Author: Steve
-
Investigate before you begin Continuous Delivery
It was the PIPELINE conference last week and, as usual, it was a great day! I highly recommend this for anyone interested in Continuous Delivery (CD), there is value to get out of all the sessions. This year Dan North kicked it off with a entertaining and challenging keynote on Ops and Operability, but it…
-
Do you really know your team?
We obviously know who our team is, but do we really know each person?! Each person is unique, each has their own strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. To get the best out of someone you need to understand them well enough. This takes time but it also takes thought with seeking the right information.…
-
Considering personality types when recruiting
Over the years I’ve been part of many teams, both as a developer and leader, some teams worked well, others not so. There can be many reasons why teams struggle, some of these are clearly visible while others are more difficult to identify. Covering all the technical skills in the team goes without saying, but…
-
Lunchtime conference talks
How often do you go to conferences? Going to 2 one day conferences in a single year is my record! Although there are hundreds of tech conferences each year we often don’t get the chance to go to everyone we would like. On the positive side, most of the talks are recorded and shared online…
-
Christmas retrospective – Many Faces of Santa
Regular retrospectives are essential for continuous improvement, but they can get a little tedious if the same format is constantly used. Having variation in location and structure helps to create some interest and hopefully a bit of fun! There are various places to look for ideas, here are a few I use: Fun Retrospectives Retrospective…
-
Tech funnies from 2016
Following on from last year’s funnies here are a few from 2016 that I found amusing… (I’ve linked to my source, but that may not be the original) When you delete a block of code… (source) Please don’t feed the coders (source) When the engineer only reads half of your email about the design (source)…
-
What makes a great leader?
I found this short TED talk below by Roselinde Torres relevant for today’s leaders. It was recorded in November 2013 – see if it’s significant for you? We should always be asking what makes a great leader, particularly ourselves, as it causes us to evaluate the present state of affairs. Have any of the practices…
-
The first one-on-one
Your first one-on-one with someone is important! You may already know the person well or not, either way, this is where your new working relationship begins – let’s make a good impression! This first one-on-one would usually happen in the first couple of days of them starting, if not on day one! The typical agenda…
-
The OODA loop and agile
Agile software development principles emerged from a desire to improve from “heavyweight” methods of producing software. The current Agile methodologies we have evolved through observations with the intention of improving the development life-cycle. We learn an enormous amount looking at our own processes and finding ways to continuously improve as a team or organization. We…