agile

Methodology

Are you self-deluding when measuring sprint velocity?

I‘ve seen the outcomes of making high velocity an objective in young agile teams you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion… Um.., maybe I am not going to talk about Tannhäuser Gate. But certainly, I am convinced that if one understands velocity the impact will be the improvement of the velocity. Even without c-beams glittering. Let’s slow down a bit. As a matter of fact, focus on going fast could mislead me. So, do I want to run fast…

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Archi & Techno

Joyful wind of change: A software craftsmanship short tale

This is the story of a team. A bunch of 11 aspiring software craftsmen who decided to change things around and get their job done in a better way. The story takes place between the 30th and the 50th iteration of the development process of a software. This software is a website serving over 2 million regular users and providing legal information and services to 65 million French citizens. Chapter one: Start from what hurts and set a direction Leaky pipeline It is normal that…

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Methodology

Management 3.0: interview with Jurgen Appelo at USI 2015

Management 3.0 is definitely a trendy topic this year and the lucky participants of the USI 2015 event could directly hear about it by its author: Jurgen Appelo. In addition to his talk at USI, Jurgen Appelo kindly accepted to answer our questions. OCTO: What would you highlight as new / disruptive with Management 3.0? Jurgen Appelo: What is new is to manage the system, not the people. For example for our merit money bonus system, I don’t decide who gets how much money, I…

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Methodology

How to fail at code reviews – S01E01

In the previous article, we introduced a general overview of the code review practice as well as two specific formats we use in our projects. Nevertheless, successfully introducing a new practice is not an easy task. It’s a bit like setting sail for the first time: once in the water, the first meters are always chaotic. There are lots of waves, we wonder whether it was really a great idea. Wouldn’t it be wiser to go back ashore? However, after a bit of dedication, we…

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Methodology

Impact mapping: business success in software development

We had a chance to meet the author of Impact Mapping Gojko Adzic at OCTO Technology. After the interview and Product Owner Survival Camp workshop attendance in London, where Gojko explained us the advantages of this new method, we would like to share with you some ideas about it. What is Impact Mapping? Impact mapping is a visual strategic planning technique that helps teams to align their activities with overall business objectives and make a better decision. Impact Mapping prevents organisations from getting lost while building products and delivering projects by clearly communicating…

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