Monthly Archives: July 2003

Simulations Help People Practice New Techniques and Skills

Posted on July 28, 2003 by Johanna

  I’m at an experiential workshop this week, learning how to design simulations for my workshops and presentations. If you’ve attended one of my workshops or public tutorials in the past 2-3 years (at least), you’ve had a chance to … Continue reading →

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Buffers, Padding, and Schedules

Posted on July 26, 2003 by Johanna

From the “I wish I’d said that” list: Via Frank Patrick’s blog, Mike Cohn, in his User Stories Applied for Agile Software Development. Chapter 10, Why Plans Go Wrong in pdf, explains buffers and padding and scheduling: “A Buffer Isn’t … Continue reading →

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Think about Overtime

Posted on July 21, 2003 by Johanna

  My Stickyminds column this month deals with choosing when to start and end project overtime, “When Should You Start Project Overtime?” Frank Patrick has already chimed in with one of the common causes of overtime, multi-tasking. See Multi-tasking Multiplies … Continue reading →

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Questions for Requirements

Posted on July 19, 2003 by Johanna

  One of the most difficult problems in software development is knowing how to elicit and discuss requirements. It’s difficult because the people who are supposed to know the requirements don’t always have a clear idea of what they want. … Continue reading →

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Refactoring in Writing

Posted on July 17, 2003 by Johanna

  Esther’s blog entry this morning set me off into gales of laughter. I’m sure I was the original author of the peanut butter/white bread entry, and with editing, Esther turned it from mud to something that’s ready to be … Continue reading →

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Experienced Project Managers Manage Similarly to ScrumMasters

Posted on July 16, 2003 by Johanna

  I had a lovely dinner with Brian Marick and our spouses Saturday night. (Now that he’s blogrolled me, I can’t tease him about that. Thanks, Brian!) Two things made me reconsider the way I manage people while managing a … Continue reading →

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Pre-Publication Book Announcement: Hiring Technical People

Posted on July 13, 2003 by Johanna

  As you can probably tell, I think people are the most important equation in successful product development. Good people can trump inadequate management and/or an inappropriate process. Dorset House has announced the pre-publication price for my book (available in … Continue reading →

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People are NOT FTEs

Posted on July 10, 2003 by Johanna

  Last night at dinner, a friend said, “They love us. We’re only 4.8 FTEs, and (the rest of the organization) thinks we do the work of 6 people.” Guess what? There are 6 people. Not all of them work … Continue reading →

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Effective Problem Solving and Solution Communication

Posted on July 8, 2003 by Johanna

  In a question to yesterday’s post, Bill asked about the effect of multiple ideas for problem solving: “Do readers feel they have to follow one of your multiple True Ways now? Or does the multiplicity meta-message encourage them to … Continue reading →

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Look for Your Patterns

Posted on July 7, 2003 by Johanna

  This past weekend, my husband insisted we clean up the basement, and go through a bunch of old boxes. I discovered performance evaluations, memos, status reports, and some project plans dating back from when I started working until I … Continue reading →

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