Month: February 2010

Consulting, Reflection1 Comment

They need to fix accountability

James King

My favourite comment for the week was me and a friend talking about a project we were consulting on. We agreed that “they need to fix their accountability”. While we might be right, we realised that it is a bit wimpy to suggest that someone else has to fix accountability for a project you are on. So we had a long discussion about what we could do on the project and we concluded we just needed to make sure we were clear on – what we delegate (including escalate or ask for); – when we are ambiguous about our own … Continue reading They need to fix accountability

ArguingLeave a comment

Argumentum ad waterfallium

James King

Argumentum ad hominem is a cool Latin phrase I read in a book called “How to win every argument – the use and abuse of logic”.  The book is written by Madsen  Pirie and while I don’t know if it is still in print, I do know its on the shelf at the Chattswood Library in Sydney. The concept is that I will attack an argument by attacking its source (speaker).  So rather than saying I disagree with Fred because of a flaw in his argument, I either Explain that Fred is a bit of a wally and therefore not … Continue reading Argumentum ad waterfallium

PartnersLeave a comment

Vacancy for an agile trainer in Australia

James King

I do a lot of work with Software Education and I can vouch for them as an excellent group to work with. So I thought it would be worth mentioning that they are looking for a new trainer to deliver a range of courses in agile development.  You will need to be charismatic, experienced and good at dealing with the reality of projects rather than just the theory.  The charisma is particularly important because the rest of us trainers look like we have been hired for our experience rather than any soap opera like good looks 🙂 http://softed.com/Company/Vacancies.aspx If you … Continue reading Vacancy for an agile trainer in Australia

UncategorizedLeave a comment

Minor rant from James – what happened to the customer

James King

I just posted this on another site, so I didn’t want to repeat it all here. The article is at this simple english heading: http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&gid=2221192&discussionID=13508554&sik=1265408037120&trk=ug_qa_q&goback=.ana_2221192_1265408037120_3_1 As you would (not) guess from the wording of the link, I am wondering why we still debate the involvement of the customer in our IT projects. We adopt every new technical practice and every new approach – and then baulk at the idea that we need to understand our customer’s needs, or at the idea that we need to get them to make the time to help us. Maybe we should stop implementing other … Continue reading Minor rant from James – what happened to the customer