SPaMCAST 778 - Charting A New Odyssey, A Conversation With Bill Fox
Software Process and Measurement Cast
Release Date: 10/22/2023
Baselining Ideas for Improvement, Who Is Most Important, Essays and Conversations with Susan Parente, SPaMCAST 820
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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Navigating Customer Data - Insights from Rudderstack's CEO, Soumyadeb Mitra, SPaMCAST 819
Software Process and Measurement Cast
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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The Tale of Innovatech, Starting Over, Essays and Conversations with Keis Kostaqi, SPaMCAST 818
Software Process and Measurement Cast
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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AI and Agents In The Workplace, Oh My, A Conversation With Artem Koren, SPaMCAST 817
Software Process and Measurement Cast
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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Goal Conflicts Cause Work Intake Problems, Finding Time To Concentrate, Conversations with Jeremy Willets and Jon M Quigley, SPaMCAST 816
Software Process and Measurement Cast
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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Mastering Work Intake Summer Camp!
Software Process and Measurement Cast
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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Prioritization and Deep Seated Issues, A Conversation With Jim Benson, Replay, SPaMCAST 814
Software Process and Measurement Cast
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, Why Are There Still Testers, Essays and Conversations, SPaMCAST 813
Software Process and Measurement Cast
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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Professionalize ML and AI, A Conversation With Brad Micklea, SPaMCAST 812
Software Process and Measurement Cast
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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Committees to Dodge Responsibility, Certifications, Essays and Conversations, SPaMCAST 811
Software Process and Measurement Cast
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_outlineThe 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, Charting A New Odyssey, 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 managing change, following best practices, working harder, or even smarter. It was the age of Industrial Thinking and people as profit-producing units.
Bill’s LinkedIn Profile
linkedin.com/in/billfoxstrategy
Websites
forwardthinkingworkplaces.com (Company)
billfox.co (Personal)
spaceb.co (Blog)
Re-Read Saturday News
This week in our re-read of L. David Marquet’s, Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say – and What You Don’t, Leaving Bluework Behind: Commit. Whether you classify thinking as System Two thinking or bluework, at some point you have to cross the barrier from contemplation to doing. Chapter Five focuses on reducing the barrier between thinking and action. The process that bridges that barrier is commitment. The author begins the chapter by making the distinction between commitment and coercion.
Previous installments of our re-read of Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say – and What You Don’t (buy a copy)!
Week 1: Logistics, Introduction, Foreword – https://bit.ly/3sTqyu3
Week 2: El Faro – https://bit.ly/3RnkUue
Week 3: The New Playbook – https://bit.ly/3Llgmki
Week 4: Control the Clock – https://bit.ly/45UFp5Z
Week 5: Collaborate – https://bit.ly/3PzFiXI
Week 6: Commit - https://bit.ly/46DMmsF
Next SPaMCAST
The Software Process and Measurement Cast 779 will wrestle with the question, when is prioritization micro-management? The answer is not straightforward but often can be yes.
We will also have a visit from Susan Parente and her Not A Scrumdamentalist column.