we discuss New Measurement Instruments for Management.  Hubbard shifts gears in this chapter to focus the reader on the new tools that our dynamic, electronically-tethered environment has created.  Here is a summary of the chapter in a few bullet points:

 

• Everyone creates data that is trackable and measurable.
• The internet is a measurement instrument.
• Prediction markets are a way to synthesize a wide variety of opinions.

 

It is time to begin the selection process for the next’ish book for the Re-Read Saturday.  We will read Commitment – Novel About Managing Project Risk by Olav Maassen and Chris Matts based on the recommendation of Steven Adams first then move to the next book.  As in past polls please vote twice or suggest a write-in candidate in the comments.  We will run the poll for three weeks.

Upcoming Events

I will be at the QAI Quest 2016 in Chicago beginning April 18th through April 22^nd.  I will be teaching a full day class on Agile Estimation on April 18 and presenting Budgeting, Estimating, Planning and #NoEstimates: They ALL Make Sense for Agile Testing! on Wednesday, April 20^th.  Register now!

I will be speaking at the CMMI Institute’s Capability Counts 2016 Conference in Annapolis, Maryland May 10^th and 11^th. Register Now!

Next SPaMCAST

The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our essay on storytelling. In the Harvard Business Review article, The Irresistible Power of Storytelling as a Strategic Business Tool by Harrison Monarth (March 11, 2014), Keith Quesenberry, a researcher from Johns Hopkins, notes “People are attracted to stories because we’re social creatures and we relate to other people.” The power of storytelling is that it helps us understand each other and develop empathy. Storytelling is a tool that is useful in many scenarios; for presentations, but also to help people frame their thoughts and for gathering information. A story provides both a deeper and more nuanced connection with information than most lists of PowerPoint bullets or even structured requirements documents. The essay provides an excellent supplement to our interview with Jason Little.

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.