Author: Rachel Hanley

A Definition of Done (DoD) is a formal description of the state a piece of work must be in to be considered complete. It sets out the quality measures and conditions that must be met before a product increment is regarded as ‘done’. A concept I resonate in when I work with teams and DoD […]

What is Coaching? Coaching, as defined by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), is “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential.” It is a collaborative and client-led relationship designed to foster self-discovery, growth, and goal achievement. Non-Directive Nature Coaching is a non-directive process. As […]

Introduction I’ve worked alongside many teams and engineers and have been part of the Encode tribe here at Alamy for two years. We have been tracking quarterly team health check scores, and estimation seems to be the topic that fluctuates the most, ranging from 50% to 88%. N.B. Team/ tribe makeup has significantly changed over […]

Extreme Programming (XP): Delivering Quality Software Amidst Rapid Change This document summarises the principles, practices, and insights shared throughout the “12 Days of X(P)mas” series. Inspired by the book from Kent Beck and Cynthia Andres’ Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change, this reference encapsulates the key concepts and encourages teams to reflect on how these ideas […]

Created by Gojko Adzic What is Impact Mapping? Impact Mapping is a strategic planning technique that assists teams in aligning their activities with overarching business objectives. It is particularly valuable in software development and project management, offering a clear pathway from goals to actionable tasks. Why Use Impact Mapping? Impact mapping aids in: How Does […]

Over the past couple of years, I have had a paradigm shift when it comes to velocity generally. I can still see its value at a team level; Benefits of Story Pointing But there are downsides and I have come to realise there is a big problem with velocity when it is used as a […]

At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly. Continuous improvement is one of the fundamental principles of agile ways of working. Improvement at a team level is often realised in the practice of a team retrospective. The purpose of a retrospective is to inspect […]

What is it? Dora stands for: Useful Resources: Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and Devops: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations DORA | Get Better at Getting Better Use Four Keys metrics like change failure rate to measure your DevOps performance | Google Cloud Blog It’s a team supported by Google, set up […]

In the business opener for the Q1 PI Planning event, I thought predictability was a key indicator for us to collectively focus on across Q1 and beyond. I spent a lot of time reflecting on what the Enable Q4 plan looked like vs the reality that transpired throughout the quarter. In essence, I know software […]

Scrum is in effect a guide. It was first presented in 1995 and has evolved throughout the years. You can find the latest version which at the time of writing is the 2020 version here: Scrum Guide | Scrum Guides Scrum is a lightweight framework that helps people, teams and organizations generate value through adaptive […]