Published in The Pragmatic Programmers·PinnedHow To Make Informal Networks Emerge in EnterprisesCreating a Fertile Environment to Nurture Connections — “You want all your bought goods in one home delivery even though you want some things on a private receipt, while others are paid for by your company? I’m so sorry. Our IT system does not admit registrations of mixed-order home deliveries. Many customers request that function, and I understand…Lean6 min read
Published in The Pragmatic Programmers·PinnedAwarded Nobel Prize, Still Failed to Meet OKRWhat Do Objectives and Key Results Measure? — “If I achieve such a victory again, I shall return to Epirus without any soldier.” The best thing about a well-crafted OKR — Objectives and Key Results — is that it gives us an easy way to grade our completed work over the past quarter. …Agile4 min read
Published in The Pragmatic Programmers·PinnedIs Continuous Product Improvement a Dead-End Strategy?Look for the Unexpected — 📚 Connect with us. Want to hear what’s new at The Pragmatic Bookshelf? Sign up for our newsletter. You’ll be the first to know about author speaking engagements, books in beta, new books in print, and promo codes that give you discounts of up to 40 percent. An affordance is…Innovation3 min read
Published in The Pragmatic Programmers·PinnedThe Failsafe Agile TransformationWhat Is Your Context? — “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” Rather than answering Alice’s question, the Cheshire Cat reviewed it. “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where — ” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t…Agile4 min read
Apr 27Agile ≠ LeanHow many times have you heard the question: “What are the pros and cons of Agile?” Unfortunately, that question is put in the wrong way. Let’s start on the highway. Hey, we have built a new superfast highway. Admittedly, it is only single-lane. But in every other aspect it is premium quality. The first car…Agile21 min read
Published in The Pragmatic Programmers·Updated Jul 22, 2021What Is Different About These Two Bikes?Monotasking and Additive Versus Subtractive Solutions — Can you spot the difference between the two bikes? What purpose do these bikes have in common? Multitasking accelerates our eagerness towards additive solutions while monotasking supports subtractive thinking, research shows. This finding matters since adding rigid constraints to a complex system may make the system even more complex. Subtractive…Snfocus2 min read
Published in The Pragmatic Programmers·Updated Jul 19, 2021The Time Pressure TrapUse Monotasking to Relieve the Artifice of Time Pressure — Time pressure is shaped within ourselves. People may strongly demand that we immediately spend our time on their tasks. Their demands give us excuses for creating time pressure, but the time pressure is built by ourselves. With monotasking, we don’t need time pressure. A study conducted by Harvard Business School…Articles2 min read
Published in The Pragmatic Programmers·Updated Jun 3, 2021MonotaskingHow do you prioritize tasks? — “I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.” This food for thought from 1954 is the foundation for the Eisenhower Box, named after the 34th president of the United States. Important tasks contribute to our long-term…Snfocus1 min read
