Author name: Johanna

I help you identify and solve the problems that prevent you from releasing systems, hiring the right people, deciding which project to work on next. I take a pragmatic approach: what will work best for you, now? Some people call me a focuser. Some call me an accelerator. When I work with people, first we define our goal together. Typically, it's to get a better product out the door faster. I work with my clients to help managers figure out how to do the managing better, and how the technical contributors can contribute better, not to create a by-the-book system. I work with you, your staff, and your current product development practices. Together, we learn what works well for you and what doesn't. I believe in changing only what needs to be changed at the current time, to maximize your success. We work together to develop a blueprint for the future, and to build in capacity to recognize and implement change.

HTP, job offer

Negotiating Salary and Start Date

A bunch of my not-happily-employed colleagues (some are unhappy, some are unemployed) are in the enjoyable place of considering job offers. One of them asked, “How do I know it’s a good offer?” You have at least two options I know of, to evaluate salary options: Payscale.com and Salary.com. (If you know of other free […]

Agile Job Search, HTP

How Many Jobs?

A colleague is putting his resume together for the first time in several years. “I’ve been at the same desk, working for the same boss, on the same projects for the last three years. But my company has changed names at least four times in that time. What do I say?” Here’s the way I

Articles

Using the Project Portfolio to Move to Incremental Project Funding

If you’ve started to use agile approaches to your projects, you’ve reaped the benefits of seeing completed work, reduced work in progress, and making project risks more transparent earlier. But there’s another benefit of moving to delivering work in smaller chunks: incremental funding for projects. Few organizations have embraced the idea of incremental funding. It’s

MPD, project management

When Did "fill in the blank" Start?

On mailing lists, when I speak, in email, people ask, “When did ‘some principle, approach, or whatever’ start?” A long time ago. Timeboxes have been around forever. I’m pretty sure that when the Pharoahs told their architects to build a pyramid, they said, “And do it by this-date! Or else!” I know that military projects

HTP

All Posts Are Now Categorized

When I transitioned to WordPress a couple of years ago, I did not go back and tag all the posts with categories. I have finally done so. Oh, I did not change all the links, so some links to older posts go to the archive for that month. If you find one and email me,

MPD, personal

Fixing One Problem Promotes the Next

I have fixed the how-do-I-get-up-in-the-morning-when-Mark-is-traveling problem. I bought a new Sangean RCR-5 Digital AM/FM Clock Radio with a Sangean Pillow Speaker – #PS-100 – D/S (I love them both) and now, I hear the alarm, no matter what side I sleep on! I don’t have the problem of blasting my good ear with noise that

MPD, project management

“Ideal” Team Size and Ratios

A client recently asked me how many people should be on his agile team. “I have a two-person project here, and a 23-person project there. Do I want two teams, one of 2 and one of 23? Oh, and how many testers do I really need?” I can believe there’s a small and short project

hiring strategy, HTP

Replacing People Is Expensive

Dave Larribee has a great post, The High Cost of Losing a Developer. (Discovered via an ericlandes tweet) Dave suggested it might take a couple of years investment in terms of salary to make a developer productive. My experience is that it takes about 6 months of that developer and some number of months of

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