What do I look for day-one coaching an agile team? The first thing I want to know is if the team is really a team? Do they have everything (and everyone) they need to deliver an increment of working software? Do they plan together, do they work toge…

At Agile 2010 I will be leading a session on building an learning culture on your agile team (Wednesday at 3:30 in Asia 3). I have done this session before but have reworked it significantly to add more interactive activities. I think it will be a lot of fun and … hopefully you will learn [...]

This model is good for people to consider when doing an Agile-Lean Transformation.  I use a process based on this model when working with clients, although the reality of work on the ground often means not following this model perfectly.  Without further ado, here is the model: Step One: Create Urgency What is the critical [...]

Sorry to be so quiet lately… lot’s going on with me, both personally and professionally.I need to bring you guys up to speed on a pretty big announcement. As of last Friday, I’ve left Pillar to go out as an independent agile coach. Pillar was a gre…

What do you do when you’re a product manager (for web applications and tools) who has started a new job, assigned to an existing team who are just about to embark on the development of a range of new products and product features? We’ll whatev…

Some years ago I had lunch with a QA specialist who invited me to visit him at work. He wanted to show off how he had used a macro recorder to automate his testing. Over lunch I offered the opinion that test automation is a programming activity. The QA specialist vehemently disagreed with . . . → Read More: Random Thoughts on Record-and-Playback

I was asked to present, at an interview, on how I see the role of the product manager working in an agile scrum environment. The key areas that I highlighted were:Scope and responsibilities of the product manager in scrumTypical product management acti…

There’s a discussion going on over on the software-testing discussion group about a customer’s delivery requirement that the software be handed over with an acceptance test script.

I want to illustrate my perspective on this topic with a short story. If stories aren’t your thing, skip to the end of the post. I make my real point . . . → Read More: Acceptance Tests as a Customer Deliverable

“We can’t automate everything. It costs too much.”

I’ve heard that concern—that test automation costs too much—multiple times when talking with folks in the middle of an Agile transition.

They know that automated regression testing is important in an Agile context. But they’re concerned about the costs. And they can’t even imagine getting to a point where all . . . → Read More: Why Test Automation Costs Too Much

So what have I been up to for the last 7 months? There’s the usual stuff: a fair bit of client work, some conferences, and a whole lot of travel: Finland, Germany, Japan, and various locations in the US.

But the most exciting news is that Agilistry Studio is open! We’ve held a bunch of events there . . . → Read More: Look! An Update!