Explaining testing: Quick win, small change

I didn't include testing because it's a quick win, it's only a small change.

Change how you change presentation - Agile Tour London 2013

Change the way you attempt change - Skillsmatter skillscast

Recently I presented a talk on Change.

Change the way you attempt change

http://skillsmatter.com/podcast/agile-scrum/change-the-way-you-attempt-change

We all have things we want to change, whether it's at work or personally and change is hard, in some cases seemingly impossible. This will be a chance for people to get together and discuss change.Looking at the psychology behind change. Focusing on case studies,research and personal experiences.
Looking at using the framework of 'Direct the rider, motivate the elephant, and shape the path' we'll discuss it's general use which we've all experienced and most likely not realised and look at how we can utilise it in our own lives.
Breaking down the framework we'll look at aspects such as :

• Finding the bright spots.
• Shrinking the change.
• Tweaking the environment.

What do you want to change? Let's get started

Here is a link to the Prezi

Explaining testing: 101 Tactics For Revolutionaries

Here are the first 10 to get you started.

Onward to glory!

1. if you’re in charge, do it yourself
2. if you’re not in charge, do it yourself
3. become known as “the guy who…” so when the time is right, everyone knows there’s a guy who…
4. learn to be nice, so people like you
5. realise there are no rules, you can do what you like
6. know that you are as right as you can be for now given what you’ve learnt so far
7. know that this is the same for everybody else
8. stay on the inside of the wrong thing so you can speak with authority on why and how it is wrong
9. know it’s not a race. That you can divide the world into those ahead of you and those behind, and to all those ahead of you, you’re the one behind.
10. be an entrepreneur not a crusader

The rest are here: 101 Tactics For Revolutionaries

It doesn't make sense.

I stole this, I changed two words:

People work with one set of ideas about how the software is. Everything they do, be it experimental or theoretical work, is informed by, and framed within, that set of ideas. There will be some evidence that doesn't fit, however. At first, that evidence will be ignored or sabotaged. Eventually, though, the anomalies will pile up so high they simply cannot be ignored or sabotaged any longer. Then comes crisis.
13 Things That Don't Make Sense - Michael Brooks.

To me, this is a pretty good explanation of software development, although of course, not in all cases of software development.

It's also a pretty good reason why things like agile, devops, devs, bdd, etc have come about.

We do approach things with a set of ideas and we do frame things with that set of ideas in mind.

We stick to our own ideas, even though some of our ideas have been born out of others' ideas and thoughts and words and we've blindly made them our ideas and thoughts.
- For more on this train of thought refer to Leprechauns of Software Development or various kinds of certification.

When we have ideas that we have actually conceived it can be a good thing because we all have different experiences, we all have different thoughts, we can all add something.

I think the problems occur when we don't let go of theses ideas (when beneficial) and learn from others experiences and listen to others ideas.

A lot of time we don't conceive ideas together for something we are supposed to be working on together.

What's wrong with us?

Doesn't make sense to me.

Make sense to you?

Continuing with the excerpts from 13 Things That Don't Make Sense The next paragraph starts with the sentence:

Crisis, Kuhn said, is soon followed by the paradigm shift in which everyone gains a radically new way of looking at the world.

Does it? Not for software development, not as much as needed.

In the context of software development the sentence would read:

Crisis, Kuhn said, is soon followed by a attempt to throw more people at, work longer hours to stem and follow the procedures that caused the crisis in the first place until the next crisis arrives.

What's wrong with us?

Total awareness of conditioning

How do I free myself from my conditioning of the culture in which I was born? First, I must be aware that I am conditioned; not somebody telling me that I am conditioned. You understand the difference?

If somebody tells me I am hungry, that’s something different from actually being hungry. So I must be aware of my conditioning, which means, I must be aware of it not only superficially, but at the deeper levels. That is, I must be aware totally.

To be so aware, means that I am not trying to go beyond the conditioning, not trying to be free of the conditioning. I must see it as it actually is, not bring in another element, such as wanting to be free of it, because that is an escape from actuality. I must be aware. What does that mean?

To be aware of my conditioning totally, not partially, means my mind must be highly sensitive, mustn’t it? Otherwise, I can’t be aware.

To be sensitive means to observe everything very, very closely; the colours, the quality of people, all the things around me. I must also be aware of what actually is without any choice. Can you do that?

Not trying to interpret it, not trying to change it, not trying to go beyond it or trying to be free of it; just to be totally aware of it?

Jiddu Krishnamurti - The Awakening of Intelligence

I'm supposed to be negative?

So I've overheard recently  (over the last year or so) things like: 'It gets tiring being negative all the time and pointing mistakes and people flaws.'

And it confused me.

Is that what I'm supposed to be doing?!

Crap!

I've been doing it wrong!

Should I be negative?

Should I be pointing out flaws in peoples work?

Should I be pointing out flaws in peoples ideas?

Should I be stating that people are doing shoddy work?

Am I there to break things?

Am I there to find the breaks?

I thought I was part of a team and we worked together on creating something.

I thought I approached things differently and could add valuable input because of that.

I thought we were solving a problem and approaching it from different angles.

I thought I was there to provide information.

I thought  we evolved together.

Did I think wrong?

Short book review: Poke The Box - Seth Godin

Poke the Box - Seth Godin


Seth Godin ranting about taking the initiative and starting something. 


Do rather than plan. 


Start rather than wait. 


Don't focus on being right, focus on starting, try and see. 


Don't focus on doing what you're told, focus on doing what you think is worth doing. 


Some lines I liked: 

• The challenge is to focus on the work, not on the fear that comes from doing the work. 
• Those who fear risk also begin to fear movement of any kind. 
• We have little choice but to move beyond quality and seek remarkable, connected and new. 
• Please stop waiting for a map. We reward those who draw maps, not those who follow them. 

Enjoyable read if a little repetitive.