Tag Archives: flow

Seamless processes and continuous improvement, ensuring technology operates efficiently, adapts to change, and drives effectiveness

Agile has Lists but isn’t Lists

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Andrew Vos tweeted (@AndrewVos, 15 Nov 2012):

Hey, guys! Guys. Listen. I found this new agile tool! It’s called “writing stuff down in a list, then doing them one by one”1

Andrew is right, the core of Agile planning is a list. Actually several lists. The product backlog is just a list of high level requirements. A sprint backlog is just a list of tasks to do during the sprint. And, more or less, the team does them one by one from the top priority to lowest priority.

But I disagree with the colleague of mine who said to me a couple of years back “Agile is just managing lists.”
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Improve Customer Collaboration with Ubiquitous language

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Normally I’m quite a calm chap but I get quite grumpy when developers want to model the business domain using technical language. I believe in using “ubiquitous language” and that means using business language to model the business domain.
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Lean-Agile is micromanagement but not in an excessive way

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Is Lean-Agile micromanagement? Mike Cohn says “yes” but Mike’s use of the term excludes the “excessive” aspect of the conventional definition. An attention to detail is a good thing, making for better management, and Lean-Agile has the tools to make the detail transparent. Excessive attention to detail leads to the Fallacy of Control and horror – I don’t see this in Lean-Agile teams.
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Three Amigos Meeting – Agree the tests before development starts

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“Three Amigos” is what Matt Wynne calls the meeting to discuss the Gherkin scenarios before development starts. The Three Amigos involves the business, development and testing voices. However who turns up, where they meet, what they produce in the meeting, the homework to complete after the meeting, and who does that homework can all vary depending on the particular team.
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No need for a PM for a team of one. Professionals manage their own time

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What do you do when you’re asked to project manage a team of one? Personally I say “okay” then do nothing. I believe the smaller the team the lighter the process necessary to run the team. When project management merges into time management you don’t need the project manager any more. Professionals manage their own time. I manage teams.
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Observing, eavesdropping and overhearing – essential tools for a software development leader

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I believe in Management on the Ground and what better way to be on the ground than to be sitting with the team in an open plan office. By simply observing, eavesdropping and overhearing I know what is going on and I also get early warning when I have to intervene.
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Brakes let you go faster

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Perhaps counter intuitively brakes let you drive fast. Without the brakes we would drive really, really slowly. I believe the same is true of automated tests. Something that looks like it should make you go slower actually lets you deliver code faster. As long as you’re doing the right tests.
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Accuracy vs Precision in Estimation

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Which is better: An estimate of “roughly 2 weeks” or an estimate of “4.75 days”? Personally I favour accuracy over precision. “4.75” is attractive because it very precise and a smaller number, but “roughly 2 weeks” might be more accurate. And estimating must be accurate to be any use for planning.
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