I’m proud of all my teams – good people doing great things. But I’m particularly proud of my current team because it was the hardest to form, being split between London and Berlin. I formed this team by turning up. A simple message although quite painful for myself and my family. Actually that pain is part of the reason my approach works. Leaders turn up and the team appreciates that.
Continue reading
Author Archives: Steven Thomas
Software Management Triumvirate: Delivery, Product and Technical
I view Delivery, Product and Technical as the three legs of software management stool. I have people responsible for these elements at both programme and project/team level.
Continue reading
PDCA – Plan Do Reflect Improve. Um, sorry, I mean Check Act
I’m a huge fan of the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle. It was originally intended for process improvement within manufacturing but I now see it everywhere. But, being an Agile kind of guy I wish Deming had put “Reflect” and “Improve” into the name.
Continue reading
Are Sprints Just a Way to Organise Releases?
Are Sprints Just a Way to Organise Releases?
I’m increasingly convinced that some teams cling to Sprints / Timeboxes because they facilitate release planning. A Sprint = a mini-Release = real simple. However, continuous delivery means these “Sprints” are not real Sprints.
Continue reading
Five Reasons Why Decision Makers Don’t
I’m rather impatient with people who can’t or won’t make decisions. Here are five reasons for failing to make decisions. This is not an exhaustive list – there are more.
Continue reading
Contracts do not fix incompetence
“Contracts are the least powerful in getting people to do something. A contract does not fix incompetence.” Not my words, they come from Rajesh Mathur, but I completely agree.
Continue reading
Programmes are more than Big Projects
Some projects deliver products and some programmes also deliver products. The difference is the goal. The goal of those projects is to deliver the product. However, the goal of these programmes is to deliver benefits deriving from the new product. I’ve written about the difference between programme, project, portfolio and product management before, but feel in need of a new rant – a rant brought on by DAD.
Continue reading
Albert Einstein would have liked Retrospectives
I believe Albert Einstein would have liked retrospectives.
Continue reading
Focus – “If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one”
Whether a Russian hunter or a software/project/programme team the proverb “If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one” offers useful advice.
Continue reading
Shaping a team – Get good people and put them in the right role
“When will Stu stop playing with code?” The question was about Stu Fieldhouse, a Technical Project Manager working on my programme. My answer was “Never”. I had brought Stu in exactly because he plays with code. Or, more constructively, he fixes problems and lets us move on. Fast.
Continue reading