New Discussions Recently I have had some conversations with some new friends that I have never met, Tristan Nuñez, we chatted a few times on cutting trees down, and popcorn, and LaTashia Tyson.  We talked about working and career development.  I have written some articles on LinkedIn, including My First Five Jobs, and some thoughts […]

Limits of Asynchronous Communication In an earlier blog post we wrote along with contributions to a magazine on asynchronous communication. Businesses are forced to make decisions, that they would rather not make, such is the time of Covid.  We cannot just go to the office and continue to work as we once did, perhaps short-term, […]

The unevenness or mura of the work wreak havoc on our work. Project demands fluctuate and working on multiple projects likewise creates or exacerbates the unevenness. In product development work can get heavy around gate reviews as the project must accomplish certain expectations and milestones are reviewed in the gate activities.  One functional department may […]

For those familiar with the lean approach to the work or the Toyota Way, you my already know about the concept of Muda. Muda is one of the three categories associated with lean that impact performance and costs to the organization.  Muda is regarded to have seven waste types or areas or actions that cause waste. Over […]

Value, Scope and Change Requests Change requests are part of any development project.  Change requests are sometimes necessary as we learn by building and doing the work.   In my experience, change requests often are born from requirements we thought we understood, only to learn by working with the product or system that we really did […]

Instead of  No Estimates Instead of no estimates, we should consider adjusting our approach to estimates that eliminate the abuse, and still allows for the answers to the business questions, “does this project improve our bottom line” allowing the business to determine if the company really wants to undertake the project, and if so, do […]

Fit Small Business posting on Top 27 Company Culture Ideas from the Pros.  Check out our contribution. The manager must demonstrate what is the epitome of the expected culture. It helps to be egalitarian regarding power in the organization. Your job title should not dampen the discussion or the ideas from the team. I have […]

Having the plan is only partially helpful.  The list of test cases and the expected rate of accomplishment allows us to refine our estimates as we progress through the testing.  We will be in a position to provide the project manager and stakeholders with a better “ETA” (Estimated Time of Arrival) just like the GPS […]