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Seeing the product as a constraint
Last week I wrote about separating the value of a project from the constraints that set its context. But sometimes it’s also useful to see the development of a product as a constraint for a larger goal. Some time ago I was discussing success metrics with a team that was developing a product. The product … Continue reading
Featured Posts
In the past I’ve spoken about the importance of a value statement. This is how we express, in quantified terms, how we measure success. Ensuring success is measurable brings huge benefits to any stream of work. But the process of identifying our measure of success can be difficult. In doing so we may consider and … Continue reading
When I find people in my team who are particularly strong in some area of work I get itchy. Of course it’s great that they have those skills—whether it’s with a particular technology, a strength in technical design, domain expertise—but then the gap with others becomes more apparent. I want other team members to have … Continue reading
Organisational culture is seemingly nebulous, hard to pin down. But in fact it’s based on very concrete, tangible things. It follows that by changing those tangible things we can change the culture of an organisation. Over many years I’ve read about the new breed of digital companies, and how they often value nurturing and developing … Continue reading
Welcome
Hi. I'm Nik Silver. I've been leading software teams for years. My specialism is helping organisations work effectively with their technical teams, to deliver business value frequently and consistently. Take a look at my experience.
If you want to talk about turning talented people into brilliant teams then get in touch. I'm nik@niksilver.com on e-mail, and I'm @pigsaw on Twitter.
Recently spotted
- The Lost Art of Task Modelling - Agile in the City Bristol 2018A great presentation on task modelling, including an example of a real task model used for a service within the NHS.
- New AI fake text generator may be too dangerous to release, say creators | Technology | The Guardian"The creators of a revolutionary AI system that can write news stories and works of fiction – dubbed “deepfakes for text” – have taken the unusual step of not releasing their research publicly, for fear of potential misuse."
- Blockchain and Trust - Schneier on SecurityBruce Schneier argues that blockchain doesn't eliminate trust, and in fact is not worthy of most people's trust.
- MIT Robot Learns How to Play Jenga - YouTube"Using machine-learning and sensory hardware, Alberto Rodriguez, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and members of MIT's MCube lab, have developed a robot that is learning how to play the game Jenga®. The technology could be used in robots for manufacturing assembly lines."
- 7GUIs"7GUIs defines seven tasks that represent typical challenges in GUI programming. In addition, 7GUIs provides a recommended set of evaluation dimensions."
