Nice article Michael. Congratulations! I agree with the point you've made, but I have the following observation: "The right solution is to measure team...

Hello, Michael. On Wednesday, December 26, 2007, at 7:52:37 AM, ... Of course it's interesting. But it's potentially dangerous and easy to misinterpret. What...

I think it would be a huge mistake to measure an individual's velocity. It sounds directly counterproductive to the "whole" team teamwork concept we try to...

... I'd be more concerned about rewarding those with higher velocities. Subtle interactions can occur in agile teams with more traditional management...

... I agree. The general principles are: 1. to always measure the primary goal(s), and 2. to temporarily measure secondary goals only when they directly relate...

Steve, do you think that applies on the organizational level, too? What about measuring only the primary goal (for example the company's ebitda), and using...

Yes! It is certainly more important that a project be delivering the value that an organization needs than it be returning unwanted value but delivering it...

Trying to press what I write below in one sentence: How people perceive why they do something is the most important part, to make them understand why is the...

Manuel, I am having trouble discerning your point, so I will try to expand my point in the direction indicated by some of your terminology: For people to...

... Great point, totally agree. And after some point, you realize that people start to work like zombies: no ambition, no improvement and worst of all no ...

Reading this thread, and backing up to find this response in order to clarify the point. (It has been an interesting thread) I believe, as others have...

... I think there are two thoughts I have on this. As a general discussion, I think that measuring individual velocity is not a good idea. It can only lead to...

... The relationship with the customer should be a partnership, not unquestioning subserviance. When a customer asks for a feature, it is collaborative of us...

... I think there are a few key points worth pondering before coming to this conclusion: (1) TargetProcess is not doing contract work for a specific customer. ...

Hi John, ... I agree. It's their product, and they can do whatever they want. However, adding a feature doesn't necessarily preclude its use by other types of...

Hi Cory, ... Well, if they add a feature I find offensive, then I'm not going to buy their product. If they add a feature that developers don't want, then...

Hi John, ... This is a great example that I think can illustrate my point. I work with customers who could absolutely not use your product in any way if there...

... your ... In such case I will ensure that this modification is really mandatory and provide customized version of product (but will not include these ...

... Which, consequently, was what my initial suggestion was talking about. I think it is great that you chose to ask if individual velocity was needed, and the...

... Easy, add unlogged voice chat. :) In every workplace I've ever seen, you can chat with coworkers about the weather or last week's game. Talk about cool new...

... My advice to young developers is always that, if your team lead is not a great mentor - or they just dont get that new fangled 'OO' thing, then move teams...

... In other words, disable the use of the unlogged whisper feature. If it's voice chat going over the network - it's logged. Intra-office communications...

Hello, Cory. On Sunday, December 30, 2007, at 11:00:33 PM, you ... I'm really curious what kind of organization would do this. Can you tell us without having...

... Federal. Military mostly. They are the most strict (check your laptop and cell phone at the door - and don't kid around, because alarms inside will let us...

Hi Cory, ... Yes, that's correct. I believe that all companies have an obligation to expend reasonable effort ensuring their software is not going to be used...

Hello, Cory. On Thursday, December 27, 2007, at 10:32:02 PM, you ... Are you going to say something similar when some team comes on and says they want to stop...

... have a ... Nice question ;) Maybe the team has full test coverage with another kind of tests? I think it is hardly a good replacement, unit tests are ...

Hi Folks, Thanks for your thoughts. I don't see metrics as anything other than highlighters for investigation and thought. In that respect I've found them...