Agile Complexification Inverter

I've been considering studying for the PMP exam.  So today in the bookstore I browsed a few PMP exam prep books.   Having just finished a master's in organizational leadership that has quite a focus on teams, I decided to look for areas of overlap.  Places where the PMP aspects of building a team and helping the team perform would be an easy read for me given my recent experience in gradual school. I found a few pages in the exam prep books - less than 10 total.  They briefly covered Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Tuckman's Stages of Group Development,  Vroom's Expectancy Theory of Motivation, etc.  All very good stuff.  Having spent a year studying this 10 pages or less, appeared rather brief for an exam guide that wishes to prepare a project manager to optimize a project's performance. In one guide the process of Manage Project Team is defined: "3.5.5 Manage Project Team Manage Project Team is the process of tracking team member performanc...

I enjoy reading about creativity, I hope that some of it rubs off on me.  Here's a new book I just bought, very creative, a colorful book, full of ideas and exercises.  I hope that I can work through some of the Actions & Movements discussed in the book in my next 37 days. " Life is a Verb; 37 days to wake up, be mindful, and live intentionally " by Patti Digh And while browsing the bookstore my wife found this book.  The title gets your attention. " The International Handbook of Creativity " edited by James Kaufman & Robert Sternberg However one has to wonder about the publisher, Cambridge, did they even read the book, did the editors read the chapters?  Is there one ounce of creativity in the lot of them?  Watch the video of the thumb through - then watch the video of Life is a Verb - which one would you buy?  I did a video - but it got lost in the recycle bin of Google's blogger site.  So just cruise over to Amazon and check out eac...

I've just read that the FCC chairman is claiming that 'Super Wi-Fi' is coming to the US.  This is great news.  But is it realistic?  Don't we currently have the fastest Internet around?  We are #1 - right? No - recent facts are that the US ranks 16th globally in Internet speed.  (source: State of the Internet Q1 2010 report by Akamai).  Yes, South Korea is #1 (12 Mbps average speed). While I welcome the new super Wi-Fi that is being proposed - the longer wavelengths will have much better penetration and reach.  I believe fast internet is important to our economy and I believe we could do better.  The examples are available, the data is known (read the Akamai report).  Obama’s stimulus package ($789 Billion) allocated $7.2 B for broadband funding.  I don't know if the money has been spent yet, but it would not show up in the Q1 2010 report. On a side note - I find it ironic that CNN used a picture of kids holding up their OLPC X...

The Golden Gates Paper Bridge Group Initiative This group initiative is from the UNC-Charlotte's Venture Group Initiatives Manual . I've used this initiative to discuss team work, leadership, followership, understanding the client and may other issues that arise during the debriefing. In one training at SolutionsIQ the teams were given the requirements (build a bridge of 12" span - but when the customer acceptance was done the boat that had to pass under the bridge had towers and antenna that exceeded the specification height.  The teams had to negotiate with the Product Owner on the physical acceptance test - a toy boat passing under the bridge.   One team created their own "Unit-Test" - the box. Golden Gates  (Facilitator Info) Materials: 60 sheets of paper per group, paper clips per group, approximately 60 feet of string, tape for the string, copies of rules (next page) for each group, a ruler, flip chart for debrief. Set up : •  Lay down str...

In a blog post by Michele Sliger - Personal Agile she has asked her twitter base if people are using Agile techniques to manage their personal lives.  Does the Agile mind set creep into personal lives?  E.G. do we eat our own dog-food ?  I would hope so, and expect it if the philosophy is sound. Here is my experience.  Written about the trip my wife and I planned to take when the Banking Meltdown, had dried up most of the software projects back in the winter of 2009.  I walked into my director and suggested that I could take a month without pay and that might be a good thing.  He didn't bat an eye lash - yes, when would you like to leave, are you really coming back?  Yes, I did wish to come back, I enjoyed working for SolutionsIQ.  The timing was great, it was January, 2009 and there were no new projects coming into the pipeline, layoffs were looming and I wanted a sabbatical.  A chance to go ski the best snow between Seattle and Denver....

When one considers core values happiness is not always on the list. A short list of typical core values includes: integrity, reliability, freedom, justice, etc. Even long lists of values may leave happiness off the list.  This is intriguing, and I wonder why.  Is it too self-centered, too narcissistic, to desire happiness for one’s self?  I do not think that to be true.  I believe that happiness is a wonderful value to hold, perhaps a better value than many others. The founding father’s inshrined this value within our declaration of independence.  Giving the pursuit of happiness equal weight to the rights of life and liberty (Declaration of Independence, 2010). Recognizing that while the framers of the republic considered life and liberty an unalienable right, one does not have a right to happiness, just the right to pursue happiness.  The pursuit of happiness should not be allow to impinge upon other’s rights.  Therefore an inherent requirement for ...

The iPad may not be the best device for reading a book.  But just stopping at the transfer of printed words onto the page is selling the new device and new market space very short.  I can imagine a text book on physics with integrated video of the Galloping Gerty bridge disaster or built-in physics simulator such as Crayon Physics or Enigmo (see image).   Perhaps the Kindle is a better e-book reader (electric ink is a great technology).  But what I would be excited about is the ability to have all my books in one book bag, and room for lunch and a sweater.  Teacher may be excited also, no more excuses about forgetting that text book today, all your books are on one device. Not to mention the price, a typical academic text book cost $125.  One must wonder if the price point for a text book is so much higher than a best seller because of economies of scale in printing.  I think there is a lot of room for a better price point for an e-book...

The question is not will the iPad do everything you or I wish it to, clearly Apple did not intend it to be the One Device to Rule Them All.  Apple's intent has been clear for several years.  Jobs stated the intent in a speech 9 years ago: The digital hub strategy. "The Mac," Jobs said, "can become the 'digital hub' of our emerging digital lifestyle, adding tremendous value to our other digital devices." "Jobs laid out a path of PC evolution that defined the early 80s as an initial 'golden age' of computing based on productivity software, which began to wane in the early 90s.  A 'second golden age' began in the mid-1990s with the rise of Internet; but it too began to lose its momentum by 2000.  Jobs said he believed a third age would focus on a digital lifestyle, driven by an 'explosion of digital devices.'" -- by Phil Simon The Age of the Platform Steve Jobs introduces the "Digital Hub... by HiltonRobb ...

Scrum uses a burn down graph to track progress. Turns out this is a powerful motivator. An article in Harvard Business Review discusses a survey of 600 managers on motivation in the workplace.  The number one motivator from manager's perception is recognition for good work .  However a multi-year study tracking workers has a very different finding.  Contrary to manager's belief workers define that progress is the top motivator. "On days when workers have the sense they're making headway in their jobs, or when they receive support that helps them overcome obstacles, their emotions are most positive and their drive to succeed is at its peak." Note the removal of impediments in the quote above. The article supports the Scrum practices of tracking progress every day, of removing impediments, and of celebration of progress toward the companies goals. An interesting TED video is Dan Pink's talk ' The surprising science of motivation '.  Where h...

I have been thinking about the methods we use to count with.  What method of counting is most appropriate to the task at hand (pardon the pun).  A smart friend of mine told me that developers need to relearn to count.  As a software developer the appropriate method of counting is, zero, one, many. Little 1 by Ann & Paul Rand The first time we learn to count we use our fingers in the simplest technique.  Some time early in childhood we learn to show fingers for our age, "I'm this many (shows two fingers)".  Then we actually learn to count, 1, 2, 3.  Later taking it up to 10.  So a base-10 number system seems like a natural human number system.  But is this true? I've been wondering why we used a sexagesimal number system (base-60) for time.  A hour has 60 minutes and 60 seconds in the minute.  Why use this system when it would appear a base-10 system would have been more natural? Babylonian sexagesimal symbol set These...

Fox News quotes poll to show that perhaps scientist falsified research to support global warming. Rasmussen Poll:  Did scientists falsify research to support their own theories on Global Warming? 59% Somewhat likely 35% Very likely 26% Not very likely ----- 120% total people responding Well that is a poll that you can take to the bank.

"To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often."       - Winston Churchill 

The Universe appears to be quite old but for some reason the really interesting things happened at either end of the arrow of time.  Being a fan of This Is Indexed I though I would try one myself - nope not funny. Everything interesting happens at the ends of time.       Age (years) 13,700,000,000     Universe  4,600,000,000      Solar system  4,570,000,000      Sun  4,540,000,000      Earth    530,000,000      The Cambrian explosion        2,500,000      Stone Age (begins)            15,000       Domestication of dog, cow, pig, etc.            10,000       Argicultural revelotion   ...

What does a TODO tag in your code say about you as a developer? When is a TODO not appropriate - is it every appropriate to postpone work that you recognize, but just don't want to deal with now?  Is procrastination a trait that we encourage or discourage? I posit that quality code has very few if any TODO tags.  That there is a inverse correlation between the percentage of TODOs in a code base and the quality of the code. Srikaran Reddy had this argument to make: TODOs present in code may be indicative of the quintessential engineer: one who can distinguish between what is required at the moment versus an ideal, or potential future requirement, that is of relatively lower priority. The term 'sine qua non' comes to mind. This is especially true when maintaining inherited code. On the other hand, a TODO could represent some sloppiness. There are different flavors of TODOs that need to be factored into this argument. The good thing about TODOs is that they are eas...

Do you think you need a prescription to create a Team Culture - OK - here you go. Executive-level statements in public and private about the importance of team players (not just teamwork platitudes). Executives model team player behaviors (not just preach behaviors). Promote and reward people with team player skills, publicly announce reasons including team player factors for decision. Reward team players with important assignments. Adjust individual performance appraisal systems to include specific team player behaviors. Hold training on attitudes, skills and behaviors of team players. Reward team players with higher salary increases, and tell them why. Create an incentive system that rewards team effort (not individual effort). Institute flexible compensation programs that allow managers to pay individuals that contribute to the team culture. Include team-player skills & abilities in management assessment programs. Develop programs of team awards that motivate the...