Improving Podcasts

Ep. 20 – Visual Studio 2010 Testing Tools

Allen — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:14:27 +0000

In an all-Microsoft show, Allen talks with Chris Tullier and Todd Girvin about Microsoft’s new innovations in the area of software test.

Topics Covered:

Visual Studio testing today
New Visual Studio SKUs
New Coded UI testing
Microsoft Test Manager QA Tools
IntelliTrace and Developer/QA Interaction
Recommended Tests/Test Impact
More on new SKUs
Lab Management
Licensing

Links

Ep. 19 – Bringing Order to Chaos

Allen — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:09:55 +0000

Agile is often viewed as a reaction to Waterfall. Chaotic projects may be more common than Waterfall. In this episode of Improving Podcasts, Allen and Mike are joined by Ed, Gary McCants, and Ken Howard to discuss how agile values and techniques can bring order from chaos.

Topics Covered:

What is chaos and what are some signs of it?

* Mixed signals

* The team doesn’t know where it is.

* “We’re agile, we don’t need requirements, right?”

* Conversations are repeated again and again.

* Superheroes

* Lack of visibility

* Complexity can be a cause

What is attractive about it?

* Protection from visibility.

* Code is getting written, so we’re making progress, right?

* Can’t stop to think, we won’t make the deadline.

How do we draw people into actual agile from chaos?

* Break problems into smaller chunks to manage complexity.

* Manage iteration/sprint commitments to reduce need for superheroes.

* Expose system weaknesses to expose people who are trying to be superheroes.

* Ensure iteration/sprint plans and progress to releases are visible. Requires discipline.

* Keep folks on task and focused on the goal.

* Ensure creation of and use of Acceptance Criteria. This can replace much documentation. It can also limit scope and complexity.

* It takes time, and you might have to take things down before building it back up.

* Try to build trust and both personal and shared accountability.

* Make sure everyone knows what “done” means.

Agile can degrade into chaos if discipline is not maintained.

We tried baseball and it didn’t work. – Ron Jeffries

The first few iterations/sprints will be difficult.

Links:

* DFW Scrum users group

* Agile.NET Conference

* We tried baseball and it didn’t work. – Ron Jeffries

Ep. 18 – Spring 3 and Roo

Mike — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:00:23 +0000

Craig Walls, author of Spring in Action, joins Allen and Mike once again, this time to discuss the recently released Spring 3.0 and the brand new Roo 1.0. Topics include:

Spring 3:

REST support
Spring Expression Language
New annotations for wiring, validation, asynchronous methods, and scheduling

Roo:

Optional Rails/Grails-style scaffolding
Extensive use of AspectJ Intertype Declaration
Encapsulation of best practices from the Spring team
Extensive hint system
Much more…

OSGi Updates Since Ep 6:

Blueprint Services released
SpringDM used in Eclipse Dynamic Enterprise Application Platform (Virgo)
Comments on JSR-294 and Jigsaw

Links:

Spring Framework
Spring Roo
Video demo (feel free to mute the music and kick up the resolution)
Spring in Action, 3rd Edition Early Access
Craig’s Blog

As always, feedback is welcome at ‘feedback at improvingpodcasts.com’. Thanks for listening.

Ep. 17 – RESTful Services

Allen — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:37:44 +0000

In episode 17, Mike and Allen discuss RESTful services, tradeoffs, and tools.

Links:

Ep. 16 – QA in Agile

Mike — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:46:20 +0000

Ed Gannan joins Allen and Mike for a discussion of Quality Assurance in an Agile environment. Topics include:

Teams, not just testers provide for QA
Acceptance Test-Driven Development
Who should test the system?
It’s about transparency
Types of tests
Testers are failed developers. Not.

Links:

Dean Leffingwell’s in-progress Agile Requirements (chapter 10 on acceptance testing is available for download)
Agile Testing: A Practical Guide for Testers and Agile Teams by Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory
Spring Roo 1.0
Google Apps Standard Edition (formerly Google Apps for My Domain)
HTC Hero (Ed’s new phone)

Ep. 15 – Navel Gazing

Allen — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:24:39 +0000

A little year-end reflection from your hosts Mike Abney and Allen Hurst. In this episode we talk a little about how the podcast came about, the techniques and tools we use to record and produce the podcast, and a little bit about Improving Enterprises and Improving Rural Sourcing.

Links:

Ep. 14 – Getting Things Done

Allen — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:30:38 +0000

Mike and Allen are joined again by Ben Rady, this time we’re discussing personal productivity and Getting Things Done (GTD). Give it a listen, then get back to work!

Topics Covered:

Getting started with GTD
Stopping and starting
GTD overview
Common problems applying GTD
Benefits and best practices
Productivity tools
GTD and life goals
Contexts and pruning the process

Links:

Ep. 13 – Agile Games

Mike — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:00:07 +0000

It’s time to have a little educational fun in Episode 13. Allen and Mike are joined by Ed and TastyCupcakes.com founders Michael McCullough and Don McGreal for a discussion of games that can be used to learn Agile and Lean principles and techniques. We explore the mysterious origins of the term “tasty cupcakes”, review a number of specific games, and learn a bit about the authors of one of the most recent articles in the Agile Journal.

Links:

- Agile Journal’s “Fun-Driven Development”: http://bit.ly/4roCgt
- TastyCupcakes (@tastycupcakes): http://blog.tastycupcakes.com
- Stuart Brown’s TED talk “Play is More Than Fun”: http://bit.ly/6uFeV5
- Microsoft PDC videos: http://microsoftpdc.com/
- Don on twitter: @donmcgreal
- Michael on twitter: @mccm68

FYI: It appears the Todd Girvin and Chris Tullier’s session at PDC was not recorded, but here is an interview with Chris about the session: http://bit.ly/4xgcbB

Also, apologies for the recurring buzz. My (Mike A’s) microphone was acting up. We tried to reduce it as much as possible.

Ep. 12 – TDD and Technical Debt

Mike — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:40:24 +0000

Episode 12 finds Allen and Mike in discussion with Ed. The group cover a few web articles on Test-Driven Development (TDD) and technical debt. Send feedback and topic requests via e-mail to “feedback” at “improvingpodcasts.com”

Links to the articles discussed:

- Robert C. “Uncle Bob” Martin’s “TDD Triage” article: http://blog.objectmentor.com/articles/2009/10/08/tdd-triage
- Janie Chang’s “Exploding Software Development Myths”: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/news/features/nagappan-100609.aspx
- Marting Fowler’s “Technical Debt Quadrant”: http://martinfowler.com/bliki/TechnicalDebtQuadrant.html
- Michael Dubakov’s “Tale: Deadline and Technical Debt”: http://www.targetprocess.com/blog/2009/11/tale-deadline-and-technical-debt.html

Also discussed is Casey Watson’s “Write This, Not That” site: http://writethisnotthat.com

Ep. 11 – Naked Planning

Allen — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:29:42 +0000

In episode 11, a fully clothed Mike and Allen talk Naked Planning with fellow Improver Ben Rady.

Topics covered:
- The value of value-based planning
- The what’s and why’s of Naked Planning
   – Requirements waste
   – Queues and flow
   – Minimum marketable features
   – The ultimate definition of done
- We don’t need no stinking iterations
- How to handle releases
- Naked Planning vs. kanban
- Naked Planning and estimation
- MMFs that require architectural change
- Handling emergencies
- Continuous flow, Software Craftsmanship and the evolution of agile

References:
- Arlo Belshee on the Agile Toolkit Podcast: http://bit.ly/jz0V9
- Tom DeMarco – Controlling Software Projects – http://bit.ly/1Q4gTC
- Steve McConnell – Software Estimation – http://bit.ly/gZjYX
- Software Craftsmanship Manifesto http://manifesto.softwarecraftsmanship.org
- Ben Rady’s Blog – feedbackjunkies.com

Ep. 10 – Windows 7 Experience

Mike — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:03:27 +0000

Our intrepid hosts, Mike and Allen, reach double-digits via a revisit of Windows 7 with Microsoft MVP Todd Girvin who has been beta testing since early 2009. Todd provides us with experience reports on some of the features we covered in Episode 7 and fills us in on a few we missed as well.

Links:

- Virtual PC: http://microsoft.com/virtualpc
- Booting Win 7 from a VHD: http://www.hanselman.com/blog/LessVirtualMoreMachineWindows7AndTheMagicOfBootToVHD.aspx
- SlySoft’s Virtual Clone Drive (was by Elaborate Bytes): http://www.slysoft.com/en/virtual-clonedrive.html
- Wikipedia page with Windows key shortcuts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_key/
- The Dallas C# Special Interest Group: http://www.dallas-csharp-sig.com/
- Todd and Chris Tullier’s Workshop at PDC: http://microsoftpdc.com/Sessions/Developing-Quality-Software-using-Visual-Studio-Team-System-2010
- Todd Girvin (@tmgirvin): http://tmgirvin.com/

As always, please send us feedback to: feedback at improvingpodcasts.com

Ep. 9 – TechFest, GTD, and Streamlined Modeling

Mike — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:37:17 +0000

Episode 9 finds our hosts reminiscing about the recent Houston TechFest. Allen and Mike discuss talks attended and given. Specifically, Allen reviews the content of his talk on using Getting Things Done (GTD) techniques in a development team environment. Hint: It starts to look a lot like Agile. Mike also gives an overview of Streamlined Object Modeling. As a wrap-up, the guys talk about a work-around to an iPhone and Bluetooth problem.

Links:
- http://www.houstontechfest.com
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done
- http://streamlinedmodeling.com
- Mike (@mikeabney): http://practicallyagile.com
- Allen (@allenhurst): http://ahurst.com

Ep. 8 – Real Estate and Agile Team Rooms

Mike — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:35:20 +0000

What should a development company look for in real estate? What makes for a good team room? In Episode 8, Allen, Mike and Ed Grannon discuss current and past searches for office space, what to expect when negotiating a lease, and some of the requirements for good team rooms.

An article on Joel Spolsky’s Fog Creek office space Mike mentions: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/BionicOffice.html

If you have experience designing agile team rooms or looking for real estate for software development, we would love to hear about it. You can provide feedback through comments at improvingpodcasts.com or send e-mail to feedback at improvingpodcasts.com.

Ep. 7 – Snow Leopard and Windows 7

Mike — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:38:33 +0000

Episode 7 takes Allen and Mike on a bit of a detour. With Snow Leopard just released and the Windows 7 release available to partners, we take a tour of the new features of each with fellow Improver Leo Sakhvoruk. The feature lists are long and so is this episode.

Find it interesting? Have a topic we should be discussing? Contact us in the comments on the podcast’s web site (http://improvingpodcasts.com) or send e-mail to feedback at improvingpodcasts.com.

Topics:

- Snow Leopard Features
- Snow Leopard and Win 7 compared
- Windows 7 Features

Links to sources:

Snow Leopard
- Photoshop problems: http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/512/cpsid_51229.html
- Apple’s info on SL changes: http://www.apple.com/macosx/refinements/
- A bit of detail on the services menu changes and how to take advantage of them: http://www.macosxautomation.com/services/
- A very long Ars Technica review of SL: http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2009/08/mac-os-x-10-6.ars

Windows 7
- MS’s feature list: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features
- Notes on enterprise adoption (BitLocker info): http://searchenterprisedesktop.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid192_gci1360566,00.html
- Info on video memory: http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=645&pgno=3
- A (somewhat old) article on backward compatibility promises: http://gizmodo.com/5070219/giz-explains-why-windows-7-will-smash-vista

Contacts:

- Leo: http://improvingworks.com
- Mike A. (@mikeabney): http://practicallyagile.com
- Allen (@allenhurst): http://ahurst.com

Ep. 6 – Modular Java

Mike — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:03:37 +0000

In this episode we get a bit more technical as Mike talks modularity with Leo Sakhvoruk and Modular Java author Craig Walls. We cover OSGi and Spring-DM in some depth. Topics include:

- Defining modularity
- Publishing Modular Java
- Describing OSGi and Spring-DM
- Answering complaints about OSGi complexity
- Differences in OSGi containers
- Benefits and pitfalls of OSGi in practice
- How Spring-DM is affecting the evolution of OSGi
- What is new in Spring

Craig’s picks:

- http://twitter.com/veryshortstory
- Ops4J Pax Construct: http://wiki.ops4j.org/display/paxconstruct/Pax+Construct
- Spring Expression Language: http://springsource.org

Leo’s pick: Google Web Toolkit: http://code.google.com/webtoolkit/

Mike’s pick: functional programming

- Introductory article: http://www.defmacro.org/ramblings/fp.html
- Scala (runs on JVM): http://www.scala-lang.org/
- Erlang: http://erlang.org/

Contacts

- Craig (@habuma, @modularjava, @springinaction): http://jroller.com/habuma, http://modularjava.com, http://springinaction.com
- Leo: http://improvingworks.com
- Mike (@mikeabney): http://practicallyagile.com

You can provide feedback for this and other episodes through comments at http://improvingpodcasts.com, via email to feedback at improvingpodcasts.com. Reviews and ratings in iTunes are welcome as well (especially positive ones).

Ep. 5 – Improving Presentations

Allen — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:47:02 +0000

In Episode 5, we’ve gathered some of Improving’s most seasoned presenters to share their experiences and advice on technical presentations. Mike and Allen are joined by three of Improving’s Microsoft MVPs: Improving co-founder Jef Newsom, Presenter Mentor founder David O’Hara, and INETA speaker Caleb Jenkins.

Topics:

- How to fail successfully
- Getting people involved and keeping their attention
- How to prepare, and how much
- From concept to presentation
- Making a big impact
- “Slides don’t kill presentations, people kill presentations”

Presentation Resource Picks:

- David – istockphoto.com, images.google.com
- Caleb – flickr.com/search/advanced, slideshare.net
- Mike – everystockphoto.com, dafont.com
- Jef – sxc.hu, beyondbulletpoints.com
- Allen – presentationzen.com

Contact:

- David O’Hara (@davidmohara) blog.davidohara.net
- Caleb Jenkins (@calebjenkins) developingux.com
- Jef Newsom (@jef) blog.perfecting.me
- Mike Abney (@mikeabney) practicallyagile.com
- Allen Hurst (@allenhurst) ahurst.com

Please send feedback to feedback at improvingpodcasts.com or leave comments at improvingpodcasts.com. Please give ratings/comments in iTunes!

Ep. 4 – AQuA – Part 2

Mike — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:05:23 +0000

In Episode 4, we return to the AQuA series and tackle four more questions. Joining Allen Hurst and Mike Abney this week are Gary McCants, Brett Bim, Ed Grannan, and Mike Deck. Topics:

What Ron Jeffries says Agile is, is not, and may be. (http://xprogramming.com/xpmag/jatAgileIsIsNotMayBe)
My group doesn’t develop software. Can we be Agile?
Can you do Agile with non-Agile developers?
What is the tipping point in Agile adoption?
We tried Agile. It failed. Why try it again?

Blog picks:

- Gary : Ron Jeffries blog (http://xprogramming.com/blog)
- Mike A.: Agile at Alltop (http://agile.alltop.com)
- Mike D.: Brian Marick’s: http://www.exampler.com/blog/
- Ed: Robert Kiyasaki’s Conspiracy of the Rich (http://www.conspiracyoftherich.com/)
- Allen: Jurgen Appelo (http://noop.nl)
- Brett: Paul Graham’s Essays (http://paulgraham.com/articles.html)
- Allen’s “extra”: http://improvingblogs.com

Ep. 3 – Throw Away Your Unit Tests

Mike — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:03:14 +0000

In Episode 3, Allen Hurst and Mike Abney are joined by Brett Bim, Mike Deck, and Mike Doberenz to discuss unit testing. Alternate titles for this episode were “Tests? We don’t need no stinking tests!” and “A Fistful of Mikes.” Episode topics include:

Testing doesn’t give you what you think it does.
Throw away your unit tests!
Behavior-Driven Development (BDD)
Tradeoffs in automating regression testing.

Links:

Allen Hurst (@allenhurst) : http://ahurst.com
Mike Abney (@mikeabney) : http://practicallyagile.com
Brett Bim : http://mentalpandiculation.com/
Mike Deck (@mikedeck)
Deck and Doberenz’s blog : http://developmentasdialog.com

Ep. 2 – Infinitest with Ben Rady

Mike — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:50:32 +0000

In Episode 2, Allen Hurst and Mike Abney discuss continuous testing in general and Infinitest in particular with Ben Rady. Ben is the original author of Infinitest. Topics:

What is continuous testing (CT)? What are the benefits?
Can’t you just run the tests manually? Do you still have to run tests manually?
The history and future of Infinitest.
The pitfalls of CT.
The future of CT and how it’s changing testing.
Test selection and prioritization in Infinitest.
Using Infinitest with non-optimal unit tests.
The adoption curve for Infinitest.

Links:

Infinitest: http://infinitest.org
Original CT project at MIT: http://groups.csail.mit.edu/pag/continuoustesting/
Ben’s blog: http://benrady.com
Ben’s twitter: @benrady

Ep. 1 – AQuA – Part 1

Mike — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:05:09 +0000

In this episode, Gary McCants moderates an AQuA (Agile Questions, our Answers) session. The AQuA series is a panel-style discussion of frequently asked questions about Agile. The panel for this session includes Gary, Allen Hurst, Ed Grannan, Melissa Meeker, Mike Abney, Rod Coffin, and Steve Pfiffner. Questions discussed:

How can we avoid missing requirements when writing User Stories (compared to Use Cases with alternate scenarios)?
Isn’t Agile just the flavor of the month?
We can’t dedicate people 100%, so how do we do Agile?

Improving in Progress…

Mike — Thu, 21 May 2009 19:10:47 +0000

Welcome to the Improving Podcast! site. We’re in process establishing infrastructure for this site. Our primary goal is to facilitate delivery of and listener participation in the Improving Podcast.