observation

A Wild Horse Called Chaos

Is chaos like a wild horse? The root for the word “manage” is an Italian word that means “to train a horse.” Inhumane horse trainers (managers) see a rebellious animal who must adjust to a new environment. They transform the horse through a process they call “breaking.” They break the will of the horse so [...]

Read the full article →

Rethinking Measurement Concepts, Part 1

What is a measurement? I would answer a careful observation. Ponder the following questions as you encounter measurements today: What observations do you trust? What observations are you skeptical about? What observations do you believe are phony? What observations don’t have any value? What new observations would have value?

Read the full article →

Critical Lesson in Estimation

What critical lesson have I learned about the process of making an estimate? Have your most pragmatic, experienced people do the estimate. Minimize the number of people who are members of the estimating team. A team size of three, in my experience, is ideal. That’s enough members to trigger divergent estimates, which creates arguments, which [...]

Read the full article →

Rethinking Stand-Up Meetings, Part 2

I argued in my first article about stand-up meetings that the right participants were the key to a successful meeting rather than whether the participants were standing up or sitting down. Despite my dislike for forcing people to stand up, I mentioned in that article my positive regard for other elements of the standard stand-up [...]

Read the full article →