Sometimes I can’t help but marvel at the rate of technical advances. Over the last 50 years, Moore’s Law has held up as the number of integrated circuits in computers has doubled every two years. The rate of growth in processing power is simply breathtaking. As a point of reference, a few years ago we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, begging the question just how does the equipment NASA used to reach one of the major technical achievements of the 20th century compare to that iPhone in your pocket. The short answer is that the iPhone is so much more advanced, you probably can’t even do a fair comparison. However, the current iPhone 4s clocks in at 1 GHz with 500 MB of RAM, making it about 1,000x faster with 250,000x more storage capacity than Apollo 11′s onboard computer. A current review of the Apple website indicates it sells for the hefty price of $199 (with a contract of course). While it’s fun to think about the fact that you are using more processing power to play Angry Birds than the US had to win the space race, I think there’s an important concept here. With so much more processing, our capacity to plan, model, and predict has increased an incredible amount. Just what are we doing with all that processing power? Has a glut of processing power enabled bad behavior? Let’s take a closer look at some of the unintended consequences…
Abetting Accidental Complexity
May Agile Coach’s Corner: Lean Startup & Customer Development
Each month, one of our BigVisible coaches answers your questions via Twitter in the Agile Coach’s Corner. This month, David Bland spent some time with us and fielded questions ranging from lean startups to juggling priorities to organizational agility. In case you missed it, the bulk of the conversation is recorded below.
@BigVisible and @DavidJBland were joined by @Jittered, @ZSpencer, @DaveNicolette, and @DNeighbors in the hour-long conversation. Join us in June 12 at 4pm Eastern, 1 pm Pacific, for our next Agile Coach’s Corner, as we chat with @RandEaton.
Agile Coach’s Corner Welcome & Introductions
BigVisible: Welcome @davidjbland and Twitter audience! So glad you could join us today for our May 2012 Coach’s Corner with @davidjbland. Please ask questions at any time to @bigvisible with #bvcoach.
DavidJBland: I’ve been looking fwd to it all week 
BigVisible: We have too! To get us started, perhaps you could tell us what are you excited about right now in your agile transformation work? [Read more...]
BigVisible Heads to Atlanta for Scrum Gathering 2012
Join BigVisible coaches and Scrum community members from around the world as they gather together in Atlanta for Scrum Gathering Atlanta 2012 at the Marriott Atlanta Buckhead on May 7-9, 2012. You’ll find plenty of ways to participate as you share experiences, exchange information and collaborate with fellow Scrum users.
The vision for this year’s gathering is related to the host city of Atlanta, home of the world’s busiest airport. “We see many analogies between the activities surrounding air travel and the activities surrounding a healthy Scrum implementation.” says Scrum Gathering Atlanta 2012 Co-Chairs, Peter Borsella and James Smith of Winnow Management.
Our own Agile coach, Michael Fortunato will be speaking at this event on “Appreciative Agile – Harnessing the Power of Appreciative Inquiry for Your Agile Initiative”.
His session will be broken into 3 parts, beginning with “Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry” where he’ll discuss background information, outline the 8 AI Assumptions, discuss the 5 AI Principles, and cover the AI 4D Cycle. Following this section, he’ll be discussing assessments to start the process, project initiation for discovering and focusing strengths, and ongoing support to build on the foundation. He’ll conclude his presentation with a collaborative workshop where attendees can experience Agile Inquiry for themselves.
For more information or to register to attend this exciting global event, visit the Scrum Gathering 2012 event page on the Scrum Alliance website.
Join BigVisible in Supporting San Francisco Agile 2012
Join BigVisible in supporting San Francisco Agile 2012 from June 4-6, 2012!
This 3-day “unconference” allows its program to be determined entirely by the attendees. Because of this, SF Agile 2012 will reflect the topics most salient and germane to the communities of agile, Lean software development, and the LeanStartup movement.
At BigVisible, we’re always happy to sponsor events that reflect the most current and applicable subject matter because of its obvious connection to our approach to agile and Scrum training courses. Our Certified ScrumMaster, Certified Scrum Product Owner, and PMI Agile Practitioner Certification courses focus on curriculum that’s directly applicable and relevant to the world of business as it exists today, much like the format of “unconferences” such as San Francisco Agile 2012.
Early bird registration ends March 31, 2012 so get your tickets soon! For more information about this exciting event or to register to attend, visit the San Francisco Agile 2012 conference website.
BigVisible Plays it Big as Agile Games 2012 Sponsor
We’re proud to announce our sponsorship of this year’s Agile Games event! The Agile Games Conference is an annual event hosted by Agile New England in Cambridge Massachusetts which is meant to be an immersive exploration of some of the more interesting, playful, and fun concepts behind Agile Software Development. After all, work is important, we should be able to have fun while doing it.
Curious what the event is like? Check out some of these videos:
- Our own Brian Bozzuto speaks with Peter Saddington about the event
- View the Agile Games 2011 promo video
- Jacquie Lloyd Smith introduces the use of Strategic Play® using LEGO® at the Agile Games 2011
- Luke Hohmann’s keynote address at the Agile Games 2011 Conference discussing the use of games to solve problems
The event is being held in Cambridge, MA from April 19-21st at the Microsoft New England Research Division. Early bird registration ends on February 29th, so get your tickets soon!
Learn more about this event by visiting the Agile Games 2012 website or view the Agile Games 2012 informational flier.
Register to attend using our sponsor discount and receive $75 off!
An Agile Coach’s Moral Dilemma
A fellow coach recently asked me for my opinion on an ethical dilemma — was it morally right for us to show people a new way of doing things knowing fully well that we were setting the group for eventual disappointment. Disappointment in his case is inevitable and will start setting in as soon as the parent company begins assimilating the subdivision and mandating that the latter operate under the parent organization’s restrictive rules and policies. My simple and somewhat glib answer was that we were doing the right thing by helping people get better and were providing them the wherewithal to make informed decisions about their future career. And, if in the end, the employees were unhappy they could take their knowledge elsewhere to an employer who would value their expertise. [Read more...]
