January 2011
-
The dinosaur might be the solution
What happens if you start building a castle and you end up with a dinosaur? That’s ok – maybe in the end the dinosaur is the solution to your actual problem. What happens if you build a castle, but it turns out you really needed a dinosaur? Well, then you’re in trouble. With any creative…
-
Another reason working in silos is wasteful and inefficient
We had some tradesmen in our apartment building this week to renovate the stairwell. It was a bit depressed looking and the old carpet was a bit naff; so time for a refresh. So the first tradesmen on the scene were the ‘stairs guys’. These guys pulled the old carpet and re-laid some new stuff,…
-
Better scrum user stories: Split stories horizontally, not vertically
Teams often run into trouble in a sprint when they’re trying to work with poorly split stories. Stories that are too big, too small, confusing or that mix the problem with the solution… We should split stories into small, discreet chunks of functionality. A single story should generally be the smallest discreet piece of functionality…
-
Get it over with
I recently wrote about the Satir change curve, which is a model for describing the impact of new processes on the performance/velocity of a team or organisation. In short, your velocity is going to go down before it goes up. Understanding this curve, and having the courage to stick it out, is the key to…
-
Stick it out
You can’t change your shoes while you’re running. Have you ever heard the expression “it’s gonna get worse before it gets better?” If you’re talking about improving processes or ways of working in your organisation, then chances are this expression’s probably true. Any new process or change in ways of working has a wearing in…
-
Copywriting is interface design
Your product’s user interface is its window to the world. It’s how your users interact with you, and how you interact with your users. The words on your interface are central to the user experience, and crafting perfect copy is every bit ‘User Experience Design’ as designing the user flows, choosing colours and designing screen…