People and Teams

People and Teams

People and Teams Stories
Jeff Payne Maintaining Technical Excellence: A Slack Takeover with Jeff PayneThought leaders from the software community are taking over the TechWell Hub for a day to answer questions and engage in conversations. Jeff Payne, the CEO and founder of Coveros, hosted this Slack takeover, discussing agile transformation, automating documentation, and how leaders can maintain technical excellence.
"Don't walk" sign saying to stop Don’t Fall Victim to the Fundamental Attribution ErrorBefore jumping to a conclusion about a particular situation, try to see circumstances from the other person’s perspective. Consider possible explanations for the person’s behavior that are based on the situation, not the person’s character. Work runs more smoothly when you assume actions have a good and logical reason.
Quarterback about to throw a football Drafting the Right Software Professional for Your Fantasy TeamTeams are systems made up of individuals with different strengths and weaknesses. When people are cooperating on a team—whether in software development or football—sometimes those strengths and weaknesses can be complementary, and other times they can be out of alignment. Be sure to draft the player your team needs.
Illustration from Aesop's fable "The North Wind and the Sun" Aesop and Agile: A Moral for Effective TeamworkWhen a manager sees a problem on their team, they often want to act quickly to correct it. But if you take a “fix it” mentality too far, while you might get past the initial impediment, you have done little to help the team work better in the future. Let's look at another approach, based on one of Aesop's Fables.
A manager and employee having a one-on-one meeting Alleviate Employees’ Stress through One-on-OnesSimply having one-on-ones because they’re expected is not enough to realize their potential. To make one-on-ones effective, as the manager, you’ve got to be available, prepared, and engaged. It has to be more than a one-way status update. Here's how to use these meetings to promote trust, growth, and creativity.
kudzu Surviving the Invasive Plants Apocalypse with Citizen Science AppsThere are more than 6,500 invasive plant species in the US that threaten native flora and fauna. Mobile apps can be tools that let citizen scientists help researchers collect data on invasive plants. Here's a roundup of apps that let you track these species by collecting photos, coordinates, and sighting information.
A speaker giving a presentation to a room full of people Simple Ways to Improve Your Presentation SkillsIf you want to improve your presentation skills, then whenever you attend a presentation, pay attention not just to the content, but also to the delivery of that content. In doing so, note what strikes you as positive or negative about the presentation. Then strive to emulate the positives and avoid the negatives.
Scrum team's technical lead sitting at a laptop Do’s and Don’ts for Having a Technical Lead on a Scrum TeamTechnical leads can be useful, both within the dev team and as a go-between. But is that a good idea on a Scrum team, which should be self-organizing? There is nothing wrong with having a technical lead on your team, as long as the role doesn’t impede the team. Here's where a tech lead can help or hurt a Scrum team.