MVP - When to Start Coding

Last week, I published a blog on the Cyrus Cylinder called "Minimum Viable Product - When to Start Coding".

In short, it provides a checklist that will help you identify when you are in that sweet spot: when you have just enough of a solid idea to use your development budget and start coding, yet you are still a teeny bit scared your idea sucks.

Happy reading.

Scrum vs XP - Which comes first?

When embarking on Agile, many teams start with Scrum.  Sooner or later, they inquire about XP.  Is there one 'right' way of implementing Scrum and XP? Do you 'have' to do both? 

This article by James Shore does a great job of summing it up. He says "Scrum is easier and less threatening than XP, so I see a lot more people starting out with Scrum. On the downside, the teams that start with Scrum tend to struggle more than the teams that start with XP. The XP teams experience more pain starting out, but then get to a high performance state within the first year." 

As Agile evolves, and as Lean Startup enters the picture, I am sure of only one thing, that people will continue to  debate this topic.  

For me, I can say that I have seen successes both small and large when a team implements either one of Scrum or XP, and also success when they implement both.  It's not so much that you go through the motions, but rather that you understand why you are going through them and make them meaningful for your team.

The Art of the Same Day Job Offer

To land the best developers in town, make a job offer the same day you bring the candidate on site.

I have spoken to hundreds of hiring managers over the last 16 years.  I often get asked: Where are all the good developers? How come I can’t manage to hire any of them?  When I dig into their recruiting process in the hopes of helping the hiring manager answer this question, I too often find that they are doing more things than they realize right, but are getting in their own way in the end zone. 

It often plays out like this: The company writes an engaging and fun job description and gets some interest. Company interviews a handful of developers.  Then….. thinks about who they like best. By the time the hiring managers decide who they want to make an offer to, they are often shocked to learn the developer has multiple offers or worse, has already accepted another job.

Please believe me when I tell you that developers are interviewing with more than just your company and often, the simple act of being the first to offer them a job puts you at an advantage. 

3 Tips: How to hire for motivation

“Hire and promote first on the basis of integrity; second, motivation; third, capacity; fourth, understanding; fifth, knowledge; and last and least, experience. Without integrity, motivation is dangerous; without motivation, capacity is impotent; without capacity, understanding is limited; without understanding, knowledge is meaningless; without knowledge, experience is blind. Experience is easy to provide and quickly put to good use by people with all the other qualities.” - Dee Hock , founder and former CEO of VISA

( http://www.fastcompany.com/online/05/dee2.html )

Last month, I wrote on how to hire for Integrity, which remains my number one most important quality. Now, we’ll chat about motivation.

So, how does one hire for “motivation”. What does this even mean?

3 Tips: How to Interview for Integrity

Lately, I’ve heard a lot of commotion about using technical exercises, brain teasers, problem solving tests, and the like as the basis for an interview process for developers, as well as for other members of Agile teams. However, in the quest to nab the top development talent in 2012, recruiters and tech managers alike may be sacrificing integrity for tech chops.

But, if you go into each interview prepared to interview for integrity, you can land yourself a top candidate that is both honest and extremely technically talented.

Here’s how:

3 Tips: How to achieve work/life balance

I am a working mom. I have two kids that I absolutely adore and a job that I absolutely love. Yet, for the past 7 years, I face the daily challenge that every working mom that I know faces - how to balance it all.  Here are 3 things I've learned along the way to help achieve work/life balance on a daily basis.

1. Be present.

Don't let great be the enemy of good

Or, how do I know if the developer I am interviewing for my team is good enough or if I should hold out for the perfect match? 

Over the years, as I've helped technical managers navigate the recruiting world, I often hear the following comment - "We found someone we like, but we don't want to make him an offer just yet, we want to see who else is out there." 

While these well-intentioned managers are debating, the candidate is busy interviewing with other companies.  This results in one of two scenarios: 1. The candidate accepts another job or 2. The candidate gets another offer which he then uses to get a better offer from you.

One of the most important things you can do for you interview process is: know up front what you are looking for, and when you find someone that meets the criteria, act on this immediately. 

Now, I don't mean loosen your criteria and jump on the first candidate that is decent. No, what I mean is, have an evaluation process in place. If the candidate passes, don't doubt this process, make them an offer today. 

Worst case, you are wrong and then you learn from the process and improve. Best case, the candidate is great. Most likely case, the candidate is very good and your evaluation process worked.