Inspect and Adapt
World-class software development requires far more than language/platform expertise and steady sprints. Join us as we describe time-tested, industry-proven software best practices at the team, organization, and leadership levels, sharing examples from recent engagements with software teams of all sizes.
Construx is led by industry leader Steve McConnell, author of Code Complete and More Effective Agile. Software experts first and software trainers and consultants second, our team has seen what works and doesn’t work in hundreds of software organizations.
Host Mark Griffin spent the first half of his career as an electrical engineer doing silicon hardware design and leading software automation teams. He moved into the sales side of software because he wanted to spread the value of what his company was building. It was supposed to be a one-year assignment that turned into the second half of his career. His balance of deeply technical skills and right-brain artistry also makes him a masterful home brewer!
Episodes
56 episodes
#56 Product Visions to Product Roadmaps
In an earlier webinar, Construx's Earl Beede took on many organizations that create product visions with phrases like, be the world's best ‘x’ or dazzle...
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Season 6
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Episode 56
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54:09
#55 Practitioner Quizzes Construx - Session 1
Construx welcomes Onorio Catenacci to the microphone to ask questions about software development that continue to puzzle him and perhaps to see whether Construx has the answers. Join Con...
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Season 6
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Episode 55
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54:16
#54 Stories from a Long Career
Construx's Jenny Stuart is retiring from the software industry, and we will miss her! In this podcast, Jenny Stuart looks back on her three decades in the software industry and shares stories and wins from her long career. Joining Jenny are thr...
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Season 6
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Episode 54
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52:20
#53 Cynefin Framework
Why do software gurus keep talking about the Cynefin Framework? What is it? How is it even pronounced? In this episode of Inspect & Adapt, Construx puts many brains on the topic with
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Season 6
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Episode 53
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52:55
#52 The Triad
Most folks know that the product owner, scrum master, and developers make up the Scrum team, but did you know that these roles are also an accountability triad critical to scaling? In episode #52 of our
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Season 6
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Episode 52
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47:31
#51 Professional Development 2024
To be a professional usually means a commitment to ongoing professional development. Doctors, engineers, nurses, accountants, and teachers all require periodic training to maintain their professional status, but what constitutes professional de...
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Season 6
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Episode 51
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55:56
#50 Staffing the Product Owner
The product owner is often considered the most critical accountability in the triad of <product owner, scrum master, developers>. Why? Because garbage in from the product owner gets garbage out of the developers, so it's crucial to give s...
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Season 6
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Episode 50
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56:22
#49 The New
What do we do when we are faced with "The New"? When something is new to us, it's harder to estimate, harder to plan, and harder to execute. Some development projects involve much more that is new than others. How do we identify the new a...
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Season 5
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Episode 49
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52:59
#48 Cone of Uncertainty
Why can't I know—with high precision—the final cost, scope, and time frame of my work effort? One of the biggest reasons you can't know all three at once is illustrated by Steve McConnell's Cone of Uncertainty. In this episode of
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Season 5
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Episode 48
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57:24
#47 Retrospectives
If hindsight is 20/20—and it's good practice to look back to find ways you could do better—then why do retrospectives seem like such a waste of time? Shouldn't they be a goldmine that we're excited about rather than just another obligatory meet...
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Season 5
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Episode 47
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53:15
#46 Reverse Agile Scaling
There is a lot of talk and ideas about how to scale agile up from the one-team, one-product base so that multiple teams can support a product (I am looking at you SAFe). But what about the case where one team must support multiple products? Tha...
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Season 5
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Episode 46
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53:15
#45 Value Identification
What does "value" mean on your product? How do you know you are working on the most valuable thing? Construx's Earl Beede, Jenny Stuart, and Mark Griffin discuss how to clearly identify and articulate value on development projects. Knowin...
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Season 5
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Episode 45
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56:11
#44 Bringing it All Together – the Successful Leadership of Hardware/Software Teams
How do you lead product development teams when a company that has always been hardware focused now owes its success to both hardware and software? Construx's Mark Griffin and...
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Season 5
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Episode 44
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46:20
#43 Project Managers 2023
Listen to Construx's Earl Beede, Jenny Stuart, and Mark Griffin as they assess the role and duties of project managers on software intensive projects. A special focus will be on groups using agile development processes. Earl and Jenny will shar...
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Season 5
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Episode 43
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57:02
#42 Splitting User Stories
Construx's Earl Beede, Jenny Stuart, and Mark Griffin investigate ways to split user stories so they fit in a sprint. Some methods are far preferable—and even easier—than others. Sometimes it just means setting yourself up to make your user sto...
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Season 5
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Episode 42
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57:30
#41 Special Guest: John Belbute, Engineering Metrics
What metrics make sense for a development team? How do you talk about productivity? Construx friend John Belbute joins Construx’s Steve Tockey, Earl Beede, and Mark Griffin to talk about engineering metrics. John has been a software leader at m...
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Season 5
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Episode 41
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54:35
#40 Waterfall vs. Agile 2023
It's been over two decades since we were told that Waterfall development is bad and Agile development is good. Construx's Earl Beede recently did a webinar on the subject (available on YouTube). This Inspect and Adapt looks at some of the comme...
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Season 4
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Episode 40
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55:43
#39 Product Owner vs. Product Manager
There is a lot of confusion about where the job or role of product owner ends and that of product manager begins. Construx's Earl Beede recently did a webinar on the topic. Now Earl is joined by Construx's Jenny Stuart and Mark Griffin to take ...
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Season 4
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Episode 39
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59:07
#38 The Engineering Manager in Agile
You have engineering managers and you want to adopt agile - or are already doing agile - development. Where does your engineering manager fit? What activities and roles do engineering managers play in the agile development organization? J...
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Season 4
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Episode 38
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52:58
#37 2022 Disaster Stories and Improvement Ideas
At the end of 2022, Construx surveyed our clients to hear their best disaster stories of 2022 and what areas they want to improve so they won't repeat their disasters in 2023. Join host Mark Griffin with Construx experts Earl Beede and St...
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Season 4
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Episode 37
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1:04:06
#36 Right-Sizing Software Process: Going Meta
Is there a "best" way or process to develop software? Is there one size fits all? Construx has always said, "no". One of our 10x Principles is "Tailor the Solution to the Problem". Join host Mark Griffin with Construx's Earl Beede and Ste...
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Season 3
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Episode 36
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53:48
#35 Individual Estimation
Individual expert judgment estimation (a.k.a. best guess, gut, swag, etc.) is the most common method of estimating development projects. Yet it almost always is not a good estimate. Join host Mark Griffin with Construx's Earl Beede and Steve To...
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Season 3
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Episode 35
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59:02
#34 Backlog Refinement
Backlog Refinement is a practice that most agile teams should do - but many don't. Join host Mark Griffin with Construx's Jenny Stuart and Earl Beede to Inspect & Adapt backlog refinement. We cover how bac...
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Season 3
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Episode 34
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1:08:17
#33 How Much Testing Is Enough?
"How much testing is enough?" is a question Construx gets asked a lot. Join host Mark Griffin with Construx's Brian Daugherty and Steve Tockey for an Inspect and Adapt of the enough testing question. We cover the drivers of test...
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Season 3
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Episode 33
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59:07
#32 Leadership for Women in Software
What does it mean to bring your full self as a woman to leadership in a software or technical organization? Join Construx's Mark Griffin as he interviews Jessica Garcia about how to deal with the challenges of leadership specifically as experie...
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Season 3
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Episode 32
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43:40