Meta-Cast

In this episode Bob and Josh discuss the importance of estimation in the world of software development.  Can a project survive without estimation?  Is estimation a skill that can be honed and improved over time?  We cover all of these questions and a bit more.  Where do you stand on these topics?  Let us know in the comments.

In this episode Bob and Josh discuss common misconceptions and missteps in retrospecitves.  You'll quickly learn how passionate we are on this subject as the discussion heats up.  We provide ideas and direction on how to heal your struggling retrospectives.

In this episode Bob and Josh tackle the ever-elusive concept of team culture.  We attempt to apply some form of definition for the concept and provide some tips on how to improve it within your team.  We'd love some feedback on this one, so please add comments or hit us up on twitter.

In this episode, Bob transforms into a waterfall advocate. Josh fights to convince him that Agile is more than just a buzzword and that can help his projects.  While this debate was a fun execise for us, we hope it helps everyone out there who is struggling to convince their co-workers/boss/whoever that Agile may be the right thing for your project.  If there are any challenges or questions you are struggling with out there, let us know as we would love to help you out!  

We also debut one of the podcast improvements we talked about in our retrospective discussion in episode 40.  We have bumper music!  A big thanks goes out to @matthewdavis for hooking us up!  We hope you like the new intro!

In this episode, Bob and Josh begin defining the concept of the product owner quadrants.  It comes as a shock to no one that we only worked through the first quadrant in 36 minutes!  The first quadrant discussed is "project managment".  That term sends Josh into a downward spiral and forces the two of us to really define what "project management" means and we eventually land on renaming it to "project planning".  Take a listen and see if you agree or diasagree with the new name and the responsibilities defined in this first quadarant. 

40th episode already!?!?

Bob and Josh pause for the 40th episode to do a classic scrum retrospective of the Meta-Cast itself.  All three questions (what did we do well, what could we do better at, and what should we try in the future) are asked, and answered, as we look forward to where we want to take our podcast.

In the second half of the podcast, we ask for input on the value of creating a physical version of the Agile Starter Kit.  Please, please, please weigh in with your thoughts and comments on if doing so would add any value.  We plan to post a survey a bit later, but any and all comments are welcome! 

Bob and Josh unleash some fury on the proliferation of agile-centric certificaitons over the past 12-18 months.  Are there any certifications really worth the skyrocketing expense to earn and maintain them?  We also tackle the evolving importance of the first certification most professionals get, the degree.  What side of the certification fence are you on?!

Some of the best stuff happens before we even turn the microphone on, so I am trying to just hit the record button and see what happens.  Here is a quick look into what Bob and I do before you hear the words "Welcome to The Meta-Cast!".  I hope to have more of these in the coming weeks...

In this episode, Bob and Josh wrap-up their initial pass at what fits into the Agile Starter Kit.  They end with talking through some of the technical aspects of implementing Agile in your workplace, digging into topics like continuous integration, pair programming, designs/specifications, and finally wrap up with metrics.

While Bob and Josh try to remain tool/technology agnostic, there are a few key points that they hit that could use a few wikipedia links to help out.  So if you heard these terms in the podcast, but were not exactly sure what they meant, here are your podcast footnotes for episode 38.  If you need more info, please ask in the comments and we'll get you an answer.

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• Behavior Driven Development
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• Minimum Viable Product
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• Continuous Integration 
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• Cucumber
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Once again, thanks for listening.  Please review/rate the show on iTunes, share this post with your social networks, and post comments and questions on our website.

In this episode, Bob and Josh take a break from the Agile Starter Kit series to talk through some current events.  Bob unloads on Dean Leffingwell and his SAFe Certification Program.  After listening, I think eveyone will understand why Bob is so passionate about this misguided approach.  Josh then talks through a couple of moments of inspiration over the past couple of months.