process metrics

Don't Just Work Longer—Work Smarter

People who work long hours assume they're also working hard—but that doesn't mean they're working smart. If you have a lot to do, you want to work smart—not just work a lot. How do you discover how much time spent working makes you the most productive? Run this experiment and gather some data.

Johanna Rothman's picture
Johanna Rothman
Using Big Data to Make Big Decisions on Hiring, Firing, and Retention

Predictive analytics has primarily been used to determine the future of the market, consumer trends and demands, and how products might fare in the industry. Now companies could be turning predictive analytics on its axis, forcing the scope inward as they look to use big data in hiring and firing.

Cameron Philipp-Edmonds's picture
Cameron Philipp...
Remember: Your Goal Is to Solve Your Customers' Problems

Steve Berczuk reminds us that while estimation, process, and technical skill are essential to delivering value to a customer in a cost-effective way, they are just means to your primary goal of solving problems.

Steve Berczuk's picture
Steve Berczuk
For Agile Program Iterations, Short Is Beautiful

For programs, the risks are too high to have longer times between integration points and demos. Waiting too long increases potential delays, which increases risks. You want feature teams in your program working together, so you want short iterations and small stories connecting often and everywhere.

Johanna Rothman's picture
Johanna Rothman
Warning Signs of a Project Headed for Trouble

When running a project, there will be many chances for things to go wrong. Usually, there are warning signs a project is going off the rails. You should be on the lookout for any of the signs listed in this story so you can take steps sooner rather than later to reorient your project toward success.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Rethinking Typical Project Management Approaches

"Don't work on projects, work on products!" is a cry often heard in the agile community. But if you have a team pulled together to support an ongoing product, it doesn't make sense to use typical project management techniques. Maybe projects aren't the problem—their organizational structures are.

Kent J. McDonald's picture
Kent J. McDonald
Should You Measure Agile Adoption Effectiveness?

A frequent question when organizations are moving to agile is "What metrics should we use to measure our agile adoption?" What people really should be asking is "Should we measure our agile adoption?" The trick is to figure out what an appropriate measurement is. Kent McDonald examines some methods.

Kent J. McDonald's picture
Kent J. McDonald
Why Software Configuration Management Metrics Are Important

Joe Farah writes about the importance of software configuration (SCM) metrics. Software metrics help us build better software, and SCM metrics help us to better manage the built software. The metrics give you a better handle on what is really going on in your product development environment.

Joe Farah's picture
Joe Farah