Translator

It is not the process, it’s the improvements

For those of you who wonder "why would anybody convert a Scrum team to Kanban" (see earlier blog) – it is important that you understand the true intent. (..yes there is one! :)    What expected output do you have from a process framework?

This important "why" question is often left out in the debate. The heated "Scrum vs Kanban" discussion is a good example. Try yourself  "why are you using Scrum"? (or Kanban). At what point would you throw the tool out for not delivering?

It is no wonder debates turns heated if we disagree on where we are heading. But if we instead start with clarifying intent ("why") – then the actual choice of tools becomes less important (more like a boring context summary :)

Why then? How do you know that the process tool works for you?

  • First (obvious) – it helps you deliver running software.
  • Second (less obvious) – it makes you do continuous improvement effectively

If you are getting results from continuous improvement – your tool is right. If it is not happening, it is probably wrong. (check yourself, what improvements have you benefited from lately?)

This was the main reason I chose to implement Kanban in the Scrum teams. It was not because the sprints where not delivering, it was because the improvements didn’t happen.

Read more…

A Few Thoughts on the Economics of Software Product Development

Some of you probably already get this… some of you might even disagree… but unless you are building software as a hobby… chances are, you building software for money. In other words, someone is paying you to write software for them. Why would someone pay you money to show up and write software? They are [...]

Podcast with IT Kanban

Kevin Ryan at IT Kanban just released a podcast with me. Check it out
Cheers
Mattias

Lean from the Trenches – Managing Large-Scale Projects with Kanban

I’ve published another book! This one’s called “Lean from the Trenches“. It is about how we scaled a 60-person project by combing techniques from Kanban, Scrum, and XP. I chose this title because it really it illustrates how to put Lean principles into practice in a software project, especially the notion of an end-to-end Kanban read more »

Coming to Brazil

Hi Brazil! I’m happy to say that I’ll be visiting you in a few weeks. I’ll be involved in two public events together with Samuel Crescêncio: Feb 10: Public seminar about Lean & Agile (in Florianopolis). More info coming soon. Feb 13-14:  Certified ScrumMaster course in São Paulo. The course will be in English, but Samuel read more »

AgileExams.com Controversy Resolved…Sort Of

Well it turns out the “controversy” about AgileExams turned out to be the biggest of misunderstandings. The Testimonials Were Authentic: Several of AgileExams customers contacted me and revealed the root cause of this confusion is the fussiness of PMI.org’s online … Continue reading