Business When Should Your Company Develop Its Own Software? (via HBR) This article covers the space between needing more than what off-the-shelf software can provide yet still needing the efficiencies of software to stay competitive. It also discusses the pros…
Academy 1/35 USMC AH-1Z – Step 1a
The cockpit has been assembled. Everything went together pretty easily, including the photo etch pieces provided in the kit. Here’s the gallery of 40 images of this step. Lessons learned here: Poster tack is helpful for holding small pieces in…
Professional Development – 2021 – Week 49
Business How Nonprofits Can Encourage Donors to Give More (via HBR) Introduce a “fun” choice between tip jars (e.g., cats/dogs) Use nouns over verbs — “become a donor” vs “donate today” Use second person plural — “we need your help”…
Professional Development – 2021 – Week 48
Agile Agility ≠ Speed (via SWLW) This article posits an interesting physics analogy: speed has magnitude and direction. It’s not sufficient to build software faster if you’re not building it in the right direction. “That is what the word agile…
Academy 1/35 USMC AH-1Z – Step 0
In early November 2021, /r/modelmakers put out a feeler for anyone interested in a helicopter group build. Considering I’d never done a group build or a helicopter, I signed up. 🙂 Not really having a particular model in mind, I…
Professional Development – 2021 – Week 47
Agile Moving from SAFe to Just In Time (via Leading Agile) Is it okay to use only parts of SAFe? Yes; all methodologies serve a specific purpose if you have the problems those methodologies were built to solve. For example,…
Professional Development – 2021 – Week 46
Conflict How to Foster Healthy Disagreement in Your Meetings (via HBR) There needs to be a purpose to bring a little conflict Describe actual behavior you’re seeing Invite multiple interpretations Disrupt the defaults Estimation My Software Estimation Technique (via Software…
Professional Development – 2021 – Week 45
Business Structure Making Silos Work for Your Organization (via HBR) Silos aren’t inherently the “wrong” choice; they come with certain advantages. This article discusses how to build bridges between silos and ways to put checks and balances in place to…
Professional Development – 2021 – Week 44
Agile Agility Hacks (via HBR) I don’t know if I’d call these hacks, per se; however, the article makes good points about when agile helps and when it’s not a good fit. When you do need it to respond quickly,…
Professional Development – 2021 – Week 43
Career 7 Questions to Ask Your New Boss (via HBR) Who should I meet with outside our team? How do you prefer to communicate? What’s the best way to ask for your input and feedback? What can I do to…