Building Teams

On the 24th of September 2019, I had an opportunity to speak at the very first DevOps Roundabout meetup in London. You can watch my talk on YouTube. The idea behind this talk is the same as the one behind my whitepaper (with the identical title). First, explaining to the wider audience what the DevOps movement is really all about and then helping people to embark on that journey. The difference in the talk is that I do not focus specifically on the public sector and think in broader terms- how everyone can embark on this journey. ...

I am quite excited to share with you “The Journey to DevOps” (announcement and the download link here), the first white paper that I have published with my company Scott Logic. This white paper will help you: Understand the DevOps mindset Learn more about challenges facing public sector organisations when adopting DevOps Help you assess your DevOps maturity Present actionable advice on embarking on your DevOps journey Appreciate the value that comes from embracing DevOps If you are interested in reading more, download our white paper from Scott Logic blog: “The Journey to DevOps” – in PDF format.

Today I want to talk to you about technical debt. This is a topic that comes up a lot and often generates some emotions. Developers often want to have a minimal amount of technical debt. Some will go through great efforts to eliminate any technical debt they see. Let me tell you what I think about it all. Different type of technical debt First of all, it is a bit simplistic to just classify all technical debt as the same thing. I have read a few attempts at classifying it- Types of Technical Debt by Agile Mike and There are 3 main types of technical debt. Here’s how to manage them. FirstMark make for interesting reading. ...

Words like leadership and management are used often when discussing software projects. While they may sound similar, they are quite different and are often (but not always) performed by separate people. In this article, I will look closer at these two terms and explain why one is more difficult than the other. Leadership defined You could try to define leadership along these lines: Inspiring and motivating people to act towards achieving positive goals. They also protect and nurture the teams and individuals. ...

It seems that everyone wants to work remotely these days. Why wouldn’t they? There are some obvious benefits, such as reduced commute and working from the comfort of your own home. What is the impact on the team though? In this blog post, I focus on the impact on the team rather than individual benefits. Working from home – developers’ perspective It is no secret that developers really enjoy working remotely. The key reasons seem to be: ...

There are numerous articles out there talking about agile teams and how being agile will change your life/project. I agree with what Agile Manifesto proposes, but overall, I think that agile movement lacks scientific approach. In this article, I will apply my understanding of physics to “prove” and explain some of the agile phenomena. Before you get angry and start telling me that I am abusing here either physics and agile- take a deep breath and remember: ...

*“Scrum Mastery: From Good To Great Servant-Leadership” –*a book that I picked up recently based on it being the number one selling book about Agile Methodologies (from Amazon). I also wanted a fresh view on that role, given that I work in a Scrum team myself. Was it worth my time? Definitely! I did not really know what to expect from this book. There are plenty of “Scrum manuals” out there, which more often than not, describe some idealised realities. ...

Technical Architect is a job that many people understand differently. Some people argue Technical Architects should only design systems, staying hands-off, while others would see them as being deeply involved in the development of systems. In here I will explore the role of Technical Architects, the job itself and the value they bring. The Role of a Technical Architect All systems have technical architectures. Sometimes this architecture is decided and designed, other times- it happens by chance. ...

Who wouldn’t want to work as a part of a happy and motivated software team? Wouldn’t it be great if every team you ever worked with was like that? Based on Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek and Drive by Daniel Pink, I will tell you how to make this possible. What motivates developers? There are different ideas out there about how to motivate people. The two most common ones are- bonuses (or other financial rewards) and fun work (challenging, interesting etc.). While there is some truth to both, they do not give the full picture. ...

Getting work done effectively and efficiently is a goal of most software development teams. On a personal level, being able to get a productive day at work can also be immensely satisfying. In this article, I will share with you my advice on how to be much more productive. This advice is inspired by “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” – a book that made a big impact on me. ...