Archive for change
Rhythm and development (Part 1)
Posted by: | CommentsWe see rhythm all around us. Day and night, awake and asleep, 7 day week, the years, the seasons, and music. Rhythm is very much a part of our lives. When the rhythm of our lives is disrupted we may become anxious or our productivity decreases. I know from personal experience if I do not get my Sunday afternoon nap my workweek is affect adversely.
Rhythm is important to any development process… Rhythm can battle complexity, keep competition off-balance, maintain sanity and predictability for architecture and development teams.
Software Architecture Organizational Principles and Patterns, Dikel, Kane and Wilson Page 73
This is one of the underlying principles of Agile that we are aware of but have a tendency to assume. As you will notice from the above quote this is a principle that is recognized as a good practice for architecture.
What are the benefits of a team getting into a rhythm?
- Predictability
Our customers and stake holders know they will see working software on a set schedule. When the stake holders see the team meeting their commitments with scheduled demonstrations a sense of order comes over the project. - Managing requirements
We can manage many requirement “crises” by instructing the stake holder we will consider the new requirements in the next iteration where the product owner can prioritize the requirement. All new requirements are reviewed so no one feels they are being ignored. - Periodic inspection
Continuous inspection is the mainstay of Agile development. Knowing that we have our customers reviewing our work will make us comfortable in that we are creating software the meets the needs of the customer. - Demonstrations of working products
We have working products that are tested and ready of the customer to use at the end of every iteration. This help guarantee quality. We are “putting the stake in the ground” which helps us to make critical design choices expediently. We cannot get into analysis paralysis if we know we have to deliver working products.
I am sure there are many more benefits of being in a rhythm. But as noted above rhythm is very important in Agile development.
Change – It Starts With One
Posted by: | CommentsI just finished an excellent book on change:
It Starts with One: Changing Individuals Changes Organizations
This book does an very good job explaining how to move an organization through change. As with Agile the principles in this book are simple but difficult to implement. Here are the three principles of implementing change in an organization:
- See”…we must understand that people will not change if they fail to see the need and they often fail to see the need for change because they are blinded by the light of what they already see—the powerful mental maps that have worked well for them in the past.”Our own successes are often the reason we do not see the need for change.
- Move”First, even after we have helped people see that the old right thing is now wrong, and we have painted a picture of the new right thing, that new map must have a clear destination or vision.”People need a clear vision for change. But change always involves personal risk. These risks must be mitigated so as a person moves through a time of incompetence they know that their will be rewards along the journey.
- FinishSo many times change is not successful because people get tired or lost.Change is hard and it is so easy to go back to doing what you comfortable doing and are competent in doing. During this time of change constant feedback and encouragement are needed.Also it is easy to get lost when making the change. Often people wonder are they making a difference or are they performing the correct tasks.
This books gives excellent examples and tools to use to help implement change in an organization. As Agile coaches we are often in the middle of change in an organization. I know from personal experience it is helpful to have additional insights on how to manage change.