Agile Complexification Inverter

"The 21st Century is when it all changes.  You've got to be ready."  -- Capt'n Jack Harkness What does a 21st Century company look like?  Here's some principles, some templates, some examples.  I believe the 21st century will see a movement toward companies being good social citizens (not money focused) these movements are already starting and we are only 14 years into this century.  Movements such as Conscious Capitalism, Sustainability, Triple Bottom Line, Lean/Agile, etc. I intend to work for one of these new breed of companies before the decade is done. A look at the No Manager movement at Treehouse  a learning company focused on learning... No Managers: Why We Removed Bosses at Treehouse How to set priorities, create budgets and do project management in a #NoManager company How salaries, career progression and reviews work in a #NoManager company How to communicate in a #NoManager company Kotter's 21st C Org Model Here's ...

Software nightmare stories are very common - but one thing I've learned by listening to these stories over the years is the technologist must be optimist at heart.  Why - because they deal constantly with tons of failure.  And out of those failures they create innovative disruptive new sectors of the world economy (sometimes, case in point the Apple Newton and then the iPod and iPhone). Let's look at a few case studies. Time has just published a look at the Obama Healthcare rescue team.  Code Red by Steven Brill "What were the tech problems?  Where they beyond repair? Nothing I saw was beyond repair.  Yes, it was messed up.  Software wasn't built to talk to other software, stuff like that.  A lot of that,"  Abbott continues, "was because they had made the most basic mistake you can ever make.  The government is not used to shipping products to consumers.  You never open a service like this to everyone at once.  You open i...

Your Wish List is not a Scrum Backlog. I've seen lots of list that are referred to as a backlog.  List on paper, in spreadsheets, in powerpoint, on whiteboards, wrapped in a rubber band on index cards - they can take many forms - yet the form is not what makes a wish list into a backlog.  So what are the necessary and sufficient attributes of a backlog? A list becomes a backlog when: the items are sized (estimated) by the Development Team that will implement the item the items are ordered (prioritized) by the Product Owner by delivery order the items are visible (instantly) to the team and the stakeholders in this ordered list the stories in the list are understood to the team (well enough for sizing) items that reference additional information or requirements are easily obtained (wireframes/mock ups/technical specification/etc. via a well known location) This list of elements of an effective backlog follows from the principle of transparency -- the team shoul...