Software Process And Measurement Cast

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 96! The Software Process and Measurement Cast this week features an in interview with Bertrand Meyer.  Bertand and I discussed his ideas on SEMAT and why IT and Academia need to find a common ground to share ideas and knowledge. From Wikipedia Bertrand Meye has been Professor of Software Engineering at ETH Zürich, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology since October 2001, where he pursues research on building trusted components (reusable software elements) with a guaranteed level of quality. Dr. Meyer pursues the ideal of simple, elegant and user-friendly computer languages and is one of the earliest and most vocal proponents of object-oriented programming (OOP). His book Object-Oriented Software Construction is widely considered to be the best work on presenting the case for OOP. Other books he has written include Eiffel: The Language (a description of the Eiffel language), Object Success (a discussion of object technology for managers), Reusable Softwa

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 95! Software Process and Measurement Cast features an essay on labor productivity which is an excerpt from a new writing project I am calling The Metrics Minute.  You will see more essays from this project in the future and a call to action. The first few lines . . .Labor productivity measures efficiency of the transformation of labor into something of higher value.  Labor productivity (typically called productivity) is a fairly simple manufacturing concept that has been found itself useful in IT.  Productivity is the amount of output per unit of input; an example in manufacturing terms can be expressed as10 widgets for every hour worked. Labor productivity is a powerful metric, made even more powerful by it's simplicity. At its heart, productivity is a measure of the efficiency of a process (or group of processes). Citrix GoToAssist Express is sponsoring SPaMCAST Solve technical issues faster with GoToAssist Express. Try it FREE for 30 days. Mastering Soft

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 94!The interview in the SPaMCAST 94 features my interview with Ivar Jacobson covering the Software Engineering Method and Theory or SEMAT initiative.  The interview is part of a set of three interviews that I had with Ivar, Bertand Meyer and Richard Soley.  The three luminaries are leading an effort to pull together a common core for software engineering and then to provide a framework for integrating new ideas.  A very ambitious and somewhat controversial task.  All three interviews were incredible and together provide a broad foundation to understand and interact with SEMAT. Dr. Ivar Jacobson is a father of components and component architecture, use cases, the Unified Modeling Language and the Rational Unified Process. He has contributed to modern business modeling and aspect-oriented software development. However, all this is history. Lately he has been working on how to deal with methods and tools in a super-light and agile way. He has developed a pract

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 93! The essay in the SPaMCAST 93 features the conclusion of my essay on ethics and call to action. The conclusion beging with the following paragraph. Codes of ethics are a compilation of individual statements of ethical principals into a framework to guide behavior.  Most every human being embraces a code of ethics by default whether it is provided by religion, society, their work or organizations and associations.  I recently asked friends I work with how many codes of ethics they are bound with and after a bit of discussion the average was four.  Examples included IFPUG, PMI, IEEE, SEI, society and religions.  Kevin Brennan, Vice President for Professional Development of IIBA, twittered me that codes of ethics are expected for a group to define itself as a profession and required for certification bodies under ISO 17024.  Citrix GoToAssist Express is sponsoring SPaMCAST Solve technical issues faster with GoToAssist Express. Try it FREE for 30 days. On Ju

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 92! The interview in the SPaMCAST 92 features a discussion with Don Reinertsen .  We discussed his current book, THe Principles of Product Development Flow including the concepts of queues, lean and economic value just to name a few topics. This was an incredible interview. For three decades Don Reinertsen has focused on improving the management of product development. His best-selling books have been perpetual favorites for hardcore engineering professionals. They lie dog-eared and underlined on engineering bookshelves around the world. Thousands of people have his public seminars at Caltech, The Management Roundtable, and overseas. Don constantly pushes the state of management thinking and delivers a rare combination of rigor, practicality, and clarity. His latest awarding winning book, The Principles of Product Development Flow: Second Generation Lean Product Development, has been praised as, “… quite simply the most advanced product development book you

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 91! The essay in the Software Process and Measurement Cast is titled Project and Process Improvement Ethics:  A Primer, Part 1: What are ethics and why do care? The essay asks: What are ethics?  What is the purpose of ethical frameworks?  Why should they matter to those who manage process improvement?  Citrix GoToAssist Express is sponsoring SPaMCAST Solve technical issues faster with GoToAssist Express. Try it FREE for 30 days. I am continuing my experiment with the format of the Software Process and Measurement Cast.  I began the new format on SPaMCAST 88 and intend to use the new format at least through July. Every other show will include an interview and news components and the non-interview show will include the essay and any listener comments.  I would really like to hear your thoughts and comments on the format.  In August I will start the personal kanban at experiment.  I am interested in any advice or comments you might have.  I will share the resu

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 90! The interview in the SPaMCAST 90 features an interview with a familar face, Pat Ferdinandi.  Pat is back talking about her new book, A Technologist's Guide to Performing & Surviving in the New World.  We live in exciting times how exciting might be up to us! Pat's 11 year old Solomon Island Eclectus Female parrot, Scarlet wrote the Bio I am using for Pat in SPaMCAST 90. Who is Pat Ferdinandi? Well, Mark Twain squawked it best: She was not quite what you would call refined.She was not quite what you would call unrefined.She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot. ~ Following the Equator; Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar She's calls herself a Chief Thought Translator...a business architect and author of Parrotology.  She's different but I'm GEORGOUS! Yup... I'm Scarlet... the bird...I squawk about life...And give my caretakers strife...Lets chat about products and give me a hint...What's happenin' in your world...And I'm givin' you the word... I a

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 89! Show 89 is the editorial / essay component of the show.  The Software Process and Measurement Cast features Collaboration:  Business's Duct Tape Part 3.  THe summary of the whole essay is: Collaboration is a nearly ubiquitous problem-solving technique used in today’s business environment.  As a tool it is not perfect; it can be slower than individual strokes of genius; at times it can deliver watered down solutions; and collaborative teams can lose their ability to think outside the box.  On the other hand, collaborative efforts can marshal many points of view to create solutions no individual stroke of genius would be able to deliver.  Given the power of this technique, it is important to have the knowledge of what it takes to actually make a collaborative effort work.  Synthesizing a group of individuals into a collaborative team requires a combination of ability, authority, commitment, trust and recognition. Part One is included in SPaMCAST 85Part Tw

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 88! The interview in the SPaMCAST 88 features a discussion with Naomi Karten.  We discussed her book Changing How You Manage and Communicate Change. This book is another game changer! Naomi Karten (http://www.nkarten.com) is well-known for delivering serious material with a light touch. As principal of her training and consulting business, she helps organizations and individuals improve customer satisfaction, manage change, strengthen teamwork, and enhance communication and presentation skills. Naomi has delivered seminars and keynote presentation to more than 100,000 people internationally in such diverse locations as Oslo, Zurich, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Trinidad, Costa Rica, and throughout the US and Canada. The premise of Naomi’s book, Changing How You Manage and Communicate Change: Focusing on the Human Side of Change, is that change will proceed more smoothly and with less turbulence if serious attention is given to the people aspects. Information on this b

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 87! The interview in the SPaMCAST 87 features a discussion with Hans Sassenberg.  We talked about his paper "Affordable Software Quality Assessment" and why typical process improvement programs are not enough. Dr. Hans Sassenburg received a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from the Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands) in 1986 and a PhD degree in economics from the University of Groningen (Netherlands) in 2006. He worked as an independent consultant until 1996, when he co-founded a consulting and training firm. This company specialized in software process improvement and software architecture and was sold in 2000. In 2001 he moved to Switzerland, where he founded a new consulting and training firm SE-CURE AG (www.se-cure.ch). In addition, he has been a visiting scientist at the Software Engineering Institute (www.sei.cmu.edu) since January of 2005. In 2009, he co-founded the Software Benchmarking Organization (www.sw-benchmarkin

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 86! The interview in the SPaMCAST 86 is with Bob Thames.  Bob is a co-author of Chasing Change: Building Organizational Capacity in a Turbulent Environment. Bob and I talked about change.  No one is immune from change therefore understanding how to deal with change makes good sense. Bob Thames has 34 years of experience in the technology and consulting industries.  He is currently a Senior Program Manager at SAS Institute, a leading global supplier of Business Analytics software solutions.  He has been with SAS for 7 years, with previous positions at KPMG LLP, IBM Consulting Group, Arthur Andersen Business Consulting, and Digital Equipment Corporation. He is also the founder and CEO of Pathways to Transformation LLC, an executive and life coaching company that helps individuals enhance their life purpose and step into greater balance and fulfillment in their lives.  Bob has been involved for the past 17 years in CAM-I, an international research consortium f

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 85! The interview in the SPaMCAST 85 is with Cory Foy.  We discussed agile, agile coaching, scrum buts and organizational change just to name a few topics.  If you are involved in developing software, managing people or changing organizations these are topics you will want to hear about! Cory Foy is an agile coach, trainer and, at-heart, developer who cut his teeth in agile using Extreme Programming and never looked back. Cory is an active member of the development and agile communities establishing or running user groups across the country and being a frequent speaker at conferences and user groups across the globe. He currently resides north of Tampa, FL with his beautiful wife and two cute-as-a-button daughters. You can reach Cory via his site at http://www.coryfoy.com or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/cory_foy. Contact information: Twitter:      http://twitter.com/cory_foy Website:     http://www.coryfoy.com Remember to check out GoTo Assist Express!

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 84! The interview in the SPaMCAST 84 is with Ricardo Valerdi.  We discussed software cost estimation and behavioral economics.  This was a great interview that anyone working in the IT field will find immediately useful and thought provoking in the long term. Dr. Valerdi's current research interests include systems engineering cost estimation, system level metrics and models, dynamics in large-scale government system acquisition, and system-of-systems ontologies. His contributions to the field include the Constructive Systems Engineering Cost Model (COSYSMO), a model for estimating systems engineering effort, which has been calibrated with data provided by BAE Systems, Boeing, General Dynamics, L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and SAIC. He is also the co-founder of the Systems Engineering Advancement Research Initiative (SEAri), which was launched in 2007. He received his B.S./B.A. in electrical engineering from the Universit

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 83! The interview in the SPaMCAST 83 is with Gary Gack.  We discussed his new book "Managing The Black Hole".  The book and the discussion centered on how organizations can improve their effectiveness.  Lots of great ideas for orgnaizations at all levels of maturity. Gary Gack, is the founder and President of Process-Fusion.net, a provider of e-Learning, Assessments, Strategy advice, Training, and Coaching relating to integration and deployment of software and IT industry best practices. Mr. Gack holds an MBA from the Wharton School and is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. In addition he is an ASQ Certified Software Quality Engineer (CSQE), a Certified Scrum Master, a Visiting Scientist with the Software Engineering Institute (2006) where he co-authored the "Measuring for Performance Driven Improvement 1" course for which he is an authorized instructor, and he holds the ITIL Foundation Certification. He has more than 40 years of diverse experience in the softwar

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 82! The interview in the SPaMCAST 82 is with Cheryl Jones.  We discussed Practical Software and Systems Measurement.  Can you say measurement or even more loudly MEASUREMENT!  PSM is an evolving force in the IT measurement field.  Cheryl helps us understand why measurement is important for projects and management. Cheryl Jones is a lead software engineer in the Quality Engineering & System Assurance Sciences Group at RDECOM-ARDEC at Picatinny, New Jersey.  She is responsible for measurement and analysis, risk management, estimation, and decision analysis technology development and application across a wide base of DoD, Government, and Commercial programs and organizations.  Her responsibilities encompass technology development, integrated process definition, and practical technology application to support a variety of Performance and Decision Analysis requirements across numerous technical, acquisition, and management domains at multiple organizational

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 81! The interview in the SPaMCAST 81 is with Paul Byrnes.  We discussed  the upcoming release of the CMMI, Agile and the CMMI and process improvement in general.  The interview is loaded with data for anyone that uses the CMMI or is involved with process improvement in general.  Paul is a returning guest!  If you have not listened to Paul's first interview go back to SPaMCAST 63  (http://bit.ly/bnODdY). As an Air Force officer Paul was responsible for managing advanced software technology transition projects at Hanscom AFB, MA. These were typically joint government/industry funded projects aimed at significantly improving the efficiency of DoD software development processes and services. At the SEI, Paul was the SEI CMM® Based Appraisal (CBA) Project Leader. Responsible for developing all published versions of SCE and the initial CBA IPI method (V0.3). A principal developer of the CMM® Appraisal Framework (CAF). Developed, delivered, and managed teams d

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 80!   The interview in the SPaMCAST 80 is with Dr. David F Rico.  We discussed  "Business Value of Agile Software Methods" which he coauthored.  The interview provided a great discussion on the value of agile based on quantitative information gathered for the book. I want your help!  I would like each SPaMCAST listener to invite one new listener to listen to the cast.  Walk over to there PC, show them how to set up ITunes or your favorite pod catcher and then subscribe them to the SPaMCAST.  When your done call the listener line (206) 888-6111 tell me the story (I will share the stories on a future cast).  Better yet I will select the best (or maybe a few best) stories and invite you to participate on a future cast! Dr. Dr. Rico's Biography: Dr. David F. Rico has been a technical leader in support of NASA, DARPA, DISA, SPAWAR, USAF, AFMC, NAVAIR, CECOM, and MICOM for over 25 years. He has led, managed, or participated in over 20 organization change initiat

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 79! In the Software Process and Measurement Cast 79 I interviewed Scott Stribrny.  We discussed his recent Cutter Consortium Executive Update titled “We’re Gonna Be in the Hudson: Risk Management Expertise to Live by in an Economic Downturn."  The conversation and the article focused on risk and risk management.  Risk gets talked about in project management circles and can stay a bit theorectical  Scott makes the topic tangible in our interview. Contact information for the Software Process and Measurement Cast Email:  spamcastinfo@gmail.com Voicemail:  +1-206-888-6111 Website: www.spamcast.net Twitter: www.twitter.com/tcagley Facebook:  http://bit.ly/16fBWV Scott's Bio: J. Scott Stribrny is the Cofounder, President, and Managing Director of Group Atlantic, Inc., a consulting firm that has advised private, commercial, and governmental organizations on successful strategy development and operations improvement since 1992. He is also a Senior Consultant and wr

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 78!In the Software Process and Measurement Cast 78 I interviewed Dr. Luigi Buglione.  We focused our discussion on how play can improve learning in a technical environment but also touched on measurement and change.  This was an intense interview that included many take aways that can be applied in your organization now!Contact information for the Software Process and Measurement CastEmail:  spamcastinfo@gmail.comVoicemail:  +1-206-888-6111Website: www.spamcast.netTwitter: www.twitter.com/tcagleyFacebook:  http://bit.ly/16fBWVDr. Buglione's Bio:Dr. Luigi Buglione is Associate Professor at the École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS) – Université du Québec, Canada and is currently working as Process Improvement Specialist at Engineering.IT (formerly Atos Origin Italy and SchlumbergerSema) in Rome, Italy.  Previously, he worked as a Software Process Engineer at the European Software Institute (ESI) in Bilbao, Spain. Dr. Buglione is a regular speaker at internati

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 77 marking the SPaMCAST's Three Year Anniversary!The Software Process and Measurement Cast 77 is a special show.  Even though we still have an interview and essay, we are going to turn things a bit on their head by flipping rolls and adding quite a few congratulatory comments.  The outpouring of well wishes was fantastic and in some cases pretty darn funny.In the SPaMCAST 77 the tables have been turned and Pat Ferdinandi interviewed me.  We talk about how the Software Process and Measurement Cast began, lessons learned along the way and where the Cast is going in the future.  Frankly being on the other side of the table was a bit intimidating but a lot of fun never the less!Contact information for the Software Process and Measurement CastEmail:  spamcastinfo@gmail.comVoicemail:  +1-206-888-6111Website: www.spamcast.netTwitter: www.twitter.com/tcagleyFacebook:  http://bit.ly/16fBWVI am going to include SPaMCAST's production shedule on Facebook.  Your thought