I have been talking to people at work about measuring performance lately and it got me thinking about how we use metrics to understand our work in an agile context. In some ways, results are results and impediments are impediments, so maybe the way we measure things is based on what we measure and not how we work. In other ways though, the way we work and even our attitude to work will impact what we measure, how we measure it and what we learn from it. I often tell people that in agile teams we try to measure the … Continue reading Ranting and raving about agile metrics

The tennis is on in Australia and I guess people are being distracted by a lot of things that have nothing to do with the game. I assume though, that the players are staying focused on playing the best game that they can – and hopefully winning if they are good enough to have a chance. That bit is similar to work at the moment – there are so many distractions going on around me that I think I could spend the whole day doom-scrolling. However, I am likely to be more successful (and happier) if I can be a … Continue reading One goal or many

It is a new year and so I am returning to my blog, which has been neglected for a couple of months. Perhaps I should set myself a typical goal to keep me focused, something like Write 2 blog articles a month; or Publish 2 blog articles by the end of February 2022 These are action based goals and the outcomes are pretty clear. They might even be smart goals because they are pretty specific and they can be measured. In fact I can even predict that I will be 50% complete in attaining the second goal by the time … Continue reading Improvement goals – verbs, adverbs or adjectives?