Lean

Why Continuous Improvement Is Worth It?

When we start a new software project, we are typically full of enthusiasm. The whole team thinks that this time we will be able to avoid the mistakes we made in our previous projects. We dream that this time everything will be perfect. And then, we wake up. When the first weeks (or months) are […] Read more

What I Learned This Week (Week 49/2013)

Each week I write a blog post which describes what I learned that week. I write these blog posts for two reasons. First, I want to keep track of my personal development and writing regular blog posts is a great way to do it. Second, I want to share my findings with you. I hope […] Read more

The Way of the Hipster

Everyone has heard about hipster developers. These are the guys and gals who are working in startups and doing cool things. They are not driven by money. They are driven by the will to make the world a better place for all of us. They use cool technologies. They are agile. They are lean. You […] Read more

The Dark Side of Best Practices

Best practices are the backbone of software development (or so we are told). Every developer has his own opinions about software development processes, architecture, and programming. These opinions are based on education, personal experiences, and the experiences of other software developers. These opinions are also known as best practices, and every software company has them. […] Read more

Getting the Best Bang for Our Buck - Building the Right Thing

One of the biggest problems of software projects is that we have no idea whether we are creating waste or value. The scariest thing is that 80 percent of software’s features are not used on a regular basis. Thus, it is very likely that we are adding waste to our software right now. This should […] Read more

Getting the Best Bang for Our Buck - Waste or Value?

Too often we measure software development projects by using criteria such as schedule or budget. We treat these projects as construction projects and forget that a software development project is also a product development project that cannot be measured by using the same criteria. This blog entry takes a bit different approach, and explains why […] Read more