We often have good ideas about things to improve and how to improve them—introducing a new tool, changing the way we do something, adjusting a procedure, and so on. But … Continue reading State the problem for any solution
Category: Working practices
Embedding apprecation
We may claim our organisation has a culture of this or that, but how can we be confident? What is the tangible evidence? Our organisational culture is a mix of … Continue reading Embedding apprecation
The chisel stage and the sandpaper stage
Once upon a time I was speaking to a software developer who was explaining why he wasn’t taking the kind of care in his work that he would have liked … Continue reading The chisel stage and the sandpaper stage
Embracing sceptical people
I was talking to some people once about enabling change, and one of them asked a very important question: How do you manage the sceptics? Whenever we embark on some … Continue reading Embracing sceptical people
Multiple dimensions of quality assurance
Having spoken and written many times about situations never being black and white, and often having multiple dimensions, I found myself some time ago talking about this in the context … Continue reading Multiple dimensions of quality assurance
Personal understanding is essential in the workplace
I was pleased to read an article this week in HBR entitled “What your coworkers need right now is compassion”. It began by suggesting now, at a time of a … Continue reading Personal understanding is essential in the workplace
Simplifying estimation
Many years ago I worked with a team that seemed to be delivering software only very slowly. There were multiple causes, as is usual in these situations, and part of … Continue reading Simplifying estimation
Saying what we see
Among all the candidates in the current general election there are populists who are lauded (by some) as “telling it like it is”. Superficially this means not hiding the truth, … Continue reading Saying what we see
A structure for effective teams
Like any manager who is responsible for multiple teams, one of the jobs I often find myself doing is shaping how the teams work within each other and between each … Continue reading A structure for effective teams
The development/ architecture feedback loop
I was asked recently about the ideal relationship between the architecture and development functions within an organisation. In some sense the ideal relationship can take many forms, because the shape … Continue reading The development/ architecture feedback loop
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