Exploring Extreme Programming
Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most. Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen. Penguin Books, 1999. Their model is that a difficult conversation has three aspects: “what happened,” “feelings,” and “identity.” When these are mixed together, it can Continue reading Review – Difficult Conversations
XP teams have to manage stories and tasks. The INVEST and SMART acronyms can remind teams of the good characteristics of each. Continue reading INVEST in Good Stories, and SMART Tasks
Quality Software Management, Volume 4: Anticipating Change, Gerald M. Weinberg, Dorset House, 1997. This book contains advice for people who are trying to be change artists, those who change their world. One technique they use is to provide a number Continue reading Review – Quality Software Management, vol. 4: Anticipating Change
What are some books recommended for agile coaches? Continue reading Books for Coaches
Chris Crawford on Game Design, Chris Crawford, New Riders Games, 2003. Chris Crawford is the designer of Balance of Power and numerous other games. He surveys his own and others’ games, and considers games along the dimensions of play, challenge, Continue reading Review – Chris Crawford on Game Design
Surf Ninjas, directed by Neal Israel, 1993. It’s mostly a silly romp, though you could probably pull out a lesson on developing a shared vision. But it’s worth it just to hear Rob Schneider’s rant on knives. (Reviewed May ’03)
The Princess Bride, directed by Rob Reiner, 1987.This is one of those movies where people have the lines memorized, but in addition to having a good story, it has real lessons on management, teamwork, and destiny.(Reviewed May ’03)
Office Space, directed by Mike Judge, 1999. A peek into cube life. (Reviewed May ’03)
Test-Driven Development: By Example, Kent Beck. Addison-Wesley, 2002. Test-driven development is a programming method that says: write a test, write some code, refactor, repeat. For me, the biggest hole in Extreme Programming Explained was the lack of explanation of this technique, Continue reading Review – Test-Driven Development (Beck)
Thinking Beyond Lean, Michael A. Cusumano and Kentaro Nobeoka, Free Press, 1998. The subtitle is “How multi-project management is transforming product development at Toyota and other companies,” and that pretty much says what it is. Once you have lean approaches, Continue reading Review – Thinking Beyond Lean