Expertise versus Pair Programming Let’s start this post with a thought experiment. Not in software development, but in playing chess. Imagine two novice chess players, working as a team. (We’ll assume their opponent is a computer, so it can’t overhear them talk.) Our two novices will benefit greatly from their collaboration. They’ll discuss all their thinking – everything from… Read More
People Skills for Everyone I was talking to my Mum recently. I mentioned that I’m becoming even more interested in people skills, and she said, “Oh, so you’re interested in management then.” Actually, no. I’m interested in people who are not managers improving their people skills. I’m interested in busting the myth that “people skills” is a topic exclusively… Read More
Becoming an Expert Imagine looking at a dog. You instantly know that it is, indeed, a dog. That’s an incredible feat of pattern recognition, performed almost instantly and without any conscious effort. Is it really incredible? Yes. It just seems easy because you’ve been doing it effortlessly since about age three. To remind yourself how difficult it actually… Read More
My Keyboard Layout I tried the Dvorak keyboard layout in late 2000. Hated it. It’s definitely designed for mechanical typewriters not electronic keyboards, since it attempts to maximise alternating between left and right hands. That’s great with physical levers moving around in a typewriter, but is counter productive in an electronic keyboard. Back in 2000, there were very few other… Read More
Bayes’ Theorem Demystified Bayes’ Theorem is an important tool when analysing probabilities. It helps us to avoid cognitive traps and make better decisions. However, it is usually presented as something difficult, or even controversial. The typical article on Bayes’ Theorem stresses how difficult it is, and then goes on to bemoan the fact that its not more widely… Read More
Estimation Summary for Agile Projects – Nov 2011 It’s over 7 years since my first post on contracts for agile projects. During the years since I’ve worked almost exclusively on agile projects with fixed scope, learning some real-life lessons along the way. So here are some of the key points that now I keep in mind when considering estimation, pricing and contracts for… Read More
Ambiguity Alistair Cockburn wrote Agile development calls for a certain amount of ambiguity and flux in the project. Not everyone enjoys ambiguity and flux. I would suggest that most people don’t. A very good point. I think this affects some agile implementations – causing them to back away from being really agile, into a no-man’s-land between… Read More
Enjoying Meetings I’m reading the book “Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when the Stakes are High”. It’s absolutely excellent. And not just for conversations when the stakes are high – but also when the stakes are rather more mundane, such as your typical day-to-day business meeting. I’ve been consciously trying to apply the principles from the book… Read More
Email Subscriptions You can now subscribe to email updates from this blog. This should be handy if you prefer email to RSS. Just go to the new Subscribe page on the menu bar. PS If you spot any problems with the email subscription, please let me know. I’ve never used this particular email plug-in before, so I… Read More
Million, Billion, Trillion Humans are bad at understanding large numbers. Our education system successfully trains us to understand the relative magnitudes of small numbers, but for larger numbers we tend to fall back on an intuitive logarithmic scale. So we underestimate the real difference between, say, a million and a billion. Here’s a wee table I put together,… Read More