Software Process And Measurement Cast

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 76!In the SPaMCAST 76 I interviewed Tom and Mary Poppendieck talking about lean and their new book "Leading Lean Software Development: Results Are not the Point".  Our interview covered the book, lean and leadership to just a few topics.Mary Poppendieck has been in the Information Technology industry for over thirty years. She has managed software development, supply chain management, manufacturing operations, and new product development. She spearheaded the implementation of a Just-in-Time system in a 3M video tape manufacturing plant and led new product development teams, commercializing products ranging from digital controllers to 3M Light Fiber™.  Mary is a popular writer and speaker, and coauthor of the book Lean Software Development, which was awarded the Software Development Productivity Award in 2004. A sequel, Implementing Lean Software Development, was published in 2006.  A third book, Leading Lean Software Development, was published in late 2009.

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 75!In the SPaMCAST 75 I interviewed Bonnie Brown.  We discussed the updated IFPUG Function Point Counting Practice Manual (release 4.3) that will be released this January. While the manual includes few rule the manual it does include a new section on conversions, more definitions and is generally a cleaner therefore more usable format.    Bonnie provided great insight into the contents and construction of the manual.Ms. Brown works for HP (Hewlett Packard) and is the Function Point Coordinator for HP’s U.S. Public Sector account. Ms. Brown has over 20 years of experience in the Information Technology industry with a strong emphasis in requirements development, analysis and design of new applications leveraging standard processes. Ms. Brown has participated in numerous software development and enhancement projects, performing definition, analysis and design phase activities. She also has ten years of experience in Function Point Analysis, Metrics collection

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 74!In the SPaMCAST 74 I interviewed Kenji Hiranabe.  We discussed mind mapping and how it can be used in projects.  Mind Mapping for the uninitiated is a simple graphical means of organizing data to make it more understandable and memorable.  Mind mapping has many uses in all types of software projects.  We specifically discussed uses in agile projects but the method transcends a simple category and is useful in all projects .Kenji Hiranabe is an Agile software development practitioner and Japanese (co-)translator of "Multi-Paradigm Design"(Jim Coplien), "Lean Software Development"(Mary/Tom Poppendieck), "XP Installed"(Ron Jeffries), "Agile Project Management"(Jim Highsmith), "The Art of Agile Development"(James Shore) and other Agile books.Kenji was awarded the 2008 Gordon Pask Award Recipient for contributions to Agile practice.http://www.infoq.com/news/2008/08/Gordon-Pask-Award-2008-ReceiversHe thinks of software development as a form of communication ga

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 73!In the SPaMCAST 73 I interviewed David Bovis.  David and I discussed the psychology of change.  Have you ever wondered why some people are better at making change happen?  I believe it boils down to two related factors.  The first is salesman ship and the second is an understanding of psychology.  Both topic are highly related.  Since we are all change agents this is an incredibly important interview.As an independent service provider David has functioned as a Design consultant and project manager for tooling & components sourced from China and as a Lean development Consultant. David is now delivery Director for PCC.Interested in addressing the sustainability issues surrounding organizational change, since 2001 David has studied Theology, Philosophy and Psychology, recognizing organizations succeed for the same reasons families do – the psychological quality of relationship between people. David’s specialist area is now the ‘psychology of organizatio

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 72!In the SPaMCAST 72 I interviewed Diana Larsen.  Diana and I discussed agile and retrospectives.  The interview was full of practical advice, philosophyphilopsphy, wit and wisdom.  Diana Larsen sparks the creation of workplaces where productive teams display resilience in times of change and focus on frequent delivery of high value software customers want and use. Drawing on fifteen+ years of experience working with technical professionals, Diana takes a pragmatic approach to consulting with leaders and teams to promote work processes where innovation, inspiration, and imagination flourish.Diana co-authored Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great! and writes articles and blog posts at http://www.futureworksconsulting.com/blog. She is a partner in FutureWorks Consulting, LLC, in Portland, Oregon.Current chair of the Agile Alliance Board of Directors, Diana co- founded the “Agile Open Northwest” conference and the international “Retrospective Facilita

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 71!In SPaMCAST 71, I conclude my interview of the Suzanne Robertson.  We continued our discussion of requirements.  Requirements are the heart and soul of the software development projects.Suzanne is co-author of Mastering the Requirements Process, Second Edition (Addison-Wesley 2006) a book that provides guidance on finding requirements and writing them so that they can be understood by all the stakeholders. She has more than 30 years experience in systems specification and building. Her courses on requirements, systems analysis, design and problem solving are well known for their innovative workshops and business games.Suzanne has varied experience as a manager, programmer, analyst, and designer. She has consulted, done research and taught in Europe, Australia, the Far East and the United States. Current work includes research and consulting on stakeholder rights and responsibilities, the specification and reuse of requirements and techniques for assessin

Welcome to the Software Process and Measurement Cast 70!The interview on the SPaMCAST 70 is with Suzanne Robertson.  We talked about requirements . . . a lot and that was good therefore this part one of the interview.Suzanne is co-author of Mastering the Requirements Process (Addison-Wesley Second Edition 2006) a book that provides guidance on finding requirements and writing them so that they can be understood by all the stakeholders. She has more than 30 years experience in systems specification and building. Her courses on requirements, systems analysis, design and problem solving are well known for their innovative workshops and business games.Suzanne has varied experience as a manager, programmer, analyst, and designer. She has consulted, done research and taught in Europe, Australia, the Far East and the United States. Current work includes research and consulting on stakeholder rights and responsibilities, the specification and reuse of requirements and techniques for assessing requirements specificati

The interview on the SPaMCAST 69 is with Kevin Brennan.  Kevin and I focused on how the business analysis role fits into the CMMI.  In the process we ended up discussing a wide range of topics from a business analysis point of view. Kevin Brennan, CBAP, PMP, is the IIBA®s Vice President, Professional Development. He led the development of Version 2.0 of the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK® Guide) and was also one of the authors of the CBAP exam. He is a frequent speaker on business analysis, project management, and software quality assurance topics at conferences. Kevin has over a decade of experience as a business analyst and project manager across several industry sectors, including regulated professions, utilities, automobile manufacturing, courier services, and mortgage banking. During this time he has performed just about every task a business analyst could be expected to do, from developing corporate and product strategies to being paged by end-users looking for technical support. Kevin has

The interview on the SPaMCAST 68 is with Neil Potter.  Neil and I  talked of CMMI, process improvement and how change programs fit into economic environment we find ourselves in today and will again someday in the future.  The interview was a wide ranging discussion of process improvement. Neil Potter has been working in software design, engineering and process management since 1985. In 1988 Neil was an SEPG manager in a TI software development group, spanning USA, India and England. He has a B.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Essex in England and Six Sigma Greenbelt certification from the University of Michigan. Neil is also a Certified Scrum Master (certified by Mike Cohn). Neil is also a certified CMMI High Maturity lead appraiser.  Contact:Email:     help@processgroup.comWebsite: http://www.processgroup.com/Tell a friend about the Software Process and Measurement Cast and show them how to subscribe.  Let me know and I will acknowledge you on the next show!  The essay is a continuation of my

The interview in SPaMCAST 67 is with Murali Chemuturi.  Murali recently had his first book published titled Software Estimation Best Practices, Tools & Techniques: A Complete Guide for Software Project Estimators.  In this edition of the Software  Process and Measurement Cast we discussed estimation, the book and future plans.  Murali offers a lot of practical advice on estimation during the interview.  Good book, good interview . . . go buy a copy or two.   The link to Amazon is  http://bit.ly/2Hce25Murali has over thirty seven years of total experience out of which about twenty three years in information technology having worked in TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES for Five and half years and in ELECTRONICS COROPORATION OF INDIA LIMITED for Nineteen and half years. I had also worked in SATYAM COMPUTER SERVICES LTD., METAMOR GLOBAL SOLUTIONS LTD. and Vistaar eBusinesses Pvt Ltd.  Designation at the time of final employment was that of Vice President Software Development at Vistaar e-Businesses Pvt. Ltd. Mumbai.C

The interview in SPaMCAST 66 is with Chuck Tryon.  We discussed knowledge management.  Chuck provides solid advice on knowledge management while explain why not dealing with knowledge management is a burning platform you should not ignore.  Frankly this one of the most important interviews SPaMCAST has recorded. Chuck Tryon is a nationally respected educator and popular symposium speaker.  He founded Tryon and Associates in 1986 to provide seminar training and consulting that helps organizations and individuals develop predictable and repeatable approaches to modern project management, knowledge management and business requirements.  The strategies presented in Mr. Tryon’s seminars are used by thousands of professionals in hundreds of organizations across the United States, Europe and Canada.  His client list includes many top 100 companies.Chuck and his wife, Tresa, reside in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area.  They have two grown daughters, Amanda and Casey.  When not teaching, writing or attending classes at OU, Ch

The interview in SPaMCAST 65 is with Laura Brandau.  We discussed business analysis, the role of the business analyst, how business analysts impact projects and the organizations they serve and how we can measure both the role and the impact of the role. Laura Brandau is passionate about helping organizations create value through their investments in software.  She helps stakeholders conceptualize comprehensive solutions and creates alignment about project outcomes through proactive communication and analysis. Laura is the President and Principal Consultant at Clear Spring Business Analysis, a company she founded to deliver results-oriented services enabling clients to achieve a greater return on their software investments. Prior to founding Clear Spring, Laura worked in a variety of roles across multiple disciplines, including enterprise business analysis, project management, quality assurance, and information architecture.Laura is actively involved in the International Institute of Business Analysis, workin

The interview on Show 64 is with Carol Smith.  We discussed the usability.  Usability is a critical component of human facing software.  We discussed the definition of usability, techniques for discovering usability, how to measure it and finally how to test usability.  A powerful interview with a great guest!  Carol is a regular presenter at conferences, has taught usability courses at the college level and has managed a usability department. She is also the Treasurer and Director of Chapters for the Usability Professionals' Association (UPA) Board of Directors. Carol has a Master's degree in Human-Computer Interaction and has over eight years of usability experience. Carol Smith conducts experience research for clients that are both large and small, government and corporate, in a variety of industries through her company, Midwest Research, LLC. Carol takes the time to understand user's needs and behaviors and then creates tools that convey this information in an easy to understand format. Organizations can

The interview on Show 63 is with Paul Byrnes.  We discussed the CMMI, Multiple Models and Process Improvement.  In today’s financial environment it is important to know what drives good change and whether disparate models work well and play well together.  This was one of the basic threads of our conversation.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 delivering CMM based appraisal methods and training services.At ISD, as a founder, principal, Managing Director, and CTO, Paul was the principal architect

The interview on Show 62 is with Tom Graves.  We discussed enterprise architecture.  Enterprise architecture is more than an IT phenomenon, architecture defines the enterprise.  This was a great interview.Tom Graves has been an independent consultant for almost three decades, in business transformation, enterprise architecture and knowledge management. Based in Britain, His clients in Europe, Australia and the USA cover a broad range of industries including banking, utilities, logistics, engineering, media, telecoms, research, defence and government. He has a special interest in architecture for non-IT-centric enterprises, and integration between IT-based and non-IT-based services.Contact information:Email:        tom@tetradian.comWebsite:     http://weblog.tomgraves.org/                 http://www.tetradian.com/HomePage                 http://www.tomgraves.org/HomePageTell a friend about the Software Process and Measurement Cast and show them how to subscribe.  Let me know and I will acknowledge you on the n

Show 61 concludes a two part interview with Phil Stubbington.  We discussed how to fix troubled projects.  The interview chocked full of useful ideas for dealing with issues that if not taken care of that could be career limiting.Phil is a 42 year old highly reliable and trustworthy PROGRAMME DIRECTOR / MANAGER with an exceptional delivery track record.  His most recent experience gained at DHL, EXEL, DELL, ORANGE BUSINESS SERVICES and RANK XEROX.Phil is very much a self starter, he is a constant improver with a strong client/customer centred approach who over delivers to measurably world class performance levels.He excels as a troubleshooter, he is a charismatic and motivational leader with great communication skills, is flexible, very approachable and says it “as it is”.  Equally comfortable and successful dealing with clients and team members at all levels including CxOs.Contact information:Email: philip.stubbington@ntlworld.comWebsite: http://www.twygrove.net/Tell a friend about the Software Process and M

Show 60 is the interview I had with Medha Umarji discussing her research on Metrics Acceptance Model.  If you are involved with software measurement programs this is important stuff! I know I have already begun using some of the concepts.  I am doing this as one large interview rather than in two parts.  I would like your input on this format.Medha Umarji is currently a PhD candidate at the Department of Information Systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her focus is on the human aspects of software engineering, and she has had the opportunity to observe, survey and interview developers as they searched for source code, or communicated with their remote teams, or voiced their opinions about organizational initiatives. As she makes plans to graduate this summer, she is motivated by the idea of making a difference in the life of people in the trenches. During the course of her career she has worked at prestigious firms like Microsoft Research, ABB Corporate Research, and SuccessFactors Inc.Her

Show 59 begins a two part interview with Phil Stubbington.  We discussed how to fix troubled projects.  The interview chocked full of useful ideas for dealing with issues that if not taken care of that could be career limiting.Phil is a 42 year old highly reliable and trustworthy PROGRAMME DIRECTOR / MANAGER with an exceptional delivery track record.  His most recent experience gained at DHL, EXEL, DELL, ORANGE BUSINESS SERVICES and RANK XEROX.Phil is very much a self starter, he is a constant improver with a strong client/customer centred approach who over delivers to measurably world class performance levels.He excels as a troubleshooter, he is a charismatic and motivational leader with great communication skills, is flexible, very approachable and says it “as it is”.  Equally comfortable and successful dealing with clients and team members at all levels including CxOs.Contact information:Email: philip.stubbington@ntlworld.comWebsite: http://www.twygrove.net/Tell a friend about the Software Process and Meas

Show 58 features an interview with Thomas “cmdln” Gideon.  To paraphrase the walrus from Lewis Carrol’s Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There 'it was time to talk of many things: of shoes and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages and kings.”  It was a wonderful interview with the promise of more.Thomas Gideon, also known by his nickname, “cmdln” has been programming professionally for over a decade and hacking around with computers of many varieties for most of his life. I would suggest that not only is cmdln a technologist but a philosopher as he has meta-interests beyond just the technology itself.These include the history of computing and hacker culture. Programming requires a very particular way of seeing problems and solutions. Secondly is an interest in how computing technology is actually changing our society, for good or ill. He suggests that computer technology is definitely changing the way we do the things we already do while enabling wholly new things. Cmdln blogs his thoughts and f

Show 57 features an interview with Joe Schofield.  We discussed the Function  Points and Lines of Code and other topics.  Size is an important attribute for managing software projects.  How you measure counts!Joe has been active in the application of emerging technology for business and engineering solutions at Sandia National Labs since receiving his MS/MIS from the University of Arizona in 1980. As a member of the technical staff, he has been involved in the specification, selection, and application of software methodologies; served on a corporate-wide software quality improvement team, and facilitated teams in their quest for new business processes and customer-driven software. Since 1990, Joe has developed and taught IS courses in the MBA program at the College of Santa Fe. In 1990 he received his CQA accreditation, therafter his CFPS and CSMS. After speaking at USE, SHARE, GUIDE, and DOE-sponsored conferences, Joe delivered a keynote address at the Structured Development Forum in San Francisco in 1988. S