Author: JEM

A very frustrating problem for any engineering team is shifting priorities.  Having to switch context on work items is a sure way to introduce delay, slowing a teams productivity and causing plenty of frustration. Sometimes organizations have to shift requirements. For example, a critical customer issue or a pending sales opportunity comes up.  But ideally, … Continue reading Shifting Priorities or Too Many Cooks?

A very important aspect of an Agile process includes the scrum team retrospective.  It is designed to help the team with a very important lean Agile principle - Continuous Improvement. The team get's together at the end of each sprint and talks about what went well in the last sprint and what they can improve … Continue reading Keeping Retrospective Meetings on Track

In the Software development world, adoption of Agile is common place, as companies continue to try to crack the nut of improving the success metrics of their software projects.  Many executives I talked with are still not convinced that Agile is yielding what it is supposed to.   However, the important question is: is it because … Continue reading Is Agile Working For Your Organization?

There are many challenges to outsourcing:  This post will be high-level and cover a few key tips I used when outsourcing to a team in India. Communication & Culture -  Communicating via web meeting is a challenge.  A language barrier and cultural approaches to communication can slow things down or lead to mis-interpretation from both … Continue reading Beat the Challenges of Outsourcing