Hype cycle for Agile

I found a paper that talks about the Hype cycle for Agile methodology. It scares me that Agile is close to the "Trough of disillusionment". All the more because my Software project management role is all about implementing the Agile processes and integrating it with the heavy weight project management processes!

A new idea or technology hits the trough when the early adopters realize that the idea after all is not as good as it the initial expectations. It's like the bubble bursting on Agile! You can find some more details about Hype Cycle here http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1047223059457664714#editor/target=post;postID=638745433126602063;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=16;src=postname

If you are truly interested, you can read this well written paper here http://darkagilemanifesto.org/dark-side-of-agile-janes-succi-splash-2012.pdf

-Sandeep Kowshik

Cognitive dissonance...

Wow!! Just read the following examples:

1> Anxiety that results from simultaneously holding contradictory or incompatible attitudes, beliefs, or like, as when one likes a person but disapproves of one of his or her habits.

2> You go to the store at lunch time when you're already hungry and a little cross. You snap at the sales person, perhaps calling her a really unkind name and use hurtful adjectives. Your belief about yourself, however, is that you're a good person, and good people don't hurt or belittle the sales help. You and many people--in fact most--solve the uncomfortable situation by demonizing the sales clerk. "She was stupid and not doing her job at all. She deserved it because she's a bad person. I'm still a good person, but she was awful and deserved my ire." You have self justified and made her the bad guy. Mistakes were made, but not by you.

There is a term to describe this feeling, and it's called Cognitive Dissonance. This is exactly what I've been looking for for a long long time. This just explains so many things going on in my personal and professional life! 

CD for me is a close cousin of Confirmation Bias. CB is when you read or like to hear things that confirm your beliefs. Believe it or not, CD and CB go beyond this, it's also used by marketing professionals to explain consumer behavior! More to follow soon.

What if money was no object

Found a fantastic video on youtube called "What if money was no object". This one has got me thinking deeply, and here is what I would do if money and more importantly holidays wasn't a problem...

1> Sit on a beach and read books

2> Spend some time in the jungles of India

3> Live an outdoor life, Scuba dive, Learn to fly

4> Travel & see the world

P.S - Trust me , after a couple of months I'd get bored and come back to my lovely corporate life :P

Speculation... Lol

"There is a joke that says that one black marketer sold a sardine can to another for one dollar. This black marketer sold it to another for two dollars and the third black marketer sold it to another for three dollars. The can continued to change hands and increase in price until a black marketer bought it for 25 dollars (an enormous sum at that time) and decided to open it. To his enormous surprise, he saw that the can was empty. He ran back to the black marketer who had sold it to him to get his 25 dollars back. However, this black marketer simply told him, “How could you be so stupid as to open the can? This can is for selling, not for eating”.

This joke also illustrates perfectly the distinction (with no basis) that some people make
between shares for investing in (to hold them for a long time, so they say) and shares to speculate in (to
sell quickly, so they say).

Source: Pablo Fernandez, Internet valuations: The case of Terra-Lycos

Watching the mind...

Found a cool ted talk that talks about watching your mind and observing thoughts that surround you every day. Reminds me of the book I read eons ago called the Monk who sold his ferrari by Robin Sharma. A really good read and I would love to read it again. It's on the top of my list of books to buy when I travel to India in April.

Back to the video, I followed up on this video by registering with getsomeheadspace.com and I thought it was really useful. It's not like the traditional meditation techniques of just freeing your mind, it's all about watching your thoughts, making mental notes and being self aware. I really enjoyed it. The challenge ofcourse is to find the time to relax!

What-How-Why

This has to be one of the most persuasive ted talks I've ever watched. Brilliant stuff!

Toyota production system - TPS

I am a  big fan of TPS, Heijunka, Kaizen, Muda etc are some really good concepts and I think it's a great way of running a business. I love the concept of production line and its adoption in software. I remember when I first started my career people telling me that Lean is only for the manufacturing and it means nothing for software. Wonder if those people still think so. I would love to go back and convince them that TPS is worth every penny and every minute you spend on it.

Anyway, about a year ago, I listened to the audio version of the book "The Toyota way". If you haven't already read it, I strongly suggest you pick it up. It's a really good read and a there is a lot you can take away from it.

Here is a small write up I found this morning and it does a decent job of summarizing TPS.

http://iso-qms.blogspot.in/2013/01/executive-summary-of-14-toyota-way.html?goback=%2Egde_37987_member_209799933

-Sandeep Kowshik