SPaMCAST 543 features our essay on value chains.  In this essay, we tackle the mixed up world of Value Chains, Values Streams and Process Maps. This isn’t a vocabulary test but mixing the words up can cause a mess. Let's solve the problem. As a reminder - I am doing a workshop on value chains at QAI Quest 2019 (May 13 - 19 in Chicago). Do you need a discount?  Register at using the code Speaker10. Let me know and we will do a hangout with Jeremy and myself! In the SPAMCAST 543, Gene Hughson’s returns with a new entry in his Form Follows Function column. Gene and I are beginning what turned out to be a three column set on solution architects. Today we begin by discussing just what the heck is a solution architect is and does! Re-Read Saturday News These days, every time I start a new book I am reminded that once upon a time I did not read the introduction or front matter in books.  I suspect there are things I still don’t know or only learned about from the school of wandering into doors at night because of my choice,  When I originally read I was still in the habit of not reading introductions. The introduction discusses how the ideas that became the book were developed by Kahneman and his longtime co-contributor, Amos Tversky (Tversky died before they probably would have jointly won the Noble Prize). Kahneman describes the book as a “book about the biases of intuition.” Topics in the introduction include life, death, bias, heuristics, and behavioral economics.    If you do not have a favorite, dog-eared copy of please buy a copy.  Using the links in this blog entry helps support the blog and its alter-ego, The Software Process and Measurement Cast. ,  Its time to get reading!   This week’s installment: Week 1: - Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 544 will feature our interview with Jeppe Hedaa.  We will discuss his new book, Nucleon: The Missing Formula That Measures Your IT Development Team's Performance. Jeppe provides evidence and a framework that suggests that there are predictable factors that drive performance in IT organizations. Tough and interesting ideas are on the menu when we talk about Nucleon!