Steve Neiderhauser

Scrum InfoGraphic

Mike Cohn describes what happens during the different ceremonies in Scrum.

The diagram is a nice reference and reminder of what happens during a sprint.

Five Org Design Tips

With the world changing faster and faster, we need ways to change our organizations so it stays relevant.

In this IDEO article, Kim Cullen explains how to change an org by experimenting, responding to feedback, and iterating. She shares five tips.

I won't discuss all the tips... Although the first tip reminds me of what I learned as a software architect. Speak their language. If you're working with the executive team, skip the change management lingo and speak in business terms.

Big insight: Meet people where they are. Ground organizational design in a familiar context, and make it tangible.

Kim's tips add up to a set of behaviors: Get scrappy, get tangible, find your people, and learn by doing.

How to Change Your Organization Culture

Michael Sahota writes an excellent article on organization culture and how to change it.

He replaces Kotter's "Sense of Urgency" change step with "Desire for Growth." Michael suggests that a strong desire for growth is essential for organization change.

Simple Rules for Lean Software Development

In Lean Software Development, the authors provide seven simple rules for software development.

Quite often, simple rules are used to reinforce a paradigm shift, so the rules often focus on the counterintuitive elements of decision making. Here are seven simple rules, or principles, for software development.

1. Eliminate waste: Spend time only on what adds real customer value.
2. Amplify learning: Accelerate feedback loops.
3. Decide as late as possible: Keep your options open as long as possible.
4. Deliver as fast as possible: Deliver value to customers as soon as they ask for it.
5. Empower the team: Let people who add value use their full potential.
6. Build integrity in: Don't try to tack on integrity after the product is built.
7. See the whole: Beware the temptation to optimize part at the expense of the whole.

These simple patterns are powerful. Due to their simplicity the concepts can be used in a variety of product development situations.