Invisible Algorithms Podcast

"In software, the fundamental question is definitely a billion-dollar question, probably way more: is software a linear activity that you can decompose or is it something complex that you will perform very poorly if you try to attack it with a group of people as opposed to a team?

Well, I think that by definition is a very complex activity. And the reason why is that not only are people involved, but you're trying to create another system, which is a software system" - Michele Sollecito

You can't build better software products without system thinking.

Teams are systems, as well as software products. Everything can be seen as a system if you look hard enough.

In this new episode of the Invisible Algorithms Podcast, Michele Sollecito brings his unique perspective on how system thinking can help organizations create high-performing teams that can deliver better outcomes in their day-to-day work.

In this episode, Michele will share with us some great insights on:

- The Limitations of Traditional Team Structures
- The Importance of Collaboration in Complex Problems
- The Flaws of the tech lead role and the actual role of management
- The Benefits of Ensemble Programming
- An anticipation of the book he’s writing

I hope you’ll get the best out of this episode as much as I did.

Before getting into it, if you like this episode, please remember to share the episode with your network, like it on YT, and review it on Spotify.

Enjoy!

00:00 Introduction and background

06:11 Can software development be standardized?

09:00 What is a team?

09:41 The current hiring system is broken

11:40 The team is a system

12:24 The strengths and limitations of different team models

16:32 The emergent properties of systems

19:52 Remote working

21:36 Why are teams not working as teams?

25:21 A story of transformation

30:23 The benefits of ensemble programming

33:24 Why can having a tech lead be a bad idea?

37:02 Management is about how the work works, not the work itself

40:43 Is ensemble programming waste?

46:13 Why is difficult to sell change to management (belief system)

55:11 Michele's book

References:

- Elastic Leadership, Growing self-organizing teams: https://www.manning.com/books/elastic-leadership

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Michele's Bio:

A versatile background spanning startups to industry giants across banking, fintech, gaming, and more. Michele excels in building efficient teams and departments through system thinking, Theory-Y management, and agile practices. With experience managing over 250 people and expertise in software architecture, cloud-native services, and continuous delivery, Michele’s approach fosters semi-autonomous, cross-functional teams that thrive on fast feedback and continuous improvement. Beyond work, Michele is passionate about self-improvement, enjoying gym sessions, gastronomy, and dedicating time daily to reading, particularly product discovery and strategy.

Follow Michele:

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelesollecito

- X: https://twitter.com/sollecitome

Like this episode?

Remember to share it with your network, like it on YT, and review it on Spotify.

This podcast is hosted by Peppe Silletti:

* LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppesilletti

* Twitter – https://twitter.com/peppesilletti

"I haven't seen anyone in any company, any director, any stakeholder that doesn't want something to improve their objectives better. When they come with solutions and prescriptions, it's usually because they've been burned with the past. They've been burned by things that don't work for them. So if they don't get that confidence from the teams they're working with, the natural reaction is to do it yourself, right?"

Hey everybody! This is the first episode of the re-branded version of my previous podcast Extreme Software Adventures, and today we start with an episode full of insights that you should NOT MISS OUT.

Today’s episode is with Hugo Ferreira, a software engineer from Lisbon, Portugal. Hugo has over 20 years of experience in the industry and he has worked in several roles, such as technical architect, team lead, senior developer, and startup founder, he currently works as a domain architect for Springer Nature.

In this episode, we talked about:

- How software development changed from the 90s and how it compares to modern practices
- We discussed all the things about teams when a team is a team, and also cross-functional setups
- We talked about strategies to bring change in a company’s engineering culture and how to measure that
- And we finally touched on the role of trust in driving change and how important it is to empower teams

I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

Listen out for:

3:50 - Hugo's current role
5:45 - How software was developed in the 90s compared to now
10:50 - Trust and maturity of a team to implement modern practices. When a team is a team
17:01 - Teams as a group of IC vs Team as a Team
19:14 - Keep track of change
22:00 - DORA metrics
28:00 - Trunk-Based Dev Vs Pull Requests
30:00 - Doing PRs well
34:00 - Is pair programming waste?
38:00 - Influencing to use Pair Programming
43:00 - Influencing as an IC
46:00 - Role of trust
57:00 - Devs who want to just do tech

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Hugo Ferreira's Bio
Software Engineer with over 20 years of Information Technology practice and wide international experience in the European market.

A generalist at heart, has worked in the past in several roles (e.g. technical architect, team lead, senior developer, startup founder), on a multitude of development projects with responsibilities ranging from those more business-oriented (e.g. pre-sales, project management, requirements gathering, documentation) to more technical ones (e.g. R&D, prototyping, development and implementation).

Follow Hugo:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugocf
- X: https://twitter.com/hugocf

Like this episode?
Remember to share it with your network, like it on YT, and review it on Spotify.

This podcast is hosted by Peppe Silletti:
* LinkedIn –  https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppesilletti
* Twitter –  https://twitter.com/peppesilletti

"I felt my duty as their scrum master, as their coach, was to make sure that the person who was quiet in the corner had their chance to speak. Maybe they didn't want to, and that's fine. But creating space for other people to share thoughts and their ideas and their creativity made us get better. And it's all about people in that opportunity is how can we connect people and let them share their voice."

In this podcast episode, Shaun Thompson, an expert in Scrum and agile methodologies, takes us through his journey into the Scrum world. He discusses how crucial it is to involve and empower developers in the Scrum process, debunking common myths and illustrating its versatility beyond software development.

Shaun also delves into the blend of Scrum with Extreme Programming practices, the significance of aligning these with a company's core values, and the evolving roles of technical managers. He wraps up with actionable tips for leaders and developers on building stronger, more decision-capable teams, highlighting the importance of active listening and advocating for change.

(00:00) Introduction and Career Journey
(07:14) Empowering Developers and Giving Them a Voice
(09:18) Misconceptions and Reputation of Scrum
(18:16) Applying Scrum in Different Industries
(24:35) The Importance of Feedback in Scrum
(32:12) Combining Scrum and Extreme Programming (XP)
(36:06) Resistance to Adopting Scrum and XP Practices
(44:06) Bringing Empowerment to Teams and Influencing Management
(48:28) Building Relationships and Designing Alliances
(51:18) The Role of Technical Managers
(53:07) Empowering Teams to Make Decisions
(57:46) Adapting Scrum to Different Organizations
(59:03) Empowering Teams: Tips for Leaders and Developers
(01:01:41) The Importance of Listening and Asking Questions

You can find Shaun on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaunwthompson/

"Talk with your customers and talk among yourselves in the team. I think communication is the first step to a well-functioning team and a well-functioning organization getting these feedback loops as tight as possible. So talk with customers, talk with each other, and don't complicate things more than they need to be. Always keep it simple."

In the second episode of the Extreme Software Adventures podcast, Luis Rodrigues, a polyglot product engineer from Lisbon, joins host Giuseppe. Luis shares insights on product engineering, technology as a tool for problem-solving, and the importance of adapting to various technologies. The discussion also delves into the significance of focusing on product delivery over technological aspects, the challenges and solutions in remote work, team empowerment, and the role of trust and communication in successful engineering teams.

(01:49) Product engineering

(22:06) The role of product managers and designers in a product-minded engineering team

(23:48) Developers pair-programming with designers

(29:21) Strategies to empower tech teams

(34:21) How to build trust in a tech team

(42:49) Layoffs, waste, and wrapping up
_____

Luís Rodrigues’s Bio
A software product engineer with a particular interest in distributed systems, functional programming, test-driven development, web applications, and User Experience design.

As a polyglot developer, he prefers to focus on first principles and technologies that responsibly address a problem and align with his team's stack.

He writes and delivers talks on programming, test automation, and design at multiple conferences and meetup events (see goblindegook.com/talks for a list). Outside the computer sciences, he's a freelance translator and book designer.

Follow Luís:
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/luispedrorodrigues
Website – https://goblindegook.com/talks/
Mentions & Links:

- Talk: The Wastes of Product Engineering, https://www.newstore.com/articles/the-wastes-of-product-engineering/

Grab a coffee and tune in as Peppe chats with software whiz Luís Soares in this eye-opening podcast episode, "The biggest myths in software development with Luís Soares" It's all about shaking up the usual ideas in software development and discovering what really works.

Luís is really passionate about product development and knows his way around all kinds of programming languages. He's here to shake things up, big time. Forget the old-school stuff; Luís is all about eXtreme Programming (XP) and mixing things up to get the best results.

They dive into topics like what Agile and Lean really mean, why guessing how long software will take to build isn't always spot on, and how using tools like Jira doesn't automatically make you agile. Luís is big on really getting what users need, not just ticking off tasks, and he totally busts the myth that coding is a lonely game.

Luís also debunks the need to have a bossy boss in dev teams, clears up the confusion around Agile and Scrum, and talks about why you don't need to plan for every single thing that could happen in the future.

With his experience in everything from fast-paced startups to bigger companies, Luís drops some serious knowledge bombs that are both super insightful and practical. Whether you're deep into coding or just curious about the behind-the-scenes of software, this episode is a fun, friendly listen that'll give you a whole new perspective on making software development rock. 🎧👨‍💻🚀

The biggest myths in software development: https://medium.com/codex/the-biggest-myths-in-software-development-c102b4f9670c

Links from Luís:

- https://quii.dev/How_to_go_fast
- https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/what-silicon-valley-gets-right-on-software-engineers/
- https://mogest.medium.com/why-your-huge-tech-team-isnt-delivering-3851be27712c
- https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/project-management-at-big-tech/
- https://beny23.github.io/posts/my_take_on_engineering_room_9

Luís's books recommendations:
- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13436116-lean-ux
- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/67833.Extreme_Programming_Explained
- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10127019-the-lean-startup
- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39080433-accelerate
- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/194338.Lean_Software_Development

Luís's X: https://twitter.com/lsoares

Luís's Medium: https://medium.com/@lsoares