To Cohn’s point, outcomes are a trailing indicator, while outputs are a leading indicator. It would be foolish to only try to measure based on outcomes. We don’t need to pick “sides”.
Category Archives: Software Development
Wardley Maps for product development
Wardley Mapping is most commonly associated with higher level business strategy. When I’ve talked to people familiar with Wardley Mapping, they’ve been quick to dismiss it as a tool for the C-level suite, not for mere mortals developing products. I disagree. The following will attempt to explain why I find Wardley Maps not only relevant …
Not about school
Consider this a parable of sorts for those building products. I’ll leave it up to the reader to determine its meaning. Carl is a senior in high school and has a D in Algebra II heading into the last semester. He wants to bring his grade up to a B so that he can qualify …
A remote retrospective
It’s been a while since I last facilitated an all remote retrospective. Below is an email I sent out to the team I’m currently working with to help us prepare for our first “retro” together. We’ve since held the retro and it went well overall, so I thought this prep and guidance might be useful …
Deploying a Python Flask web app on AWS Lambda
The best server is no server? OK, servers are still involved with “serverless computing“, but not ones that you and I need to worry about maintaining and scaling. While serverless platforms like Amazon’s AWS Lambda, Google’s Cloud Functions, IBM’s OpenWhisk, Microsoft’s Azure Functions, and others aren’t the right fit for every need, I’m beginning to think they’re …
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Silver bullets
In folklore, a bullet cast from silver is often the only weapon that is effective against a werewolf, witch, or other monsters. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_bullet I’m not sure how many of us in tech are hunting werewolves, witches, or monsters, but there are A LOT of us looking for silver bullets. Take one look around at the …
Cloning VirtualBox images (or how I save hours a day when testing software)
First things first. If you’re testing software and you’re not using some sort of virtualization solution, stop reading this and go install one. My product of choice is VirtualBox. It’s free (as in no cost and most of it is open source), user friendly, runs on an Ubuntu host computer and I’m familiar with it. …
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Review The Tests, Then The Code
Last week I was talking with one of the developers at work and he was telling me about improvements his team was making in regards to (informal/desk check) code reviews. I told him that was great and then followed that up with a recommendation on how to improve even more. Next time there is a …
The Customers Disappear Right Before Our Eyes
Tonight I was foolish enough to think my family and I could waltz into a restaurant on Valentine’s and get a table without much trouble. We were trying a restaurant we hadn’t been to before and I realized as soon as we pulled into the parking lot this probably wasn’t the best night to experiment. …
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One Smart Cucumber
I was messing around with some Ruby stuff tonight and was reading up on the Cucumber project. Cucumber is a behavior driven development (BDD) testing tool. Anyone who talks to me about user stories knows I’m kind of a stickler on the value statement. I think I’ve found a kindred soul in Aslak Hellesoy, the …