Agile Complexification Inverter

 ... no shit, here I am... taking a break from the redundantly recursive link sifting that is iOS development in the 21st Century.  I can not count the stack pushes I've had since about 11 AM and it's only 6:37 PM still time for a beer and a pondering session... A great story allways starts... no shit, there we were... So at my Day Job <euphemism for what I get PAID to do... but I'm unemployeed> I'm writing a little easy App for a colleague - it's a learning chance for me... and it might provide some value.  I'm busily rewiring my brain (there is some question to its inherent plasticity) at my age - so ONE valuable technique is to get drunk enough not to care so damn much and bang out some crap one night - then in the morning come back and fix the hell out of it.  There may be other valuable techniques... Well, last night I decided that the easy array data structure was just going to have to go... that was simple at first and went a long way - but I'd ...

Leadership desires - Info Radiators  What are the individual elements that make a Scrum task board effective for the team and the leadership of the team?  There are a few basic elements that are quite obvious when you have seen a few good Scrum boards... but there are some other elements that appear to elude even the most servant of leaders of Scrum teams. Team desires - Info Radiators In general I'm referring to a physical Scrum board.  Although software applications will replicated may of the elements of a good Scrum board there will be affordances that are not easily replicated.  And software applications offer features not easily implemented in the physical domain also. Scrum Info Radiator Checklist (PDF) Basic Elements Board Framework  - columns and rows laid out in bold colors (blue tape works well)      Attributes :  space for the total number of stickies that will need to belong in each cell of the m...

One hot topic in education circles this fall is using the iPad as an interactive whiteboard. Oh - the days of teacher's pets getting to clean the blackboard erasers are long gone. An interactive electronic whiteboard is a very expensive piece of equipment.  But with modern hardware we have seen the price point drop dramatically.  With a bit of hacking and mash-up skills the do-it-yourselfer can create a comparable system for $30 - $100. Perhaps one of the first mash-ups was Johnny Chung Lee's Wii Remote Whiteboard software. Now the iPad has gotten into the mash-up game.  Using various software tools one can share a Mac/PC whiteboard program and then use the iPad as a second visual screen that is remote and a user input device.  The portability of the iPad lends itself to the classroom where the students may interact with the projected (or large screen) image in real time. With iOS 5 coming this fall, Apple will update Air Play, allowing any iPad dis...

Will you buy an iPad?  That was the question in March 2010.  Here is the answer - iPad sales over 14 months. 8 reasons to buy an iPad for your team room. Easy to carry to meeting (compared to laptop and power supply). Makes a person look smart compared to the person with the laptop, power supply, wired mouse, wired web cam that needs to get up and walk around the conference table to get a close-up shot of the white board. Apps that are designed to work instantly and quickly give the information you need without minutes of drill-down menu clicking and searching. Instant on (compared to opening a laptop that has its lid shut - because shutting the lid is a sign that you are present and paying attention to the meeting). Early adopters have acted - now you can hop on the bandwagon. Smiles on team members face's is a sign of a performing team. Have a need - there is an App for that, 65000 of them. Facetime - video calls that just work.  And with iOS5 sync to t...

See Also:  13 Agile Tools to Use . I was observing a Scrum daily stand-up for a new team the other day - here is one observation I had.  At the end of the stand-up the Scrum Master asked the team who was going to update the burndown chart today.  One team member stepped forward and started adding up task estimates (in his head) and then drew the bar on the chart (paper on the wall) representing the daily estimated work remaining on this sprint.  We talked briefly about the shape of the graph (classic downhill ski jump shape) and last sprints graph (similar shape) and what that implied.  There was no big discussion about if the data was truly represented in the information - because they all understood the derivation of the chart information, they had created the information (the chart). This is a great break through for this team - because of the status quo in the organization.  It is not until you know 'The rest of the story' that the new behaviors be...

Here's an interesting study - where are people at there best (as measured from a Dr Who perspective) at the top or bottom of the stairs? Why Escalators Brings out the Best in People A curious connection between altitude and goodness By David A. Schroeder  | March 29, 2011  Mind Matters, Scientific American So this has me wondering if we could see the same results at the top of an elevator - I doubt it.  Therefore, I suggest you place your team room at the top of an escalator - to infuse the most cooperation within the team.

I am in search of collaborative place - the context of innovation that is embodied in the space we choose to inhabit. Having noticed how some people decorate their cubie with personal artifacts and the boundary that the artificial wall creates, I'd like to "tear down that wall." I attempted to study the habits of people in transition from structured space to open space. I bought a time lapse camera with the intent of photographing the big picture patterns of movement. My vision was to mount the camera to a column in the space. Record the deconstruction of cubicles into the open space. Then watch the organization of Place, via the context of a Scrum work teams, within the space. The people vetoed the idea. Lack of trust is the motive. They were uncomfortable with the organization having photographic proof that they were talking with each other rather than pressing keys on their keyboard. While I understand the feelings of the people, the organization should ...

Will you buy an iPad?  That was the question. 8 reasons to buy an iPad for your team room. Easy to carry to meeting (compared to laptop and power supply). Makes a person look smart compared to the person with the laptop, power supply, wired mouse, wired web cam that needs to get up and walk around the conference table to get a close-up shot of the white board. Apps that are designed to work instantly and quickly give the information you need without minutes of drill-down menu clicking and searching. Instant on (compared to opening a laptop that has its lid shut - because shutting the lid is a sign that you are present and paying attention to the meeting). Everybody else is doing it. Having fun is a goal for everyone (even your boss). Have a need - there is an App for that, 65000 of them. Facetime - video calls that just work. Want to connect remote Agile teams?  I suggest you buy an iPad 2 for each team location.  Use it as the video conference system - ...

I broke out some of my toys in a training class the other day.  A brought out just a few at a time.  Its nice to keep a few surprises in the bag.  Toys add to the fun quotient. One of the standard toys is a rubber chicken.  This is a fun item to have.  Most people are shocked that I have one and would actually bring it into the work place.  But after they get to play with it, the fear of having fun at work seems to dissipate. I like the squishy rubber chicken - they come in all types of rubber, you can buy them online - but to get the kind that feel a bit icky (like cold chicken skin) you have to touch and feel them in a toy store. The rubber chicken can be used for so many things in a training class or workshop.  A "talking token" - only if you have the chicken may you speak.  Or to transport the team forward in time, so that they can Remember the Future .  You've heard of the magic of  waving a dead chicken - right? The chic...

I think Joel was the first I heard this sage advice from – you can live with a cheap desk, but you need an expensive chair. Oops - by Jake Cress Yes, I too want that really impressive desk in the corner office. But day-in and day-out what I need is a really expensive (read well designed) desk chair. What is the cost ratio of desk to chair? Where is the sweet spot? I’d really like to find this data and see a plot. So let’s talk about the desk/chair issue, wants versus needs. I need a desk that meets my needs. At SolutionsIQ we have arrived at a desk that allows us to pair program (it is wide enough), to arrange and rearrange in minimum of time (about 2 hours max for a team of 7 – 12 people), to move a container (the desk) not items to a new container (personal items to a new cubicle), all for around $800 – $1000 per desk. It has met the needs of hundreds of developers for years now in the development bays of our office. They are not perfect (no built-in personal sound sy...