Cracking Groupthink In Prioritization, Scrum Master - Career or Avocation, Essays and Conversations with Keis Kostaqi, SPaMCAST 827
Software Process and Measurement Cast
Release Date: 09/01/2024
Software Process and Measurement Cast
SPaMCAST 832 is a later summer-early fall rerun! In July 2019, SPaMCAST 550 premiered. The cast included an essay titled, Intertwining Conway’s Law And Agile and an episode of the QA Corner with Jeremy Berriault. Jeremy discussed the differences between test engineers and testers. These topics are favorites of mine, so…while I am hiking and camping I would like to reshare the core content of SPaMCAST 550 with you. Remember all 18 years of content are available at . We will be back next week with new programming. Master Work Intake! Mastering Work Intake...
info_outline Cracking Groupthink - Solutions When Balancing Urgency and Importance, SPaMCAST 831Software Process and Measurement Cast
SPaMCAST 831 features our essay, Cracking Groupthink - Solutions When Balancing Urgency and Importance. Issues occur when groupthink affects the balance between urgency and importance in decision-making. This leads to inefficiencies, risk aversion, and misaligned priorities. The key challenge is that groups tend to perceive urgency and importance differently from individuals, often influenced by psychological and social dynamics such as the diffusion of responsibility, conformity, and shared information bias. There are solutions! We also have a visit from Keis Kostaqi who brings...
info_outline Upcoming Book Club: Mastering Work Intake AnnouncementSoftware Process and Measurement Cast
Jeremy and I will host a 4-session book club to discuss Mastering Work Intake (4 sections => 4 sessions!) beginning October 18th. We are looking forward to a great set of conversations! Join us by registering on Maven. Use the QR code below at or follow the link - Note: We are charging a nominal $1 fee, which Maven requires. Participation in the book club assumes you have (or have access to) a copy of the book and do the reading so you will be prepared.
info_outline Beyond The Framework, A Conversation With Jeremy Berriault, SPaMCAST 830Software Process and Measurement Cast
SPaMCAST 830 features a conversation with Jeremy Berriault. Jeremy has a new book, “Beyond The Framework: Cultivating Agile Growth.” The back cover states, “Organizations that fail to embrace agility (small a-agiity) risk fading into obscurity.” we discussed the basic assumptions of agile and why business agility differs from adopting any specific agile framework. Buy a copy of the book: Check out Jeremy’s Company website: Master Work Intake! This episode is brought to you by Mastering Work Intake by and myself. Buy a copy and begin to control the flow of...
info_outline Conforming to Mediocrity and Core Hours, Essays and Conversations with Susan Parente, SPaMCAST 829Software 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...
info_outline HYPERID Ignites - Arash Parsania's Breakthrough Methodology, A Conversation, SPaMCAST 828Software 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,...
info_outline Cracking Groupthink In Prioritization, Scrum Master - Career or Avocation, Essays and Conversations with Keis Kostaqi, SPaMCAST 827Software 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...
info_outline Mastering Work Intake Open House Video TrailerSoftware 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...
info_outline AI, ML, and Lifelong Learning - A Great Combination, A Conversation With Richmond Alake, SPaMCAST 825Software 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...
info_outline You Can Never Cross The Same River Twice, Essays and Conversations with Jon M Quigley, SPaMCAST 824Software 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...
info_outlineIn 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 Keis Kostaqi, MBA who brings her You Are Not Alone column to the podcast. Keis and I discuss the career path of a Scrum Master. Is there a career path or is the role a life avocation?
Master Work Intake!
Mastering Work Intake by Jeremy Willets 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 on September 11th at 11 am EDT 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 master work intake and ensure your organization thrives.
We’ll cover key takeaways such as effective prioritization, navigating organizational structures, measuring work intake flow, and diagnosing common work intake issues. You'll leave with actionable insights and a clear plan to address work intake problems immediately.
Sign up on Eventbrite! https://bit.ly/MasteringWorkIntake
Re-read Saturday News
Chapter 2 of How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci (buy a copy and read along) is titled “A Roadmap For The Journey.” In recent months, my wife and I have been beginning to travel in a class B van. We are taking short trips (learning the ropes) with longer trips in the offing. We rely on GPS a lot. I guess that’s not very different from most travelers. However, the more we deviate from the heavily populated and traveled routes, the less ubiquitous and solid WiFi and cell coverage we find. GPS becomes somewhat unreliable. When the GPS is intermittent you must plan for it to be unreliable. We have discovered that we need an old-school paper map. For those of a certain age, a paper map provides turn-by-turn instructions via a static interface. It also provides a sense of the overall broad journey; an early version of a search albeit manual. Chapter 2 titled “A Roadmap For The Journey“ is a paper roadmap for the remainder of How To Be A Stoic.
Week 1: Logistics and Opening Thoughts
Week 2: The Unstraightforward Path
Week 3: A Roadmap For The Journey
Next SPaMCAST
The SPaMCAST 828 will feature our conversation with Arash Parsania. We will talk about his exciting new methodology, Hyperid.is a flexible hybrid method that fits a wide range of different types of work.