Dovetail Software Blogs

Our goal is to provide the best software possible to our customers and even better customer support. To do that, you need the right people – those dedicated to serving the customer and committed to advancing their own knowledge, often on their own time. That is the culture we have created at Dovetail Software, and I am quite proud of all our ...

Job posting is below.  Here are some of our references for this position: http://www.agilearchitect.org/agile/index.asp http://www.agiledata.org/essays/enterpriseArchitecture.html Agile Application Architect Are you experienced with enterprise applications, tiered architecture, agile development, and Ruby on Rails? Do you communicate ...

Having entered the Agile community last summer, it seems I have both embraced and been embraced by that community, and some extensions of it.  Here's what's coming up: APLN Leadership Summit, Dallas, TX, February 21-22 I'll be on a lunch panel talking about "What Keeps You Awake At Night". Apparently my blogging convinced someone ...

As I'm reading (and sometimes re-reading) Christopher Avery's wonderful book Teamwork Is An Individual Skill, my thinking gets stimulated. I really like Avery's perspective on things that relate to teamwork, team building, and our personal responsibility. Here's a great excerpt: Examine the logic contained in the following five statements: ...

Or maybe that should be "Roles IN Relationships". My mother is almost 82 years old. We have a great relationship.  We've always been able to talk about almost anything. And in that relationship, sometimes I'm needy and she's supportive and wise. And sometimes she's needy and I'm supportive and wise. Roles. I've been married for ...

Interesting conversation today around the book "Don't Make Me Think" by Steve Krug. As it wrapped around UX (user experience/interaction) and UI (user interface), someone made the point that both the agile team and the application itself go through an iterative process of development and improvement. Interestingly (at least to ME), ...

The team was having some questions regarding the granularity and estimation of stories, so Bret set up a phone call with Jeff Patton a last week.  Here are two takeaways from that call which have already proved invaluable. First, after each iteration, do the 3 P's- 1) what is the quality of the Product, 2) Progress- are we moving forward?, ...

More excellent content from the Pfeffer/Sutton book (page 94)...What is true for individuals is also true for organizations, groups, and teams. Exceptional performance depends heavily on experience and effort. No matter how gifted (or ordinary) team members are to start out, the more experience they have working together, the better their teams ...

From ''Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense'' by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton, Page 78Employee loyalty, engagement, and commitment are important benefits, but not the whole story. In a typical organization, people charged with building and maintaining relationships with others -- such as customers or employees -- work in a ...

This weekend, my wife Debbie and I watched Lady in the Water. (Before I get to agility, I'll mention that Paul Giamatti is rapidly becoming one of my favorite actors, based on his versatility and skill.) As I watched the movie, I became aware of the powerful effects of the cinematography. In fact, in retrospect, I realize that cinematography ...