Scrum is not an agile methodology

People have lost sight of the fact that Scrum is not a methodology. I see comments such as “Scrum is killing agile” and it drives home, with emphasis, that there’s a huge disconnect between understanding what an agile methodology is and what Scrum is (and I know I’m beating a dead horse, but it’s important [...]

Should Training be an Integral Part of a Project Budget to Increase Project Profitability?

Organizations that are “training challenged” must learn to do things differently. This includes delegating authority along with responsibility, being inspirational to employees, building trust and improving communication — all of which are direct benefits of a comprehensive process that incorporates training. Take a look at part two of Should Training be an Integral Part of [...]

What do you mean, SQA isn’t testing?

Software Quality Assurance (SQA) and Structured Software Testing (SST) are completely different fields. Every single book on the topic (textbooks, course materials, you name it) make this clear. In fact, most emphasize how important it is that these fields be completely separate. Consider:

Quality Assurance is responsible for auditing and ensuring all aspects of work meet [...]

Articulating the value of training

Training budgets are one of the first to go in a down economy. I first pointed this out in Finding Strategic Learning Funds, but there’s ample evidence to be gathered. When the money isn’t there, organizations start casting about for any program they deem expendable. But the unfortunate truth is that training is the best [...]

Why heroes are bad

Most project leaders have been there before: The hero saves the day, yet again. Everyone is grateful because, obviously, if not for the hero the project would have crashed and burned. It seems so lucky that the team can benefit from this all-star who pulls the project out of the fire time and again. So, what exactly would we do without him (or her)?

Making Scrum work: Common failings in adopting Scrum

Scrum can be remarkably beneficial in many kinds of software projects. But, as with any process, methodology or management technique, when used inappropriately it can cause more problems that it solves. In this article I’ll discuss some of the common misconceptions and “lessons learned” as related to Scrum.

Rational Scrum

Recently I tried out a variant on methodology that I’ll dub Rational Scrum. I’ve been trying to put together a few thoughts about the overall process for months, and finally found some time for it.
Just as people have specializations, so do processes. Applying one process to all situations is just as wrong as calling your [...]