Monthly Archives: June 2009
Off the Grid
That’s my status now. Although it’s not really true. My wife and I are keeping our home and someone will be sitting in it for us. Yeah, we might get out somewhere without any public utilities but it won’t be for long in duration and certainly not permanent. It’s summer time! And the living is easy. Even the phone is shut off for days in a row. We’ve been adventuring around, having just come back from camp. This week we recharge and gear up for a music festival in the mountains over the 4th of July. Immediately following, we’ll be … Continue reading
What About the People?
Lately I’ve been reading about people lamenting unsuccessful adoptions of Scrum within organizations. Somehow, these entities survived before Scrum was introduced. They are not just going to fold because they have not done it right. They may choose to ignore some of the principles of Agile and continue to bring in revenue without coming all the way around. So the Agile community has some advice. Make sure good technical practices are in place. Have motivated and skilled people in the trenches with the will to change. Make sure there is executive support. Use some assessment tool. There are other suggestions, … Continue reading
Interview with Kenji Hiranabe – 2008 Pask Award Winner
Aaron: How did winning the award help your efforts with Agile? Kenji: Being honest, actually nobody in Japan knows that award. Some Japanese colleagues really congratulated me about winning and that made me cry. But, no other business effect. Aaron: Why was it emotional for you? Kenji: I have been long trying to introduce Agile to Japan, to change engineers’ lives for the better. That effort was acknowledged outside Japan. My colleagues and friends also helped me with the effort together. Aaron: So winning the award was a collaborative effort? Kenji: Yes. Along the way of introducing Agile to Japan, … Continue reading
12 Agile Adoption Failure Modes by Jean Tabaka
Last night at the BayAPLN, Jean Tabaka from Rally Software gave a presentation about the typical failure modes of Agile. This is distilled from her observations and being asked from people who have heard the hype, what are the real problems with adopting an Agile approach? Which is your current favorite?