Our source code repository is currently hosted at the offshore development site and there is no external access to it (neither through the Internet nor a VPN). While this is certainly desirable from a security standpoint, I'd really love to see what the developers are actually working on. I asked the director there to put … Continue reading Setting Up A Secure Subversion Source Code Repository
Month: December 2008
Recession Spells Doom for Gantt Charts
This week I had the pleasure of seeing an actual, honest-to-goodness Gantt chart clutched in our boss's emphatically gesticulating hand. I actually did a double take to verify what I was seeing and shook my head in disbelief. OK, so we've quite a way to go before we'll be able to call ourselves agile. But, … Continue reading Recession Spells Doom for Gantt Charts
Agile Tool Vendors: Please don’t try to manage complexity – simplify my life!
We've been using Mingle for over one year now and it serves us quite well. During the course of the year, we used it to manage over 2000 stories, issues and chores, and we currently only have around 90 open ones left. The only major shortcoming in my eyes is the lack of a real … Continue reading Agile Tool Vendors: Please don’t try to manage complexity – simplify my life!
Static Backlogs, Delivery Dates and “Done”
Getting to know our product manager over the last couple weeks, I got the impression he was a bit overwhelmed with all the favors, bugs and feature requests he was faced with every day. So, I asked him where he maintained all these different things and he pulled up a spreadsheet. When I asked him … Continue reading Static Backlogs, Delivery Dates and “Done”
Synergy Map: How To Map Out Your Current Strategy (Part 2 of 2)
In the first part of my how to map your current strategy using a synergy map, I showed you how to position your projects on a synergy map and how to add size, completion and feelings to it. In this post, I want to show you how to find synergies and conflicts between your goals … Continue reading Synergy Map: How To Map Out Your Current Strategy (Part 2 of 2)
New Job at NetDoktor
On Monday, I started my new job as CTO of NetDoktor.de GmbH. Its the #1 health portal over here in Germany (ala WebMD or Revolution Health in the States). One of my main tasks will be to bring a more agile approach to their software development. As they currently outsource the website development, I once … Continue reading New Job at NetDoktor
Synergy Map: How To Map Out Your Current Strategy (Part 1 of 2)
Are you sometimes overwhelmed by all the stuff going on in parallel? Especially when dealing with web operations, urgent tasks can blur your view on what's really important. In my last post about how to stop being busy and get productive instead, I showed a quick way of reconnecting with your goals. In this article, … Continue reading Synergy Map: How To Map Out Your Current Strategy (Part 1 of 2)
