SPaMCAST 764 - Successful Independent Consulting, A Conversation with Johanna Rothman
Software Process and Measurement Cast
Release Date: 07/16/2023
Software Process and Measurement Cast
Software Process and Measurement Cast 784 features our interview with Michaele Gardner and Brian Hackerson. We talk about their Agile Best Self Initiative. We also, and perhaps more importantly, discuss being in control of yourself so you can truly deliver value to those around you. As we start to close out 2023 it is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on how you can be your best self. Michaele Gardner started out as a counselor at an emergency crisis line. Clients were too messy: clear inputs did not lead to predetermined outputs. So she moved into the world of IT and has not looked back....
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Software Process and Measurement Cast 783 tackles a classic work intake problem, “Do you have the authority to ask for this work?” Work input processes need to vet more than just requirements. We also have a visit from Jon M Quigley. Jon and I discussed taking control of your personal growth. It is not your organization's responsibility. Re-Read Saturday News Chapter 10 of is titled, The Red-Blue Operating System. Marquet starts this chapter with the cautionary tale of the Ford Pinto. The chapter highlights the outcome of the industrial approach to leadership going wrong. My...
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The Software Process and Measurement Cast 782 features our conversation with Govind Balu on the importance of data and the concept of data transformations. Data represents the gold rush of the 21st Century! Govind Balu is a visionary entrepreneur and experienced executive with a strong background in leveraging data and AI to drive business growth across different industries. As the Founder and CEO of QuaXigma, he spearheads the company’s vision to transform organizations into data-driven enterprises. Govind observed that small and medium businesses struggle to effectively extract value...
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The Software Process and Measurement Cast 781 begins with a discussion of prioritization and sequencing. These two ideas often get conflated. Work might be important but if it has predecessors and successors it will require sequencing. You can’t deploy a new piece of hardware unless you have it. The acquisition of the equipment comes before deployment. Not letting teams control or have input into sequencing has consequences. Let us discuss avoiding those negative outcomes. We also have a visit from Keis Kostaqi who returns with her You Are Not Alone column. Keis and I discuss the new Scrum...
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The Software Process and Measurement Cast 780 features our interview with Billie Johnson. Our discussion focuses on the role of delivering outcomes and values using agile teams. We also discussed her book, which she co-authored with Kelley Burns. Re-Read Saturday News The improve play is one of the most powerful aspects of Marquet’s suggested framework. Improve is chapter 7 of . Improve is a time for stepping back from the pressure of getting stuff done to consider whether you are doing the right thing, right. We have spoken about the need to pause, reflect, and replan periodically...
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Software Process and Measurement Cast 779 wrestles with the question, When prioritization involves overly detailed or excessive control over how someone accomplishes their tasks or when it impedes an employee's ability to make their own decisions it becomes micromanagement. Let's explore and look for a path to healing. We will also have a visit from Susan Parente and her Not A Scrumdamentalist column. Susan talks about her impending sabbatical and why taking a pause can be powerful. Re-Read Saturday News Complete is the next chapter in . This concept suggests breaking goals into smaller...
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The Software Process and Measurement Cast 778 marks our return from Iceland. WICKED trip, great country, great people! We return with our interview with Bill Fox. Bill and I discussed his new book, , transformation, dialog, listening, and leadership. The many conversations Bill and I have had over the years leave me in a better place. Bill states, “I believe that the great leaders and companies in the 21st century will go on a Forward Thinking journey and be built from the inside out.’ The world has shifted, and new rules apply. It used to be that you would win by...
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This week we are on our annual holiday. We are toiling away editing audio and doing voice exercises to bring you new and exciting content and will be back next week! In the SPaMCAST 777 we re-release SPaMCAST 486 - Daniel S Vacanti, Actionable Agile Metrics. The idea of flow metrics has fundamentally changed my perspective on how to use metrics. I have to thank Mr. Vacanti for starting me on the path. Enjoy the interview. The original inroducion - SPaMCAST 486 features our interview with Daniel S. Vacanti. Mr. Vacanti is the author of . We discussed the concepts in the book,...
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We are on our annual holiday and will return with new programs on October 22nd. This week in the SPaMCAST 776 from our archives we feature SPaMCAST 641 - The Agile Coaching Code of Ethics, A Conversation With Shane Hastie and Craig Smith. The show was originally aired on March 7, 2021. I still think the ethics initiative is one of the most important things I have been involved with professionally. Enjoy the discussion. Read more (you really should) at The original inroducion - In the podcast this week, we discuss the Agile Coaching Code of Ethics and the process of building...
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We are on our annual holiday and will return with new programs on October 22nd. The Software Process and Measurement Cast 775 is a re-release of SPaMCAST 635 - Practical Ways to Manage, A Conversation with Johanna Rothman. The show was originally released on January 24, 2021. It was one of the SPaMCAST’s many anniversary editions. Enjoy our conversation The original introduction - Cue the music . . . Happy Birthday, Software Process and Measurement Cast! Today we begin year 15 with a visit from Johanna Rothman. We talked about her THREE new books: Practical Ways to Manage...
info_outlineIn Software Process and Measurement Cast 764 we feature my conversation with Johanna Rothman. We discussed her new book Successful Independent Consulting. Well, we started there and then hit topics like personal value and the impact of success. This might be the eleventy-first conversation I have had with Johanna, and each time I look forward to our time together with anticipation. They are always like attending a master class.
Buy a copy of Successful Independent Consulting. Available everywhere including:
Leanpub: https://leanpub.com/independentconsulting
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3rBfLDV
Johanna’s Bio:
Johanna Rothman, known as the “Pragmatic Manager,” offers frank advice for your thorny problems. She helps leaders and teams learn to see simple and reasonable options that might work. Those practical alternatives can help them be more effective with others at work. With those choices, they can choose what—and how—to adapt their product development.
With her trademark practicality and humor, Johanna is the author of 19 books, hundreds of articles, and blog posts about many aspects of product development. Her most recent books include Successful Independent Consulting, Free Your Inner Nonfiction Writer, and Modern Management Made Easy series. Find her monthly newsletter and blogs at www.jrothman.com & www.createadaptablelife.com.
Editor's note: If you are not subscribed to Johanna’s newsletter…you should be.
Re-Read Saturday News
Simple is the first principle of making something sticky. It is also the title of chapter 1 of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. There are three areas in this chapter I would like to spend more time with.
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The formula core + compactness = simple
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Curse of knowledge
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Metaphors and analogies
As you read the chapter you will see that all three are intertwined; however, each of the three is useful to consider in isolation.
Buy a copy of the book and then catch up on the logistics of this re-read:
Week 1: Announcement and Logistics - https://bit.ly/46tn5Bz
Week 2: Introduction - https://bit.ly/46CLmp1
Week 3: Simple - https://bit.ly/3PZLWaq
Next SPaMCAST
In the Software Process and Measurement Cast 765, we will continue with our summer theme on critical thinking by exploring how experts, experience, and evidence apply to critical thinking.
We will also have a visit from the one and only Susan Parente, who brings her Not A Scrumdamentalist column to the podcast.