Building software that matters (BetterSoftware 2013)

BUILDING SOFTWARE THAT

M A T T E R S

(if any)

FRANCESCO DEGRASSI@EdMcBane

Enthusiastic yet pragmatic Lean Software Developer. Uppish and cynical nihilist from time to time.

IT WAS THE YEAR 2005

I was lucky enough to join a GREAT team

ENTHUSIASTIC

COMPETENT

DEDICATED

PEOPLE

OUR CLIENTS WEREN'T EASYLarge companies

Heavy on process

Many teams and departments, often in conflict

A DIFFICULT ENVIRONMENT

WE DID OUR BEST

we did build great software

BUT THE CLIENT DID NOT APPRECIATE ITIt was late

It was irrelevant

IT WAS AUTOMATINGA USELESS PROCESS

WE DIDN'T APPRECIATE IT EITHERWe felt we did not HELP the client

WE DECIDED TO CHANGE

WE DECIDED

to pursue GOALS rather than build software

to work WITH the client, not FOR the client

to challenge the assumptions and find new ways

TO CONTINUOUSLY DELIVER

TO DROP THE BACKLOG

AT FIRST...

BUT ONCE WE SHOWED THE POSSIBILITIES...

Ma è uno spettacolo! Luca

Whoa! Can you teach THEM how to do that? Mauro

You are the best thing since sliced bread! Nobody (yet)

THIS TIME IT WORKED!

BUT HOW?

NO GUIDELINES

This is what worked for us

FINDING TRUESTAKEHOLDERS

BUILDING TRUST

BY BEING TRANSPARENT

How can people trust the harvest, unless they see it sown?

Mary Renault

BY BEING ABLE TO DELIVER

FOSTERING RESPECT

USING A SHARED LANGUAGE

Software developers talking business

and helping businesspeople express precisely

LOOKING FOR SYNTHESIS, NOT COMPROMISES

AVOID TOTAL WAR

THE CLIENT WILL FIND THE WAYif he believes in the need to

DON'T FORGET TO CELEBRATE

CREDITING THOSE WHO BELIEVED

Word of mouth is the best form of advertising

THIS IS G R E A T

BETTER SOFTWARE ?For us, it means software that actually MATTERS!

THANKS!

RECOMMENDED READING - William R. Noonan

- Dave Snowden - Alberto Brandolini

- Alistair Cockburn - Jezz Humble

- Mary & Tom Poppendieck

Discussing the undiscussableCynefin frameworkNon è affatto sempliceAgile Software DevelopmentContinuous DeliveryLean Software Development

CREDITSMicrosoft org chart cartoon edited from original by Manu Cornet

is licensed under a Creative

Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Jenga tower by

Cynefin framework diagram by Dave Snowden

http://www.bonkersworld.net/

"Banana flasher" by José María Andrés Martín

usedcarspecialist on Flickr