Herding Cats

Thinking About Lean

"Thinking about lean" requires a starting point. Without such a starting point the conversations get off track real fast - as I've experienced in the Lean Forum. My training and experience in this area (Six Sigma and Lean) is limited... Read more →

Is Testing Muda?

The notion that testing is a "waste" has got me spun up for sure. Let's go back to basics and start from a solid foundation. The concept of "waste" in the Japanese manufacturing has crept into software development. And like... Read more →

Is the Agile Manifesto Appropriate for My Domain?

A post by Jason Yip prompted a thought. Is the Agile Manifesto Appropriate in my domain. Or for that matter, in what domains is the Agile Manifesto appropriate? The continued issues of establishing a context and a domain never seems... Read more →

Testing is a Waste? Updated

Some in the agile community would suggest that "testing is a waste." This position misses the critical success factor for projects: Risk identification process must be part of any credible project management framework. Testing provides information Information has value This... Read more →

2007 Books

The annual book list is a tradition in many outlets ranging from Blogs to the Booz Allen reading list. Here's my list of books that were memorable in 2007. Performance Based Earned Value, Paul J. Solomon and Ralph R. Young,... Read more →

Doing Stupid Things on Purpose?

We had a banner over the door way at our nuclear weapons plant decommissioning project. Don't so stupid things on purpose This banner was meant to remind all those working on the decommissioning of the plant not to "do stupid... Read more →