communication

Bottleneck Finding the Bottlenecks in the Agile and DevOps Delivery Cycle

To achieve incremental software development and continuous feedback, you need to eliminate the tasks that create bottlenecks, which hinder the flow of development. A chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and identifying these “weak links” is a critical step toward achieving agility and increasing efficiency.

Tanya Kravtsov's picture
Tanya Kravtsov
Airplane in sky amid turbulence Managing the Turbulence of Organizational Change

In times of major change, particularly organizational change, it's normal for people involved to experience turbulence, including anxiety, anger, or uncertainty. If you’re overseeing a change, how you communicate with those affected can significantly decrease—or increase—the duration and intensity of that turbulence.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Scrum standup meeting Tester Contributions to Scrum Conversations

Scrum is one of the most popular paths to agile, but testers sometimes join this framework as an afterthought and aren’t quite sure how they fit into the development flow. Scrum is more than answering three daily questions, and testers are in a position to understand the project better than anyone else on the team.

Justin Rohrman's picture
Justin Rohrman
Say no How to Say No to Work Requests

There are times when you have so much to do that you just have to say no to new work requests. The trick is finding a way to decline politely so there are no negative repercussions. There are ways to turn down requests at work without also hurting your career. Be clear and firm but still respectful.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Communication Speaking the Same Language in Software Testing

Arguments in software testing often revolve around language. We use phrases like test case, exploratory testing, and regression testing every day, but we can’t be sure that you and I mean the same thing when we do. Increased communication and detailed discussions can help avoid misunderstandings.

Justin Rohrman's picture
Justin Rohrman
Hourglass Managing Resistance to Organizational Change

Change can be difficult, and some people's reaction is to shut it all down. If they think their concerns aren’t being heard, they get defensive, and your project is on a trajectory for disaster. Don't fire off an email while tempers are running high. Managing expectations thoughtfully is essential to project success.

Payson Hall's picture
Payson Hall
Speaking Too Fast or Too Slow? Speaking to Get Your Idea Across

It's interesting how people speak at different rates, and there are lots of reasons for that, such as culture, upbringing, preference, and just the way we're wired. At work, what's important is that if you speak too fast or too slow relative to what's normal in your environment, you may unknowingly be annoying people.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Missed the target 7 Harms Done by Keeping Unrealistic Project Goals

Project management is about supporting informed decision-making. No one wants to break the news that a project is not on schedule, but a good sponsor would want to know that the original goals are no longer realistic. Reluctance to communicate or unwillingness to hear have some real business consequences.

Payson Hall's picture
Payson Hall