Slow Down and Stop Deploying Buggy Software

I have a very low tolerance for buggy software. And an even lower tolerance when the customer and technical service that follows it is horrid. 

I'm empathetic to the business pressure to release capabilities and features, reduce technical debt, and improve integrations. Heck, I advise companies that digital transformation requires companies to experiment and deliver faster.

StarCIO's mission is guiding organizations on smarter, faster, safer, and innovative transformations that deliver results. Releasing buggy, broken, or unstable user experiences is not smarter, safer, or innovative. It just frustrates customers.

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5 Ways Scrum Leaders Drive Astoundingly Successful Collaboration

Product owners, tech leads, and scrum masters are three common roles you find on scrum teams. I've written about their key responsibilities such as product owners prioritizing backlogs, tech leads overseeing estimating, and scrum masters ensuring team collaboration and cohesion.

But how should these three leaders collaborate? How can they help agile teams successfully release quality products on schedule and delight customers, end-users, employees, and stakeholders? 

I give a fast answer to this question in Episode 16 of 5 Minutes with @NYIke. Successful teams exhibit several behaviors that drive results. They do many of the following: 

• Ask why and challenge assumptions
• Become knowledgable on market expectations and customer customers 
• Brainstorm diverse solutions but assign ownership
• Balance priorities on innovation, technical debt, and operational needs
• Follow best practices and seek to improve them

I cover the nuts and bolts in the video below. You may also want to check out my recent articles published on InfoWorld on How to mandate agility in software development, operations, and data science (hint - you can't) and 5 things CIOs want from app developers.

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Five Reasons Your Agile Practices Fail to Deliver Results

Let's call a spade a spade. We can call many processes "agile," and teams can claim that they are practicing scrum. Still, there are sizable steps going from following basic agile ceremonies to agile methodologies or cultures.

Specifically, teams are not agile if all they are doing is

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What CIOs can Learn from Low-Code Platform CTOs

Last week, I published an article at InfoWorld on 7 low-code platforms developers should know. I find low-code a controversial discussion with some developers who love coding, prefer developing applications from scratch, and view low-code platforms as either a compromise, threat, or yet-another-tool to learn. 

Low-code platforms are not designed for every business need and technical challenge, but they can cover a ton of ground. Many organizations are investing in digital transformation and responding to COVID-related remote working conditions. IT departments are overwhelmed with businesses wanting more apps that are higher quality, easier experiences, greater security, lower technical debt, better integrated, and more frequently updated.

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5 Recommendations on How Much To Invest in Agile and Scrum Courses

Are you considering getting formally trained or certified in agile methodologies or scrum? Are you looking to become a certified scrum master, or maybe get trained in an agile framework such as SAFe or LeSS, or specialize in agile transformation with classes like StarCIO Agile Planning?

I receive inquiries from friends, colleagues, and leaders on agile and scrum training and certifications regularly. Some come from companies looking to train departments on agile, and others are individuals who want to invest in their expertise and careers. 

Now, there are many agile and scrum related books, podcasts, videos, courses, workshops, conferences, mentors, and coaches. Just researching this article, and I've found hundreds of options. And it can be daunting to search, review, and sift through.

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What is the Modernized Role of Scrum Masters

The 15th episode of 5 Minutes with @NYIke focuses on the modernized role of the scrum master. 

The role needs recasting. Ten years ago, scrum masters were the experts on agile methodologies and charged to coach teams through the process. That's still needed for newly formed teams or to help new employees/teammates that have never been on scrum teams before. But today, many people working on agile teams and with scrum probably have some experience with it already.

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How a Java Low-Code Development Platform Drives Useful Innovation

 Can Java development teams have all the benefits of working with their development environment and also have the speed to market, best practices, and scalability coming from a low-code platform? The answer is yes, but it requires a Java-based low-code platform that has two-way code integration into the Eclipse IDE and supports UI, workflow, and API development. And now, there’s one platform that meets these requirements and enables technology leaders to accelerate their digital transformation, improve user experiences, and modernize applications. 

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