PODCAST · business
Inspect and Adapt
by Construx
World-class software development requires far more than language/platform expertise and steady sprints. Join us as we describe time-tested, industry-proven software best practices at the team, organization, and leadership levels, sharing examples from recent engagements with software teams of all sizes. Construx is led by industry leader Steve McConnell, author of Code Complete and More Effective Agile. Software experts first and software trainers and consultants second, our team has seen what works and doesn’t work in hundreds of software organizations. Host Mark Griffin spent the first half of his career as an electrical engineer doing silicon hardware design and leading software automat
Episodes
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#70 Setting a Context
Does your project have a clear, referenceable definition of the scope of the product and the scope of the work? Do you have a non-ambiguous way of setting priority? Do you know how to initiate a product backlog? You can achieve all these things by properly setting a context. Join Contrux's Earl...
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#69 Intellectual Property
Intellectual property (IP) is an important consideration in all software development, but what is it? Contrux's Steve Tockey has spent significant time looking into IP and how it impacts software development. Steve is joined by Construx's Earl Beede and Mark Griffin as they Inspect & Adapt the...
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#68 Four Types of Scrum Work
Everyone knows that a Scrum team should do the value-added work of the product backlog. But there are other types of work that may or may not make it into that backlog, yet these types of work are critical for a well-functioning Scrum team. Join Construx’s Earl Beede, Steve Tockey and Mark…
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#67 Measurement Theory
Measurement is all about assigning a value or a symbol to an attribute of an entity. Doing it right can reduce project risk. Join Construx's Earl Beede, Steve Tockey and Mark Griffin as they Inspect & Adapt how measurement theory impacts your project, potentially increasing risk if you get it wrong.
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#66 The Sunk Cost Fallacy
Why do we keep working on something long past the point where we should have stopped? Join Construx’s Earl Beede, Steve Tockey and Mark Griffin as they Inspect & Adapt the various ways we trick ourselves into thinking, “Well, we already spent this much time or money; we can’t afford to lose…
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#65 Estimating the Unknown
"How do you estimate something you’ve never done before?" Construx gets that question a lot. This podcast identifies how to approach estimating when you have a lot of unknown items. Join Construx's Earl Beede and Steve Tockey as they look at techniques for making the unknown less unknown…
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#64 Design by Contract
Design by Contract is used by advanced developers to lower defects and reduce complexity, making development faster. Construx staff experience for over two decades in a variety of languages ranging from Assembler to Java is consistent with these benefits. Join Steve Tockey, Earl Beede, and Mark...
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#63 Acceptance Criteria
Acceptance criteria are the criteria for acceptance, or so the helpful online definitions say. But what does that really mean? And is the common—almost universal—advice to write little functional snippets correct? Join Steve Tockey and Earl Beede as they Inspect & Adapt Acceptance Criteria.…
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#62 Risk Management
Project risk management was a critical part of well-run software development projects late in the last century. With the coming of agile development practices, however, risk management disappeared. Or did it? Steve Tockey and Earl Beede Inspect & Adapt the role of project risk management on…
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#61 Scaling Patterns
Scaling software development is hard. Several patterns have emerged that moderately successful organizations use when scaling. The patterns focus on how to package the work, where and when to make decisions, and how to get teams to collaborate. Join Mark Griffin, Earl Beede, and Steve Tockey as...
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#60 The F Word in Software
All development organizations use software's F word: Feature. But what they actually mean by the word is often unclear, since the software industry has two—somewhat incompatible—definitions of feature. Join host Mark Griffin as he asks Construx's Steve Tockey and Earl Beede to explain those two...
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#59 Total Project Quality
Total Project Quality, Construx's course on how to insert quality throughout a work effort, hasn't always gotten the traction it deserves. Why not? In this podcast, we examine the subject of quality and our (perhaps poorly-named) Total Project Quality seminar. Join Construx's Steve Tockey, Earl...
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#58 Team Organization
We develop software primarily on teams, but how do you develop the teams? Construx's Mark Griffin and Earl Beede Inspect & Adapt the different ways you can organize your development team. They look at the pros and cons of different approaches and even offer some help for when you're stuck with a...
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#57 Risk-Based Testing
How should you spend your always-limited testing resources? Is one part of the product more important to test than another? Construx's Steve Tockey and Earl Beede join host Mark Griffin in looking at one approach to answering those questions: risk-based testing. Steve and Earl look at how to do...
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#56 Product Visions to Product Roadmaps
In an earlier webinar, Construx's Earl Beede took on many organizations that create product visions with phrases like, be the world's best ‘x’ or dazzle our customers. Not bad ideas but pretty much worthless in helping you make day-to-day decisions on what work is the most important for your...
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#55 Practitioner Quizzes Construx - Session 1
Construx welcomes Onorio Catenacci to the microphone to ask questions about software development that continue to puzzle him and perhaps to see whether Construx has the answers. Join Contrux's Mark Griffin and Steve Tockey to see if they can give sound, helpful, and actionable answers to Onorio's...
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#54 Stories from a Long Career
Construx's Jenny Stuart is retiring from the software industry, and we will miss her! In this podcast, Jenny Stuart looks back on her three decades in the software industry and shares stories and wins from her long career. Joining Jenny are three of her Construx work companions for the last 20...
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#53 Cynefin Framework
Why do software gurus keep talking about the Cynefin Framework? What is it? How is it even pronounced? In this episode of Inspect & Adapt, Construx puts many brains on the topic with Mark Griffin, Jenny Stuart, Steve Tockey, and Earl Beede making the link between Cynefin and doing actual software...
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#52 The Triad
Most folks know that the product owner, scrum master, and developers make up the Scrum team, but did you know that these roles are also an accountability triad critical to scaling? In episode #52 of our Inspect & Adapt podcast, Construx’s Earl Beede and Jenny Stuart define the triad and describe...
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#51 Professional Development 2024
To be a professional usually means a commitment to ongoing professional development. Doctors, engineers, nurses, accountants, and teachers all require periodic training to maintain their professional status, but what constitutes professional development in software? Can we consider ourselves...
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#50 Staffing the Product Owner
The product owner is often considered the most critical accountability in the triad of . Why? Because garbage in from the product owner gets garbage out of the developers, so it's crucial to give serious consideration to who is best to staff the product...
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#49 The New
What do we do when we are faced with "The New"? When something is new to us, it's harder to estimate, harder to plan, and harder to execute. Some development projects involve much more that is new than others. How do we identify the new and deal with it in a constructive way? In this episode of...
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#48 Cone of Uncertainty
Why can't I know—with high precision—the final cost, scope, and time frame of my work effort? One of the biggest reasons you can't know all three at once is illustrated by Steve McConnell's Cone of Uncertainty. In this episode of Inspect & Adapt, Construx's Mark Griffin, Steve Tockey, and Earl...
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#47 Retrospectives
If hindsight is 20/20—and it's good practice to look back to find ways you could do better—then why do retrospectives seem like such a waste of time? Shouldn't they be a goldmine that we're excited about rather than just another obligatory meeting? Inspect & Adapt host Mark Griffin gathers fellow...
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#46 Reverse Agile Scaling
There is a lot of talk and ideas about how to scale agile up from the one-team, one-product base so that multiple teams can support a product (I am looking at you SAFe). But what about the case where one team must support multiple products? That is reverse agile scaling. Join Construx’s Mark...
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#45 Value Identification
What does "value" mean on your product? How do you know you are working on the most valuable thing? Construx's Earl Beede, Jenny Stuart, and Mark Griffin discuss how to clearly identify and articulate value on development projects. Knowing the targeted value is critical for prioritization and…
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#44 Bringing it All Together – the Successful Leadership of Hardware/Software Teams
How do you lead product development teams when a company that has always been hardware focused now owes its success to both hardware and software? Construx's Mark Griffin and Earl Beede recently spoke with Inogen's Norbert Leinfellner and Horst Pichler, who have decades of experience leading this...
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#43 Project Managers 2023
Listen to Construx's Earl Beede, Jenny Stuart, and Mark Griffin as they assess the role and duties of project managers on software intensive projects. A special focus will be on groups using agile development processes. Earl and Jenny will share stories of what they have seen work and what hasn't...
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#42 Splitting User Stories
Construx's Earl Beede, Jenny Stuart, and Mark Griffin investigate ways to split user stories so they fit in a sprint. Some methods are far preferable—and even easier—than others. Sometimes it just means setting yourself up to make your user stories split-able. Earl and Jenny will share their...
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#41 Special Guest: John Belbute, Engineering Metrics
What metrics make sense for a development team? How do you talk about productivity? Construx friend John Belbute joins Construx’s Steve Tockey, Earl Beede, and Mark Griffin to talk about engineering metrics. John has been a software leader at many companies, including Intuit, WebMD, eBay and…
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#40 Waterfall vs. Agile 2023
It's been over two decades since we were told that Waterfall development is bad and Agile development is good. Construx's Earl Beede recently did a webinar on the subject (available on YouTube). This Inspect and Adapt looks at some of the comments and questions that came up. Earl is joined by…
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#39 Product Owner vs. Product Manager
There is a lot of confusion about where the job or role of product owner ends and that of product manager begins. Construx's Earl Beede recently did a webinar on the topic. Now Earl is joined by Construx's Jenny Stuart and Mark Griffin to take a deeper look into how the two roles differ and where...
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#38 The Engineering Manager in Agile
You have engineering managers and you want to adopt agile - or are already doing agile - development. Where does your engineering manager fit? What activities and roles do engineering managers play in the agile development organization? Join Construx's Jenny Stuart, Mark Griffin, and Earl Beede…
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#37 2022 Disaster Stories and Improvement Ideas
At the end of 2022, Construx surveyed our clients to hear their best disaster stories of 2022 and what areas they want to improve so they won't repeat their disasters in 2023. Join host Mark Griffin with Construx experts Earl Beede and Steve Tockey as they Inspect and Adapt those disaster stories...
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#36 Right-Sizing Software Process: Going Meta
Is there a "best" way or process to develop software? Is there one size fits all? Construx has always said, "no". One of our 10x Principles is "Tailor the Solution to the Problem". Join host Mark Griffin with Construx's Earl Beede and Steve Tockey for an Inspect and Adapt of right-sizing software...
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#35 Individual Estimation
Individual expert judgment estimation (a.k.a. best guess, gut, swag, etc.) is the most common method of estimating development projects. Yet it almost always is not a good estimate. Join host Mark Griffin with Construx's Earl Beede and Steve Tockey for an Inspect and Adapt of individual…
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#34 Backlog Refinement
Backlog Refinement is a practice that most agile teams should do - but many don't. Join host Mark Griffin with Construx's Jenny Stuart and Earl Beede to Inspect & Adapt backlog refinement. We cover how backlog refinement has become a critical part of agile teams, how it should work, common…
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#33 How Much Testing Is Enough?
"How much testing is enough?" is a question Construx gets asked a lot. Join host Mark Griffin with Construx's Brian Daugherty and Steve Tockey for an Inspect and Adapt of the enough testing question. We cover the drivers of testing, strategies to help determine "enough," and the common mistakes...
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#32 Leadership for Women in Software
What does it mean to bring your full self as a woman to leadership in a software or technical organization? Join Construx's Mark Griffin as he interviews Jessica Garcia about how to deal with the challenges of leadership specifically as experienced by women. Jessica leads and coaches women toward...
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#31 The Daily
Many, if not most, agile teams include the practice of a daily gathering. It goes by slightly different names: the daily standup, the daily scrum, or walking the board. Join host Mark Griffin with Construx's Jenny Stuart and Earl Beede for an inspect and adapt of the daily. We cover the daily's...
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#30 Scaling Agile: Three Agile Scaling Frameworks and Six Scaling Recommendations
Hearing about different scaling frameworks and wondering which one is for you? Join host Mark Griffin and guest Jenny Stuart for an overview of the popular Agile scaling frameworks SAFe, Nexus, and LeSS, including their strengths and relative weaknesses. We’ll cover the frameworks’ core…
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#29 Twenty Years Is Enough! It’s Time to Update the Agile Principles and Values
Today’s episode focuses on the very basis of Agile: its principles and values. Steve McConnell recently gave a keynote at XP2021 in which he said they need to be updated. You'll hear a quick recap of Agile’s beginnings, what was happening in software development when people got together at that...
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#28 Six Ways to Decrease Stress in Development Partnerships
Working with external software development partners often increases stress for the existing internal staff. A Construx client asked us to conduct research with our clients on approaches to reducing this stress. We identified six recommendations and related specific actions that organizations can...
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#27 More Effective Kanban, Part 3: Kanban for Portfolios and Programs
Construx VP of Consulting Jenny Stuart and Mark Griffin cleared up common misconceptions about Kanban in Episode #19. In Episode #24, they discussed numerous best practices for establishing and optimizing your Kanban system. Here, they focus on seeing the big picture—working with Kanban at higher...
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#26 Software Estimation Lessons Learned from Covid-19 Forecasting
For the past year, Steve McConnell has applied his extensive estimation expertise to a timely problem: Covid-19 forecasting. Steve’s Covid Complete Data Center provides US national data, state data for every state, state scorecards, forecasts, forecast evaluations, and other data on the pandemic:...
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#25 Crafting Software, Part 1: Beers to Pair with Requirements, Design, & Estimation
We thought we’d do something fun to start our second season and use a familiar vehicle to help new listeners and our old friends understand Construx’s software engineering expertise. And how are we going to do that? We’re going to use beer! You might be thinking, "Well, now you have my…
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#24 More Effective Kanban, Part 2: Operating and Optimizing Your Kanban System
Construx VP of Consulting Jenny Stuart and Mark Griffin cleared up common misconceptions about Kanban in the first episode in this series (episode #19). This time they cover numerous best practices for establishing your initial Kanban system—determining work item types, workflow, work state...
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#23 Exploring Metrics: Using Landing Zones to Define and Guide Success
It's a sad truth that many software teams are working with no explicit definition of success. Join Construx Senior Fellow Erik Simmons and Mark Griffin to learn about the landing zone, a table that you can use to define success in a quantified, explicit way. Erik played a role in the development…
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#22 More Effective Agile, Part 9: Focus on Throughput, Not Activity; Plan Based on Measured Team Capacity; Decriminalize Mistakes
Steve McConnell completes the series in which he describes the 28 key principles in his new book, More Effective Agile (Construx Press, 2019). The final principles described are: "Focus on Throughput, Not Activity." Similar to managing to outcomes, adding the nuance that busyness is not the...
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#21 More Effective Agile, Part 8: Express Clear Purpose with Commander’s Intent; Model Key Agile Behaviors; Manage to Outcomes, Not Details
Steve McConnell continues to describe the 28 key principles in his new book, More Effective Agile (Construx Press, 2019). The principles described this time: "Express Clear Purpose with Commander’s Intent." Support your teams’ ability to make timely, local decisions by clearly communicating your...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
World-class software development requires far more than language/platform expertise and steady sprints. Join us as we describe time-tested, industry-proven software best practices at the team, organization, and leadership levels, sharing examples from recent engagements with software teams of all sizes.
Construx is led by industry leader Steve McConnell, author of Code Complete and More Effective Agile. Software experts first and software trainers and consultants second, our team has seen what works and doesn’t work in hundreds of software organizations.
Host Mark Griffin spent the first half of his career as an electrical engineer doing silicon hardware design and leading software automat
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Construx
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Inspect and Adapt have?
Inspect and Adapt currently has 70 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Inspect and Adapt about?
World-class software development requires far more than language/platform expertise and steady sprints. Join us as we describe time-tested, industry-proven software best practices at the team, organization, and leadership levels, sharing examples from recent engagements with software teams of all...
How often does Inspect and Adapt release new episodes?
Inspect and Adapt has 70 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Inspect and Adapt?
You can listen to Inspect and Adapt on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Inspect and Adapt?
Inspect and Adapt is created and hosted by Construx.
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