business

A flight of craft beer

The Commonality of Craft Brewing and Software Development:
The benefits of small-batch brewing and small-batch coding

Imagine a small craft brewery that produces award-winning India Pale Ales (IPAs) and stouts. The brewery is acquired by a national brand determined to make the beer available countrywide.  Somehow, whatever gave the beer its uniqueness in small batches cannot be replicated on a large scale, and it doesn’t taste as good as before. It may be a matter of micromanaging small-batch brewing along the way. For example, the brewmaster… Read More »The Commonality of Craft Brewing and Software Development:
The benefits of small-batch brewing and small-batch coding

Two surfers in the water

Burger Shack and the Beach Bum Burger Moguls:
A case study in how growth stresses an organization

Suppose two beach-bum friends start up a burger stand at the beach. They share a vision of high-quality burgers at a fair price. They also want a lifestyle that enables them to surf every morning and make enough money to afford their rent.  They set up a grill in a little hut with a window where they serve lunch to customers. When the friends begin, they offer hamburgers, cheeseburgers, lettuce,… Read More »Burger Shack and the Beach Bum Burger Moguls:
A case study in how growth stresses an organization

A muddy rugby scrum

Agile’s Dirtiest Secret:
Working before getting answers causes chaos

Ask almost any technical team nowadays, and they’ll claim they’re using some flavor of Agile practices instead of the debunked Waterfall method.  Teams using Scrum may engage in story point poker-playing, a method of estimating the level of effort of stories. Or they may relinquish their chairs for daily standup meetings. The corniness of Scrum aside, there’s no arguing that the Agile Manifesto is rock solid.  Still, the technical landscape… Read More »Agile’s Dirtiest Secret:
Working before getting answers causes chaos

10 Sins of the Founders:
Fire, Aim, Ready

Regardless of the approach, an entrepreneur’s initial idea is invariably incorrect. Since the initial attempt is bound to fail, the audacious ones have the right idea to quickly release products without wasting time over-analyzing. They toss s*%@ against a wall and see if it sticks. Chemistry ultimately determines the success or failure of a startup. Do the founder and executive team possess chutzpah and humility in equal measures? If so,… Read More »10 Sins of the Founders:
Fire, Aim, Ready