I’m Speaking at Agile2011
Posted by David Bland in agile, agile2011, kanban, speaking engagements on July 28, 2011
For those of you who are attending Agile2011, I’m giving a Lightning Talk on Wednesday August 10th at 4:00pm on kanban.
This talk will be similar in content to what I’ve written previously over at Planbox and DZone.
I won’t have much time for Q&A during the session, but feel free to find me afterwards if you’d like to ask any questions about applying work in progress limits within an iteration.
Stop Blaming Waterfall
Posted by David Bland in agile, lean, waterfall on July 19, 2011
I’m here to let you in on a little secret, waterfall isn’t the reason your project failed. Waterfall isn’t the reason you were fired. Waterfall isn’t the epitome of evil in the world of software development.
Blaming waterfall for all of your woes is not unlike blaming the screwdriver you used to paint your wall. It isn’t the screwdriver’s fault you chose the wrong tool for the job.
Waterfall works well when both the problem and the solution are known.
Since I always get chastised for this statement, let me clarify that I’m not the first person to state this and also let me clarify that we never fully know anything.
So if I were to rephrase this for the word police, it would be:
Waterfall works well when both the problem and the solution are mostly known.. … [Read More]
Welcome to the Certification Bubble
Posted by David Bland in agile, certification on July 5, 2011
“A true bubble is when something is overvalued and intensely believed” – Peter Thiel
I’ve been mulling over this quote ever since Sarah Lacy included it in her article about our current perceived higher education bubble a few months ago.
It was in the back of my mind as I wrote a recent piece on how adding PMP to your title nets you a 12% raise.
It’s on the tip of my tongue ever time I read “CSM Required” and “CSP Preferred” on a job posting.
Let’s face it, our higher education bubble extends beyond the ivy league establishments and into the way we test, and yes, the way we certify.
… [Read More]
How to Create a Business Model Canvas in Google Docs
Posted by David Bland in bmgen on June 7, 2011
A Business Model Canvas is an easy to use, lightweight and powerful tool for anyone looking to sketch out business models. It is quickly becoming the preferred strategic management tool for start-up organizations.
While it is available in .pdf form from Alex Osterwalder’s site, I couldn’t help but feel that companies could benefit from an online, collaborative version of his template.
So, I asked him…
It only takes a Google Account, a few minutes of your spare time and best of all it’s free… [Read More]
AgileTechDC Conference Recap
Posted by David Bland in agile, conferences on May 14, 2011
AgileTechDC is a wrap, and I wanted to take a moment to share my experiences there today. First off, a big thanks to the folks at The College Board for hosting the event. This open, collaborative space was ideal for such an event. It had the ergonomics of a BMW and the color palette of [...]
