Archive for November, 2007
I Think I’m Going To Write a Book
Friday, November 16, 2007
Today was a real break through. I was talking to two senior developers here at Gestalt this morning about how to test some code one of the teams in the Joplin, MO office is working on. I came up with this awesome idea that I threw out there to these two devs. I said, “We need to be able to automagically take some test data, pump it through our module, let it do its voodoo, and then compare the results with what we think we should see in the end. Oh yeah, and this should be able to run constantly, whenever someone makes changes to the code base, this kind of test should run.” They were speechless. I think it was because of my brilliance. I know, that’s not being very humble, but this is a HUGE break through I made today. I can’t blame the guys if they were in awe of a Scrum Master’s ability to revolutionize the world of software development in less than a minute of thought. I wonder if this is how Alexander Graham Bell’s colleagues felt when he invented the telephone?
This new way of testing software certainly demands a book. Imagine, being able to write tests in code that are run continuously as the code evolves. The confidence you’d have in the quality of your code would go way up. Ideally, you would write these types of tests before you write the code. BAM! Another magic moment just happened as I typed that last sentence. Write the tests before you code. WTTBYC is pretty catchy, no? I think I have the title for my first book right there: Write the tests before you code (WTTBYC). Imagine how writing tests first might help improve the design of your code. If you need to think about how you’re going to test the code it might force you to write things a bit cleaner.
I think the only thing I need to work on now is fighting off all the tech book publishers with a stick. I may need to get an agent. What a game changing day it has been!
Topics: Agile, Books | No Comments »
Quote from EC: “I’m ready to get sugarized!”
Friday, November 16, 2007
My six year old son yelled this as he was grabbing the vacuum several days ago. I don’t know what the connection is. I don’t know what “sugarized” is either.
Topics: EC Quotes | No Comments »
Top 10 Signs of a Troubled Daily Scrum
Friday, November 16, 2007
- Takes longer than 15 minutes
- All team members aren’t answering these three questions clearly:
- What did I commit to and get done since the last daily scrum?
- What am I committing to getting done by the next daily scrum?
- What obstacles are impeding my progress?
No one can remember what anyone else said 30 seconds after it’s over- Team member says he’s not sure what he’s going to do today & no one on the team says anything
- Impediments are rarely reported
- Scrum Master isn’t capturing impediments
- Team members who can’t make it in person don’t call in or email/tell a fellow team member their answers to the three questions prior
- Not reporting out against tasks in Sprint backlog tool (task board, ScrumWorks, etc.)
- Team won’t hold it without prodding from Scrum Master
- Team members report out to Scrum Master
Topics: Agile | No Comments »
Top 10 Things to Look for in A Scrum Master
Thursday, November 8, 2007
- Can schedule meetings in Outlook or a similar software package
- Able to setup a projector on a moment’s notice
- Knows how to start and manage a web conference
- Can launch and navigate an agile project management tool
- The “go to” note taker
- Has all the best menus to order lunch from handy at all times
- Able to call in a lunch order
- Able to facilitate excellent kumbaya sessions
- Follows orders
- Is well liked at all times
Topics: Agile | 4 Comments »
Quote from EC: “Ethan.com”
Saturday, November 3, 2007
This morning EC had me scan in his new online game called “Ethan Math”. He said, “Put it on Ethan.com. People will like this game because they like ‘Ethan figures’.” Click on the picture to see (play?) “Ethan Math”. Oh yeah, he approved this post after ensuring that we could print out the full size picture. He wanted to make sure everyone else could enjoy the full experience of “Ethan Math”. Enjoy!
Topics: EC Quotes | No Comments »