Individuals and interactions over processes and tools (says Agile Manifesto). But do we need processes at all? The very word, process, sounds stifling, and reeks of bureaucracy. Or is it the case? What good do processed serve in the context of Agile and Lean. Alistair Cockburn is a known of methodologies and processes. He too seems to have come to a conclusion that processes may well have their place. How so?
How do you measure performance of Agile teams? It’s one of the most commonly asked questions, especially by managers and HR people. How do you reward individuals on an Agile team? Wouldn’t it be great if you can maintain the spirit of agility and self organisation while putting in place measure to manager performance on agile team? Here are eight ideas that can help you do that.
Let’s say you have a large organisation with dozens of teams working together to deliver a product (or a suite of related products). This means you’d have a common set of stakeholders. Now let’s say that most of the teams work in synchronised sprint cycle – they start and end the sprints on the same day. How can the teams involve stakeholders effectively in their sprint reviews? One way to share the planning and review info via email. The article describes pros and cons of sharing review via email video.
Following Agile in highly regulated industry sectors is challenging, and can be a frustrating experience given the way regulation work. What factors should we consider while following Agile in heavily regulated industries? And how to ensure that the slow world of regulation doesn’t make your teams less Agile? Here are some thoughts
Performance testing is one of the most misunderstood topic. And it’s ever so critical to understand it at least at the fundamental level. How to do performance testing in a scalable way? What’s the difference between load testing and stress testing? What do you need to know to get started with web application performance testing? Curious? Read on.
Both have layers. Both are modular. Both can be trimmed down to a slimmer version, or both can be served in gigantic heart-attack-on-a-plate manner. Though some would say that making a healthier and slimmer version of a burger is easier than splitting a huge user story into many smaller ones. Goijko uses hamburger analogy to slim down user stories.
Agile and deadlines don’t mix, or do they? Are deadlines just wrong thing to focus on? Marketing, sales and your management all have deadlines. How about development and delivery done in an Agile way?
Should everyone pick up separate item, task or work on different area of the system? Or should the team work on the same item at the same time? How does the item/task assignment work, so the team can work most productively?
One of the (seemingly) sure fire ways to increase profit is to make your team members more productive. Doesn’t it sound enticing, that if your team can crank up more work (for the same cost), it’d lead to more profit. Does it work like this? Is is this simple? A more fundamental questions is that how do you measure team member productivity? And then how do you improve it? It’s a trick question. Here are some thoughts.
GENERAL, PROCESS
Are Processes any Good? Or Pure Evil?
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools (says Agile Manifesto). But do we need processes at all? The very word, process, sounds stifling, and reeks of bureaucracy. Or is it the case? What good do processed serve in the context of Agile and Lean. Alistair Cockburn is a known of methodologies and processes. He too seems to have come to a conclusion that processes may well have their place. How so?
alistair.cockburn.us
AGILE
8 Ways to Manage Performance in Agile Teams?
How do you measure performance of Agile teams? It’s one of the most commonly asked questions, especially by managers and HR people. How do you reward individuals on an Agile team? Wouldn’t it be great if you can maintain the spirit of agility and self organisation while putting in place measure to manager performance on agile team? Here are eight ideas that can help you do that.
www.jrothman.com
AGILE, HOW TO
Sprint Reviews by Email – Pros and Cons
Let’s say you have a large organisation with dozens of teams working together to deliver a product (or a suite of related products). This means you’d have a common set of stakeholders. Now let’s say that most of the teams work in synchronised sprint cycle – they start and end the sprints on the same day. How can the teams involve stakeholders effectively in their sprint reviews? One way to share the planning and review info via email. The article describes pros and cons of sharing review via email video.
blog.scrum.org
How to Enable Agile in Regulated Environments
Following Agile in highly regulated industry sectors is challenging, and can be a frustrating experience given the way regulation work. What factors should we consider while following Agile in heavily regulated industries? And how to ensure that the slow world of regulation doesn’t make your teams less Agile? Here are some thoughts
www.scrumalliance.org
TESTING
Performance Testing Fundamentals You Must Know
Performance testing is one of the most misunderstood topic. And it’s ever so critical to understand it at least at the fundamental level. How to do performance testing in a scalable way? What’s the difference between load testing and stress testing? What do you need to know to get started with web application performance testing? Curious? Read on.
www.joecolantonio.com
AGILE, USER STORIES
What Do Hamburgers and User Stories Have in Common?
Both have layers. Both are modular. Both can be trimmed down to a slimmer version, or both can be served in gigantic heart-attack-on-a-plate manner. Though some would say that making a healthier and slimmer version of a burger is easier than splitting a huge user story into many smaller ones. Goijko uses hamburger analogy to slim down user stories.
gojko.net
Q&A
How Do Deadlines Work in Agile?
Agile and deadlines don’t mix, or do they? Are deadlines just wrong thing to focus on? Marketing, sales and your management all have deadlines. How about development and delivery done in an Agile way?
programmers.stackexchange.com
How Do Agile Teams Divide the Work?
Should everyone pick up separate item, task or work on different area of the system? Or should the team work on the same item at the same time? How does the item/task assignment work, so the team can work most productively?
stackexchange.com
AGILE TEAMS
How (not) to Improve Team Member Productivity?
One of the (seemingly) sure fire ways to increase profit is to make your team members more productive. Doesn’t it sound enticing, that if your team can crank up more work (for the same cost), it’d lead to more profit. Does it work like this? Is is this simple? A more fundamental questions is that how do you measure team member productivity? And then how do you improve it? It’s a trick question. Here are some thoughts.
www.payton-consulting.com