Reflections on a New Year: Part 1

The beginning of the year is a natural time to think about what is coming in the year. Alan Shalloway shares his thoughts about some of the areas in which Net Objectives will be investing its energy and thought as we help to serve our partners and customers.  In addition to our normal areas of training and coaching in Lean, Agile, acceptance test-driven development, design patterns, and process improvement. But what else? In this podcast, Alan and I talk about two key areas where we are going to be investing our energy: Kanban and what it takes to help enterprises and teams make the transition.    read more »

There is a division in the agile community about whether one should rely on people or focus on people supported by systemic thinking (no one I know of suggests systems alone are enough). This debate is often the people over process Vs. people and process (or as Don Reinertsen would say people times process). I've been in the agile community for some time and have seen some interesting things that I think shed some light on this debate. This long-time perspective has enabled me to see an interesting pattern.  read more »

Note: In reviewing this blog I do notice it sounds a little like an advertisement because I've described things from the perspective of what Net Objectives has done. However, I believe it is important to describe actual events and not theory. Most of what I write about comes from my own experience and the experience of other Net Objectives consultants. I describe what we have done to create the context for what we've learned. I am proud of our success and am merely trying to explain the tone.

 Introducing Kanban for Software

Phil Cave is a new consultant with Net Objectives. Phil has a long history with Lean, XP, Scrum, and Kanban. He has worked at all levels: developer, lead, manager, division manager, vice-president, Lean coach.  Phil just got back from Krackow, teaching our Lean Software Development course. Half of this course involved helping them integrate the Kanban technique into their Lean-Agile software methodology. Kanban is gaining ground as an important technique for Lean-Agile groups because it is widely applicable in both process-oriented and specialty-oriented shops. It does not require fundamental shifts in work (unlike other Agile methods) if that is not appropriate for you. It is something we need to learn more about.  read more »

(This updates an entry originally posted April 21, 2007.)

From 2000 to 2004, I trained and coached teams in Scrum in a manner that was fairly consistent with what the Scrum Alliance said Scrum was. Beginning in 2004, I began to introduce Lean thinking into the mix. At first, I was mostly adding Lean insights into Scrum practices but over time, I began to let Lean thinking motivate and lead what I taught. It became clear to me that the ideas and attitudes of many of the thought leaders behind Scum were at odds with Lean thinking. Today, as I look at what iterative, time-boxed approach to software product develop should be, I can no longer label it as "Scrum." I don't do Scrum with Lean. I do something else - something I consider to be much more effective. 

This blog describes one of the biggest differences I have with many Scrum thought leaders: the proper role of management in Agile teams. Too many Scrum trainers/coaches/practitioners continue to dismiss the need for management in organizations using Scrum.  read more »

Some people in the Lean-Agile community think of me as an outspoken critic of Scrum.  That has never been my intention. My intention has always been to help people do software development effectively. I am not against Scrum, I am for something - effective software development at the entire organizational level. Since its inception, Net Objectives' vision has been effective software development without suffering.   Sometimes, however, when you are for some things, you have to speak up against other things - especially if  the two are opposed to each other.  I am not speaking against Scrum per se, I am speaking against claims made about Scrum that are hurting people.  read more »

 Chapter 4: Lean Portfolio Management

This show continues a chapter by chapter discussion about the new book, Lean-Agile Software Development: Achieving Enterprise Agility, by Alan Shalloway, Guy Beaver, and Jim Trott. 

This show focuses on Chapter 4, Lean Portfolio Management. The premise is that managing the work you are feeding the team is more important than how well the team works.

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 Chapter 3: The Big Picture

This show continues a chapter by chapter discussion about the new book, Lean-Agile Software Development: Achieving Enterprise Agility, by Alan Shalloway, Guy Beaver, and Jim Trott. 

This show focuses on Chapter 3, The Big Picture. We talk about why, if you want to see improvements in throughput in product development, it is vital to focus on the entire value stream, the entire process from when an idea is formed until it reaches the user or customer. In fact, a transition to Lean-Agile involves agility in at least four areas.

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 Chapter 2: The Business Case for Agility

This show continues a chapter by chapter discussion about the new book, Lean-Agile Software Development: Achieving Enterprise Agility, by Alan Shalloway, Guy Beaver, and Jim Trott. 

This show focuses on Chapter 2, The Business Case for Agility. We cover the five most important reasons for going Agile and how it is that understanding the whys of Agile helps you with this transition.

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 Chapter 1: A Developer's Guide to Lean Software Development

This show continues a chapter by chapter discussion about the new book, Lean-Agile Software Development: Achieving Enterprise Agility, by Alan Shalloway, Guy Beaver, and Jim Trott. 

This show focuses on Chapter 1, A Developers Guide ot Lean Software Development. We start to answer the question, if Lean's goal is to focus on speed, quality, and low cost. How do you do it?

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