Exploring Extreme Programming
XP and Scrum project plans can operate with less detail than traditional project plans; this is like a fisheye lens, which shows more detail about things close to the center. Continue reading Fisheye Lens Project Management
This is a summary and critique of The Knowledge-Creating Company, by Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi. They are the original protagonists of the Scrum approach. Continue reading The Knowledge-Creating Company – Extended Summary
When refactorings change the design of a system, they update the tests just enough to accommodate the revision. This keeps the tests working, but tests have other roles. To continue to support these roles, you often need to further modify the tests and add new ones. Continue reading The Impact of Refactoring on Tests
Theory of Constraints: What is this thing called Theory of Constraints, and how should it be implemented? Eliyahu Goldratt. North River Press, 1990. Let me give my rare thumbs down review (usually I just ignore the ones I don’t like). Continue reading Review – Theory of Constraints
Things that Make Us Smart, Donald A. Norman, Perseus Books, 1993. Similar in tone and scope to his other books (that’s an endorsement:), Things that Make Us Smart explores ways in which we use artifacts to improve our cognitive abilities. Continue reading Review – Things that Make Us Smart
Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software, Charles Petzold, Microsoft Press, 2000. It’s safe to assume you will never be called on to build a computer out of relays. But if you were, this book would give you Continue reading Review – Code, by Charles Petzold
The Innovation Algorithm: TRIZ, Systematic Innovation and Technical Creativity, Genrich Altshuller, Technical Innovation Center, 1999 edition. Altshuller was an inventor who systematically studied patents to learn the principles behind them. He developed “algorithms” to take advantage of the principles of Continue reading Review – The Innovation Algorithm
Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations, R.C. Bell, Dover, 1979. Last year, I got to play Nine-Men’s Morris, a more challenging relative of tic-tac-toe. (I lost consistently:( But that inspired me to find a book describing many old games: Continue reading Review – Board and Table Games
The Study of Games. Elliott M. Avedon & Brian Sutton-Smith. Wiley, 1971, ISBN 0-471-03839-3. This book looks at games (both ancient & relatively modern) from a variety of perspectives. Most of these didn’t do too much for me. I did Continue reading Review – The Study of Games
The Book of Card Games, Peter Arnold, Barnes and Noble, 1988. This compendium describes many (~150) card games, always explaining the rules and occasionally delving into strategy. There are a few solitaire games; the majority are for multiple players. There Continue reading Review – The Book of Card Games