Libsyn Directory

SPaMCAST 793 - Value Streams Analysis, Work Intake, Who Can Be A Scrum Master, Essays and Conversations

Release Date: 02/04/2024

Conforming to Mediocrity and Core Hours, Essays and Conversations with Susan Parente, SPaMCAST 829

Software Process and Measurement Cast

In SPaMCAST 829 we will continue to expose the sometimes insidious impact of groupthink. Groupthink can lead a team to accept less challenging work, be misaligned with priorities, and poorly assess urgency and importance. The pressure to conform and maintain agreement can result in suboptimal decision-making, hampering effectiveness. We will also have a visit from Susan Parente who will bring her Not A Scrumdmentalist column to the podcast. In this installment, Susan tackles the need for core hours for teams of all types. Master Work Intake! This episode is brought to you by Mastering Work...

HYPERID Ignites - Arash Parsania's Breakthrough Methodology, A Conversation, SPaMCAST 828

Software Process and Measurement Cast

The SPaMCast 828 spotlights Arash Parsania. We talk about his exciting new methodology, HYPERID. The method builds on and integrates pragmatic ideas from many disciplines to create something new. HYPERID is a flexible hybrid method that fits a wide range of different types of work. Arash Parsania is the creator of HYPERID, a hybrid methodology for project management and product development. He brings over 20 years of experience in project management, consulting, and digital business transformation. His expertise spans Software Engineering, Retail, Travel & Hospitality, Automotive,...

Cracking Groupthink In Prioritization, Scrum Master - Career or Avocation, Essays and Conversations with Keis Kostaqi, SPaMCAST 827

Software Process and Measurement Cast

In the SPaMCast 827, we will begin cracking groupthink in prioritization with a discussion of urgency vs. importance Evaluating the interplay between urgency and importance is a powerful work intake approach. Teams and project management offices regularly use an Eisenhower Matrix or variant to visualize the relationship between these two factors. The bottom line in this approach is that you should prioritize work that is important and urgent above work that is just urgent. We also have a visit from who brings her You Are Not Alone column to the podcast. Keis and I discuss the...

Mastering Work Intake Open House Video Trailer

Software Process and Measurement Cast

Mastering Work Intake by and I hit the bookshelves earlier this year. We have also been running cohort-based workshops to help expose and solve this dirty little secret. Two of the questions we have gotten as we have promoted the workshops are: What is a cohort-based workshop? What value will I get if I join? Both are greater questions and we have an answer! Join us for a one-hour open house to explore how to diagnose and solve work intake challenges, the most critical issue facing organizations today. This session will provide an overview of our course designed to help you to...

AI, ML, and Lifelong Learning - A Great Combination, A Conversation With Richmond Alake, SPaMCAST 825

Software Process and Measurement Cast

The SPaMCAST 825 features our conversation with Richmond Alake. During our conversation, we discussed AI, Machine Learning, and most importantly why being a lifelong learner is important (really important). Need more? We also will discuss what comes next now that AI Chat has been done. Richmond’s bio: Richmond Alake is an AI/ML Practitioner with an academic background in computer vision, robotics, and machine learning. He has worked in software development and machine learning roles since 2016. Richmond has also taught online AI/ML/Data courses and written over 200 technical...

You Can Never Cross The Same River Twice, Essays and Conversations with Jon M Quigley, SPaMCAST 824

Software Process and Measurement Cast

The SPaMCAST 824 compares the Great Avon Lake Tornado and power outage with the purported death of Agile. Cap that off with many in the industry doubling down on Agile purity to put the blush back on the rose. My upcoming high school reunion suggests you can never cross the same river twice but crossing any river is a challenge.. Also Jon M Quigley and I talk about who is the most important person on a team. This is a counterpoint to my recent conversation with on SPaMCAST 822. They agree but it…depends. Master Work Intake! Mastering Work Intake by and I hit the bookshelves...

Learning From Data, A Conversation With Kirk Marple, SPaMCAST 823

Software Process and Measurement Cast

The introduction and outro words are abbreviated this week. I will regale you with the tale of the Avon Lake Toronado next. Now I need to find a way of making everything work without electricity and the Internet. I am not sure which is making me crazier. The SPaMCAST 823 features a discussion with Kirk Marple, Technical Founder and CEO at Graphit, by Unstruk Data. What is a technical founder you might ask? No? Well, I did. More importantly, we discussed AI, knowledge graphs, leadership, and how organizations learn as they understand their data. Check out...

Urgency Versus Importance - Which Drives Your Work, Teams And Why We Need Them, Conversations with Jeremy Willets and Jeremy Berriault, SPaMCAST 822

Software Process and Measurement Cast

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 822 features a discussion that and I had during the Work Intake Summer Camp. The tyranny of the urgent often eclipses work that is merely important. Not understanding the difference between the two concepts and the long-term implications of ignoring what is important can be catastrophic. We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault, the Evolutionary Agilist. We discussed why teams exist. The answer can be simplified into four words. Getting to those words is a wild ride. Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Work Intake Summer Camp is...

Building A Business And A Leader, An Interview With Alex Natskovich, SPaMCAST 821

Software Process and Measurement Cast

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 821 features our interview with Alex Natskovich. We talk about the attributes of a leader when building a business but even more importantly learning to be a leader. Success requires knowing how to handle the transitions. Alex’s Bio Alex is a seasoned engineering leader and CEO. Born in Belarus, he harbored a lifelong dream of becoming an engineer. After graduating from university, he moved to the USA. During the initial years, he resided in New York, working as a software engineer in various companies. One of the most notable was the startup...

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! ...

More Episodes

As you would suspect, I have recently been talking up Mastering Work Intake which Jeremy Willets and I co-authored. One conversation turned to the topic of whether value stream analysis was useful in controlling work intake. The simple answer is YES across the whole value stream and up and down the hierarchy.

We will also have a visit from Kies Kostaqi who brings her “You Are Not Alone” column to the podcast. In this installment, we discuss whether anyone (within reason) can play the Scrum Master role.

Mastering Work Intake
by Tom Cagley and Jeremy Willets

Have you purchased your copy of Mastering Work Intake: From Chaos to Predictable Delivery? Doing the right work at the right time can make or break your project, and there are surprisingly few resources to show you how to manage this process effectively - no longer. Mastering Work Intake: From Chaos to Predictable Delivery focuses on the full pipeline that work follows as it enters and exits your organization, including the different types of work that enter at different 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. Mastering work intake involves recognizing that it’s easy to say “ yes” and much harder to say “ no.”

Buy a copy today!

J Ross: https://bit.ly/474ul6G

Amazon (US): https://a.co/d/7nYupx5

For physical copies outside of the US and Canada:

UK and EU: https://www.eurospanbookstore.com/

For international orders outside of Europe: https://a.co/d/7nYupx5 (or the Amazon store for your country)

Re-read Saturday News

Chapter Seven, of Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability, dives into the nuances of using XmR charts for the basic flow metrics including:

Cycle Time
Throughput
WIP
WIP Age

This is a hugely useful chapter. There are three points that I draw out this week. They are the difference between XmR and Cycle Time (scatter plot) Charts, chunky data, and Total WIP Age charting.

Buy a copy and get reading – Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability.

Week 1: Re-read Logistics and Preface – https://bit.ly/4adgxsC

Week 2: Wilt The Stilt and Definition of Variation – https://bit.ly/4aldwGN

Week 3: Variation and Predictability – https://bit.ly/3tAVWhq

Week 4: Process Behavior Charts Part 1 – https://bit.ly/3Huainr

Week 5: Process Behavior Charts Part 2 - https://bit.ly/424O5Wc

Week 6: How Much Data? - https://bit.ly/47GVP24

Week 7: Detecting Signals - https://bit.ly/3SjwfdO

Next SPaMCAST

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 794 will feature our conversation with Nick Schrock. We discussed data engineering, AI, and entrepreneurship. As the Founder at Dagster Labs, Nick had the perfect standing to talk about three of the hottest topics of 2024.

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