100 Books for 2017

I set a personal goal of reading 50 books this year and finished double my goal. Included in my list were fiction, non-fiction, personal and work related books, as well as things I just wanted to learn more about. How I did it: I set a goal in Goodreads and tracked my progress there. Set… Continue reading 100 Books for 2017

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Categorized as General

Agile Principles for Everyone

Based on the 12 Agile Principles and adapted for any delivered value. Early and continuous delivery of the most valuable work. Welcome and manage change. It happens. When work can be broken up and delivered in smaller (but valuable and usable) chunks, do it. Work directly with your customer daily throughout projects. Use motivated individuals.… Continue reading Agile Principles for Everyone

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Categorized as Agile

Common Retrospective Challenges

I often hear about poorly run retrospectives. Below, I’ll describe a few different common problems and some ways I have addressed them. Beyond what I list below, you may want to learn more abut how good facilitation can help any team. Common Challenge #1: Skipping The Retrospective The most common challenge for the practice of… Continue reading Common Retrospective Challenges

In Gratitude

As a young, single mother of twins, I embarked on my software engineering journey really because I considered myself to be “good with computers,” and because I was searching for a way to provide for my children. I set out at the local community college to study Computer Information Systems, and Programming more specifically, thinking… Continue reading In Gratitude

Retrospectives for Everyone – CodeMash 2016 – Resources

Materials Slides: Retrospectives for Everyone Photos from Session The Path to Nirvana 1: Now The Path to Nirvana 2: Next Step The Path to Nirvana 3: Ideal State The Flying High Technique Resources Online Retrospective How-Tos 7 Step Agenda for an Effective Retrospective: https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/7-step-agenda-effective-retrospective Ben Linders: Designing Valuable Retrospectives: http://www.benlinders.com/2014/designing-valuable-agile-retrospectives/ Ben Linders: Which Questions do… Continue reading Retrospectives for Everyone – CodeMash 2016 – Resources

Materials from “Yes, It’s Alive” CodeMash KidzMash Presentation

For those of you who were interested in my daughter and I’s presentation on Fermentation for KidzMash and wanted more information, we put this post together for you. Kombucha Recipe Materials Needed Sugar (Refined white sugar ferments faster than organic and less quickly minimally refined sugar) Organic Tea SCOBY (optional) Distilled Water Clean Jar Coffee… Continue reading Materials from “Yes, It’s Alive” CodeMash KidzMash Presentation

The Importance of Done

A team I have been working with recently has reached a milestone. When I first started working with this team, most work would get to “development complete” but would linger in QA for multiple sprints or would not pass Product Owner approval so the work never got to “done.” This particular team had experienced a… Continue reading The Importance of Done