Steve Vaughn

Member for

13 years 6 months

Steve Vaughn is a 20 year survivor of the IT wars. He has worked as a software developer for 14 of those years and in varying forms of management. You can contact him at [email protected].

Job Function

Development

Country

United States

Steve Vaughn

Steve Vaughn is a twenty-year survivor of the IT wars. He has worked a variety of organizations as a software developer, architect, and ScrumMaster. Steve has spent the past five years attempting the impossible—managing software developers. He is now using this experience to act as an agile coach and help develop high-performing teams.

All Articles by Steve Vaughn

All Stories by Steve Vaughn

	Apple and Google Enter the Connected Car MarketA new battle has begun in which the combatants are familiar and the prize is your car’s dashboard. Steve Vaughn explains that in 2014 Google and Apple have decided to bring the fight to Microsoft with a major push in the area of connected cars.
	The Future of the Internet (of Things)In another twenty years our current Internet will seem just as archaic as 2004 does today, and we might very well look back at 2014 as the seminal year when everything changed. The new Internet will leverage wearable computers, anticipatory computing, and user context to deliver data.
	How Wearable Computing Impacts App DevelopmentWearable computing requires that an app be designed to complement a user’s activities without creating a barrier between the user and the outside world. Finding the sweet spot between these two constraints is the challenge developers face.
	How APIs Are Transforming the IT EconomyChances are you have overheard developers in your office talk about APIs, but you might have just shrugged it off as more boring tech talk or a vague Star Trek reference. What you might not know is that APIs are a technology architecture that is transforming the IT economy.
	Agile Development Teams: Plan or Be Planned ForSteve Vaughn writes that if your team is not planning for future releases, someone else will plan them for you. Teams must embrace the fact that strategic planning will happen and take ownership of the process.
	Why Developer Stack Ranking Is an Innovation KillerMany companies swear by stack ranking, citing retention of high performers and the ability to track performance as two of the biggest benefits. Despite these claims, stack ranking has numerous unintentional side effects that work against a culture of innovation.
	How Agile Led to the Creation of the Technical Product OwnerAgile has become the primary mechanism by which normally incompatible roles crossbreed and create distinctive positions that bring great value to a company. Steve Vaughn writes on how agile has led to the creation of a new role—the technical product owner—that has benefited his team.
	How Android Became the OS of the Internet of ThingsSteve Vaughn writes that the Android operating system is making possible the concept of the Internet of Things. The opportunity is available to device makers to deliver innovation through the existing Android app ecosystem
	Why Scrum Team Members Need to Feel Safe to Admit Their FailuresSteve Vaughn writes on why team members need to feel comfortable when speaking openly—about failures as well as successes—during a standup meeting. People will only speak when they feel safe, and once agile team members feel safe to fail, they can begin to improve.
	The Rise of Android on the Desktop With desktop PC sales plummeting, so has the influence of Microsoft and its Windows operating system. However, as consumers look to an alternative to Windows, it appears that PC makers are turning their attention to the Android OS. Steve Vaughn explores the rise of Android on the desktop.
	The Good and the Bad of Android StudioGoogle recently released an early access preview of its new Android Studio. The goal of this integrated development environment (IDE) is to advance the tools Android developers have at their disposal. Steve Vaughn explains the good and the bad of the new version.
	Putting into Practice an Agile MindsetSteve Vaughn profiles a company that knows how to put into practice an agile mindset. Agile is more about how a team approaches solving problems rather than whether it uses tools like daily standups, sprints, and user stories. This agile mindset has to be the heart of a company’s culture.
	How to Leverage Social Networks for ReferralsSteve Vaughn explains how to leverage social networks for referrals. The development community is typically small and well connected, so your developers can be the best resource for finding and recruiting the highest quality programmers.
	Why Teams Are Responsible for Successful Product DeliverySome believe that a large investment of time and money in requirements gathering and process oversight will lead to a more reliable or safer software product. But is that really the case? Steve Vaughn writes that in agile the team members are responsible for the successful delivery of their product.
	How the Mobile Industry Is Similiar to Yesterday's PC EraSteve Vaughn writes about the similarities between today's mobile industry and yesterday's era of personal computing. Industry professionals should view the mobile market as immature and make strategic plans according to how the PC industry changed in the 1990s.
	Four Misconceptions about Agile That Lead to FailureThe barrier to organizational change is always about lack of support from upper management. Many agile transformations fall short or fail because management expectations do not align with the reality of agile. Steve Vaughn explains four misconceptions of agile that can stop a major cultural change.
	How to Identify Disengaged Employees—and Increase ProductivityProductivity can be difficult to increase but is usually easy to decrease. Undermotivated or unhappy employees spread discontent and use idle time to sidetrack their teammates. Identifying disengaged employees and removing them as a distraction will make everyone on the team more productive.
	How Agile Is Changing the Way the Federal Government Does BusinessSteve Vaughn writes about how Dynamics Research Corporation, a technology sourcing company, is attempting to align the company's iterative development process with government’s traditional waterfall approach. With the growth of agile, government agencies are changing the way they conduct business.
	Agile Moves into Our Homes and SchoolsNot only has agile moved into our homes, it is now reaching into our schools. Agile methodology is in the process of changing the way corporations work, so it should come as no surprise that it is now changing the way we organize our personal lives as well.
	The Need for User Context in Mobile AppsBetween Google Play and Apple’s IOS App Store, there are almost 2 million apps available on the two most popular mobile platforms. However, only a handful of these apps take advantage of the user’s context to provide the richest possible experience.
	What the Best Software Managers for Scrum Teams DoSteve Vaughn shares his experiences as a software manager for multiple Scrum teams. In Steve's eyes, the best software managers hire the right people for the job, give them assignments where they can be most successful, and create a work environment where teams produce high quality systems.
	How to Keep Your Development Skills Up to DateIf you are a software developer, you work in one of the most dynamic fields. You have to keep your skills up to date in order to stay marketable. But if your company is a “laggard,” how do you prevent being left behind?
	Creating an Agile Mindset We have all heard that agile requires a cultural change within a company, but what do these changes really mean? Agile is more about how a team approaches solving problems and less about the tools used to support that approach. Agile is really a mindset.
	Tips to Retain Software Developers in a Hot MarketSince 2010, software developers have been the most in-demand professionals throughout the United States. In a market this hot, retention is even more difficult than finding talent, and developers are under an almost constant assault from recruiting agencies.
	Using Nearshoring in a Geographically Dispersed Agile TeamIt is not uncommon for agile teams to be dispersed geographically. Team members can be spread over different time zones, states, countries, and continents. To address this dilemma, some companies believe they have found a solution in nearshoring.
	How Agile Impacts HealthcareThe topic of healthcare is complex and breeds strong opinions on a variety of fronts. The one universal fact all parties agree on is that the state of healthcare IT is terrible. However, agile software methodology, with its focus on flexibility and speed, can change the face of healthcare IT.
	Moving Beyond a Superficial Understanding of Agile While agile is almost universally hailed, the majority of executives only have a "superficial" understanding of the methodology. Steve Vaughn explains that this level of understanding by upper management is a serious impediment to the necessary culture change that needs to take place.