SPaMCAST 757 - Intermittent Collaboration, Kanban For One, Essays and Conversations
Software Process and Measurement Cast
Release Date: 05/28/2023
Software Process and Measurement Cast
The Software Process and Measurement Cast 820 continues the story of Innovatech. In this installment, Emma “sells” baselining the flow to generate ideas for improvement and a starting point. The story of Innovatech is an allegory for how a data-driven improvement initiative can be bootstrapped with courage and perseverance. We also have a visit from whose “Not a Scrumdamentalist” column delivers insights and advice. Susan and I discussed who the most important person on a team is and who isn’t. Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Work Intake Summer Camp is in session! ...
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The Sofware Process and Measurement Cast 819 features our conversation with Soumyadeb Mitra, Founder and CEO of Rudderstack. We discuss the trials and tribulations of consolidating and effectively using customer data. Tools like machine learning and generative AI make generating insights easier but “easier” does not mean easy. We also discuss entrepreneurship and trust. Soumyadeb Mitra is the Founder and CEO of RudderStack, the Warehouse Native Customer Data Platform (CDP). RudderStack helps data leaders drive revenue by making it easy to collect, unify and activate customer data...
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This week we continue with the story of Innovatech, the business novella David Herron and I are writing. Innovatech, the once a tech darling is struggling. The delivery of new functionality used to be so easy. Now it isn’t, leading to all sorts of unproductive behaviors. Emma, the Director of Residential Construction Technology Products, leads a one-person crusade to wake the organization up before it approaches a death spiral. We also have a visit from Keis Kostaqi. In this installment of her You Are Not Alone column we discuss how Scrum Masters need to adapt when organizations...
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The Software Process and Measurement Cast 817 features our conversation with Artem Koren, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Sembly AI. We talk about AI, the role of AI, and the impact of agents on the workplace. Artem Koren grew up in New York City. He graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Computer Science and later attended the NYU Stern School of Business where he earned his MBA. Artem is passionate about using AI to enrich humanity and create positive change. He combines his experience as a systems engineer, product manager, management consultant, and...
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A funny thing happened on the way to SPaMCAST 816, I had so much fun during our first Summer Camp session I talked Jeremy into letting me share the audio of our discussion on the podcast. We discussed goal conflicts, the first of eight work intake problems, from our book, Mastering Work Intake. If the video is more your style check out the video on LinkedIn and then join us at 11:30 EDT on June 16th. This week we also have a visit from . Jon and I discussed the question “If all work is collaborative, when do you find time to concentrate?” Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Jeremy...
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Earlier this year (JRoss Publishing) co-authored by Jeremy Willets and myself was published. The book focuses on the full pipeline that work follows as it enters and exits your organization, including the different types of work that enter at multiple levels and times. It is a must-read for agile coaches, Scrum Masters, product owners, project and portfolio managers, team members, and anyone who touches the software development process. Mr Willets and I are announcing a free Work Intake Summer Camp. The camp will help across eight LinkedIn Live sessions and cover the eight primary...
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This week on the Software Process and Measurement Cast we have a replay of an interview of Jim Benson from 2019. Jim and I focused on prioritization and how prioritization can be a reflection of more deep-seated problems. One of the ideas Jim shares is that processes are the social contract for getting work done. In the foreword of Mastering Work Intake, I wrote with (published in January 2024), we reflected that Mastering stood on the shoulders of Jim’s Why Limit WIP. Reflecting on this interview I continue to see the relationship between work intake and the travails of...
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Accountability and responsibility are intertwined. In most businesses, the concepts are intertwined, and when hierarchies are present, layered. In other words, determining who is responsible and accountable is harder than deciding how many layers were in the seven-layer dip several hours after it has been served to a hungry softball team. Let’s use the example of developing a feature for a product for Innovatech, an imaginary firm. This ‘case study’ synthesizes several real-life stories. The story format protects the innocent and pokes fun at those acting like a “box of rocks.” This...
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In this week’s SPaMCAST we speak with Brad Micklea, Founder & CEO of Jozu. We talk about the professionalization of AI and Machine Learning, the topic of Machine Learning Operations (MLOps), and why agile is integral to getting work done. Brad is the Founder & CEO of Jozu and a project lead for the open-source Kitops.ml project, a toolset designed to increase the speed and safety of building, testing, and managing AI/ML models in production. This is Brad’s second startup, his first (Codenvy, the market’s first container-based developer environment) was sold to Red Hat in...
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When I published Accountability vs. Responsibility I did not anticipate being drawn back into the discussion of whether committees can be accountable and responsible. Over the last few weeks, I have observed several “product meetings.” In these meetings, consensus decisions are being made about releases, what they will contain, and a marketing approach. These are committee meetings. Is the committee accountable for their decisions and to whom? It is not a moot point In mid-2008, I wrote “Responsibility, Got Some?” As I considered the topic of accountability and...
info_outlineA funny thing happened on the way to SPaMCAST 757. I was considering critical thinking when I ran into data that challenged a common agile belief - enter critical thinking. The idea is that constant collaboration, the goal of team rooms, and always-on communication software, is to create good ideas and decisions; good but not great.
This week we also have a visit from Susan Parente who talks about her approach to personal kanban, something she calls kanban for one. Susan also takes us under the hood for a view into her busy, innovative world and how she keeps it under control.
Re-Rread Saturday News
This week we are back with Chapter 6 of Team Topologies: Organizing Business And Technology Teams For Fast Flow by Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais. The boundaries of teams are shaped by numerous pressures ranging from corporate politics and specialism to architectural structure. Inspecting the majority of teams it would seem that boundaries are the outcome of a random walk because they reflect all of these pressures over time. For more of a dive into the topic, check out the book and the whole re-read!
Previous Installments:
Week 1: Front Matter and Logistics – http://bit.ly/3nHGkW4
Week 2: The Problem With Org Charts – https://bit.ly/3zGGyQf
Week 3: Conway’s Law and Why It Matters - https://bit.ly/3muTVQE
Week 4: Team First Thinking - https://bit.ly/3H9xRSC
Week 5: Static Team Topologies - https://bit.ly/40Q6eF2
Week 6: The Four Fundamental Team Topologies (Part 1) - https://bit.ly/3VUI7EB
Week 7: The Four Fundamental Team Topologies (Part 2) - https://bit.ly/3I70dxa
Week 8: Choose Team-First Boundaries - https://bit.ly/43i8W8A
Next SPaMCAST
SPaMCAST 758 will feature our discussion with Jeffrey Miller. We will discuss the idea of tribal knowledge and playbooks. Teams generate a lot of information and knowledge - capturing that knowledge is not as easy as wishful thinking or waving a magic wand.