The Mindset

If you are reading this posting in this particular blog, you are probably concerned about the quality of the software products you (and your organization) create. If you are a manager (at any level), this posting is especially for you. Why is that? Because you are in the best position to do something about it….
Let’s […]

I often hear managers talk about wanting to optimize the resources they manage. Most of the time, they refer by that to the need to optimize the way their human resources (their employees) work. This is a perfectly legitimate goal. After all, you are running a business (or working for one). The problem usually lies […]

Don’t you just love planning? Creating a fancy Gantt Chart, placing every task and every resource in its place. Feeling that you are in control, and that you have it all figured out. Then, you publish your plan, print the Gantt on a big poster and hang it where everyone can see what he or […]

As a special service to our readers, we are posting this reminder:
When was the last time you honestly and with real enthusiasm said to your employee "I like that idea! This is really great!"?
You cannot imagine how such short positive feedbacks can motivate your team and cause them to run back to their desk and […]

Definition: The best business and management strategy.
More details will be available soon…. 

When talking about quality, people often focus on exit criteria: the conditions that must be satisfied for a certain activity in the development process to end successfully. This tendency becomes more noticeable as you look at the development process from a higher perspective. Top-level managers, for example, are often concerned on the delivery date of […]

Today I took part in a session for managers. The weather was stormy, and one of the windows in the auditorium the event took place in was opened. There seemed to be a “good” reason for that: the window was stuck and could not be closed easily.
One of the managers who participated in the […]

Are you in control of the projects you manage?
OK. Let’s start again with a simpler question: do you generally estimate the work that has to be done before you commit to a delivery date? Do you make sure you have the required resources and that they are available for your project before saying “I […]

Software development is a creative craft. Most of the people involved in software development rightfully consider themselves creative and thinking workers. Designing, implementing, and testing are all tasks which are both technical and creative. They require knowledge, skills, and discipline, but also innovation. If you are happy with how people on your team are doing […]

Every now and then, I come across arguments such as the following:

“There is no sense in investing too much time in designing the product. It only has to be ‘good enough’”.
“We don’t have time for writing Unit Tests. This project is not that critical anyway.”
“Code Reviews? Too much effort for this project. The code doesn’t […]