Cutter Consortium: Agile Product & Project Management

The Emperor's New Clothing Budget

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:19:30 -0400

Coldewey, Jens | E-Mail Advisors |
One of the major income opportunities I missed in my life was betting on a common budget question. If I had been given 100 Euros each time someone asked me, "How do I deal with budgeting in an agile environment?"
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130516.html

Initial Agile Adoption Euphoria

Thu, 9 May 2013 11:18:02 -0400

Lines, Mark | E-Mail Advisors |
Stakeholders new to agile are typically delighted early in the project as they see regular demonstrations of shippable software. They are often fascinated by aspects of the process such as the efficiency of daily stand-up meetings, colorful task boards, burndown charts, and gimmicks such as estimation with planning poker cards.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130509.html

Agile and Outsourcing: A Disciplined Approach Webinar

Wed, 8 May 2013 11:16:42 -0400

Ambler, Scott | Webinars/Multimedia |
In this webinar, Senior Consultant Scott Ambler will explore strategies for effectively initiating and governing an outsourced IT delivery project in an agile manner. Your initial instincts for how to run an outsourced project are likely to hurt you more than help you. Outsourcing introduces a collection of risks that can be uniquely addressed with a disciplined agile strategy. Luckily, the Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) process decision framework provides a foundation from which you can tailor a viable strategy for disciplined agile outsourcing. DAD is a goal-driven, hybrid agile, full delivery methodology that is enterprise aware and scalable.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/webinar/2013/agile-outsourcing.html

Mobile BI and the Role of Tablets in the Enterprise

Mon, 6 May 2013 12:00:00 -0400

Hall, Curt | Executive Reports |
Mobile BI consists of the ability to access, view, and interact with corporate data on smartphones and tablets via mobile reports, interactive dashboards, visualizations, ad hoc reporting, and other functionality. This Executive Report examines the application of mobile BI with a focus on the use of tablets in the enterprise. It includes potential business benefits afforded by using tablets for mobile BI as well as the technology, products, applications, and issues associated with implementing mobile BI applications.
http://www.cutter.com/content/bia/fulltext/reports/2013/04/index.html

On Fixing Water Leaks and Technical Debt

Thu, 2 May 2013 11:58:35 -0400

Gat, Israel | E-Mail Advisors |
A colleague and friend -- Olivier Gaudin, CEO and cofounder of Sonar -- has recently shared with me his "water leak" metaphor. The water leak metaphor asserts that resolving a technical debt situation is similar to the approach you need to take when you find water on the floor of your house.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130502.html

Agile Management Innovations: A Primer

Wed, 1 May 2013 11:57:37 -0400

Schiffer, Bernd | Executive Reports |
As we explore in this Executive Report, your agile teams might not live up to their full potential due to an inappropriate work environment. Agile management innovations (AMIs) shape the organization’s environment to unleash the full potential of agile employees. AMIs inspire innovations at the management level, providing greater success in terms of productivity, innovation, and employee retention.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/reports/2013/01/index.html

Learning and Organizational Change: The Soft Stuff Is the Hard Stuff ... Still

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:56:13 -0400

Dublin, Lance | Executive Updates |
As we'll explore in this Executive Update, using technology to develop, deliver, and manage learning is now central to most every organization's strategy to leverage their people to achieve and sustain competitive advantage. Therefore, it should come as no surprise there will be more learning technologies, affecting more users in more ways, and competing for their attention with more technologies and organizational changes in the year ahead.
http://www.cutter.com/content/alignment/fulltext/updates/2013/bitu1309.html

A Leadership Approach for a Metrics Program: Part II -- On Leadership's Role and "Staying Out of the Kitchen"

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:54:39 -0400

Klubeck, Martin | Executive Updates |
One of my friends wanted help in growing her business. As a local restaurant owner, she had received many accolades and encouragement to expand. I readily agreed to help her with developing a metrics program to determine how good her restaurant was, which I discuss in this Executive Update.
http://www.cutter.com/content/alignment/fulltext/updates/2013/bitu1308.html

Agile Team Bouncers: The Bug Stops Here

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:52:38 -0400

Heintz, John D. | E-Mail Advisors |
It doesn't get much more "from the trenches" than digging in to find and fix bugs, and this is a case study based on working with a client doing exactly that. The particular issue: they were becoming increasingly unresponsive to high-priority bugs.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130425.html

Shifting into the Future Without Changing Gears

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:50:17 -0400

Pritchard, Carl | E-Mail Advisors |
The past few months have been compelling for me in my role as a project management consultant and risk management expert. Clients have been clamoring for insight on how to manage the significant shifts that have occurred in the management marketplace with the introductions of ISO 21500:2012 (Guidance on Project Management) and the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, 5th Edition ©2013 (PMBOK Guide).
http://www.cutter.com/content/alignment/fulltext/advisor/2013/bit130425.html

Why Software Services Organizations Can Never Be Agile

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:00:03 -0400

Krishnamurthy, Venkatesh | E-Mail Advisors |
The key members from the technology group are waiting to hear about the new project that the director is going to announce. The meeting is about to begin, and the room is filled with silence. They know that the project has something to do with Java, Oracle, and the cloud. The director starts explaining the importance of this strategic project and delivering it on time to the customer.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130418.html

Agile Lifecycle Management

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:53:58 -0400

Dooley, Brian J. | Executive Updates |
While new methodologies naturally create a need for process change, it is important to understand that lifecycle processes have been established to support a range of requirements beyond the needs of development itself. As we explore in this Executive Update, we must continue to serve these requirements as we move into an era of enterprise agility.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/updates/2013/apmu1305.html

On Projects, Products, and Gaming Theory

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:51:05 -0400

Coldewey, Jens | E-Mail Advisors |
The more agile software development becomes mainstream, the more often I run into a typical pattern of management mismatch. It comes in several flavors. A recent client CTO who is responsible for the IT of an online store illustrates one example. "We have just raised an additional budget of 1 million Euros for this year to implement this fantastic feature," he told me. "And now I'd like to talk with you about how to cut the teams."
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130411.html

Agile Is Way Past the Chasm

Thu, 4 Apr 2013 16:05:44 -0400

Heintz, John | E-Mail Advisors |
I agree with my coauthors in Cutter's Executive Report, "Has Agile 'Crossed the Chasm?'" that successfully adopting agile requires study, practice, mentoring, and discipline.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130404.html

User Experience Analysis Framework: From Usability to Social Media Networks

Thu, 4 Apr 2013 16:03:34 -0400

Unhelkar, Bhuvan | Executive Reports |
A user experience analysis framework (UXAF) is an all-encompassing view of a user's experience with a business that transcends the "known" areas of usability of systems. UXAF draws your attention to the invaluable pre-user and post-user that exist outside the electronic firewalls of your business -- and reside in the exploration and reflection phases of UXAF -- facilitated by social media networks (SMNs). This Executive Report lays the foundation for the future of business analysis in the SMN Age by encouraging in-depth analysis of user experience beyond usability and into the realms of user communities, their demographics, and their perceptions.
http://www.cutter.com/content/bia/fulltext/reports/2013/03/index.html

The Front-End vs. Back-End Dichotomy Is Dead

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:01:46 -0400

Gat, Israel | E-Mail Advisors |
Expanding agile in development to end-to-end agile was always a tricky business. You could, of course, drive success in agile downstream, using your success in development as the lever for change, provided you had carefully thought through three major aspects.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130328.html

On Agile and Discipline

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:12:24 -0400

Coldewey, Jens | E-Mail Advisors |
There is a conception in the public debate that agile is a basically undisciplined approach. Book titles such as Balancing Agility and Discipline fuel this perception. In the debate on agile and CMMI we had earlier this year, Cutter Senior Consultant Hillel Glazer rightly pointed out that "it would be incongruous to ignore the plentiful examples of dreadfully undisciplined 'agile' adoptions resulting in 'agile in name only'" (see " 'Agile vs. CMMI': The Debate Goes On").
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130321.html

Testing Your Process

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 12:09:33 -0400

Gat, Israel | E-Mail Advisors |
In his landmark blog post, "My agile testing project," Brian Marick provided a model for agile testing. According to his model, the "universe" of testing can be viewed as composed of four quadrants, formed by a horizontal (support programming -> critique product) axis and a vertical (technology facing -> business facing) axis.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130314.html

Devops: Reaching the Goals

Thu, 7 Mar 2013 12:08:21 -0400

Dooley, Brian J. | E-Mail Advisors |
Devops has only been around for a brief few years, and it is already having a significant impact throughout the development community. While there are those who might view the integration of development and operations as a useful fad that serves a limited number of situations, evidence suggests that there are serious advantages to this approach.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130307.html

Does Agile Help in Innovation?

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:07:11 -0400

Krishnamurthy, Venkatesh | E-Mail Advisors |
In today's rapidly changing business environment, innovation is key for survival. Companies may become obsolete in no time in the absence of new and innovative products. A classic example of this phenomenon is the demise of Kodak. At the same time, companies like Apple and Google have not only contributed toward building innovative products but at the same time made their investors many times richer.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130228.html

The PMO Tool: An Information Source for Dashboards

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:04:14 -0400

Garcia-Alonso, Jose; Joaquin Guillen Melo; Miranda, Javier; Berrocal, Javier; Hernandez, Fernando; Murillo, Juan M. | Executive Updates |
This Executive Update proposes an approach that facilitates the integration of the PMO model in large software organizations. It presents an environment in which multiple tools are integrated to ensure that software processes are executed as specified by the PMO and that significant information about the outcome of the project is retrieved during all project phases and presented in the most suitable way.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/updates/2013/apmu1304.html

Agility and Discipline in Business Processes: A Case Study

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:03:12 -0400

Baudoin, Claude R. | Executive Updates |
In April 2012, while in Boston for the Cutter Summit, I started a dinner conversation with a friend and ex-colleague under the assumption that we would simply have a pleasant chat, giving each other updates on our respective work since our previous meeting. But while this goal was indeed achieved, I discovered something more profound, something I was tempted to summarize as "some people just get it" -- except that wouldn't be a very explicit title for this Executive Update.
http://www.cutter.com/content/alignment/fulltext/updates/2013/bitu1303.html

Collaborative Devops from End to End

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 11:57:30 -0500

Ambler, Scott W. | E-Mail Advisors |
I have claimed that devops affects the entire solution delivery lifecycle from end to end. Let's explore each Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) phase one at a time and see how this is true.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130221.html

Welcome to the Dark Side

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 11:56:13 -0500

Janes, Andrea; Sillitti, Alberto; Succi, Giancarlo | E-Mail Advisors |
Since the publication of "CMMI for Development, Version 1.3," we would expect an end to the discussions about whether agile can be combined with CMMI. In its current version, CMMI explicitly adds guidance for organizations using agile methods. However, our experience reveals that practitioners still think CMMI and agile are incompatible because they lack accurate information about agile development.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130214.html

Your Job Is to Make Work Easy

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 11:53:26 -0500

Derby, Esther | Executive Updates |
"My job is to get people to work hard." That's how Manager Mike characterized his role. I take Mike's declaration of a manager's role and turn it on its head: a manager's role is to make it easy for people to work. Am I encouraging social loafing? Not at all. But often, people mistake "working hard" for working well. This Executive Update helps to differentiate between the two.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/updates/2013/apmu1303.html

Designers -- An Untapped Pool of Agile Leadership

Thu, 7 Feb 2013 15:56:10 -0500

Gothelf, Jeff | E-Mail Advisors |
Implementing an agile product development process has many challenges. One that is not regularly addressed is who will lead each of the Scrum teams. Many organizations default to the seemingly obvious answer of the Scrum Master. Often ill-defined (even with "certification"), this role is essentially the agile version of the project manager. But agile teams are supposed to be self-organizing, leaving project managers (who don't contribute in other ways) largely useless.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130207.html

The API Economy

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:54:34 -0500

Plamondon, Jim | E-Mail Advisors |
In the API Economy, an API is an application programming interface that is exposed (publicly or privately) on the Internet. It is the means by which one piece of Internet-based software can access the data and/or computational services of another, using standard Internet-based communications technologies.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130131.html

Business Craftsmanship: A Right-Brain Approach to Organizational Transformation

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:52:40 -0500

Mayer, Tobias | Executive Updates |
Business craftsmanship is concerned with organizational transformation and enlightenment. Scrum is a good example of an organizational framework. It has well-defined components, namely roles, meetings, artifacts, and values.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/updates/2013/apmu1302.html

Spreading the Vision: Bringing Analytics to Culture

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 15:51:06 -0500

Dooley, Brian J. | E-Mail Advisors |
Corporate culture is an important part of the analytics effort. In a previous Advisor ("Staffing for the Big Data Future") we looked at team-building issues and the need to incorporate an emerging breed of data scientist. Another important part of the analytics mix is to move analysis beyond the traditional silos and into the ordinary operations of the business.
http://www.cutter.com/content/bia/fulltext/advisor/2013/bia130129.html

An Holistic Software Operations Paradigm

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 10:51:37 -0500

Rasmus Wihlborg Jelsgaard |
When we discuss software operations, we are often implicitly referring to the technical activities involved with day-to-day operations; that is, the parts of operations that are related to the infrastructure of a running system. This includes setting up and configuring hardware (whether virtual or physical) as well as the installation of operating systems and the base software needed for the final system. I suggest that we think of software operations as the sum of ongoing, interdisciplinary activities that contribute to a system, and which bring sustainable, increasing customer value.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130124.html

Undisciplined Product Owners Can Torpedo Your Agile Adoption

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 10:50:22 -0500

Lines, Mark | Executive Updates |
This Executive Update illustrates how poor product owner practices can lead to skepticism regarding the value of agile and thereby reduce support for your agile adoption initiative. As a result of the reduced support, the momentum behind your agile adoption initiatives can quickly disappear. Understanding this problem will help you prevent it and keep your agile initiative on track.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/updates/2012/apmu1218.html

The Art of Questioning

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 10:48:20 -0500

Unhelkar, Bhuvan | Executive Updates |

Questioning is a judicious combination of words, expressions, ambience, and even the silence (pause) between the wordings of the questions. In this Update, I summarize for you the myriad reasons for questioning (particularly in undertaking BA) and also suggest a framework that can be used in practicing the "art of questioning."
http://www.cutter.com/content/alignment/fulltext/updates/2012/bitu1223.html

Devops: Goals, Consequences, and Support

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 13:38:08 -0500

Dooley, Brian J. | Executive Updates |
Devops has only been around for a brief few years, and it is already having a significant impact throughout the development community. While there are those who might view the integration of development and operations as a useful fad that serves a limited number of situations, evidence suggests that there are serious advantages to this approach.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/updates/2013/apmu1301.html

"Agile vs. CMMI": The Debate Goes On

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 13:36:41 -0500

Glazer, Hillel | E-Mail Advisors |
Jens Coldewey's Advisor "Why 'Agile vs. CMMI' Leads Down the Wrong Track" rightly argues that "Agile vs. CMMI" is not the right direction to go. However, he assumed a particular (and common) perspective about CMMI and in doing so left out a few key points about both CMMI and agile that must be mentioned as well to complete his argument.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130117.html

Peer-to-Peer: Making Product Development a Game Changer

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 12:01:00 -0500

Austin, Robert D. | Events |
This Cutter Consortium Members-only peer-to-peer session, facilitated by Cutter Fellow, Prof. Rob Austin, is your opportunity to explore these questions, to share with and learn from other VPs of Engineering and Directors of Product Development the strategies and practices that are being tried and refined to develop new, innovative products.
http://www.cutter.com/events/multimedia/product-development-game-changer.html

Why "Agile vs. CMMI" Leads Down the Wrong Track

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:13:33 -0500

Coldewey, Jens | E-Mail Advisors |
The major question for me is not "Does agile comply with CMMI?" but "Why should I care?" To make the question even more provoking, I'd like to rephrase it to "Why should I care about process improvement?" The obvious -- and right -- answer to this question is "Good process have proven to lead to efficient and consistent production." So what is the fallacy here?
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130110.html

Why "Agile vs. CMMI" Is Still Valid

Thu, 3 Jan 2013 16:12:12 -0500

Matalonga, Santiago | E-Mail Advisors |
CMMI is the de facto standard for process improvement in the software development domain. This standard encourages a systematic approach to process improvement. On the other hand, agile software development fosters high customer collaboration, rapid feedback, and empowerment of the individual developer.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2013/apm130103.html

Top Intriguing Agile Product & Project Management Articles for 2012

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 16:09:41 -0500

Coburn, Karen | E-Mail Advisors |
As has been our tradition for the last several years, we've compiled the most intriguing articles published by the Agile Product & Project Management practice this year for today's Advisor.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2012/apm121227.html

Peer-to-Peer: Making Product Development a Game Changer

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 14:31:51 -0500

Austin, Robert D. | Events |
Do your product development teams create innovative products? Are your product engineers using cutting edge practices to get out ahead of the competition or are unchanging product development processes holding your business back? How do you align your product development with your corporate strategy? Are you able to harness experimentation and quickly identify and develop winners?
http://www.cutter.com/events/multimedia/product-development-game-changer.html

The Discipline of Technical Debt

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 14:30:37 -0500

Gat, Israel | E-Mail Advisors |
As technical debt tools like Sonar and SQALE become more and more pervasive, the measurement and interpretation of technical debt are becoming fairly standard operating procedures in many of the development "shops" I work with.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/advisor/2012/apm121220.html

Teamwork in an Agile Context

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 14:29:16 -0500

Brosseau, Jim | Executive Updates |
Think back for a moment to the best project experience you have ever had. It may have been in the workplace, part of some team sport you were involved with, or perhaps it was a major trip you undertook with your family. What are the characteristics that made that a great project experience?
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/updates/2012/apmu1217.html

Take Something Old and Make It New

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 14:27:56 -0500

Kellen, Vince | E-Mail Advisors |
The IT industry is full of what practitioners affectionately call "vendor speak." These are IT acronyms bandied about in sometimes mellifluous pseudo-sentences that seduce unsuspecting minds into foggy head-nodding.
http://www.cutter.com/content/alignment/fulltext/advisor/2012/bit121220.html

Transforming Software Operations from a Liability to an Asset

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 14:26:29 -0500

Rasmus Wihlborg Jelsgaard | Executive Updates |
Devops and other efforts to strengthen the collaboration between development and operations seem to be touted as the cure-all solutions for delivering new features on time and at the desired quality. Implement continuous delivery on top of it and you're all set: next stop, Happyville.
http://www.cutter.com/content/project/fulltext/updates/2012/apmu1216.html

Peer-to-Peer: Making Product Development a Game Changer

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:17:10 -0500