This is the fourth in a series of posts about “Managing” Software Development.  If you missed the first three, you can find them here, here, and here.

Time to come clean.  I am a kleptomaniac.  I have been trying to cope with it all of my professional life.  I can’t seem to help myself.  I see a video, talk to someone, or read a blogpost and I immediately jump to a mode of “how can I use this in my work life”.   All the tools in my virtual tool box have been stolen from someone else.

One of my most effective heists is the concept of a backlog.  A backlog is also know as a todo list, a priority list, or even a honey-do list.  Most folks are familiar with the concept of a backlog, yet it seems they disappear right before I start at a company.  Rather than go into a long discussion about scrum, user stories, and backlogs, I am going to focus on an example that is closer to home for most of us.  I am sure the concept of a honey-do lists have been around as long as the institution of marriage.   Let’s take a look at that.

What is a honey-do list?  With married couples and committed partners, a honey-do list is comprised of items/tasks/activities and is created for the purpose of prioritization and execution.   Typical items on a honey-do list include things like paint the bedroom, clean the garage, fix the dishwasher, etc.  The honey-do list itself doesn’t provide much value, but the resulting conversation between partners can create a common understanding of what should be done and what the priority is.  A backlog in business is essentially the same thing.  It is a list of things to that someone wants done, and the resulting conversation about the items on the list creates a similar common understanding between stakeholders and the team that actually does the work.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Agile thinking can stop right here.  You have a tool that you can use.  For those of you who are open to Agile concepts, what follows is critical.  The tool in this post is the idea of a backlog (honey-do list).  The real value comes not from the tool itself, but from the conversation that occurs as a result of the management and prioritization of the items on the list.  That conversation doesn’t happen very often in most companies.  Employees are told to get to work, without a clear understanding what needs to be done.  Without an understanding of why the work needs to be done, employees lacking passion produce mediocre results at best.  The creation of a backlog helps address both issues by encouraging the conversations that need to happen.

Common sense should tell you that a prioritized list will help an organization, yet backlogs often don’t exist or aren’t maintained.  Take advantage and create backlogs.  You won’t be sorry.

Thanks for coming in today.

Chris

This is the third in a series of posts about “Managing” Software Development.  If you missed the first two, you can find them here and here.

In my last post, I spoke about embracing Servant Leadership as an important first step.  Once you embrace Servant Leadership, you have to figure out how you can serve them.  I have only found two tools that, when combined, enable you to start serving your team.  Brace yourself!  This is the money shot.  As a leader, you have to really communicate with your teammates.  For me, the first tool that works is to get up off my kiester, go to where my teammates are, and talk to them.  I didn’t say text, or email, or IM.  Good old fashion talking.  Personal communication.  I try to get out at least every other day and provide an opportunity for collaboration.  Some communication won’t happen in this format.

The second tool that I use is regular one-on-one meetings.  With each teammate, I put a recurring meeting for 1/2 hour on the calendar.  Frequency depends on a lot of different factors, but should occur at least once a month.  The agenda for these meetings is up to my teammates.  The discussions in these meetings range from “How’d your weekend go?” to “I need help dealing with Bob.”  Some might suggest, I am just shooting the crap, killing time.  Guilty as charged.  This tool, however, gives your teammates another opportunity to communicate with you.  Some topics are better behind closed doors.  This tool provides that opportunity.

One of my former teammates once said “I am here for you the entire year.  All I ask is that you give me an hour of feedback once a year.”  That quote by Joey Cruz has stuck with me.  As a servant leader, you should be available to provide feedback throughout the year.  Having a recurring meeting with each teammate on the calendar ensures that you are putting yourself in another opportunity to communicate with your teammate.

I have found that, when bumpy times occur in the business, these meetings turn into valuable opportunities for bi-directional collaboration and feedback.

Thanks for coming in today.

Chris