This week, I continue to build out the Development Process section of the Compendium with the addition of Development Process Metrics. When readers find that I only recommend two metrics to be common across all teams, they will either be excited or disappointed, both for reasons covered in… Read More »Prescription for Process Metrics: Apply Sparingly, Consume with Context
For well over a decade, clients and colleagues have asked that I publish some of my guidance and training on all things Product Development so they could make use of it.
I am happy to announce the launch of The Hawkins Compendium, a curation of material I have developed over the years while leading development teams and organizations to greater levels of productivity and collaboration.
When we learn new things from grappling with problems, it is natural for us to want to share those learnings with others, in hopes that they will face similar challenges with less of a struggle.
How do those well-intended new ideas so often evolve into movements that seem to lose their way, and at times do more harm than good?
In the course of observing and at times being involved in this phenomenon, I sought to understand what I saw happening time and again. Almost a decade ago, I arrived at an explanation that I named The Myth of Commoditized Excellence. What follows are the steps that can lead down this unfortunate path.
Have you ever wondered why your team is using its current development process?
If you’re the person facilitating the process, have you ever been asked “Why are we doing things this way?” and found yourself unable to articulate anything beyond process mechanics?
For me, an effective development process is meant to provide four key outcomes beyond merely delivering work. I expect these outcomes irrespective of the methodology, framework, or tools being used. My focus here is team-level development process, but the outcomes certainly scale to the organizational level.
Earlier this year, my friend Andy Glover interviewed me for season 4 of his IBM developerWorks Java technical series Podcast (RSS, iTunes, MP3 download) on the topic of Agile software development. The episode is titled “Barry Hawkins on agile software development” and runs 41:03 in length. This… Read More »IBM developerWorks Podcast: Barry Hawkins on agile software development
Being in my ninth year of applying the processes and technical practices of Agile and Lean software development, people are sometimes surprised to hear me say that Scrum is still my preferred process. Let me explain. Scrum was designed to enable empirical process control for… Read More »Empirical Process Control: Why Scrum Works
I consult with all sorts of companies looking to adopt elements of process and practice from the Agile/Lean offerings. Whether it’s Scrum, Test-Driven Development, User Stories, Test Automation, Continuous Integration, Agile Estimation and Planning, Sprint Planning, or Sprint Retrospective facilitation, one challenge pervades across most… Read More »The Discipline Deficit
After an Agile adoption is underway and the feedback mechanisms of most Agile processes begin to function, one or more team members usually ask me something like the following: Is it just my company that has a hard time with Agile? No, it’s not just… Read More »Is it just my company that has a hard time with Agile?
This installment of the Ask an Agile Coach series is a question normally asked by persons outside my field, but lately I have been asking it myself: What is an Agile Coach? Good question. I am not sure anymore. The more I encounter others who… Read More »Ask an Agile Coach: What is an Agile Coach?
A few years ago, my blogging fell off sharply. There were multiple reasons for that. I began to spend my discretionary time elsewhere, including with my young child and playing World of Warcraft with my wife after the little one was asleep. Additionally, I began… Read More »Still a place for blogging