818 episodes

SPaMCAST explores the varied world of software process improvement and measurement. The cast covers topics that deal with the challenges found in information technology organizations as they grow and evolve.

Software Process and Measurement Cast Thomas M. Cagley Jr

    • Technology
    • 4.8 • 17 Ratings

SPaMCAST explores the varied world of software process improvement and measurement. The cast covers topics that deal with the challenges found in information technology organizations as they grow and evolve.

    Beyond Buzzwords - Rethinking Collaboration in Software Development and Prioritization vs. Micromanagement - Finding the Right Balance - SPaMCAST 799

    Beyond Buzzwords - Rethinking Collaboration in Software Development and Prioritization vs. Micromanagement - Finding the Right Balance - SPaMCAST 799

    The Software Process and Measurement Cast 799 discusses why all communication is not collaboration. It is a commonly held belief that complex problems require collaborative efforts to solve. Couple that with an almost fad-like insistence that if a little collaboration is good, more is better, which leads to everything being deemed collaboration. We can do better with a little effort.  We will also have a visit from Jon M Quigley and his Alpha and Omega of Product Development column. Mr Quigley and I talk about prioritization as micromanagement. And how if you are not there to pick up the pieces when work is pushed into an organization you have a poor perspective.  .New Workshop Cohort Registration Open! Jeremy Willets and I have opened a new workshop cohort to help you learn to tame the work intake beast!  The workshop will run from 31 May to 28 June in five manageable one-hour chunks. For more details hop over to our Maven site  for more information, sign up, or just join the mailing list!   Re-read Saturday News I ran across the quote "I wasted time, and now doth time waste me" Shakespeare, Richard II as I was listening to by Cal Newport while jogging/walking the dog. The quote and the content of Newport’s book made me decide to feature my second time through Deep Work in our Re-read Saturday feature.  This week we discuss how the re-read approach and the Introduction which includes important definitions.                                                                                            Remember to buy a copy of and read along. Week 1:  -     Next SPaMCAST  The SPaMCAST 800 will feature Johanna Rothman interviewing Jeremy Willets and me. We discussed the book, . Any conversation with Johanna ends up being a master class. I look forward to spending this milestone with Johanna, Jeremy, and you.    

    • 22 min
    Exploring the Power of Nearshore Software Development and Uplifting Organizational Culture An Interview with Steve Taplin, SPaMCAST 798

    Exploring the Power of Nearshore Software Development and Uplifting Organizational Culture An Interview with Steve Taplin, SPaMCAST 798

    The Software Process and Measurement Cast 798 features my interview with Steve Taplin of Sonatafy Technology. Steve and I discussed the nuances and benefits of nearshore software development. Steve also provided his thoughts on why building an uplifting culture both inside and outside the organization reaps powerful rewards for everyone it touches. Steve Taplin leads Sonatafy Technology as its CEO, bringing an entrepreneurial flair and inspirational leadership to the forefront of nearshore software development. His career is marked by a series of successful business scalings, showcasing his ability to tackle complex challenges within the tech industry. Steve's expertise spans across critical business domains, driving Sonatafy to excel in delivering top-tier software solutions.  Contact Information: Re-read Saturday News This week we put a bow on our re-read of with a few final thoughts. This book has earned a place on my useful bookshelf. The quote from last week sums up my rationale for Re-read Saturday.  “We take action because of our relentless pursuit of improvement. That is what professionalism is all about.” Next week we will begin our re-read of  by Cal Newport.  Buy a copy and get reading – .     Week 1: – Week 2: – Week 3:   –   Week 4: – Week 5: –   Week 6: –   Week 7: –   Week 8: –   Week 9: –   Week 10: -    Week 11: -   Week 12: -      Week 13: s -                                                                                                                 Next SPaMCAST  The SPaMCAST 799 will feature an essay on why all communication is not collaboration. Like all trendy words, we are confusing the meaning and in the process losing the value of the act. One final thought before next week, just because you allow time for Q&A, a talk at an All Hands Meeting is not collaboration even if you say it is.  We will also have a visit from Jon M Quigley and his Alpha and Omega of Product Development column. A little foreshadowing… SPaMCAST 800 will feature Johanna Rothman, Jeremy Willets, and me.  

    • 33 min
    Unraveling the Paradox of Process, QAs As Servants, Essays and Conversations

    Unraveling the Paradox of Process, QAs As Servants, Essays and Conversations

    In the Software Process and Measurement Cast 797 we ponder a statement from Roger Turnau in SPaMCAST 796, “You can’t expect the process to save you from yourself in every circumstance.” The statement poses a leadership quandary leading to questions every leader must ask. When does process guidance make sense? When do processes infantilize teams and leaders? These are not the basis for an after-work philosophical discussion. Vast movements within the software industry have been spawned as cultures have swayed between directive and laissez-faire poles.  We also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault who brings his Evolutionary Agilst™ Column to the podcast. We discussed whether testers are part of the team and if they own quality. Re-read Saturday News This week we finish our re-read of with two chapters. Chapter 13 is titled Scaling Monte Carlo. In a perfect world, one team could do all of the work needed for a product or feature a manageable piece at a time. Unfortunately, this is the real world. In Chapter 14, titled A Parting Thought, Vacanti states, “We take action because of our relentless pursuit of improvement. That is what professionalism is all about.” Buy a copy and get reading – .   Week 1: – Week 2: – Week 3:   –   Week 4: – Week 5: –   Week 6: –   Week 7: –   Week 8: –   Week 9: –   Week 10: -    Week 11: -   Week 12: -     Next SPaMCAST  The SPaMCAST 798 will feature our interview with Steve Taplin. Steve and I discussed sourcing nearshore and creating a culture inside and around an organization. 

    • 17 min
    Taming the Backlog with Cost of Delay, A Conversation

    Taming the Backlog with Cost of Delay, A Conversation

    The Software Process and Measurement Cast 796 features a conversation with Roger Turnau. Roger and I talk about prioritization using the cost of delay. Every organization and team I have ever worked with has a backlog of work and lots of people screaming that their piece of the backlog is the most important. The cost of delay is an important tool to filter out the noise and it can be as nuanced as you need it to be. Roger Turnau is an Agile Coach at Accenture. His mission is to empower and inspire leaders and organizations to create an environment where high performance feels effortless. His approach to achieving this combines an emphasis on psychological safety, building trust throughout the organization, and close attention to KPIs, OKRs and flow metrics to ensure durable results. For the past five years, Roger has specialized in enterprise and DevOps coaching, product development, and Agile transformations. Contact Information LinkedIn:  Website: (Blog) Last Call for Cohort 1! Slay Work Intake Chaos: Become a Master in 5 Weeks!   Based on Tom Cagley and Jeremy WIllet’s new book , learn to diagnose and solve work intake anti-patterns to stop drowning in work. Work intake is the biggest challenge facing organizations today. If you don’t get work intake right, you won’t be in business for very long. A 5-week cohort-based course, meeting weekly for an hour, includes teaching, peer feedback & discussion, feedback from the authors, time for Q&A, templates, and an electronic copy of our book, Mastering Work Intake: From Chaos to Predictable Delivery. Are you ready to commit?  Join our cohort-based workshop. The first cohort is starting on March 1st, 2024. Details at   Re-read Saturday News This week we tackle two chapters of . Chapter 11, “Different Sampling Methods”. The chapter points out that random sampling techniques are just the tip of the iceberg in approaches. Chapter 12, ”What Percentile Do I Choose?”, discusses whether you always need to quote the 85th percentile range. The short answer is no but like most things, there is more to it than that.  Buy a copy and get reading – .   Week 1: – Week 2: – Week 3:   –   Week 4: – Week 5: –   Week 6: –   Week 7: –   Week 8: –   Week 9: –   Week 10: -    Week 11: - Next SPaMCAST  In the Software Process and Measurement Cast 797 we ponder the question, should the process save us from ourselves in every circumstance?  We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault who brings his Evolutionary Agilst™ Column to the podcast

    • 40 min
    Jargon - Bridging Bonds or Building Barriers, Essays and Conversations

    Jargon - Bridging Bonds or Building Barriers, Essays and Conversations

    Part of every profession is the jargon practitioners adopt. Having a language links people together and creates a sense of community. It also creates private gardens: a profession set off from those around it. Jargon is a form of secret handshake. Jargon is a two-edged sword, both gathering and excluding people. Be wary! We also have a visit from Susan Parente and her Not A Scrumdamentalist column. We discussed her recent mini-sabbatical. Stepping back has the power to clear your mind.  Slay Work Intake Chaos: Become a Master in 5 Weeks! Based on Tom Cagley and Jeremy WIllet’s new book , learn to diagnose and solve work intake anti-patterns to stop drowning in work. Work intake is the biggest challenge facing organizations today. If you don’t get work intake right, you won’t be in business for very long. A 5-week cohort-based course, meeting weekly for an hour, includes teaching, peer feedback & discussion, feedback from the authors, time for Q&A, templates, and an electronic copy of our book, Mastering Work Intake: From Chaos to Predictable Delivery. Are you ready to commit?  Join our cohort-based workshop. The first cohort is starting on March 1st, 2024. Details at Re-read Saturday News This week we tackle two chapters of . We begin with Chapter 9 - VoP, VoC, and Predictability which sums up Section I, Variability and Predictability. Chapter 10, titled Monte Carlo Simulation, Revisited begins Section II, Advanced Monte Carlo Simulation and Predictability. Buy a copy and get reading – .   Week 1: – Week 2: – Week 3:   –   Week 4: – Week 5: –   Week 6: –   Week 7: –   Week 8: –   Week 9: –   Week 10: -    Next SPaMCAST  The Software Process and Measurement Cast 796 our conversation with Roger Turnau. Roger and I will delve deeply into prioritization using the cost of delay. Every organization and team I have ever worked with has a backlog of work and lots of people screaming that their piece of the backlog is the most important. Cost of delay is an important tool to filter out the noise.  

    • 26 min
    Data Engineering, AI, Entrepreneurship - Unveiling 2024's Tech Horizons, A Conversation With Nick Schrock

    Data Engineering, AI, Entrepreneurship - Unveiling 2024's Tech Horizons, A Conversation With Nick Schrock

    The Software Process and Measurement Cast 794 features our conversation with Nick Schrock. Nick and I discussed data engineering, AI, and entrepreneurship. As the Founder at Dagster Labs, Nick has the perfect standing to talk about three of the hottest topics of 2024. Nick’s Bio: Nick is the Founder and CTO of Dagster Labs, the company behind Dagster, a popular open-source data orchestration platform. Before Dagster Labs, he was a Principal Engineer and Director at Facebook from 2009 to 2017, where he founded the Product Infrastructure team and co-created GraphQL. After cutting his teeth at Facebook, he pursued his passion for working on engineers’ pain points after hearing that data infrastructure was a big issue. He founded Dagster to address this issue, highlighting how quickly open-source projects were able to make an impact at legacy companies.  Dagster couldn’t come at a more critical time as data and ML engineering are beginning to drive both human and business decision-making.   Contact Information: Linkedin: Website:   Stop Project Chaos: The Ultimate Guide to Predictable Work Intake   Feeling overwhelmed by endless tasks and unpredictable deadlines? You’re not alone. But what if you could transform your project into a well-oiled machine, delivering consistent value on time? Introducing Mastering Work Intake: From Chaos to Predictable Delivery. Ditch the black hole of endless requests. Discover practical strategies for capturing, filtering, and prioritizing work effectively. Gain control of your work pipeline. Learn how to navigate different types of work at different stages, ensuring smooth flow and efficient delivery. Become a master of saying “no”. This book equips you with the tools and techniques to confidently decline unproductive work and protect your team’s focus. Stop the chaos and start delivering! Grab your copy of Mastering Work Intake today and unleash your project’s full potential. JRoss:   or  Amazon (US): Are you ready to commit to not letting bad work drag you down? Invest in your success and learn how to master work intake for a smoother, more rewarding project experience. Join our cohort-based workshop. The first cohort is starting on March 1st, 2024. Details at Re-read Saturday News Chapter 8 shatters myths!  Once upon a time in a land far, far away, I believed a few of these myths. Ok, it was just about five years ago that I was dissuaded from the last of my misbeliefs. I believe that many of my misconceptions are founded in the collision of words between classical statistics and words Shewhart used for Process Behavior Charts (PBC). Buy a copy and get reading – .     Week 1: – Week 2: – Week 3:   –   Week 4: – Week 5: -   Week 6: -   Week 7: -   Week 8: XmR Charts and the Four Basic Metrics of Flow -   Week 9: -     Next SPaMCAST  In the Software Process and Measurement Cast 795, why do teams, products, projects, and companies exist? Why do we care? (We really should!)   We will also have a visit from Susan Parente who brings her Not A Scrumdamentalist column to the podcast!  

    • 32 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
17 Ratings

17 Ratings

ASobering ,

Such a wealth of knowledge!

700 episodes of absolute GOLD. Thank you, Tom, for all of your incredible work with SPaMCAST -engaging conversations, actionable tips, and insights into the software industry abound!

thatengineeringguy14 ,

Great podcast!

Full of interesting conversations, engaging interviews, and actionable advice! Tom is a guy worth talking to for sure, and he makes a great podcast!

SLA-fre ,

Agile & more

Tom Cagley is a great interviewer and consistently brings in a wide variety of guests covering topics in software, testing, business, agile, and project management. Always informative, interesting and inviting!

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