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Who’s the Boss? Let Agile Teams Manage Themselves This idea of a team in charge of itself is difficult for many people to accept. Traditional practices condition us to wait for someone to tell us what to do, and managers are accustomed to controlling everyone’s work and knowing everyone’s status. But agile teams can manage themselves—in fact, it's essential to agile. |
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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. |
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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. |
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An Agile Mindset: Learning Early, Not Failing Fast Agile encourages teams to continuously improve through learning. One of the phrases associated with this process is "failing fast"—trying new things and taking lessons from mistakes as you go. But Johanna Rothman thinks "learning early" is a better phrase. That change in terminology can give you a happier mindset. |
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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. |
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The Importance of Timing when Implementing Change Too many changes at once can prolong upheaval and delay people's adjustment to the new norm. If you are planning to start a complex project, introduce a new tool, or undertake any other major initiative, and employees are still reeling from other changes, it may be wise to delay the planned change if you can. |
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Improve Software Project Success by Conducting a Hudson’s Bay Start The Hudson’s Bay Company outfitted fur traders in the 1600s. To avoid problems when camping in freezing conditions, they'd send traders on a short trial expedition before the real one. This idea also can be used to reduce risks when starting a software project that’s complex, expensive, or disaster-prone. |
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The Problem with Software Measurement and Metrics Many software practices rely on setting target numbers for the team to hit. But when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. People start gaming the system by changing their behavior in such a way to favorably adjust the measure in order to achieve the target. Don't get hung up on metrics. |
