Welcome,
This blog was produced to create a space to discuss how IT professionals manage the high-tension pressures of work life in the Information Age.
Why call it Optimal Friction™? Simply put, we find that, for those of us in the field of Information Technology, high-pressure demands are a breeding ground for friction within and between organizations that affect us both personally and professionally. In this environment – to build more and more in less and less time – friction is a fact of life. Small amounts are unrealistic – too much can exacerbate conflict and drive a team to failure. Somewhere in between lies a sweet spot where friction is optimal, serving a useful purpose, but not causing collapse - at work, in health, and at home.
We encourage our fellow professionals to weigh in on this topic. We want to share ideas and solutions. Welcome to the conversation.
- Michael Mah
April 01, 2008
Pumped Up About the May 7th Summit Workshop
Just finished creating a brand new workshop that I 'm teaching at the upcoming Cutter Summit conference. The cool thing will be "gestalt-ish" role playing - the exercises put attendees into simulated roles with difficult choices. (Unlike the real world, heh heh.) Seriously, the case study scenario is an amalgam of real company situations from recent clients (names changed to protect the innocent). It's already about 3/4 full from advanced registrations.
It will be good therapy. Here's the write-up; if any of you good folks want to join in on the fun, click here. For those of you already registered, get ready :) Here are a few photos of our illustrious curator Tom DeMarco, Prof. Rogelio Oliva of (Mays Business School and before that Harvard Business School), and Ed Yourdon, from last year's Innovation conference. For a look at our entire photo album, click here.
How to Collect and Use Metrics in Agile Software Development Environments
If you're implementing or considering agile methods in your organization, how do compare productivity and quality against waterfall projects? Join Michael Mah to understand both agile and waterfall metrics, and how to communicate differences in the ways they behave to key decision makers.
In this tutorial you'll learn how to move from a project whiteboard to create project trendlines on productivity, time-to-market, and defects using your own data. Get an inside look at agile measurement by seeing this in action using real case studies. Learn how to replicate these techniques to make your own comparisons on time, cost, and quality. And discover how to leverage these methods to make the case for change with your management teams at your company.
During this hands-on session, you'll use your laptop to capture metrics and do productivity calculations. You'll be paired two-by-two, and together learn to use metrics data capture templates provided by Michael. As an added benefit, you will also be offered an option for follow-up project collection after the Summit, including one-on-one metrics calculations via webinar with Michael.
more...Continue reading "Pumped Up About the May 7th Summit Workshop"
Posted by Mike at 01:13 PM | Comments (0) |
March 25, 2008
Cutter Summt Conference, Cambridge MA May 5-7
Wow... I just reviewed the program for the 2008 Cutter Summit Conference which is just around the corner from May 5th - 7th in Cambridge MA. I'm told that the program will be a sellout, with registrations far exceeding last year. Take a look at the agenda; topics include overcoming organizational dysfunction, the future of Internet revenue generation, Mission to Mars: A Harvard Business School Case Study, and a plethora of topics from speakers like Lou Mazzuchelli, Prof Alan McCormack, Tim Lister, Tom DeMarco, Mike Rosen, Vince Kellen, Prof Eric Clemons, and Roberto Verganti. There will also be an exciting... more...
Posted by Mike at 02:29 AM | Comments (0) |
February 28, 2008
Town Meetings and Creating Community
Whew! The last couple of weeks have been crazy, and as always I feel grumpy when I don't get to fill folks in on this blog as often as I want to. Maybe there's a new psychological condition that I'm experiencing these days - blog guilt. (Something a recovering Catholic like me can work on...) Enough of the confessions... What's new? Well, I have to say that the Town Meeting webinar that I hosted - playing the "Charlie Rose" character to my fantastic guests, Mike Lunt of BMC Software and Kim Wheeler of Follett Software - was a smash hit.... more...
Posted by Mike at 09:24 AM | Comments (0) |
January 31, 2008
"Town Meeting" - Open Conversation on State-of-the-Art Agile
I'm a storyteller by heart, which is why I so enjoy the work that I do. Not only my own stories, but exciting stories about what other people have experienced in life and work, which I've been privileged to share with them as a consultant. My last Cutter webinar was about telling stories from 5 companies implementing Agile methods. Two in particular achieved remarkable results from their work; they are Follett Software in McHenry IL and BMC Software in Austin TX. That webinar along with another that I delivered on industry productivity patterns was among the highest attended in the... more...
Posted by Mike at 03:03 PM | Comments (0) |
January 10, 2008
Webinar: Agile Productivity Findings - January 17th, 2008
Once again, through the good graces of Anne Mullaney, Group Publisher of Cutter Consortium, we're running a special re-broadcast of a webinar entitled, "Case Study: The Impact of Agile on Productivity at Five Companies." Although normally reserved for Cutter Consortium clients, Cutter is generously making this event "open-access" to QSM clients and OptimalFriction readers. This event was originally broadcast last Fall through the IT Metrics and Productivity Institute, and was among the highest attended sessions. I also presented some of the data at Software Quality Engineering's Agile Development Practices Conference in Orlando last December to a strong audience response. If... more...
Posted by Mike at 11:47 AM | Comments (0) |
December 20, 2007
Now Shipping! The Cutter/QSM Benchmark Almanac
Great news! The Cutter Consortium is now shipping the Cutter/QSM Benchmark Almanac: Application Development Series, 2007-2008 Edition, the result of an unprecedented joint collaboration featuring industry research by QSM on software development (derived on projects mined from the QSM worldwide database), and expert opinions by Cutter authors like Tom DeMarco, Tim Lister, Jim Highsmith, Jim Love, E.M. Bennetan and... yours truly. For me, it's personally gratifying to have been the editor of this report since I also wear two hats: being a managing partner of QSM Associates, as well as serving with Cutter as the director of the Benchmarking Practice.... more...
Posted by Mike at 10:50 AM | Comments (0) |
December 12, 2007
I'm So Excited...
... and I just can't hide it. I just spent a day with our internal QSM team in McLean VA where we brainstormed about our HOT new SLIM 7.0 Release, which we're gearing up for a market launch next quarter. Building upon Larry Putnam's pioneering research on software lifecycles, we've got a new architecture that is completely adaptable to measuring, estimating, and planning Agile development projects for the software industry. It's no surprise many organizations today are moving toward agile methods. Two burning questions for many organizations are 1) how to prove that these methods really work and 2) how... more...
Posted by Mike at 01:54 AM | Comments (0) |
December 04, 2007
It's Snowing in the Northeast....
... so I'm heading to Orlando FL for the Software Quality Engineering's Agile Development Practices Conference. Fun fun... Tomorrow (Wed 12/5) QSM Associates/Cutter and Rally Software will be presenting the following: Case Study – Benchmarking Agile Productivity: What an Independent Assessment Revealed at BMC Software. By Michael Mah, Senior Consultant, Cutter Measurement & Benchmarking Practice & Managing Partner, QSM Associates and Zach Nies, VP of Product Strategy, Rally Software 1. How data was captured on Agile releases. 2. What the benchmark findings revealed versus a worldwide database of 7,000+ projects. 3. How this was automated using QSM SLIM models to... more...
Posted by Mike at 04:01 PM | Comments (0) |
November 14, 2007
Nov 15th Cutter Webinar - Invitation Only
I'm excited... I just finished a walkthrough with Anne Mullaney, Group Publisher of Cutter Consortium, on a special webinar that we're running Thu Nov 15th at 11:30 am - 12:30 pm entitled, "Compared to What? A Look at Application Development Metrics". It's normally "invitation only" to the Cutter Consortium community. Good news! Anne just told me that Cutter has agreed to allow us to make available special invitations to a select group of my clients and readers. We're going to feature highlights of the IT industry observations being published in the newly released "Cutter Benchmark Almanac, Application Development Series 2007-2008."...
Posted by Mike at 04:15 PM | Comments (0) |
Nov16th Webinar: Agile Productivity Levels at 5 Companies
Michael Milutis from Computer Aid Inc. emailed me a couple of days ago. He said that 180 people registered in just one day (a record) for a webinar that I'm presenting on Nov 16th entitled "Case Study: Agile Productivity Levels at 5 Companies." Total registrations are expected to exceed 500 (they're currently over 230). If any of you would like to join us, click here and sign up. Below is the abstract for the talk. See you there! And Happy Halloween :) [To read an interview that Michael published from our talk on "The State of IT Metrics Practice," click... more...
Posted by Mike at 03:38 PM | Comments (0) |
November 02, 2007
Global Rational Community Webinar Series - QSM
Exciting News! On Wednesday November 7th at 12noon, there will be a Webinar on the integration of IBM's Rational Portfolio Manager and the QSM SLIM-Estimate model. It will be directed by two of the best in our business: Douglas Putnam and Larry Putnam Jr., managing partners of our QSM Inc. office in McLean VA. If you'd like to join us for the event, details are as below. Contact Sean Callaghan at QSM Associates to register. Date: 11/07/2007 Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm (GMT-05:00) Eastern Standard Time (America/New_York) By: Global Rational Community(GRC) more...
Posted by Mike at 02:46 PM | Comments (0) |
October 26, 2007
POPTech: Our Hawthorn Inn Gang
The Hawthorn Inn in Camden Maine is a special place. I feel so strongly about this that I added the following post to the Trip Advisor website so people can hear about it and appreciate what the inn and its proprietor, Maryanne Shanahan, has to offer. Here's a photo of some of our gang and the happy faces. I wished that I had a chance to take this before some of us left, but that's how it goes. (I'm in black on the far left, next to Maryanne, the innkeeper/owner.)
more...
Posted by Mike at 06:43 PM | Comments (0) |
October 21, 2007
POPTech: Caleb Chung - Furby Inventor
Caleb Chung - toy inventor - isn't just a modern day Gepetto as his POPTech bio describes. After a few minutes of being on stage, it's clear that he also channels his inner Tom Hanks character from the movie, "Big." He's a playful man-boy in an adult body - inventing toys, and clearly a genius at that.
He took the POPTech stage and immediately brought a laugh to the audience by making reference to his unusual name: he confides that he's half Chinese and half German, meaning that about an hour after eating, he gets hungry for power :)
more...
Posted by Mike at 07:34 PM | Comments (0) |
October 20, 2007
POPTech: Read Ethan Zuckerman's Blog
Not many people are as amazing at blogging (POPTech or anything else for that matter) as Ethan Zuckerman. If you want an accurate and articulate description of almost every session, go here. Ethan and I are from the Berkshires in western Massachusetts, and live only a few minutes apart. He's amazing at listening, interpreting, and writing in human simulcast. He confessed that it's because he appreciates the value of unplugging from talking, and going into this "zone."
We all benefit from his gift.
I'm shifting to selective blogging from here on out so that I can listen more attentively, make mind-mapping notes by hand, and taking photos. My posts are going to have as many images as I can muster. Also, my brain is starting to seriously churn and assimilate what all this here at POPTech means. It's more a reflective mindful experience than a reporting one. I plan to bring more of that soon, but it takes time to incubate.
So if you would please excuse me, I'm going to listen more right now, and multi-task less.
more...Continue reading "POPTech: Read Ethan Zuckerman's Blog"
Posted by Mike at 02:00 PM | Comments (0) |
October 19, 2007
POPTech: Carl Honore on the Slow Movement
Carl Honore is taking the stage about the Speed of Human Culture. I'm a great fan of Carl, and I highly recommend his book, "In Praise of Slowness" which is taking the Fast World by storm. He starts by talking about how people told him he’d love Maine because it’s so slow. I am noting that Carl is a very fast talker for a guy who espouses slowing down. He begins making his point about the perils of constantly being "plugged into" technology, by telling a a true story about a couple where the man realized things were very wrong... more...
Posted by Mike at 05:27 PM | Comments (0) |
POPTech: Not Just Mars and Venus
Louann Brizendine, M.D., a neuropsychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco, is the founder of the Women’s and Teen Girls’ Mood and Hormone Clinic. Her message to us is that there is no such thing as the unisex brain, and that because of this there are new understandings about how men and women think,feel, and act as a result of our physiology. While all brains in the womb start out as female, after about 8 weeks males testes releases surges of testosterone that bathe the brain and dramatically alter its development. Similarly, female brains are awashed in progesterone and... more...
Posted by Mike at 12:06 PM | Comments (0) |
October 18, 2007
Jessica Flannery of Kiva.org
Jessica Flannery (www.kiva.org) is speaking during the "Innovation From the Bottom Up" session and is wowing the POPTech audience. Her enthusiasm is infectious; she's vibrant, passionate, and articulate about what she and her husband Matt have done to enable *anyone* to make a business loan (with as little as $25) to entrepreneurs in Third-world countries, enabling them to rise out of poverty. From Kiva's website: "Jessica first saw the power and beauty of microfinance while working in rural Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda with Village Enterprise Fund and Project Baobab on impact evaluation and program development. Jessica has spoken widely on... more...
Posted by Mike at 04:35 PM | Comments (0) |
Chris Jordan's Visuals at the POPTech 2007 Conference
Chris Jordan is using the medium of photographic arts to show us the sheer scale and magnitude of waste from consumerism. I just saw a photo of what two million plastic bottles (used in the U.S. every five minutes) looks like. The reason he uses photography to convey his message about the impact of human waste on our world is to try and move people emotionally, instead of just intellectually. It's working. Chris' current exhibit, Running the Numbers: An American Self-Portrait, is about the impact American consumerism and greed have on our culture and our planet: “Collectively we have given... more...
Posted by Mike at 02:46 PM | Comments (0) |
