Latest Posts - Page 80 of 200

November 23, 2020November 21, 2020 Special Topics

Quiet Periods and Blackouts Over The Holidays

There are two sides to quiet periods or closing business over holidays. We might do this to ease our schedules, or vendors may do so. In either case, there is a need to plan and properly communicate with those impacted. Lack of planning can cause all manner of headaches that have no useful solution. Launching a Product or Service The most common of these challenges in my recent experiences is dealing with a flood of year-end deployments. Sites like the Apple Store, Google Play, and Amazon are sent a larger-than-normal number of applications. Thus, typical response times suffer. This response may be expected, or it can derail your launch plans. Podcasts and books are just some examples. All of your... Read more

November 20, 2020November 16, 2020 Special Topics

Implementing An Incremental Approach – Small Progress is Still Progress

We have often touched on the idea of an incremental approach as one that builds to great achievements. Let’s look closer at how that works. There are many arguments against these concepts as “not enough.” However, it is inarguable that small steps are forward progress, and they can build up habits. Those habits can build great achievements and even become lifetime habits that never fade. A Few Minutes A Day There are many skills that we can build in minutes a day. Vocabulary is an example we see in daily calendars. There is a flurry of something-a-day calendars that show up at the end of each year. Try one of them out, and you will see it does work. You... Read more

November 19, 2020November 7, 2020 Tech Notes

How to write effective user stories in agile development?

The software world has been changing rapidly. A new engineering approach is at the heart of these changes. Agile software development methodologies have revolutionized the world of software engineering. This comes by embracing self-organizing teams, flexibility, and iterative development. However, user stories are more important than ever in gathering proper requirements. The Waterfall Method Traditional software engineering used the waterfall method. This is where each step of the software engineering process is completed before moving on to the next step. However, it tends to create bloated software that lags behind the needs of the users. Agile methodologies seek to address these inefficiencies. It is accomplished by running through software development stages in short iterations. These are called sprints. At the... Read more

November 18, 2020November 15, 2020 Special Topics

System Backups – Prepare for the Worst

Sometimes it is important to get back to the basics when we plan for success. One of the most basic tasks to address is the idea of system backups. Many modern organizations build this into their daily processes. However, we may not be able to take advantage of that for our personal work. Moreover, side hustles need to include some of these standard processes to avoid data loss. Side Hustle System Backups A full backup is the most direct approach to solving this problem. While we have more reliable systems today than in years past, there are still problems that can arrive. You do not want to be one spilled coffee away from losing your life’s work. Therefore, we need... Read more

November 16, 2020November 14, 2020 Special Topics

Setting Work Boundaries And Separating Your Life

The holy grail of full-time work from our home has several challenges. One of the most impactful snares is a blurring of the lines between work and the rest of our life. Therefore, we need to consider how some work boundaries can be set and enforced. Slave labor is never a goal, and we need to be aware of whether we are being taken for granted. Quality Or Quantity There is always a trade-off in accomplishing a goal. We can do it fast, cheap, or of quality. You get two of the three. Thus, fast and cheap products will lack quality. High quality requires either more resources (time, money, etc.) or takes longer to complete. Our boss or manager is... Read more

November 12, 2020November 7, 2020 Tech Notes

Are We Really Bad at Estimating?

Are We Really Bad at Estimating? The topic of estimating can be a contentious one. Teams may be reluctant to estimate for fear of creating something stakeholders will use against them. Clients and stakeholders will always want to know what will be delivered and when, but how do you predict this if the work is new or unfamiliar? And if you work in an environment where estimates are usually wrong, should you skip estimating altogether and get on with building something? I believe a lot of the frustration and issues surrounding estimates stems from the belief that, as humans, we’re just bad at estimating. But I don’t think that’s true. We’re Actually Pretty Good at Estimating (Some Things) Don’t get... Read more