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What Does an Agile Coach Do?
Every so often I meet someone who asks, "Don, what do you do?" Over the years I've found the best way to answer this question involves asking what that person does, and then share part of my coaching experience that relates to what they do. You see, an agile coach...
Agile Principles Shine Light on Development Projects
I settled into the visitor's chair across the desk from Nate. Looking at Nate I said "So tell me about your project." RULE II: START WHERE THE SYSTEM IS1 Nate smiled and wistfully said: "Well, I'm the project manager and ScrumMaster. John will be the Product Owner. He...
Developing Developer Skills
Things change quickly in the world of software development. I started my career writing in Fortran 77. I stayed fairly abreast of languages until C++ and Java. I wandered by the Pragmatic Bookshelf to see what's new. Languages/Frameworks I've barely heard of include:...
Is it done yet?
One of the great questions in software development revolves around "Is it done yet?" And since the answer is usually "No" the follow on question gets asked, "Well, when will it be done?" I recently chatted with a ScrumMaster looking for estimating training for his...
Boomerang Measurements
You can tell a lot from how a story starts. If you hear "Once upon a time ..." you'll probably hear a fairy tale like "The Three Little Pigs" or "The Little Red Hen". Around camp fires, kayakers like to tell stories that begin with "No kidding, there I was ..." and a...
Frederick P. Brooks, Jr – Agilista?
Hear me out. It may not be as far fetched as it may first seem. I'm not going to say how long I've been around, but I have two copies of The Mythical Man-Month. I have the Anniversary Edition and the 1982 edition of the original 1975 book. I'm not sure why someone on...