Japanese Proverb
Just read an article containing this Japanese proverb: " If you don't know what to do, take a step forward " It's been a long time since I have read anything that sums up iterative improvement quite so well.
Posts
Using agile tools takes away some of your intuition
It's no secret, I really don't like using tools to run agile projects. More than that, in my opinion giving an inexperienced agile team an "agile tool" is like giving a toddler a chainsaw - it's going to end badly. Give me index cards, pens and a whiteboard anyday. Allan Kelly has beaten me to blogging about tools - and hit upon an interesting anecdote from Jack Kilby , inventor of the silicon chip. Basically Jack believes that the replacement of the slide rule with calculators has taken something away from engineering. Intuition. Using a tool (the calculator) distanced the engineer from needing to know what he was doing (the calculation). As someone who has used both calculator and slide rule, I tend to agree. And here lies the problem with agile tools. Using complex tools takes away a basal intuition about what you are trying to do. You lose that indefinable "connection" with the product. You might even say you lose the craftmanship . An
Have tea with Energized Work
Those nice people at Energized Work have extended an offer for an informal chat - all for the cost of a cup of tea (or coffee, in Gus' case, although I've heard he is quite partial to green tea). So if you would like to see a presentation, or brown bag, or simply want to chat with the 2009 Gordon Pask Award winners and see what makes them tick, then drop them a line. One thing I can guarantee - you will find the meeting challenging and productive.