Better ROI from Software Development

Red Folder Consultancy Ltd
Better ROI from Software Development

Providing advice on how to get the best Return On Investment from your Software Development. Hosted by Mark Taylor of Red Folder Consultancy, this series is targeted at those that fund software development in improving their return on investment. Through a series of short weekly podcasts, Mark explores and explains why "traditional" management techniques will not only produce poor returns, but actively encourage it. Find out more about Red Folder Consultancy at https://red-folder.com. Or reach out to Mark on Twitter @redfoldermark

  1. MAR 5

    #205: Estimation - a wrap-up

    This episode is a wrap-up for a mini-series looking at estimation in software development - recapping the guidelines I provided in Episode 189 and providing some additional tips that didn't have a home elsewhere in the series. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/205 Have an idea for an episode topic, or want to see what is coming up: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/roadmap

    9 min

  2. FEB 26

    #204: Estimation - Professionalism

    In this episode, the penultimate episode in the Software Estimation mini-series, I want to discuss how Software Estimation works in terms of professionalism - and in many cases, surprisingly, the professional response is not to provide an estimate. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/204 Have an idea for an episode topic, or want to see what is coming up: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/roadmap

    22 min

  3. FEB 19

    #203: Estimation - Is Artificial Intelligence the answer?

    This episode is part of a wider mini-series looking at Estimation in Software Development. In this episode, I ask the question, is AI the answer? Following on from the episodes on Qualitative and Quantitative approaches, it's easy to see there are pros and cons to individual practices. And realistically, it feels like you will need a blend of various approaches to create truly valuable estimates. But, this all seems like a lot of work and investment, a lot of training, tools and time to achieve. And even more so to iteratively improve to nudge towards those valuable estimates. As I'll say many times in this series, producing estimates costs. Producing valuable estimates costs a lot. Thus, it doesn't take much of a leap of logic to ask the question, can AI help us here? In an ideal world, there would be an AI-powered tool that would just do the work for us. Thus, I explore how such a tool could come into being, and probably more importantly, why I doubt it will happen any time soon. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/203 Have an idea for an episode topic, or want to see what is coming up: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/roadmap

    15 min

  4. FEB 12

    #202: Estimation - Quantitative approaches

    This episode is part of a wider mini-series looking at Estimation in Software Development. In the last couple of episodes, I've looked at a number of methods that fall under the Qualitative approach to software estimation. Qualitative estimation is predominantly based on expert judgment, some think based on subjective thought process. In this week's episode, I want to move on to discuss some Quantitative estimation approaches. While Qualitative estimation is predominantly based on expert judgement, Quantitative is based on something we can count or calculate, a use of statistical analysis based on historical data. In this episode, I specifically want to discuss two quantitative techniques - Monte Carlo simulations and Statistical PERT (or SPERT for short). ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/202 Have an idea for an episode topic, or want to see what is coming up: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/roadmap

    14 min

  5. FEB 5

    #201: Estimation - the #NoEstimate approach

    This episode is part of a wider mini-series looking at Estimation in Software Development. In last week's episode, I looked at a number of methods that fall under the Qualitative approach to software estimation. Qualitative estimation is predominantly based on expert judgment, something based on subjective thought process. In this episode I wanted to take a specific look at another method I personally consider a qualitative approach But it's so different to those discussed in the last episode, I felt it needed its own, the #NoEstimate approach ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/201 Have an idea for an episode topic, or want to see what is coming up: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/roadmap

    8 min

  6. JAN 29

    #200: Estimation - Qualitative Approaches

    This episode is part of a wider mini-series looking at Estimation in Software Development. In last week's episode, I introduced two approaches to software estimation, Qualitative and Quantitative estimation. Qualitative estimation is predominantly based on expert judgment, something based on subjective thought process. Whereas Quantitative is based on something we count or calculate. A use of statistical analysis based on historical data. In this episode, I want to dive deeper into the Qualitative and look at some specific practices. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/200 Have an idea for an episode topic, or want to see what is coming up: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/roadmap

    15 min

  7. JAN 22

    #199: Estimation - Quantitative vs Qualitative

    This episode is part of a wider mini-series looking at Estimation in Software Development. In this episode, I wanted to look at practical methods to help develop the team's estimation skills. We cannot expect valuable estimation without investment. It's like any skill, it has to be practiced and refined to obtain a good level of proficiency. So in this episode, I want to take a look at two approaches to estimation - Qualitative and Quantitative. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/199 Have an idea for an episode topic, or want to see what is coming up: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/roadmap

    15 min

  8. JAN 15

    #198: Estimation vs the punitive target

    This episode is part of a wider mini-series looking at Estimation in Software Development. In this episode, I wanted to highlight the emotional baggage that you developers may associate with estimation, and through no fault of your own, will carry that baggage into future estimation work. In the episode, I look at the psychological scarring left behind from decades of using estimates as punitive targets. Like most experienced developers, I've worked in organisations that turn estimates into punitive targets - where a well-meaning estimate has been turned into a commitment, and ultimately, a stick to beat the team with. Now that stick has ranged from the aggressive to the passive, be it threats of dismissal or simply discussing the failure to hit the estimate. ----- Find this episodes show notes at: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/198 Have an idea for an episode topic, or want to see what is coming up: https://red-folder.com/podcasts/roadmap

    10 min
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About

Providing advice on how to get the best Return On Investment from your Software Development. Hosted by Mark Taylor of Red Folder Consultancy, this series is targeted at those that fund software development in improving their return on investment. Through a series of short weekly podcasts, Mark explores and explains why "traditional" management techniques will not only produce poor returns, but actively encourage it. Find out more about Red Folder Consultancy at https://red-folder.com. Or reach out to Mark on Twitter @redfoldermark

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