Wayne Allen's Blog

Thanks Vern and Wayne,
I found this very useful for my code.

I do have the same problem right now.

I would really apreciatte some help on this topic.

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good keep up your SQL skills

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Jeff,

We still do retrospectives from time to time (no regular schedule). We don't really wait for a retrospective to think about and implement process improvements.

Hi Wayne,
I understand the reasoning behind abandoning iterations. How about retrospectives? Will you still take time to reflect as a team and consider process improvements? If so, how often?

Jeff

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@Roman Sorry, some of the information is proprietary.

What in particular do you want to see?

Could you post (or send to email) photos in higher resolution. Thanks.

podcast directory
Well said

I agree with your point. However, at this time I don't have an adequate measure of the teams output. I am measuring throughput and completion duration, but don't have enough history yet. Once I have a baseline then I can start making changes and measuring the results.

I actually like the Twitter site. I have also become a big fan of Plaxo, and to some degree Facebook.

I had an opportunity a few days ago to go back to CheckFree and see some of the old crew. I had people asking me about things I have posted the past few weeks that we had never talked about face to face.

It is cool having an automated way of staying in touch and letting those around you know what is going on and what is important to you.

It is a great networking tool and a grand way of staying in touch.

Mike

Wayne, I really liked your post. I liked the point/counter-point between your point of view and that of Mr. Phillips.

While I generally agree with your assessment, if a team thinks it can be effective working remotely, why not let them give it a try.

If we are able to adequately measure the team's output, why not let that be the only measure of effectiveness? If we think that the team could accomplish more face to face, let's raise the bar and see if they can still deliver remotely. If they can't, the team should decide that they need to be face to face. If output is the only measure, let the team decide how to get there.

What do you think?

Nice post. That's a good check list. It begs the question though. What is the minimum standard toolset for software developers and a development organization?

Aaron,

We thought about using story points instead of stories to limit WIP, but that is what iterations already do if you are using velocity. Additionally I wanted to get away from anything more than the briefest amount of time estimating stories - I just don't think there is much value added.

Manfred,

>Who writes the stories?

We haven't changed anything to do with the product owner/customer. They still write the stories and they still accept the stories. Nothing goes off the kanban until the PO takes it off. Then he puts the highest priority story into the WIP and a planning meeting is held.

To Iterate or Not to Iterate
I love it when the experts don't agree. It makes me feel smarter. Because, by not agreeing with any of the experts, I actually feel like I am one of them. This is the notion I got today when starting

Our team is still estimating size in story points, and then measuring story point throughput. I am thinking of making the fixed queue in front of WIP to be fixed on points, instead of number of work items.

Great post! I do think that the final question should be the true reality check. If you are releasing on time, meeting the customers expectations and not working late nights, that is a pretty good indicator of success.