Understanding Resistance to Agile Transitions The introduction of agile practices often meets resistance from teams accustomed to traditional waterfall development methods. This resistance frequently stems from fear of the unknown, loss of control, and concerns about extra work. Before transitioning teams to agile, it is important to proactively identify areas of anxiety and objection in…
Overview of Scrum.org and Scrum Alliance Scrum.org and Scrum Alliance are two of the most reputable providers of Scrum training, certification, and resources. Founded in 2009 by Scrum co-creator Ken Schwaber, Scrum.org offers a suite of Scrum-focused courses and credentials. The Scrum Alliance was founded in 2001 and has trained over 1 million Scrum practitioners…
The 100% Utilization Fallacy Many managers aim to maximize resource or team utilization, operating under the assumption that 100% utilization translates to optimal productivity. However, this push towards full utilization often leads to reduced throughput and slowing work due to increased bottlenecks and queueing. Why Full Resource Utilization Leads to Bottlenecks Trying to keep teams…
What is the core problem? A key challenge in software development is balancing planned work carried out through structured sprints with unplanned work that arrives unpredictably. Using either Scrum or Kanban frameworks alone can make it difficult to efficiently incorporate emerging work while maintaining focus on pre-planned features and objectives. Carefully integrating the two approaches,…
Optimizing Maintenance Processes with Data Analysis Effective maintenance of critical equipment and infrastructure is vital for operations management. However, maintenance teams often face constraints in budget, headcount, and availability of spare parts. By leveraging data analysis of maintenance workflows, managers can identify inefficiencies and make the case for securing additional resources. The Maintenance Dilemma: Balancing…
Staying Focused While Supporting Others Developers often struggle to balance writing new code and features with providing technical support for colleagues. The constant context switching between focused coding and addressing incoming questions can severely limit productivity. This article explores strategies and techniques developers can leverage to protect periods of focused work while still being responsive…
Defining the Roles and Responsibilities The Scrum Master and Product Owner play critical roles within an Agile software development team. The Scrum Master focuses on coaching the team and optimizing process while the Product Owner is responsible for maximizing business value. Despite having a common goal of delivering value to customers, tensions can arise due…
Understanding Research vs Ship-Ready Code Computer science research aims to push boundaries and make new discoveries, while ship-ready code prioritizes reliability and robustness for end users. These dual goals can sometimes be in conflict during the software development lifecycle. Research code is focused on rapidly testing new ideas, models, and algorithms. This discovery-oriented code prioritizes…
