Do Coding Interviews Work?
I expect that coding interviews will be with us for some time to come, but at least I can look forward to the day when I write the blog “Company X abolishes the coding interview (and Admits Earth is Round).”
All articles in General Agile
Brainstorming – Effective Technique or Sacred Cow?
With scientific evidence questioning the effectiveness of brainstorming vast, the real question is why does the use of brainstorming persist? The question is at the heart of much of my agile practice in that the prime issue is not whether one is merely effective, but that one is optimal. It is obvious to me that several cognitive biases are in play in keeping brainstorming around.
Agile – It’s All About Making Better Decisions
As I think back on my coaching work in agile, the blogs I have written, the many discussions I have had and the presentations I have made, I think that all of these boil down into one very simple thing – my work is all about helping people understand the true nature of the software development business process and, thereby helping them to make better decisions.
On Death and Dying and Agile Transformation
Once we understand that the grief stages are in response to the loss of an idea, it is not a great leap to apply this to any company transformation. It is well known that there are some who will readily embrace change, but there are a great number that see any change as a threat.
Technical Debt on the Balance Sheet
Israel’s assertion is now that there are ways to rather easily assess technical debt (like SonarQube with SQALE plugin), technical debt could (and should) be added to a company’s balance sheet. I applaud and support his efforts.
The High Cost of “Low Cost” Software Development
What is the high cost of “low cost” software development? This is the tendency for people involved with financial decisions regarding software development to put too great an emphasis on the cost of software developers.
Accenture Ends Annual Review (and Admits Earth Orbits the Sun)
In the case of annual reviews we have such a wealth of evidence they do not work it is amazing so few companies have actually done away with them.
One Effective Interview Question for a Scrum Master or Agile Coach
One of the things I have noticed during this time is, as Agile (and especially Scrum) have become more mainstream, the quality of individuals calling themselves scrum masters and agile coaches has become more variable.
Type Three and Four Errors – Solving the Wrong Problems Flawlessly
When someone mentions “waterfall has always worked for us”, I believe this is an example of Type Three error. The real question – has waterfall been optimal? The example I always give is that the covered wagon was successful for transportation, but when I look out the window of a plane, I don’t see any crossing the prairie. In the case of those applying the values and principles of agile properly there is little doubt as to which is the airplane and which is the covered wagon.
A New Chapter Begins
We call our new effort 10XP Solutions. “10X” comes from the well known adage that the best programmers are ten times more productive than the least. The “XP” alludes to Extreme Programming whose emphasis has always been on high quality code, something that is central to the value that we bring to our clients.