Keeping up is not enough

Monday, February 9th, 2009

Johannes Link is starting something that I would like to support and promote:

a “ development project for bored consultants”

contact Johannes if you’d like to spend (at least) one day per month in a project with other agile consultants and you are willing to give this project priority on that day.

(more…)

Go out and see for yourself

Thursday, June 8th, 2006

I’m in Singapore to do assessments . Going out there and seeing for our selves (me and a representative from the customer) makes a big difference in how the assessment works. We could have sent the teams here our ‘standard’ questionnaire, and possibly follow up with conference calls. Seeing the work environment, and meeting face to face allows us to hear the things that are not being said.

singapore skyline seen from Marina Promenade by Calvin Lee

Being face to face, sharing meals helps us to establish a working relationship, and get a better understanding of what they are trying to achieve.
If we wouldn’t have gone out to see for ourselves, we would have missed important information, as well as be more susceptible to rumours. “Going out”, the questionnaire still is a useful tool, and the visit delivers richer information. Visiting also disambiguates the questions.

'Just street photography'  by saipal
* – the title of this post refers to one of the Toyota Way principles, aka Genchi Genbutsu

** – I went out to see Singapore for myself. Apparently, my self alone, as I left my camera at home.

Brown Bag session

Thursday, May 25th, 2006

The unprepared session at agile open prepared us well for the brown bag session Bernard Notarianni hosted subsequently over lunch, to show how they are done in his workplace. These brown bag sessions each deal with a chapter from Quality Software Management (the four volume book series by Gerald Weinberg).

Bernard Notarianni tells what is in the first chapter of QSM

Bernard Notarianni explains the first chapter of Quality Software Management

I’ve participated in many discussions on software quality. Usually, it leads to babble and nothingness… This time was different. Discussion on ‘what is software quality’ was focused, and I learnt a thing or two about it. The format of the meeting is simple. Everyone reads a chapter, there is some discussion on the content, and then the group does one or more exercises – QSM has exercises at the end of each chapter.
They have these meetings every two weeks. At this rate, they’ll be spending the next couple of years working on it. Bernard says it works great for them, and they’ve been doing it for quite a while now – looks like years of fun and learning to look forward to.