Asides
Why projects fail 101
90% of projects do not meet time/cost/quality targets. Only 9% of large, 16% of medium and 28% of small company projects were completed on time, within budget and delivered measurable business and stakeholder benefits. [Standish Group Chaos Report, 1995] There are many reasons for such failures. As per a KPMG survey of 252 organizations, technology [...]
The case against releasing early
In Releasing Early Is Not Always Good? Heresy! author Jason Cohen discusses the reasoning behind “release early” and the argument against. He points out the pitfalls of the rapid-development-early-release paradigm, and introduces a few practical ideas to avoid them. While I don’t agree with all his points (and would add many of my own), it’s [...]
Memory aids
Good management needs good memory. That means being able to remember everything, no matter when you think of it: While I was at the beach getting ready for some ocean kayaking, it occurred to me that I hadn’t spoken with Chris about some new widget development concepts. I tap the screen on my phone, and [...]
Scrum and Agile becoming widely accepted
According to an informal poll conducted by Cranky PM, Agile methods (Scrum in particular) has been penetrating deeply into the enterprise. Specifically, in 2006, you reported that a sizable majority of product development used a waterfall methodology (55%), with Scrum garnering a mere 7%. In 2008, the picture is very different. Scrum and its Agile cousins [...]
Rational Scrum opens for business
It may still be a bit rough around the edges, but Rational Scrum is open for business! Welcome!
Recommended reading
Looking to learn the fundamentals of Scrum? First and foremost I’ll recommend a short hands-on course, but if you can’t swing that try “Agile Software Development with SCRUM (Series in Agile Software Development)” (Ken Schwaber, Mike Beedle) and “Agile Project Management with Scrum (Microsoft Professional)” (Ken Schwaber), two definitive works on the subject.
White-board to wall-space ratio
Patrick Wilson Welsh has a great little rant on this really incomprehensible trend. I think the root of the problem is that too many companies still think of software development as an industrial, assembly line process and too few have really embraced the idea that it’s a creative effort.
Cohesive teams
I really liked this post by Patrick Wilson Welsh about the The Fallacy of Individual Accomplishment. Yes it’s true, your heads-down cubicle dwelling knowledge hoarders are more of a liability than an asset. And while we’re here, let’s all just recite: “Hero Culture Is Bad.”
Scrum workshop
Looking for a fast-paced, easy to digest introduction to Scrum? Check out Hyrax International LLC’s Scrum Workshop or contact me directly to discuss an on-site Rational Scrum workshop. Recently updated for 2010, this workshop will get your whole team up to speed and using Scrum in record time.
Connect
