Software Process and Measurement Cast

Interviews, essays, facts, and tips about agile and lean agile development, process improvement, and measurement in delivery of value!

Revisiting Software Measurement with Mauricio Aguiar and Christine Green December 2021, SPaMCAST 838 11/17/2024

Revisiting 2019 With Al Shalloway, SPaMCAST 837 11/10/2024

Work Intake Halloween, A Second Opinion, Essays and Conversations with Jeremy Berriault, SPaMCAST 836 11/03/2024

Work Intake Halloween, A Second Opinion, Essays and Conversations with Jeremy Berriault, SPaMCAST 836 SPaMCAST 836 celebrates Halloween. Over the years instead of just one night, people decorate their houses and celebrate for at least a month - we love a party. In celebration of what has become the seventh-largest retail holiday in the United States, let's take a spooky look at the outcome of poor work intake and celebrate that we can banish the spooks and shades of poor work intake. We also hear from in his Evolutionary Agilist column. In this episode, we discuss the impact of adding new team members to a long-lived, high-performing team when the new person wants to strike out in a new direction. Master Work Intake! Join one of two upcoming Mastering Work Intake Workshops to help you learn to address IT’s nastiest, dirtiest little secret…poor work intake. The next two workshops are taking a compressed approach to help kickstart 2025! Seats are available on: November 9th 9 AM EST - Noon EST December 6th 9 AM EST Noon EST More information and registration at Simply put if you don’t control work intake IT CONTROLS YOU! No workshops for you? Buy a copy of Mastering Work Intake and begin to take control of the flow of work for your team and organization. Order a copy of the book from JRoss Publishing - or via Amazon - Re-read Saturday News Chapter 10 of (buy a copy and read along) is titled Disability And Mental Illness. Sounds like a downer? It isn’t. The author begins this chapter by reminding us that Stoicism’s goal is to help people live the best life possible. He uses the stories of three people to illustrate how Stoicism can help people deal with difficult problems. I see this chapter as related to chapter 9’s discussion of role models. Catch on all of the entries in the re-read of (buy a copy and read along) Week 1: Week 2: Week 3: Week 4: Week 5: Week 6: Week 7: Week 8: Week 9: Week 10: Week 11: Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 837 through 840 will be reruns of some of my favorite shows from the early 2000’s. I am off on a vacation. We will be back with new content with SPaMCAST 841. /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/33757447

Cake On Tuesday, A Conversation With Elizabeth Bieniek, SPaMCAST 835 10/27/2024

Cake On Tuesday, A Conversation With Elizabeth Bieniek, SPaMCAST 835 SPaMCAST 835 features our conversation with Elizabeth Bieniek. Elizabeth and I will discuss her new book, , and explore the basics of innovation and leadership. The insights into innovation and intrapreneurship will help all enterprises compete and deliver value to their stakeholders. Elizabeth Bieniek is an author, speaker, and consultant focused on “good peopling” as the secret to exceptional execution. As a founder and Fortune 100 innovation and engineering leadership veteran, her expertise lies in challenging assumptions, embracing diverse perspectives, and leading through ambiguity to build empowered, resilient teams that last. Named one of Toptal’s 10 most influential “Female Pioneers in Technology,” she has spoken on bridging the gap between human connection and innovation at EmTech NEXT, Chatham House, ITEXPO, AWE, and the Global AI Community. Her leadership and innovation philosophy have been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, Inc., International Business Times, and Women in Business. Elizabeth’s Profile Website Master Work Intake! Join one of two Upcoming Mastering Work Intake Workshops to help you learn to address IT’s nastiest, dirtiest little secret…poor work intake. The next two workshops are taking a compressed approach to help kickstart 2025! Seats are available on: November 9th 9 AM EST - Noon EST December 6th 9 AM EST Noon EST More information and registration at If you don’t control work intake IT CONTROLS YOU! Buy a copy and begin to control the flow of work for your team and organization. Order a copy of the book from JRoss Publishing - or via Amazon - Re-read Saturday News Chapter 9 of (buy a copy and read along) wrestles with the source of human virtue. The author, Massimo Pigliucci, is a professor of philosophy who holds Ph. Ds in philosophy, genetics, and evolutionary biology and has published extensively on nature versus nurture. In this chapter, he uses science as a lens to explore Stoic ideas focusing on role models as an area where nurture is effective. Catch on all of the entries in the re-read of (buy a copy and read along) Week 1: Week 2: Week 3: Week 4: Week 5: Week 6: Week 7: Week 8: Week 9: Week 10: Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 836 considers the outcome of poor work entry using the metaphor of road kill. Hum a few stanzas of Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road (), and let's determine how not to get hit by a truck! We will also hear from who will bring his Evolutionary Agilist column to the podcast /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/33628672

Battling The Walls Of Denial, New Kids On The Block – Essays and Conversations with Jon. M Quigley, SPaMCAST 834 10/20/2024

Keeping Secrets Secret, A Conversation With Brian Vallelunga, SPaMCAST 833 10/13/2024

Keeping Secrets Secret, A Conversation With Brian Vallelunga, SPaMCAST 833 SPaMCAST 833 features our interview with Brian Vallelunga, founder & CEO at Doppler. Brian and I discuss the importance of managing secrets. Brian states, “Secrets are the keys to the kingdom.” Today any organization that does not secure the data they manage is asking for trouble (with a capital T).. Brian Vallelunga is the Founder and CEO of Doppler, the first secrets management platform for developers. Doppler empowers tens of thousands of engineering and DevOps teams to seamlessly orchestrate, govern, and manage their secrets across environments at scale. Brian has been featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 and worked at improving overall safety at Uber. Social: Website: Master Work Intake! Mastering Work Intake by and myself is your path to addressing IT’s nasty, dirty little secret…poor work intake. Simply put if you don’t control work intake IT CONTROLS YOU! Buy a copy and begin to control the flow of work for your team and organization. Order a copy of the book from JRoss Publishing - or via Amazon - Re-read Saturday News Recently, I have watched (read in the paper) the indictment of Eric Adams, mayor of NY (he resigned after I wrote this essay). While I understand that incitement and guilt are not synonymous, the words he has used in the past to define his character and his actions do not seem to be congruent. His character as defined by his actions (alleged) to a Stoic is found wanting. This week’s chapter is all the more powerful with these current events as a backdrop. Chapter 7 begins the third section of (buy a copy and read along). The section title is The Discipline Of Action: How To Behave In The World. Action is the second core discipline of Stoicism. Chapter 7 is titled It’s All About Character (and Virtue). A better title might be “Hello Mr. Adam’s. Catch on all of the entries in the re-read of (buy a copy and read along) Week 1: Week 2: Week 3: Week 4: Week 5: Week 6: Week 7: Week 8: Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 834 will feature twenty questions you can use to create work intake cognitive dissonance. Creating cognitive dissonance is important because if you can’t get people to question the status quo, you will never generate change. We will also have a visit from Jon M. Quigley. Jon brings his Alpha and Omega of Product Development to the podcast. /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/33420562

Conway’s Law and Agile. Testers and Test Engineers, Essays and Conversations With Jeremy Berriault, SPaMCAST 832 10/06/2024

Cracking Groupthink - Solutions When Balancing Urgency and Importance, SPaMCAST 831 09/29/2024

Cracking Groupthink - Solutions When Balancing Urgency and Importance, SPaMCAST 831 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 her You Are Not Alone column to the podcast. Master Work Intake! Mastering Work Intake by and myself is your path to addressing IT’s most nefarious dirty little secret…poor work intake. Simply put if you don’t control work intake IT CONTROLS YOU! Buy a copy and begin to control the flow of work for your team and organization. Order a copy of the book from JRoss Publishing - or via Amazon - Re-read Saturday News Chapter 6 of (buy a copy and read along) is titled God or Atoms? discusses the Stoic view of God. As I have discussed this chapter with friends it becomes very easy to conflate Stoism with religion. I remind myself in these scenarios that Stoicism is not a religion. At a high level, the difference is that philosophy seeks to understand and question while religion often provides answers and a framework for belief and practice. The difference and the interrelationship are stark. Week 1: Week 2: Week 3: Week 4: Week 5: Week 6: Week 7: God or Atoms? Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 832 is a rerun of SPaMCAST 550 (I will be hiking in the Appalachian Mountains). This cast features our essay titled, Intertwining Conway’s Law And Agile. Conway’s Law shines a spotlight on how an organization’s structure impacts its product. The “Law” states that the structure of a software product will mimic the structure of the organization that produces the software. It can (and has) been said that you are shipping the “org structure.” How you are structured therefore will impact just how much agility you can achieve. We also visit the QA Corner with Jeremy Berriault. Jeremy discusses the differences between test engineers and testers. We also tackle whether every person with the word test in their title should have the ability to code or script. Jeremy’s LinkedIn: /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/33192592

Upcoming Book Club: Mastering Work Intake Announcement 09/26/2024

Beyond The Framework, A Conversation With Jeremy Berriault, SPaMCAST 830 09/21/2024

Conforming to Mediocrity and Core Hours, Essays and Conversations with Susan Parente, SPaMCAST 829 09/15/2024

HYPERID Ignites - Arash Parsania's Breakthrough Methodology, A Conversation, SPaMCAST 828 09/08/2024

HYPERID Ignites - Arash Parsania's Breakthrough Methodology, A Conversation, SPaMCAST 828 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, Telecommunications, Consumer Products, and Insurance industries. Throughout his career, he has advised numerous organizations on digital business transformation, process definition and optimization for project and product development, and project portfolio management. He has worked with global leaders to enhance project and product management quality, develop and establish specialized project management frameworks and methodologies, and implement audits, restructurings, and certification programs for project managers. HYPERID’s website: Master Work Intake! Have you signed up for the Mastering Work Intake Open House on September 11th at 11 EDT? If not, there is still time! 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 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! Re-read Saturday News Chapter 3 of (buy a copy and read along) is titled “Some Things Are In Our Power, Others Or Not.” Chapter 3 begins to get into the nuts and bolts of Stoicism. Because Epictetus is the author’s guide the opening quote from Epictetus both sets the tone and summarizes the chapter neatly: “We must make the best of those things that are in our power, and take the rest as nature gives it.” If that does not work for you then there is always the Serenity Prayer. Check out Week 4 and all the previous weeks. Week 1: Week 2: Week 3: Week 4: Next SPaMCAST In SPaMCAST 829 we will continue to Crack Groupthink by unpacking the impact of groupthink on urgency and importance. They say knowledge is power, but I would rather consider it risk mitigation. We will also have a visit from Susan Parente who will bring her Not A Scrumdmentalist column to the podcast! /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/32957212

Cracking Groupthink In Prioritization, Scrum Master - Career or Avocation, Essays and Conversations with Keis Kostaqi, SPaMCAST 827 09/01/2024

Cracking Groupthink In Prioritization, Scrum Master - Career or Avocation, Essays and Conversations with Keis Kostaqi, SPaMCAST 827 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 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 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! Re-read Saturday News Chapter 2 of (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: Week 2: Week 3: 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. /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/32820112

Mastering Work Intake Open House Video Trailer 08/30/2024

AI, ML, and Lifelong Learning - A Great Combination, A Conversation With Richmond Alake, SPaMCAST 825 08/25/2024

AI, ML, and Lifelong Learning - A Great Combination, A Conversation With Richmond Alake, SPaMCAST 825 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 articles with over 1 million views. He is passionate about using technology to solve real-world problems. Try out MongoDB for free: Get hands-on code for AI Agents: Connect with Richmond: Master Work Intake! 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 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 1 of (buy a copy and read along) establishes that the central question of all cultures and philosophies is “how to live.” Let's begin by dispelling the notion that Stoicism eschews emotion and feeling, rather the ancient philosophy based on the importance of wisdom, character, and balance. Pigilucci states, “Stoicism is an approach to living in which moral character is the only truly worthy thing to cultivate.” While I believe Spock (Star Trek) has a high moral character, if you are expecting How To Be A Stoic to teach how to be a Vulcan, you will be disappointed. If nothing else, the Stoics have a wry sense of humor. Forewarned is forearmed. Week 1: Week 2: Next SPaMCAST The SPaMCAST 826 will explore whether urgency has more power in prioritization in collaborative events. Importance is supposed to trump urgency but when you involve many voices things are murkier. We will also have a visit from Kies Kostaqi who will bring her You Are Not Alone column to the Software Process and Measurement Cast. /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/32729352

You Can Never Cross The Same River Twice, Essays and Conversations with Jon M Quigley, SPaMCAST 824 08/18/2024

You Can Never Cross The Same River Twice, Essays and Conversations with Jon M Quigley, SPaMCAST 824 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 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 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 This week we begin the re-read of (buy a copy and read along). I bought this book while on a trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan. I was there for a speaking engagement and my wife and I decided to make a weekend of it. My downfall was that the fabulous Literati Bookstore was near our Air B&B. Next SPaMCAST The SPaMCAST 825 will feature our interview with Richmond Alake. We discussed AI and Machine Learning. We also will discuss what comes next now that AI Chat has been done. /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/32625642

Learning From Data, A Conversation With Kirk Marple, SPaMCAST 823 08/11/2024

Urgency Versus Importance - Which Drives Your Work, Teams And Why We Need Them, Conversations with Jeremy Willets and Jeremy Berriault, SPaMCAST 822 08/04/2024

Urgency Versus Importance - Which Drives Your Work, Teams And Why We Need Them, Conversations with Jeremy Willets and Jeremy Berriault, SPaMCAST 822 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 in session! Like a swimming pool, there is always time to join the fun. Jeremy Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We’ll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event. The last weekly session begins at 12:30 EDT on August 7th (). Each session will: Define one work intake problem per session, Identify how to recognize the problem, Offer a pragmatic approach to tackling the issue, and At least one scary story of work entry gone wrong (this is summer camp) We would like you to register at our Maven page so we can remind you when the session goes live. If you register we also have a Work Intake Problem Worksheet that we use in our workshops that we will email. However, if you’d rather not register on Maven you can set a reminder on LinkedIn (). In either case, we will announce when the sessions go live on LinkedIn. Share the invitation with others, wear sunscreen, and be kind to your fellow campers! Re-read Saturday News Chapter 10, Making of Meaning, culminates the book, . Meaning provides a yardstick to evaluate the human condition and to consider what it means to be a human being in the context of our world. “Meaning” is a catalyst to provide energy and stimulate the intellectual vitality required for optimal experience. Without meaning it is difficult to find the rationale for tasks and cares that may feel mundane but are necessary to reach a goal or as we pivot toward another. Next week we will flow into concluding thoughts. Buy a copy and read along – Week 1: – Week 2: – Week 3: – Week 4: – Week 5: Week 6: Week 7: Week 8: Week 9: Week 10: Next SPaMCAST The SPaMCAST 823 will feature our discussion with Kirk Marple, Technical Founder and CEO at Unstruk Data. We will discuss AI, knowledge graphs, and how organizations learn as they understand their data. /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/32385617

Building A Business And A Leader, An Interview With Alex Natskovich, SPaMCAST 821 07/28/2024

Building A Business And A Leader, An Interview With Alex Natskovich, SPaMCAST 821 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 Conductor, where he joined as the 5th employee. It has now evolved into the leading global SEO and content intelligence platform. During his tenure there, Alex was responsible for building and maintaining an industry-leading link-building system. Simultaneously, he embarked on building his own company, MEV (named after the mega-electron-volt) – a strategic software development partner for fast-growing companies. Afterward, he decided to settle in the Bay Area. While at the helm of his company, he assisted esteemed companies such as Cartier, Novo Nordisk, Daiichi Sankyo, and Avadel in overcoming complex business challenges through software solutions. Additionally, he aided numerous startups in developing stable and scalable digital products, making them attractive for acquisition. Alex is passionate about empowering businesses with the right technology. He firmly believes in the power of teams. Building a high-performing team, in his view, necessitates being open-minded and always striving to thoroughly understand the team’s objectives and needs for success. This solution-oriented mindset and team focus form the cornerstone of his company. Website: LinkedIn: Email: Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Work Intake Summer Camp is in session! Like a swimming pool, there is always time to join the fun. Jeremy Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We’ll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event. The next weekly session begins at 11:30 EDT on July 31st (). Each session will: Define one work intake problem per session, Identify how to recognize the problem, Offer a pragmatic approach to tackling the issue, and At least one scary story of work entry gone wrong (this is summer camp) We would like you to register at our Maven page so we can remind you when the session goes live. If you register we also have a Work Intake Problem Worksheet that we use in our workshops that we will email. However, if you’d rather not register on Maven you can set a reminder on LinkedIn (). In either case, we will announce when the sessions go live on LinkedIn. Share the invitation with others, wear sunscreen, and be kind to your fellow campers! Re-read Saturday News Three main ideas struck me during this read of Chapter 9 of . Chapter 9 is titled: Cheating Chaos. The chaos we are working to cheat is the random energy pushing us in random directions from inside and outside ourselves. Creating order provides a space for optimal experience and flow. Logistics note: Including this week, we anticipate completing this re-read in 4 weeks. Are there recommendations for the next book in the Re-read series? Buy a copy and read along – Week 1: – Week 2: – Week 3: – Week 4: – Week 5: Week 6: Week 7: Week 8: Week 9: Week 10: Next SPaMCAST The Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature and me discussing Urgency versus Importance. We thought the Work Intake Summer Camp discussion was so important (not just urgent) that we decided to share it. We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault, the Evolutionary Agilist. /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/32319487

Baselining Ideas for Improvement, Who Is Most Important, Essays and Conversations with Susan Parente, SPaMCAST 820 07/21/2024

Baselining Ideas for Improvement, Who Is Most Important, Essays and Conversations with Susan Parente, SPaMCAST 820 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! Like a swimming pool, there is always time to join the fun. Jeremy Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We’ll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event. The next weekly session begins at 12:30 EDT on July 24th (). Each session will: Define one work intake problem per session, Identify how to recognize the problem, Offer a pragmatic approach to tackling the issue, and At least one scary story of work entry gone wrong (this is summer camp) We would like you to register at our Maven page so we can remind you when the session goes live. If you register we also have a Work Intake Problem Worksheet that we use in our workshops that we will email. However, if you’d rather not register on Maven you can set a reminder on LinkedIn ( 6%%%). In either case, we will announce when the sessions go live on LinkedIn. Replay Week 5: Share the invitation with others, wear sunscreen, and be kind to your fellow campers! Re-read Saturday News Chapter 8, of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book , titled Enjoying Solitude and Other People, discusses the impact of people on optimal experience and flow. The author grounds the chapter by reminding us that the quality of life depends on how we experience work and relationships with others. Chapter 7 wrestled with the work portion of the equation and Chapter 8 the people part. The two are highly intertwined. Logistics note: Including this week, we anticipate completing this re-read in 4 weeks. Are there recommendations for the next book in the Re-read series? Buy a copy and read along – Week 1: – Week 2: – Week 3: – Week 4: – Week 5: Week 6: Week 7: Week 8: Next SPaMCAST The Software Process and Measurement Cast features our interview with Alex Natskovich. We will talk about finding value in unstructured data, transitioning from developer to entrepreneur, and agile. /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/32231987

Navigating Customer Data - Insights from Rudderstack's CEO, Soumyadeb Mitra, SPaMCAST 819 07/15/2024

Navigating Customer Data - Insights from Rudderstack's CEO, Soumyadeb Mitra, SPaMCAST 819 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 for every team and tool. With a strong background in software engineering and data analytics, Soumyadeb is passionate about helping data leaders and teams make data valuable in their companies. Before founding RudderStack in 2018, Soumyadeb worked in various technical roles at leading technology companies, where he gained valuable experience in big data, machine learning, and cloud computing. While Head of Machine Learning at 8×8 (Nasdaq: EGHT), a unified communication as a service company, he found existing CDP solutions unable to meet his requirements for security, reliability, and scalability. He left to start RudderStack to solve that critical roadblock for companies looking to deliver key projects like real-time personalization and recommendations. Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Work Intake Summer Camp is in session! Jeremy Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We’ll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event. The next weekly session begins at 11:30 EDT on July 17th (). Each session will: Define one work intake problem per session, Identify how to recognize the problem, Offer a pragmatic approach to tackling the issue, and At least one scary story of work entry gone wrong (this is summer camp) We would like you to register at our Maven page so we can remind you when the session goes live. If you register we also have a Work Intake Problem Worksheet that we use in our workshops that we will email. However, if you’d rather not register on Maven you can set a reminder on LinkedIn (). In either case, we will announce when the sessions go live on LinkedIn. Share the invitation with others, wear sunscreen, and be kind to your fellow campers! Re-read Saturday News Chapter 7 of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s is titled, “Work As Flow.” Work is one of the largest single blocks of time adults carve out of their 168 hours of breath in a week. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi states. “Work that requires skill and is done freely refines the complexity of self.” Flow is the result of this refinement, at the least the potential for optimal experience from work. Juxtaposition work generates opportunities for flow with work which is the energy used to realize someone else's dreams, hopes, and ambitions. This is not a formula for optimal experience and flow. Buy a copy and read along – Week 1: – Week 2: – Week 3: – Week 4: – Week 5: Week 6: Week 7: Week 8: Next SPaMCAST We will continue the story of Innovatech and how a data-driven improvement initiative can be bootstrapped with courage and perseverance. We will also have a visit from whose “Not a Scrumdamentalist” column delivers insights and advice. /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/32126327

The Tale of Innovatech, Starting Over, Essays and Conversations with Keis Kostaqi, SPaMCAST 818 07/07/2024

The Tale of Innovatech, Starting Over, Essays and Conversations with Keis Kostaqi, SPaMCAST 818 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 “start over”. Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Work Intake Summer Camp is in session! Jeremy Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We’ll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event. The next weekly session begins at 11:30 EDT on July 10th (). Each session will: Define one work intake problem per session, Identify how to recognize the problem, Offer a pragmatic approach to tackling the issue, and At least one scary story of work entry gone wrong (this is summer camp) We would like you to register at our Maven page so we can remind you when the session goes live. If you register we also have a Work Intake Problem Worksheet that we use in our workshops that we will email. However, if you’d rather not register on Maven you can set a reminder on LinkedIn (). In either case, we will announce when the sessions go live on LinkedIn. Share the invitation with others, wear sunscreen, and be kind to your fellow campers! Re-read Saturday News While Chapter 5 of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s focuses on the body’s impact on optimal experience in Chapter 6 we move upstairs. Chapter 6, titled The Flow of Thought, focuses on the mind’s contribution. The author points out that most of us have little control over our minds. We are attracted to what is (seemingly) most important, at the moment. We fill the gaps with stimuli that don’t evoke flow or optimal experiences. Buy a copy and read along – Week 1: – Week 2: – Week 3: – Week 4: – Week 5: Week 6: Week 7: Next SPaMCAST On the next Software Process and Measurement Cast, we will speak with Soumyadeb Mitra, Founder and CEO of Rudderstack. We will talk about the effective use of customer data. /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/32038092

AI and Agents In The Workplace, Oh My, A Conversation With Artem Koren, SPaMCAST 817 06/30/2024

AI and Agents In The Workplace, Oh My, A Conversation With Artem Koren, SPaMCAST 817 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 entrepreneur to create innovative products, bringing to life new ways that technology can help us reach our goals. Sembly AI, which he co-founded with Gil Makleff in 2019, is at the forefront of augmented worker intelligence, empowering hundreds of organizations around the world with AI agent solutions that bridge the gap between meetings and results. Website: Sembly’s LinkedIn: Artem’s LinkedIn: Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Work Intake Summer Camp is in session! Jeremy Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We’ll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event. The next weekly session begins at 11:30 EDT on July 3rd (). Each session will: Define one work intake problem per session, Identify how to recognize the problem, Offer a pragmatic approach to tackling the issue, and At least one scary story of work entry gone wrong (this is summer camp) We would like you to register at our Maven page so we can remind you when the session goes live. If you register we also have a Work Intake Problem Worksheet that we use in our workshops that we will email. However, if you’d rather not register on Maven you can set a reminder on LinkedIn (). In either case, we will announce when the sessions go live on LinkedIn. Feel free to share the invitation with others. Remind everyone to use sunscreen! Re-read Saturday News Chapter 5 of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s is titled, The Body In Flow. This Chapter deals with the kinesic contribution to optimal experiences and flow. The word contribute is an important descriptor; the author warns the reader: “The body does not produce flow merely by its movements. The mind is always involved as well.” Buy a copy and read along – Week 1: – Week 2: – Week 3: – Week 4: – Week 5: Week 6: Next SPaMCAST On the next Software Process and Measurement Cast, more of the story of Innovatech and what happens when responsibility and accountability get muddled. We will also have a visit from Keis Kostaqi who brings her You Are Not Alone column to the podcast! /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/31939257

Goal Conflicts Cause Work Intake Problems, Finding Time To Concentrate, Conversations with Jeremy Willets and Jon M Quigley, SPaMCAST 816 06/23/2024

Goal Conflicts Cause Work Intake Problems, Finding Time To Concentrate, Conversations with Jeremy Willets and Jon M Quigley, SPaMCAST 816 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 Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We’ll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event. The next weekly session begins at 11:30 EDT on June 16th. Each session will: Define one work intake problem per session, Identify how to recognize the problem, Offer a pragmatic approach to tackling the issue, and At least one scary story of work entry gone wrong (this is summer camp) We would like you to register at our Maven page so we can remind you when the session goes live. If you register we also have a Work Intake Problem Worksheet that we use in our workshops that we will email. However, if you’d rather not register on Maven you can set a reminder on LinkedIn at . In either case, we will announce when the sessions go live on LinkedIn. Feel free to share the invitation with others. Remind everyone to use sunscreen! Re-read Saturday News Chapter 4 of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s is titled The Conditions of Flow. Flow states just don’t occur randomly. They require several factors to align. Some factors can be “arranged” while others are context-driven or part of a large feedback loop. I find three concepts central to Chapter 4. Buy a copy and read along – Week 1: – Week 2: – Week 3: – Week 4: – Week 5: Next SPaMCAST On the next Software Process and Measurement Cast, we will talk with , Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of - One of the topics we discussed is whether building an AI solution is different than building any other solution. /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/31856047

Mastering Work Intake Summer Camp! 06/17/2024

Prioritization and Deep Seated Issues, A Conversation With Jim Benson, Replay, SPaMCAST 814 06/16/2024

Prioritization and Deep Seated Issues, A Conversation With Jim Benson, Replay, SPaMCAST 814 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 prioritization. All of us at SPaMCAST look forward to your thoughts. Contact Jim LinkedIn: Personal Kanban: Modus Cooperandi: Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Jeremy Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We’ll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event weekly beginning June 19th at 11:30. Register at - registration is not necessary but it will help get a count for virtual juice boxes. Re-read Saturday News This week we revisit our first re-read from 2015, The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement ( or ) written by Eli Goldratt. If you are interested in the flow of work you need to read The Goal – more than once. The link is Re-read Saturday Instalments Next week we will return to our re-read of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book, . Next SPaMCAST On the next Software Process and Measurement Cast, more of the story of Innovatech and what happens when responsibility and accountability get muddled. We will also have a visit from and his Alpha and Omega of Product Development. /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/31722177

Accountability and Responsibility Are Intertwined, Why Are There Still Testers, Essays and Conversations, SPaMCAST 813 06/09/2024

Accountability and Responsibility Are Intertwined, Why Are There Still Testers, Essays and Conversations, SPaMCAST 813 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 is part of a larger business novella David Herron and I are developing that wh hope to share over the summer. Today we will begin with a bit of background. We also have a visit from the Evolutionary Agilist. and I wrestle with the question, why do we still have testers in the age of automated testing and AI. Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Jeremy Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We’ll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event weekly beginning June 19th at 11:30. Register at - registration is not necessary but it will help getting a count for virtual juice boxes. Re-read Saturday News Chapter 3 of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s is titled Enjoyment and The Quality of Life. This chapter resonates strongly with me. I have always struggled with the idea that lounging around or mindlessly working is enjoyable. Thinking about those scenarios the word tedious comes to mind. Let’s explore! Buy a copy and read along - Week 1: - Week 2: - Week 3: - Week 4: - Next SPaMCAST Next week, I will be traveling to attend a funeral of a family member. We will revisit a favorite from 2019, SPaMCAST 553 - Prioritization and Capability, An Interview with Jim Benson. We will be back with new programming on June 23rd. /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/31668832

Professionalize ML and AI, A Conversation With Brad Micklea, SPaMCAST 812 06/02/2024

Professionalize ML and AI, A Conversation With Brad Micklea, SPaMCAST 812 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 2017. In his 25-year career in the developer tools and DevOps software market, he’s been the GM for Amazon’s API Gateway, and built open- and closed-source products that have been leaders in Gartner Magic Quadrants. He enjoys cycling, reading, and vintage cars in his free time. Websites: Kitops: Jozu: LinkedIn: X: @BradMicklea Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Jeremy Willets and I are running two Mastering Work Intake cohorts over the next three months. Learn to solve IT’s dirtiest secret — work intake. Stop ignoring it. Start fixing it. (Closed) Want to read the book first? Keyan Reid Stated in their review of : “What first struck me, was the immediate tie to the human equation. Purchase a copy of the book from: JRoss Publishing: Amazon: Re-read Saturday News We consider consciousness this week in our re-read of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s . Consciousness is a process of interpreting and processing thoughts and feelings. Buy a copy and read along - Week 1: - Week 2: - Week 3: - Next SPaMCAST We return to the topics of accountability and responsibility. Hierarchies generate a tangled web of overlapping relationships that can obscure who has the ball. This type of scenario might be good in sports but in business, not so much. We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault, The Evolutionary Agilist. /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/31565747

Committees to Dodge Responsibility, Certifications, Essays and Conversations, SPaMCAST 811 05/26/2024

Committees to Dodge Responsibility, Certifications, Essays and Conversations, SPaMCAST 811 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 responsibility, I re-read the piece and polished it a bit. It speaks to the idea of committees and the diffusion of responsibility. So a little detour on our summer road trip. We also have a visit from Susan Parente. Susan and I discussed certifications. Does having a bunch make sense or does it reflect mass insanity? The answer is…it depends. Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Jeremy Willets and I are running two Mastering Work Intake cohorts over the next three months. Learn to solve IT’s dirtiest secret — work intake. Stop ignoring it. Start fixing it. (only a few seats left) Want to read the book first? , The Evolutionary Agilist™, described as a “Fantastic work. Very practical and helps improve workflows." Purchase a copy of the book from: JRoss Publishing: Amazon: Re-read Saturday News We begin the meat of our re-read of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s with Chapter 1, Happiness. Csikszentmihalyi highlights that happiness requires an individual perspective stating, “The best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.” Read and discuss! Buy a copy and read along - Week 1: - Week 2: - Next SPaMCAST Next week we will feature our interview with Brad Micklea, Founder & CEO at Jozu on the topic of Machine Language Operations (MLOps) and why agile is integral to getting work done. /episode/index/show/spamcast/id/31469087

Software Process and Measurement Cast

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