(luKa)

Un video per condividere le lezioni che ho imparato e maturato,  a partire dalla proma Keynote di Joseph Pelrine al Agile Day nel 2004.

Ho realizzato non tutti sanno che da qualche tempo mi sono messo dinuovo in proprio, ho aperto la mia azienda, e ho creato un blog aziendale.

Questa è la mia nuova avventura: http://www.smharter.com/

E questo è il blog aziendale. Qui pubblico guide o post sul tema lean-agile IT/Business/Coaching, che a differenza di questo mio blog in UGIdotNET più riflessivo e personale, li i post sono piu pensati e con il lettore in mente: http://www.smharter.com/blog/

Accetto volentieri commenti e feedback.

Summer is here.

Time for a break, to re-energise, and explore.

Here a summer reading list, books, for the (to be) reformed manager. It's from my company blog:
- http://www.smharter.com/blog/2017/06/28/summer-reading-list-for-the-to-be-reformed-manager/

And here a selection of posts from this blog of mine:
- http://blogs.ugidotnet.org/luKa/archive/2012/06/25/summer-posts-selection-again.aspx

Have a nice summer !

Here follow my notes and excerpts from the article:
- A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making by David J. Snowden and Mary E. Boone. HBR, Nov. 2007
I advise to look also at the article's section: Decisions in Multiple Contexts: A Leader’s Guide.

And here there is an extrimely short and simplified version from Alistar Cockburn: http://alistair.cockburn.us/Simplifying+Cynefin






Obvious
Sense-Categorise-Respond
Sense =  assess the facts of the situation.
Categorise = categorise 😃 It's easily discernible by everyone. Often, the right answer is self-evident and undisputed.
Respond = base their response on established practice.

Example
Event: loan payment processing, are often simple contexts. If some- thing goes awry...
Sense = an employee can usually identify the problem when, say, a borrower pays less than is required.
Categorise = review the loan documents to see how partial payments must be processed.
Respond = either not accept the payment or apply the funds according to the terms of the note.

Extra notes: Exhaustive communication among managers and employees is not usually re- quired because disagreement about what needs to be done is rare.



Complicated
Sense-Analyse-Respond
Analyse =  Expert diagnosis required. Often requires expertise, investigating several options.

Examples
- A motorist may know that something is wrong with his car because the engine is knocking, but he has to take it to a mechanic to diagnose the problem.
- The search for oil or mineral deposits. The effort usually requires a team of experts, more than one place will potentially produce results, and the location of the right spots for drilling or mining involves complicated analysis and understanding of consequences at multiple levels.
- Engineering a new cell phone might emphasize feature A over feature B, but an alternative plan—emphasizing feature C—might be equally valuable.

Extra notes: innovative suggestions and controversial ideas by nonexperts may be overlooked or dismissed.
Another potential obstacle is “analysis paralysis,” where a group of experts hits a stalemate, unable to agree on any answers because of each individual’s entrained thinking—or ego.



Complex
Probe-Sense-Respond
Probe =  Leaders conduct experiments that are safe to fail. Leaders must patiently allow the path forward to reveal itself: set the stage, step back a bit, allow patterns to emerge.
Sense = Determine which patterns are desirable

Examples
- Some major change—a bad quarter, a shift in management, a merger or acquisition—introduces unpredictability and flux.
- The Brazilian rainforest, is in constant flux—a species becomes extinct, weather patterns change, an agricultural project reroutes a water source—and the whole is far more than the sum of its parts.

Extra notes: Of primary concern is the temptation to fall back into traditional command-and-control management styles—to demand fail-safe business plans with defined outcomes.
May also find it difficult to tolerate failure, which is an essential aspect of experimental understanding. Trying to overcontrol the organisation will preempt the opportunity for informative patterns to emerge. 



Chaos
Act-Sense-Respond
Act = Stanch the bleeding. Establish order. Communication of the most direct top-down or broadcast kind is imperative; there’s simply no time to ask for input.
Sense = Sense where stability is present and from where it is absent.
Respond = Working to transform the situation from chaos to complexity.

Examples
- The events of September 11, 2001.

Extra notes: A specific danger for leaders following a crisis is that some of them become less successful when the context shifts because they are not able to switch styles to match it.

In traditional industrial mass production, quality can be defined as conformance to specifications. And it can be assessed upfront in a prescriptive way.

For complex industrial products this definition of quality at times can be not enough. While for digital products from the information-age, this definition is largely insufficient.







As surfaced during a discussion with Mike Cohn, nowadays quality is also:

• Fitness for use and fitness for purpose
  Sometimes products, especially new ones, can get used in ways and for purposes that cannot be anticipated nor conceived. When people start using a product in totally unanticipated ways, will it display the same quality?
  
  
• Contextual and subjective
  Different people can also look at a product's quality in different ways and from different prospectives. Indeed quality is in part in the eye of the beholders, depends on the person that judge it. An engineer for example could look at product’s maintainability, extensibility and evolvability while an end user could look at how well the product works. A casual user for example could look at product’s learnability and understandability, while a frequent user could look at configurability and speed.
  
  
• Relative
  A product for example can be superior or inferior to a competitor’s product or to a cheaper product.
  
  
• In evolution and changes over time
  The product and its users change and co-evolve together over time. Think for example at the history of tools and humanity and how these are inextricably intermingled.
  
  Mike Cohn: "I remember many many years ago Borland’s Turbo C 1.5 came with source code to a sample spreadsheet application. It didn’t do much but it was as good as the VisiCalc I’d run on CP/M years earlier. I remember thinking I wanted a time machine—If I’d had a time machine and that spreadsheet source code I could have gone back to before VisiCalc came out and sold the little Borland mcalc spreadsheet and have made millions. And 10 years later simple spreadsheets were so simple Borland just tossed them into their compilers as freebies. So, a “quality spreadsheet” does depend on context—neither of those would be viewed as a quality spreadsheet today. "
  
  
• Intangible
  I find it hard (impossible?) to define quality as much as I find hard to define and measure intangible things like humour, kindness, grace or personality.
  
  Mike Cohn: " And good points about comparing quality to humour, grace, kindness, and such. Those are very similar—perhaps definable only in context and subjectively.:
  

Because of this, there is an inherent limit for how much quality problems can be prevented with a prescriptive upfront approach to quality assurance. Over that limit, investing more time and effort wont produce any improvement in quality.
Reactive approach to quality assurance consist in quickly spotting and reacting to quality problems, diagnosing and solving them so quickly and effectively that there are no or very little consequences.
Some of the learnings made using reactive approach, once acquired can then be incorporated into the prescriptive approach, for others will only be possible to spot them in a reactive way.

This is a selection from 6000+ tweets and retweets posted here in 6 years.

Product Owner role
Confessions of a serial #ProductOwner, based on a true story by Anna Forss link
RT @RonJeffries: We don't want a Product Owner. We want a Product Champion. link
#ProductOwner  Embrace Uncertainty by Jeff Patton link
Many key success factors for IT projects I worked with,very well explained in "Agile Product Ownership in a nutshell" link
5) Don’t know what I want, but I know how to get it: link
RT ‏@lgoncalves 20 Product Owner Anti Patterns link #scrum #coaching #agile #productowner
An example of expected skills set for a Product Owner about Product Development: link
Obliquity, another key skill for Product Owners :  link

User Stories
Patterns for Splitting User Stories link
RT @giusdesimone: @ralfhh: @rslawrence: Just published a new story splitting resource, "How to Split a User Story" flowchart:  link
#ProductOwner How to split a user story link
#xpitlondon Elephant Capaccio exercise facilitated by @xpmatteo link
Payroll is all or nothing right ? A forgot lesson about incremental releases: link
RT @StefanRoock: User Stories are about conversations. link
#ProductDevelopment. In solitude/isolation. Or as an interactive/iterative live performance act w/ an audience of real users/stakeholders

Requirements
We are not limited by what we don't know. We are limited by what we incorrectly think to know and what we don't even imagine we do not know
The principles and laws and lemmas of sw requirements from sw engineering :  http://tinyurl.com/requirements-principles #requirements
RT @Keinze: @lukadotnet Everyone should read your collection of requirements principles link
RT @sigsoft: "Walking on water and developing software from a spec are easy if both are frozen", Ed Berard. Agile & Requirements Engineering
Every project initially is based on unvalidated assumptions that are presented as requirements: link and link
Gradual discovery and motivated confidence over the illusion of power and control  The faster the target is moving,the more increasing inspect-adapt frequency is beneficial/advantageous/profitable over perfecting the plan link link
Are we creating better products? Are we executing vision faster? Are we spotting and exploiting opportunities sooner? If not, why?
Good software design decisions lead to more future-proof,easy-to-maintain systems & are well aligned w/ business requirements -@siebertlubbe
#Lean recognize both unknowns, uncertainties & what cannot be measured i.e. in the principles:Deliver as fast as possible,Amplify learning
2nd red pill: sensing unknowns uncertainties and the unexpected over what is known, and explore them
3rd red pill:be aware of inherent ambiguities,incomplete info,fragmented realities,multiplicity of pnt of views.And strive for understanding

Priorities
RT @drunkcod: "If you have more than 3 priorities then you don't have any." -Jim Collins
You literally ought to be asking yourself all the time what's the most important thing in the world I could be working on right now ... and if you are not working on that why aren't you? -- Aaron Swartz
"It requires more experience, discipline and skill to forgo a quick win today in favour of being in a better place tomorrow" - @patforna
(Low) costs of generating alternatives, experimenting & iterating enable a new product development approach & new management style #Agility
Patience to conduct routine business routinely, talent to respond exceptionally to exceptional circumstances, wisdom to know the difference
Former tweet an excerpt from Business stripped bare by Richard Branson, link
Good software design decisions lead to more future-proof,easy-to-maintain systems & are well aligned w/ business requirements -@siebertlubbe

Estimations and deadlines
RT @tastapod: The wonderful Allan Kelly: "We start with a ritual called estimation" link /via @qedtherese
An explorer is not defined by the kilometres he travels, but by the places he discovers. SW development is about exploring new possibilities
RT @fabioarmani: Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.  — Douglas Hofstadter
It is not possible to estimate what ... ?  link
How to assess, communicate and manage uncertainty and risk with Agility? link
RT @cyetain: @lukadotnet The important estimates are the ones that point out where the uncertainty lies (2/2) @kjscotland
RT @henrikkniberg: When developing, I have only 3 feature sizes. Small (< 1 day). Medium (1-2 days). Large (too big, must be broken down).
A tight deadline is just a simple reassuring problem.The real&complex one is 'are we building the right product,will users/market like it?'
“making promises to deliver sw by December, when engineers had said it wouldn’t be ready until April" sound familiar? link
1) Promise something you can't honor 2) Finalize the sell 3) Delegate someone else to keep your promise. Mmmh  link
Estimation is Evil link & The #NoEstimates Movement link by @RonJeffries

 

This is a selection of tweets about truth & reality, ideology, cult, orthodoxy and prejudices - in general, in IT and in CS, from 6000+ tweets posted in 6 years. With minor edits to increase readability.


Suggests additional tweets and comments, here and on twitter. I'll add them to the list.















  TRUTH   
What's art, what's not? What's good, what's not? What's right, what's not? What's true, what's not?  And who decides?
Philosophy is a handbook of life, Andrea Camilleri - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Camilleri
Social constructionism study the ways in which individuals and groups participate in the construction of their perceived social reality
Consensus theory holds that #truth is whatever is agreed upon by some specified group
Consensus reality is that which is generally agreed to be reality, based on a consensus view.
W.James's Pragmatic theory of truth:a quality the value of  is confirmed by its effectiveness when applying concepts to actual practice
Knowledge between truth and belief: image
Superstition: the belief on imaginary cause-effect relations
Various theories and views of truth continue to be debated among scholars and philosophers - link
@giulio_vian have read that for most of the religions "truth" is transcendent; and each religion have a different representation of that
Lying is a cooperative act,a lie has no power until someone else agrees to believe the lie. Pamela Meyer video



   TRUTH & VALUE-FRAME   
Value pluralism:the idea that there are several values which may be equally correct and fundamental, and yet in conflict with each other
Realized value system: contains exceptions to resolve contradictions b/w values in practical circumstances,Is what ppl tend to use in daily life
Idealized value system:a listing of values that lacks exceptions,absolute.Absolutists:who hold to idealized value sys & claim no exceptions
Every value system, like the Agile one,  inevitably is incomplete, has some inconsistencies, contradictions and ambiguities
On Value systems pluralism and Realized value system Vs #Lean or #Agile cult/ideology: link



   RELIABLE SOURCES OF TRUTH   
When validity of a concept is based on faith on the Master,who prove Master's correctness? When 2 Masters disagree, who decide who's right?
Validity of a theory can't be proved by consensus except for cults & superstitions.While magic & any suffic adv technology are on their own league
RT @demingSoS: "Do not believe anything because I have told you so. Only believe it when you have tested it for yourself." Buddha
RT @TheBuddhaNature: "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who said it, no matter if I said it." ~Buddha
RT @MarkGraban: When somebody says "I am a professor" and therefore can't be argued with... they aren't a very good professor.
@giulio_vian The difficult one, choosing Masters that encourage to develop personal insights rather than to subscribe to one given truth
Can you imagine a scientific field where validity of an hypothesis is decided by the proposing scientist's popularity & the current trend?
While your opinion, belief,intuition,feeling can be right you need facts,evidences,arguments to share it,discuss it,improve it with others



  TRUTH AND OPENNESS   
Openness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Openness
The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting; by doubting we come to the question,and by seeking we may come upon the truth - Pierre Abelard
RT @cyetain: "Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd."- Voltaire
RT @TheBuddhaNature: "The truth you believe and cling to, makes you unavailable to hear anything new." ~ Pema Chodron
All models, frameworks & well established knowledge may blind us when facing raw talent, unconventional approaches, creativity & innovation
"There always are 2 options:A)Disagree B)Learn something new. Smart people usually try option B multiple times first. It's called Listening"
Explore the unknown,learn a new thing,try something different,cross a border,build a bridge,connect the dots in unprecedent ways,be a pioneer
What we know, what we believe to know, what we know and is wrong, what we don't know, what is uncertain, what change, what we'll never know
Self-transcendence, Openness to change, Self-enhancement, Conservation image
RT @DerailleurAgile The six blind men and the elephant link // This is also known as cognitive bias. via @lukadotnet HT @YannPdeM
RT @migueldeicaza: "opinion without experience is called prejudice" by @natfriedman
"Prejudice has 2 characteristics: 1)Everyone has prejudices 2)Nobody realizes that they are prejudiced"-@RisingLinda: link
When intuition is to put an experience into a known sys of thought/theory instead of expanding the boundaries of understanding, is prejudice
When dealing with unknowns with a limited time to decide, a #belief is called #intuition. Over a long period is called #superstition
When dealing with principles at some point you will most likely face the choice of being pragmatic/contextual vs ideological/maximalist
@giulio_vian A principle imply judgement of situation,evaluation of context,dealing w/ exceptions. Ideology is absolutist, totalitarian
To be cynical is to submit fully to an ideological structure despite knowing better - Slavoj Zizek.  What ideology are you submitting to?
RT @LeanVoices: The arrogant man thinks he is entirely right and never wrong, the wise man knows he is often wrong and never entirely right.
"Arrogance: believing you know the *right* answers better than any other. Confidence: knowing that you can cope with what will be."
"Confidence of knowing the right answer is arrogance in disguise. Real confidence is knowing to be able to cope with what will be."
Arrogance often indicates loss of contact w/ reality,affect learning,was considered the greatest crime of ancient Greek link
IMHO good consultants are those who can be confident without being arrogant, who have initiative without lacking empathy & ability to listen
When arrogance meet lack of empathy, groupthink is just one step away. Add a dash of violent communication & bullying is just one step away.
Mastering the art of being humble toward unknowns and experts, and at the same time seamlessly being courageous with plenty of initiative



  POWER & TRUTH   
How discipline, community, action and vision can lead to a disaster link
False statements that support the power structure of the hierarchy get precedence over true statements that put the power struct in question
 ... from S. Denning about struggle between power and truth
Facing an inconvenient truth can be harder than reveling an inconvenient truth #transparency
There is no tech argument that can be decided by authority except in religion, in politic, in sects, in authoritarian & totalitarian regimes
having the authority to decide does not imply bening authoritative
@ZJemptv what you call critique could be moralism: judging someonelse behaviour based on own subjective values & morality  @coreyhaines
Moralist is someone who judges others according to his/her own values & beliefs & doesn't recognize to others the right to choose their own
What if #Agile #Orthodoxy is used as a weapon to oppose disagreement and dissent in support of some1 authoritativeness? link
Critical thinking and independent judgment over the cult of personality and cult leaders: The 5th value of the #Agile Manifesto
@ImaginaryTime that move the focus from the cult of personality (of the master) to the scientific method to objectively demonstrate a theory
@ramtop yep forgot self-appointed high priests of agile methodologies & their churches.After all IT too deserve its Scientology... or not?
RT @RonJeffries: @agilemanager do you imagine, somehow, that dragging agile down with misstatements will somehow make your ideas taller?



  TRUTH IN IT & COMPUTER SCIENCE   
RT @LeanVoices: You might be entitled to your own opinion but you are not entitled to your own facts. R Dawkins
Distinction between exact sciences & humanities, demarcation problem b/w science & pseudoscience: good to know for software production pros
Exact science link Humanities link Demarcation problem link
@jchyip @marick and at the same time science progress also with help by unproven conjectures and intuitions link
RT @LeanVoices: There is a world of difference between those who seek the truth and those who want to win a debate at the expense of truth.
@tobiasmayer Can we say is Dogma-free when each rule have a purpose and when the beliefs are supported by facts? @OlafLewitz @waynerpalmer
proven facts/data, subjective perspectives, personal opinions & preferences, science/engineering,politic,religion/cult, superstition,trend
In pub talks belief and opinions suffice. (SW) Engineers instead should use facts, evidences and good arguments
Science uses external reviews & experiment replication. What about  methodologists that use only data from their own projects, is it enough?
Case-based reasoning, Retrieve-Reuse-Revise-Retain: turning anecdotal evidence into science? link
Professional software development between science, sound experience and beliefs: link
Many ways of looking at Software development, from software religions to computers programming: link
Free yourself from cargo cult software development, recognize the unknowns in professional software production link
#SoftwareAdvertising is tools vendors & consultants advertising themselves w/ smoke&mirrors as opposed to sharing valuable content/insights
#SoftwareFashion is about following new trends as opposed to developing mastery in one area and develop useful evolution
#SoftwarePolitic is about collecting consensus & search for supporters as opposed to searching for solutions that actually works well enough
#SoftwareSuperstition is about counting on unproven cause-effect relationships as opposed to empirical evidences, proven facts,real data
#SoftwareReligion is about believing something as opposed to having experienced it hands-on directly
IT magic: where people love superstitions, illusions, silver bullets, magic tricks over professionally expertise competence and perseverance
IT religion: where people love opinions beliefs rituals sermons tribal belonging over facts, evidences, good arguments, hands-on experience
IT fashion: where people love the newest and the trendy! Yesterday science/progress/discoveries are outmoded
@migueldeicaza @natfriedman opinion not based of facts/evidence is called superstition or arrogance
@migueldeicaza @natfriedman opinion based only on own idea and point of view is called conservative narrow minded
@migueldeicaza @natfriedman opinion based only on previous experiences is called preconceived idea