What's in a value?

I've been meaning to write this blog post for a long while now. I don't really know why, but it's about a realization of some importance to me. And by value I don't mean the usual "our company's values are openness, honesty and integrity" bollocks. You know, the part of the holy mission-vision-strategy-values quad that companies use as repairkit when they have lost one or - more often - all of the four.

So what is a value, for a person? Here is my definition:

A value is something a person values in her or his head that cannot, and should not, be justified or rationalized.

Now what?

For all intents and purposes I've abandoned my blog years ago. I've been thinking about starting to write again, but in the past three years my interests and aspirations have changed dramatically.

Things that have changed:

• I finally understand my values and the kind of work I want to do
• I finally understand why I've been miserable as software engineer
• I've decided to change careers, I don't want to write software anymore
• This Agile and Lean thing I had going on? Forget it. Not going to save the world.
• What will? Human creativity, leadership, and the bloody Deming Transformation. And as long as we're operating in a capitalistic context the primary tool for change must be business.
• I am almost finished with my MBA
• Current interests: user-centered methods, philosophy, coaching, business & organizations, zen

Should I delete this blog and start a new one, or change this blog's direction, I wonder? Once again, I am thinking too much and doing too little.

So I decided to write this post and just get on with it.

Have to do something about this ancient butt-ugly layout for sure.

Agile Saturday talk: Scrum is Not Enough 2.0

I gave a talk in Agile Saturday organized by the good people of Agile Estonia. It was about how Scrum is not enough for solving the problems that a good Scrum implementation surfaces. Here are the slides.

Scrum is not enough v2.0 from Ari Tanninen

Thanks to all organizes and especially Stan and Heiti who took such good care of us! It was a fun day with lots of excitement and good energy. :o)

I would love to hear your comments on my presentation! And if you are one of the people I shared a meter of beer with yesterday evening, drop a comment, too!

Update: I am on video, too!


Scrum Is Not Enough v2.0 from devtraining.ee on Vimeo.

OO Day 2009 presentation: Scrum Is Not Enough

Here are the slides for a presentation I gave with Marko today at OO Day 2009 in Tampere, Finland. We had around 400 people in the audience - more than there were attendees in Scan-Agile 2009!



Since the presentation was in Finnish so are the slides. I might write more on the subject later on.

Scrum Is Not Enough from Ari Tanninen

Paper on TDD and architecture

Couple of years ago me and Marko Taipale wrote an experience report on our experiment in using TDD (in the strict, XP definition) to build a game platform. The idea was to try and see if an architecture would emerge like XP claims (it did not).

Originally the paper was intended as an experience report for the XP2008 conference but was rejected due to insufficient research data. It is fair to say that the paper is our take on the TDD controversy that raged at that time, and we did write it at Jim Coplien's suggestion.

The paper is a couple of years old but since at least two people asked for a copy I decided to put the paper online. Perhaps you will find it interesting.

xp2008_experience_report_marko_taipale_ari_tanninen.pdf

Testing In Agile presentation

I gave a thirty-minute talk about testing in agile projects in December's Agile Dinner in Helsinki. Here are the slides.

Testing In Agile from Ari Tanninen

It was nice to have so many participants from TestausOSY visiting our dinner! Too bad not many stayed for the beers (read: actual conversation) afterwards.

Dr. Deming's Management's Five Deadly Diseases

Here is an Encyclopaedia Britannica Film from 1984 featuring Dr. Deming himself: Management's Five Deadly Diseases. Awesome.