Thinking Business

Any product or service has a natural audience, a group of people...

Sun, 27 May 2012 12:17:00 -0400

Any product or service has a natural audience, a group of people they serve. This part of this infographic shows clearly who Twitter serves. The larger diagram shows the same for the rest of Social Media.

The reason I show this graphic is to remind you of the key question for any business, or even career choice. Who do you serve? Forget about markets and niches and demographics. Picture that person or that group of people, imagine who they are.

Now, do you like that person? Do you truly want to serve him? Do you want to make their lives more fun, better, easier, or are you just interested in their money? Money should never be the motivator. Making a difference in that person’s life should be! Money will always come after you do things right. Don’t worry, it will come, just do things the right way, and rewards will come your way. Be a servant leader.

Remember the good advice of a scientist and a philosopher:

The true destiny of any individual is to serve rather than to rule. ~ Albert Einstein

Good leaders must first become good servants.” ~ Robert Greenleaf

Top Project Management Salaries Across the globe, as reported by...

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:19:00 -0400

Top Project Management Salaries Across the globe, as reported by PMI’s 2011 survey:

Switzerland: US$ 160,409
Australia: US$ 139,497
Germany: US$ 110,347
The Netherlands: $109,775
Belgium: $108,750
USA: $105,000
Canada: $98,517
Ireland: $101,635
United Kingdom: $96,384
New Zealand: $91,109

The one constant we see is that all these countries have high levels of development. With several being part of the G8 group of nations.

Surprisingly France, Italy, Japan and Russia are not in the top 10. Undoubtedly they can’t be far behind.

It would be very valuable for the Agile Community to know if there are any other similar surveys from Agile organizations, within Scrum, Lean Kanban, etc. We need to know the state of Agile Project Management Salaries too. Can anyone offer any clues about such surveys?

Source: PMI 2011 Salary Survey.

Reflecting on talent and projects - Inspired by Andy Hertzfeld I...

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 01:01:00 -0500

Reflecting on talent and projects - Inspired by Andy Hertzfeld

I would like to share three brilliant quotes by Andy, he is one of the best developers in the world, and was part of the original Mac team:

1. “First and foremost, you are your own customer: You build stuff that you love yourself. What Woz did with the Apple II was he just filled it up with so much love — love because it was his lifelong dream… That’s the basic approach I learned, to work from your heart, and to really, really care.”

2. “We try to operate at the intersection of design and engineering. One of the reasons why things aren’t as good as they could be sometimes is that the engineers and the designers don’t work closely together enough” This quote repeats a fundamental idea of Steve Jobs, that he wanted Apple to operate at the intersection of Liberal Arts and Technology.

3. “The real breakthrough of the Macintosh was that we cared about UI… I learned in a formative experience that caring about UI matters, and if you do care about UI, you can make the world a better place.” Another core value of Apple, create an Experience no one else can match.

Andy is working now to make Google+ a success. His care for design and code shows all over Google now, and is evidence of how important is to have the right people in a team.

The connection between individual talent, and team goals are the reason behind every great success. People are extremely important, and caring about them makes better projects, better products, better services and ultimately a better world for us all.

Source: San Jose Mercury News
Image Credit: Traczine Blog.

"The first 90 percent of the code accounts for the first 90 percent of the development time. The..."

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 14:36:00 -0400

““The first 90 percent of the code accounts for the first 90 percent of the development...

Over 16 Years Ago an Ad Agency Imagined the Future for AT&T...

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 18:03:00 -0400

Over 16 Years Ago an Ad Agency Imagined the Future for AT&T and It Came True

Albert Eistein said: “Imagination is more powerful than knowledge.”

Few times has this quote been so true as shown by the amazing accuracy of these series of ads, entitled: You Will. Paid for by AT&T they feature the unmistakable voice of Tom Selleck, and with over 90% accuracy of the future, it really amazes me.

It is a future we live today! Tablet computers, iPhone like devices, Internet Tele-conferencing, super-fast Pay Tolls, and more.

As IT, and business people we tend to focus too much in the here and now, and forget the future. But if we could envision that future, we could help to shape it, and perhaps, even make a few dream come true.

Kanban: Fly Different - An Introduction. Several people have...

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 23:55:36 -0400

Kanban: Fly Different - An Introduction.

Several people have asked me to explain the basics of Kanban’s Agile approach to Software Development. This presentation is a simple, straight forward, fun way to get what Kanban is all about. Feel free to comment on it, or contribute for a future revision.

You can click above to see it, or get the full file here in iWork, I do recommend you use Safari or Firefox for best results.

More is Less: >=< One key concept to grasp in any form of...

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 22:38:00 -0400

More is Less: >=<

One key concept to grasp in any form of goal setting, project management, or actual effort in life is that we should strive to never do more than needed, but have a goal of simple elegance. We must realize that More is Less.

Perhaps one of the best ways to illustrate this principle, it to quote Seth Godin with some comments added by yours truly:

Good enough, for those that seek perfection, is what we call it when it’s sufficient to surpass the standards we’ve set. Anything beyond good enough [MEANING MORE] is called stalling and a waste of time.[ MEANING LESS]

Ultimately, when maturity arrives we will also discover that LESS is MORE. We will eventually notice that if we remove stuff from a project, product or service, and yet keep it elegant, and good, we will reach excellence.

In book writing this comes from editing a 1000 page manuscript to 250 good pages. In software interfaces this means a beautiful, simple UI that even a kid can use. In projects it means simplicity over bloat. One side benefit of this philosophy is that you will have more time to enjoy life!

Image Credits.

Less noise, less “information”, leads to less stress and that...

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Less noise, less “information”, leads to less stress and that equals more peace.

Image Credits: here.

Which is actually one of the main principles of Kanban: Limit Work in Progress. A blog post about this topic will come since it’s also an essential part of HKanban.

However in the meantime this post by Matthias is a good introduction to the subject.

Mobile Apps are definite Trend in the world today. Apple...

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 13:09:41 -0500

Mobile Apps are definite Trend in the world today. Apple annouced this morning, Jan. 22nd. 2011 that they have reached 10 billion app downloads!

Think about it, the App Store opened in July 2008, and in 2 and a half years they reached that milestone. It took the iTunes Music Store almost 7 years to reach that number! People are downloading and buying Apps at an unprecedented speed.

What can we learn from this? First that Apps are here to stay, And second Apps are the new normal, the standard way software will be delivered from now on. Now wonder Steve Jobs put an AppStore on Mac OS X, why? Over 10 billion reasons.

Note: iTunes Store opened in April 28, 2003, and reached 10 Billion songs downloaded on Feb 24 of 2010.

HKanban - A Holistic Approach to Getting Things Done

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 16:28:00 -0500

STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GREAT MEN Like so many Project Managers and busy professionals I too...

Happy Thanksgiving America! A time for celebration, family...

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 09:08:00 -0500

Happy Thanksgiving America!

A time for celebration, family reunion and rest. Why not unplug for a day, reduce your mobile, and computer use and actually enjoy this day with people, in person?

The people at Offlining actually think that is a great idea, and experts say it may help you prevent the Computer Stress Syndrome.

Enjoy the turkey, and be grateful for all the good things you have!

Firesheep - One More Reason to Be Very Careful with Open...

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 10:32:00 -0500

Firesheep - One More Reason to Be Very Careful with Open Wi-Fi

Like most people, I love free WiFi, at Starbucks, the Airport, wherever. However I’ve always been careful about what I do on an open connection. Suddenly now, being careful has become a must.

Firesheep is a Firefox exension that makes it incredibly easy to capture session information from people on an open HTTP connection.

Solution, from now on use HTTPS always, and be very aware of open WiFi, is not as good as you think it is. In case you haven’t heard, HTPPS establishes an encrypted connection between you, and the site you are visiting. But make sure, that connection is continous throughout your connection, and not just for the user / password combination. How do you make sure? Check on the top line in your browser, does it say HTTPS or HTTP. If it is the latter, you are in trouble, a tool like Firesheep on an open network can take your identity in a second. Be careful.

Note: More information and source code from Erick Butler, creator of this plugin here.

Beyond the 3 Project Management Constraints - The Agile Kanban...

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 10:10:00 -0400

Beyond the 3 Project Management Constraints - The Agile Kanban Contribution

Traditionally Project Management has identified three constraints that must be managed to achieve success on any project, namely:

Time: or the schedule, to meet deadlines and deliver
Money: our available budget, and financial resources
Scope: extent of work that has to be performed.

Collectively they are known as the Project Management Triangle, and for decades they have been the focal point for the project manager’s efforts.

Lately however the Project Management Institute (PMI) and Agile Kanban have noticed that this simplistic 3 constraint model is incomplete. PMI today does add three new constraints: Risk, Quality and Resources, while leaving the door open to even more constraints that might be identified (PMBOK 4th. Edition, page 6.)

On this article however, I’d like to focus on Kanban’s contribution to the classical 3 constraint model. One that I believe is sometimes overlooked, because it gets lost in the details of the Kanban Method itself. Although I have not seen these constraints formally identified before, they are fundamental to the Kanban Method and they are present in most documents from different authors.

Luckily any reader familiar with Project Management should be able to follow this discussion, without knowing the Kanban method. However, for those who would like a quick introduction I recommend the following: Dr. Dobbs Introduction to Kanban, the Kanban Definitions by the Limited WIP Society.

In my opinion, Kanban identifies 4 additional key constraints for a project success:

Value - Mission First
Flow - Healthy pace
Focus - Less is More or LWIP
Waste - Quality by default

On this blog post I will concentrate on the first two.

1. Value - Mission First

“A Kanban System visualizes some unit of value.” Karl Scotland, founding member Lean Software and Systems Consortium.

Unlike other Project Management methods, the Kanban Method emphasizes that we must first identify what is the key value the system must deliver, and then improve on it.

We can see this focus on value at the micro project level on this typical scenarios Kanban ask us to answer: what value does this User Story delivers?, What is the purpose of this Requirement? What do we really need to deliver for this Minimal Marketable Feature to deliver value to the customer?, What is the key value we are delivering in this project?

At the macro level the Kanban Method can evaluate whole departments and even an organization by mapping the value stream and asking: how can we deliver more value? How can we improve from here? How can this department deliver more reliable code? What do we need to do to ensure the customer is satisfied with our customer service? How can we reduce time to market for our key new product? How can we foster innovation at our development department?

Once people, and management start thinking in terms of delivering value, not just for shareholders, but for every person on the organization, value creation in the company grows and a culture of Continuous Improvement (Kaizen) is born.

2. Flow - Healthy Pace

“Are we outraged that work-life balance is considered the pursuit of the soft, lazy and uncommitted?… Are we outraged that overtime working is expected?” David Anderson. Speech at UK Lean Conference, 2009.

Kanban sees Flow, and the optimization of workflow as fundamental to a project success. It optimizes flow by identifying bottlenecks, and using a variety of tools (mostly from the Theory of Constraints) to remove or minimize bottleneck impact.

Some of the tools used to identify bottlenecks are: work flow diagrams, demand analysis, and the Five Focusing Steps from the Theory of Constraints. By using those tools Kanban is able to make continuos improvement to the overall flow of work, and keep progress steady and predictable.

However Kanban does not recommend Flow optimization so high that workers can barely cope, and it strongly discourages over-work. It advocates sustainable pace, and therefore work-life balance. A good Kanban Flow must have slack so that the people who work on the system, can remain productive, healthy and motivated.

Comments, contributions? Do let me know. Next week I will cover the last two constraints.

Get the Best Tools - Why most pros should consider the new...

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 23:52:00 -0400

Get the Best Tools - Why most pros should consider the new Macbook Air?

If there is a principle in project management, and Getting Things Done that I have learned is that we should use the best tools possible for the job. For over 7 years the best tool for me in the area of computers has been an Apple laptop, and although I’ve used Windows PCs also, believe me when I tell you that Apple has been doing something great with their computers for a while now. And on this subject I’d like to update you on what I think about Apple’s Macbook Air.

First let’s recap a little, for a long time people who considered themselves mobile professionals, went and got the fastest laptops, with the beefiest specs they could afford. If you liked the Mac, that meant you buy a Macbook or even better a Macbook Pro.

So for years software developers, photographers, videographers, designers, engineers, even people who just needed a word processor did. It was simply the only way to have a mobile computer! Then something happened on late January 2010, Apple introduced the iPad. And slowly but surely journalists, lawyers, project managers, doctors, and many mobile professionals realized that they truly didn’t need a “heavy” Macbook, the iPad was enough most of the time. Steve Jobs called this new class of computer a “car,” regular Macbooks were “trucks” and someday most people would use a car instead of a truck.

So guess what, last Tuesday Oct. 20th, we got our first cross-over “car”: the Macbook Air. It gets the best from the Macbooks, and the best from the iPad today.

Why is this important? Well for one the Macbook Air can do almost anything a Macbook Pro can for many pounds less in weight! And given a choice of power vs. mobility I choose mobility.

You may say why? Let me explain with a quote from photography that’s been around for decades:

“The best camera is the one you have with you.”

This principle applies to laptops like a glove. Think how much more productive you could be if you actually carried your laptop everywhere without hurting your back in the process! Anyone who’s carried 5 to 7 pounds of laptop gear knows what I mean!

That’s the magic of the Macbook Air, at just over 2 pounds of weight and 5 to 7 hours of battery time it hits the sweet spot between an iPad and a Macbook Pro! The pro features are a bit different this time: first you get instant-on, so you can resume work anytime, anywhere in a second, and continue from where you were last time. Second you get a Flash or Solid State drive that makes the running speed of your Macbook Air processor feel closer to a Macbook Pro computer.

So if you are a mobile professional who’s serious about getting things done, I recommend you put the Macbook Air in your toolbox as soon as you can. It’s the closest thing to a Leica camera in quality, portability and elegance I’ve seen in a long time; but with the price of a micro four thirds!

The Gap Logo Fiasco: Corporate Identity in the Age of Social...

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 22:53:00 -0400

The Gap Logo Fiasco: Corporate Identity in the Age of Social Media

In case you didn’t know already last Wednesday Oct. 6th, Gap introduced a new logo (seen above) to replace the classic design. Reaction was almost universally negative to the new creation, many actually calling it a piece of %!$@#, and yes you can pretty much sum up everyone’s opinion right there.

For a while pundits in the press and PR community thought maybe this was genius, to introduce a horrible logo on purpose, get free press from the reaction, and then crowd source a replacement. But it didn’t work like that at all for Gap. In fact, Gap had actually paid good money for that ugly looking logo, and their online store was brave enough to use it. Free press quickly became a PR crisis with hundreds, thousands of people ridiculing their brand all over the Internet!

Why did this happen so fast? Because in the social media universe we live on today, a big part of the press is regular people, not journalists. Regular people who in their very opinionated way influence public opinion from their Twitter feed, Facebook page, Blog or wherever they can express themselves socially.

The consequence of this active public engagement in the creation, and editorializing of news is huge. Instead of the usual cycle from news, to press, to public opinion; we now go from news to public opinion! The press and the people have somehow merged into “influencers” and the time it takes for a story to go from news to public opinion has been shortened drastically.

The end result is that if “buzz” on Twitter, Facebook, and Blogs already say that your new logo sucks, it probably does! And the worse part is that this is not the press talking, this is public opinion already! In a matter of days, your brand can sustain a big hit.

So what can companies, agencies and social media professionals learn from Gap’s mistakes:

1. Focus Groups and Surveys can’t Ignore Social Media Any More. I am sure Gap paid good money to test their new logo, but I am also quite sure they ignored Social Media almost completely. Result: failure.
2. Brands and Companies must listen to Social Media and React Fast. Gap is actually a good example, they did not wait a month to react, in 6 days, meaning today they scrapped the new logo! They got 2000 very negative comments on their Facebook fan page, and that plus the Internet backlash helped them correct course. However, if they had properly listened to the conversation they could have done it much faster, probably in 2 days flat, or even better they could have avoided all this issue completely if they had tested it with Social Media influencers first.
3. Don’t Underestimate your customers. We live in a world of savvy customers, let us treat them with respect and they will continue to give us business. The golden rule still holds on the Internet age.

"Real artists ship."

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 23:37:00 -0400

“Real artists ship.” - Andy Hertzfeld, member of the original Mac team. No amount of...

Is Kaizen Enough?

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 23:36:00 -0400

Kaizen. Japanese for “improvement” is the word behind Toyota’s Total Quality obsession, although...

"Out of all the Agile Project Management methodologies out there: Kanban is smart because it makes..."

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:53:00 -0400

“Out of all the Agile Project Management methodologies out there: Kanban is smart because it...