No More Heroes - Why?

Their is a difference between fast and agile.

I hit a nerve last week with my blog.  I spoke about the quite heroism that goes into keeping the global economy running.  It was greeted with a great deal of enthusiasm but I also received some push-back.  Someone I respected, Geoffrey Dunn, mentioned that he didn’t want to work for firm which expected heroism from its employees.  He preferred boring work days punctuated with routine successful software releases.  He even put together a hashtag stating that we need #nomoreheroes in the world of software development.  After some thought, I realized he had a point.  The global economy must also be sustainable where heroism is not necessary.  

One of the most important principles of the Agile Reformation is:

Agile processes promote sustainable development.  The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.  

I think that this is one of the most overlooked principles of agile.  Work that requires attention to detail, creativity, and intellectual muscle power just isn’t successful when it is being rushed.  Psychologists, describe a period where we are most productive as a state of “flow.”  This is a state where we have focus, and complete immersion in what we are doing.  It typically requires being well rested, limiting distractions and having the opportunity to do something which is intrinsically rewarding. 

Sadly, most companies do not see software development and technology as a “force-multiplier” for their business but as a cost center to be controlled.  Thus, they try to jam as much software development into as little time as possible with employees they consider expendable.  The worst example of this is in the computer game industry. “Crunch time” and “death marches” have become synonymous with software development because many people who control businesses is have no understanding how software is built and who does the work. They just think software is magic that can be conjured up in a moment’s notice. The reality is that human beings require sleep, food, clear goals, and empathy to accomplish goals. 

The global economy is moving very fast.  So fast that it is hard for business people to stay ahead of the decision curve.  This means they make unrealistic demands on the people who help keeping the business running; the software developers and engineers.  This is why they are being asked to work long hours.  This is why they are under so much pressure.  It is also why there is so much desire for outsourcing and contract workers because in a “gig economy” workers need to be added and removed from projects at a moment’s notice.  

I want to argue there is a difference between fast and agile.  A fast workplace grinds out work at a blistering pace but it may be of questionable quality and utility.  An agile workplace delivers on a constant basis and it is high quality and provides value to the business. A fast workplace burns through its employees like they are fire wood.  An agile workplace treats its people like the skilled artisans and helps them grow and develop.  A fast workplace is moving quickly but has no idea where it has gone and where it is going.  An agile workplace knows where it has been and where it is going to go next.  When plans change they easily make changes.  A fast company will crash in a spectacular way and then make a course correction.  

I agree that companies should have #nomoreheroes.  If firms are led correctly and with attention paid to more agile means of doing business success should be a routine activity rather than the result of heroism.  

Until next time.

Quite Heroes Holding Back the Apocalypse

The end of the world has not happened for a reason.

A common theme in literature is how our modern conveniences separate us from devolving into a barbarous culture which makes the middle ages look like a picnic.  Books like “The Canticle of Leibowitz”, “Lord of the Flies”, and “Ready Player One” are great examples of the genre.  This week I want to talk about something you may not understand.  The only reason technology works is because hard working professionals keep it working.

Technology today has an air of glamour and money associated with it.  It was not always the case.  Engineers who worked in the boiler rooms were covered in grease and coal dust.  The person who ran the data center had paper cuts over his hands from punch cards.  The grumpy guy who maintained the AS/400 couldn’t get clothes that fit because he never slept normal hours or ate right because he kept the business running.  These people were the unsung heroes of the industrial revolution and the first wave of computing.

Today, software rules everything we do from business transactions via EDI to the latest trading algorithms used by stock brokers.  This week I discovered just how deep the rabbit hole goes in my own firm.  Minor changes that seem insignificant can have major consequences, in my case consequences which can total seven figures.  It is a revelation and it is terrifying.

It is up to software engineers, scrum masters, and business people to work together to help keep the world civilized.  It is not easy.  It requires sacrifices from families as parents work late nights getting a release ready for production.  Spouses will have to put up with impotence and sleeplessness as scrum masters grapple with obstacles and how to circumvent them.  Finally, children will have to understand that a ball game will get missed or recital skipped because a server went down and needs to be patched.  Technology workers are well compensated but that compensation comes with accepting some painful trade-offs.

Today, technology people not only in the United States but around the world are struggling to keep the global economy working.  Developers in Northern Ireland are working with engineers in India for merchantmen in Hong Kong.  Project managers in Europe and the United States, are struggling to keep the trains running on time and the projects on track.  This is a very human activity to get machines to try and play nice with other machines.  It is a human struggle that goes on each day and not many people see it.

So the next time you are enjoying air conditioning, clean drinking water, wi-fi or the latest microbrew remember you enjoy these vestiges of civilization because someone sacrificed bringing them to you.  These silent professionals are the ones who make civilization possible.

Until next time.

Take some time off for Pete sake!

Sometimes you have to get off the treadmill.

It is nice to start blogging again.  The last two weeks have been very difficult.  My brother died from complications from burst appendix and I had to take time off to lead the funeral arrangements and support my family.  After that experience, I had to slowly make my way back to work and return to the duties of my day job.  These experiences have changed me profoundly.  I am not the same person I was three weeks ago.  I also gained a little insight into why people need to take time off.  This week I wanted to share my discoveries.

The world of science and technology is unforgiving.  There is always too much work and not enough competent people to do the work.  This is why business people hire project managers and scrum masters to try and get the most out of the limited resources they have.  The problem is that many managers in the business world do not treat their people like human beings but as resources to be used up and disposed of.  This is wrong.

Making matters worse you have highly driven and talented people who work hard in the hopes of earning success.  Case in point, one of my online friend Mary Zeman pointed me at an article in NeuroDojo that has to be seen to be believed.  In short, a Ph.D. is working sixteen and seventeen hour days, publishing hundreds of papers, and only has to ask his spouse to sacrifice her career and have his children spend weekends with him in the lobby of his office.

Science and technology require a great deal of commitment but it should not destroy your family relationships and ability to function as a human being.  Being creative not only requires quantity of time but quality of time where you are focused and in a state of flow.  It has been my experience that you do not reach a state of flow when you are tired or in an environment with lots of distractions.

It bothers me when I hear people outside the profession say that technology people do not work hard enough. Obviously, these people do not see developers working late hours during a production roll out or spending hours looking at the same problem desperately hoping they can find a solution.  This takes a toll on the people and telling them they are not working hard or fast enough is not helping.

So I took the time off.  It may have affected my career but I doubt it because my company and leadership supported me during this difficult time.  I will also take time off later in the summer and during the holidays.  The reason why is in order for me to be a better scrum master and software developer, I need to decompress and take time away from the work I love.  Otherwise, I will be used up and thrown away.

Until next time.

When it all goes wrong, keep it together.

Bad things happen to good
Scrum Masters

A software developer is an odd creature.  We see ourselves as artists and professionals.  At the same time we can be childish, lack an internal filter and be less than professional.  This week I wanted to talk about what to do when it all goes wrong.  I have a lot of experience in this area.

Software is a creative process.  You receive some vague guidelines from a business person and then you have to transform it into a website or app which makes that business person happy.  Often it becomes a farce, as the business person says that what was created is not what they wanted and to try again without telling the software developer what they want.  This is one of the reasons software developers get so prickly.  They work very hard for people who don’t understand what they want.  Add to this mix time pressures and individuals who don’t understand what it means to develop software and you get a toxic stew of dysfunction.

As a scrum master, you are going to be in situations where it is all going to go wrong.  It has only taken me two years being a scrum master but I am beginning to understand that when everything goes wrong you need to be the focus of stability when everything goes wrong.  The reason why is that in a chaotic situation, the person who has his act together is going to be the person giving orders when people are in need of direction.  If you panic you can bet that the people you are leading are going to start panicking.

This is not an easy thing for me because I am ball of neurotic energy.  I get angry easily and I don’t tolerate foolishness very well.  I also have difficultly being diplomatic when I am dealing with people who are untrustworthy.  That said learning to work with your emotions is an important thing and the best that you can do is control and channel them the better.

Is it easy? No, this is one of the hardest parts of my job.  I have to work on it every day and if I slip for just an instant I become a puddle of rage.  The good news is that it is getting better and my scrum teams are grateful as a result.  So if you are scrum master when everything goes wrong, try to keep it together.  The team and the project are counting on you.

Until next time.

More than the Man in the Taupe Blazer

I am a guy from a state school with a
taupe blazer.  I am going to help you
get your software written on time.

I have had a lot on my mind the two weeks.  My day job is getting more challenging and my home business is puttering along as it always has.  The most interesting thing about working in technology is the pace of change.  If you don’t like something it is bound to change in the span of a week.  This week I wanted to devote more attention to the fine article in Bloomberg Business Week, entitled “What is code?”  For the beginner in technology it is a fine read, but it does get a few things wrong and in particular they get wrong the role of the “scrum master.”

In the first chapter of the rather long article they describe a “scrum master” as “The Man in the Taupe Blazer.”  According to the article:

“This man makes a third less than you, and his education ended with a B.S. from a large perfectly fine state university.  But he has 500+ connections on Linked In.  That plus sign after the “500” bothers you.  How many more than 500 people does he know? Five? Five thousand?”

In short, a Scrum master is an eccentric person who understands software development along with project management and if a project goes south they will be able to get on with their lives while the executive who hires them will be forced into early retirement.  At first glance this is not an unfair impression.

What the article missed is that a scrum master is just as invested as the executive who hires him.  One of first things a scrum master learns is the difference between involvement and commitment.  To be committed, is to put your career at risk if you don’t succeed.  To be involved, is to be a participant in a project with no repercussions should it fail.  This gets to the classic metaphor about the breakfast shop and pigs and chickens.  In my darker moments, I joke about being a pig because I live on a steady diet of garbage, live in the excrement of other pigs, am treated with contempt by the other farm animals, and when necessary butchered for someone else’s breakfast.

I am not far from the truth.  I don’t know how many times I have had a member of my business organization look at me like I am some kind of insect because I am not as; cool, professional, good looking, or credentialed as they are.  I also spend many moments of my day slopping through the mud of my company bureaucracy and infrastructure to get things done.  I have had people lie to me and get insulted when I point out they are lying to me.  I also remember the week before Christmas 2008 when I was slaughtered because I made a mistake after 14 hours of non-stop coding.

So to be clear my executive friends, many of the scrum masters you face have seen failure first hand and they do not wish to experience it again.  They also know that their success is dependent on the same things that make you a success which is getting the project finished on time and on budget.  We are not some empty shell in taupe blazers.  We are just as invested as you are.

Where we excel is that we understand software and the people who write it.  It is not a pretty job but for every skyscraper built it requires hundreds of people who understand, engineering, construction, and motivating construction workers to get the job done.  The tower may have “Trump” on its marque but it took an anonymous engineer with decades of experience to make it rise.

Unfortunately, software development is not construction in the conventional sense.  While buildings are constructed with steel, glass, and concrete, software is built using languages and systems that often do not play nice together.  We also have differing levels of training and experience which is not taught in schools but rather learned on the job so asking a developer to do something that seems routine can be a huge suck of time and money.  Also software developers, the good ones at least, see themselves as artists.  Which means they cannot be led around like construction workers.  They have to be treated like the smart professionals they are.  Instead, they are treated like expensive pigs ready to be sacrificed when a project goes bad.

Yes, I have a taupe blazer.  Instead of a Bachelor of Science, I have earned a Master’s in Management and I have earned numerous credentials in my field to prove to executives that I know what I am doing.  I also have over 17 years writing software and learning how to adopt to the new technologies.  I am your ally.  I am just as invested in the success of the project as you are.  Finally, if you give me what I need to succeed, I will.  So have a little respect for the scrum master’s in your life executives, we are the steady hands which make software work for your business.

Until next time.

Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way!

Leadership is about change.

It has been a week of confusion and wildly changing situations at my day job.  I have been using this time reflect on my leadership style.  I have also been using this period to do some thinking of the changing role of a leader in the agile.  It is funny how scraps of wisdom bubble up during times of chaos and uncertainty.

When I was in high school, I belonged to the Marine Corp Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.  I joined as a freshman because I wanted to improve my grades and develop some self-discipline.  In the four years since I made that decision, I rose from a lowly recruit to the executive officer of the company of cadets.  Thanks to the guidance of two Vietnam Veterans named David Ogle and Richard Weidner, I learned how to be a leader.

One of the inspirational signs which hung in the drill room said, “Lead, Follow, or Get the Hell out of the Way.”  That boring vinyl sign is stuck in my mind.  Marines are the definition of commitment, it is their job to go anywhere, at any time to act as the long arm of American Military policy.  This is why they are often rescuing American’s from embassies or showing up at short notice when shots begin to fly.  The sign alludes to this because you are either leading fellow marines, part of the unit doing the work, or staying out of their way because when you give marines a job they are going to do it even if they have to pulverize something into dust.

So what does this mean for a scrum master? Situations are going to change over the course of your career.  This means you are going to have to adapt to the different people.  I am learning to get out of the way of team with a strong technical lead.  It is clear they know what they are doing.  It is also clear they do not want my technical guidance on anything.  This means that I have had to learn to step back and let the team succeed and fail on its own because nothing I am going to say is going to change its mind.  In another situation, I see a scrum team which delivers code in a timely manner and appears to be running correctly, but it is hiding some dysfunction.  It is not delivering features wanted by the business. For that team, I wanted to get out of the way but it seems that I must take a more leadership role.

So a scrum master must change based on the situation he or she finds herself.  We are not empty heads in taupe blazer looking to extort billable hours out of our companies.  The manifesto of agile says that we have to respond to change rather than follow a plan.  This tenant means that we need to lead, follow or get out of the way.  Not learning that lesson means we are in for some uncomfortable failures.

Until next time.

The Greatest Act of Project Management.

This intense young man conducted
the greatest act of project management
in the history of western civilization.

One of the few hobbies I have is collecting toy soldiers and learning about the military history surrounding those soldiers.  This is an important anniversary because it is the 71st anniversary of D-Day and the 70th anniversary of VE-Day.  I am afraid that we can learn a great deal from this period of history from the arrogance of Hermann Goering to the quite leadership of Omar Bradley.  This week I want to discuss the greatest piece of project management ever accomplished, the invasions of Normandy and what people in the Agile community can learn from it.

Looking back the Second World War was the largest catastrophe to occur in western civilization.  Over seventy million people died in the conflict and it spawned, suicide attacks, the deliberate targeting of civilians, and nuclear weapons.  It was the product of economic collapse and punitive treaties.  Its aftermath is still with us today.

Dwight David Eisenhower, was a mid-level officer at the start of World War Two holding the rank of Colonel at the beginning of 1941.  He had a reputation as a good politician and staff officer for more senior commanders including Douglas MacArthur.  From the outside looking in, Eisenhower was condemned to be a mid-level functionary with a minor role in the war.  What changed was that General George Marshal the top military officer during the Second World War, noticed that Eisenhower or Ike as he was nicknamed, had a knack for getting people to work together without having to give orders or invoke rank.  In 1942, he was spending a majority of his time coordinating efforts between British, Free French and other allies in London.  His reward for his efforts was command of the Allied Forces in North Africa fighting Rommel and the Afrika Corps.

The lessons learned in North Africa and the Ike’s efforts to get highly competitive commanders like Patton and Montgomery to work together sealed his fate.  In 1943, he was appointed to the command the Allied Expeditionary forces in Europe.  For good or ill, Eisenhower would be in charge of the planning and execution of the invasion of France to create a second front against Nazi Germany.  The planning included everything from how to deploy airborne troops to how to get millions of gallons fuel across the English Channel.  It had to be conducted with complete secrecy because if the German’s found out they would roll the invading army back into the sea.  It involved schmoozing Winston Churchill over cigars and brandy.  It meant appointing Omar Bradley over Patton because he was a more level headed commander.  It also meant putting up with Charles de Gaulle who when notified of the plan called the entire exercise folly.

The invasion of D-Day was rehearsed twice and conducted in secret.  The launch of the invasion was even delayed thanks to bad weather.  In spite of all the planning, late nights, and countless packs of cigarettes that Eisenhower smoked, there was very little to guarantee the success of the operation.  When the word was given, 5,000 ships and over 150,000 people went into action.  Americans, British, Canadians, Free French, and numerous allies stormed the beach on June 6th.  Eisenhower said that once he had given the orders to launch the invasion, everything was out of his hands and he had to let the troops do their jobs.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for Eisenhower the General.  He was able to sweat the small stuff while not losing site of the big picture.  He was able to deal with difficult and insubordinate people and get them to do a job.  He was willing to take responsibility for failure as well as success.  He respected the people who served under him and never considered a solider expendable.  Finally, we was able to relate to people higher up the chain of command and have them understand how he was going to accomplish the mission.  All of these skills should be possessed by a competent scrum master.

Eisenhower’s story should also be an example of how even a mid-level manager or leader can be thrust into a position of serious visibility and they will have to succeed when the stakes are high.  I keep thinking about that when I grumble about the fact I have a desk in the office about the size of a desk blotter.  Someday, I am going to have to step up and I damn well better be ready for the opportunity.

So this week, I decided to give you a history lesson about Eisenhower and relate it to being a scrum master.  The success of the Normandy invasions are not solely because of his leadership.  Countless troops and support people contributed to the success, but Eisenhower knew the ultimate success or failure of the operation would be pinned on him.  Sound just like what it means to be a scrum master.  So when the pressure gets you down and it seems like you will not be able to succeed just think about Ike and his lonely moments in the spring of 1944 when the lives of hundreds of thousands of people depended on him.  He was able to rise above himself and so will you.

Until next time.