A ScrumMaster is like...- March 25, 2007 Every so often someone asks what the title ScrumMaster means. Some assume it implies mastery of a subject, such as a Zen Master, or a master carpenter. My friend Bryan Stallings gave the best answer I've heard so far:When I work with those new to Scrum I explain this subject as follows...I ask them to tell me what a Master-of-Ceremonies does. They tell me about events such as the Oscars and explain that an individual with this role is responsible to ensure that the event progresses as planned,..http://www.estherderby.com/weblog/2007/03/scrummaster-is-like.html Estimating hard-to-measure benefits- March 21, 2007 Last week, I wrote a post about decisions that look only at easy-to-count costs and ignore hard-to-count benefits.Heres one method for estimating hard-to-count benefits, subjective impact analysis:1. Identify the proposed course of action.2. Determine whats important to the person who makes the decision.3. Ask that person who they consider credible sources related to the issue.4. Create a short interview protocol.5. Interview the people the decision maker identified as credible.6. Summarize and.http://www.estherderby.com/weblog/2007/03/estimating-hard-to-measure-benefits.html quick peer code review- March 16, 2007 Via Testing Reflections:Jared Richardson (co-author of Ship it! A Practical Guide to Successful Software Projects) explains how to do a quick peer code review. Another low tech way to improve the quality of the software we deliver.http://www.estherderby.com/weblog/2007/03/quick-peer-code-review.html Face to Face Still Matters- March 16, 2007 There's been a discussion going on the the Retrospectives list on how to do distributed retrospectives and planning meetings. The assumption is that it's cost prohibitive to bring the group together.People always site cost as a barrier. It does cost money to bring people together face to face. There's lodging, airfare, time not spent on billable activities... and all these are easy to count.But what this thinking doesn't take into account are the costs of not having the team face to face for...http://www.estherderby.com/weblog/2007/03/face-to-face-still-matters.html Pay for Performance (and why it doesn't really work)- March 10, 2007 Every so often, I share my views on pay-for-performance and annual performance appraisals on this blog. My experience is that pay-for-performance and annual performance appraisals--contrary to popular belief--actually hurt performance and results, rather than driving higher performance.So I was interested to learn, via Bob Sutton's blog, that Jeffrey Pfeffer (co-author of Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths And Total Nonsense: Profiting From Evidence-Based Management and author of several other...http://www.estherderby.com/weblog/2007/03/pay-for-performance-and-why-it-doesnt.html Pesky co-workers- March 8, 2007 I wrote a little article on dealing with co-workers who annoy you. (Not surprisingly, the solution starts not with the co-worker, but with you.)http://www.estherderby.com/weblog/2007/03/pesky-co-workers.html Practicing Leadership- March 6, 2007 From an interview on Workforce.com. Ram Charan defies traditional notions about leadership. Its no longer enough for leaders to be charismatic and courageous to be successful, he says. Instead, they need to hone their skills to address the needs of their organizations...Workforce Management: What is new about your perspective on leadership Ram Charan: In the past, most people have talked about personality when they talk about leadership. They think that leaders are born. My view is that once...http://www.estherderby.com/weblog/2007/03/practicing-leadership.html Flow- March 6, 2007 Via Frank Patrick, Mihaly Csiksczentmihalyi on the componenets of enjoyment and flow: Eight Components of Enjoyment1. Confronting tasks that we have a chance of completing.2. Concentration.3. Concentration is possible because the task has clear goals.4. Task provides immediate feedback.5. A deep, effortless involvement removes from awareness the worries and frustrations of everyday life.6. Enjoyable experiences allow one to exercise a sense of control over ones actions.7. ...http://www.estherderby.com/weblog/2007/03/flow.html The Prime Directive, continued- March 5, 2007 George continues the exploration of the Prime Directive.http://www.estherderby.com/weblog/2007/03/prime-directive-continued.html Great Managers are Made, Not Born- March 2, 2007 I came across a spate of articles lately proposing different reasons why some managers fail. The reasons ranged from rising to their level of incompetence, becoming corrupted by power, promotion by favoritism, and not being a "born leader." I suspect the reasons are less nefarious. I suspect managers fail because they haven't developed the skills to be a good manager. I don't buy that successful managers are "born leaders." I believe that successful managers have skills and abilities related to.http://www.estherderby.com/weblog/2007/03/great-managers-are-made-not-born.html |