Metrics
Derek Huether
Most Important Metric for an Enterprise

As an executive, you will be faced with the choice to do the pivot (if you can) or persevere (if you have no other choice). This will lead to a series of “bets”. You lead with a hypothesis that the things you change will allow you to operate at pre-event levels. But, how long will it actually take for you to validate your hypothesis and have a bet pay off with pre-event levels? If you run out of time to figure it out or run out of bets you can place, then you either lose your standing in the market or worse risk going out of business.

Derek Huether
How to identify dependencies with Tableau and ...

Regardless of the organization or institution, there will always be dependencies. The larger the organization, the greater chance of the existence of dependencies.
This template is available for download from Tableau Public

Video
Derek Huether
Value Stream Management

In the following interview (both video and audio), Dave Prior and I explore why Value Stream Management is so important, how it works, the connection to Value Stream Mapping, and how you can get started with it.

Derek Huether
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are metrics that are used to evaluate the performance of an organization or individual. They are used to measure progress towards achieving specific goals or objectives and to determine whether an organization or individual is meeting their targets.

Enterprise Insights, Jira Align, Metrics, Tableau
Derek Huether
How Atlassian Jira Align Supports Flow Metrics

I keep getting asked, does Jira Align support Flow Metrics, as defined in the Flow Framework and SAFe? The short answer is yes. If you believe these metrics will help unlock the potential of your teams, use this community post to see working examples of Tableau reports I have created using Jira Align and Enterprise Insights.

How Atlassian Jira Align Supports Flow Metrics

ADD

Cruel and Unusual

lockedToday was my first day of being sequestered.  For those who don't know, I've been named as a technical advisor for a contract source selection committee.  As part of the process, 12 people are to sit in a room and review submitted proposals/quotes. Today was our first day.  What I will say is the time I spent in that room was very painful.  Though I sat on a jury back in 2010, that was nothing compared to this. I've been told that I will be sitting in this room, with no access to the Internet, for 8 hours a day for the next 5 weeks.  I'm not allowed to have my phone turned on.  I'm not allowed to do anything but to read and read and read.  This is not supposed to be punishment.  We were selected because each of us is considered Subject Matter Expert (SME).

Being asked to read hundreds and hundreds of pages of text a day, with no real break, is like cruel and unusual punishment to me.  I'm a guy with ADD and I'll be in a room with people and not allowed to talk to them.  This should get interesting.

So, I am going to apologize if I'm a little quiet on Twitter.  I will continue to post on my blog at night.  During the day, I plan to drink pots of coffee so I can have as many breaks as the smokers.  That will give me a chance to log in via my phone and see what is happening in the world.

Drawing by Pictofigo

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Pomodora Relationship

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I have a dirty little secret.  I have an on-again off-again love affair with the Pomodoro technique.  Though I deal with a wicked case of ADD, I seem to keep it in check, thanks in part to my Personal Kanban.  The other method I use, though I admit not as commonly, is a pomodoro timer.  When things get really bad, I break out the timer.  And ya know, things get back on track!  You'd think I would learn. If you find yourself reading this blog, you'll find that I'm a proponent of  using simple techniques to get things done.  If you're looking for me to do a deep dive on policy, process, and procedure, you're in the wrong place.

So, how do I get some of my work done?  [1] I limit my work in progress (WIP) and [2] I limit my time (timebox). When I do both, I tend to stay focused and deliver more. The pomodoro technique, like other techniques I like, is pretty darned simple.

So, let's talk about my Piggy Pomodoro!

  1. Choose a task to be accomplished
  2. Set the Pomodoro to 25 minutes (the Pomodoro is the timer)
  3. Work on the task until the Pomodoro rings, annotate the task you were working on
  4. Take a short break (I take 5 minutes)
  5. Every 4 Pomodoros take a longer break (I take 10 minutes)

As part of this process, I'm moving tasks on my Kanban from Backlog to Work in Progress.  If I take a break, I move it to Blocked.  When I return, I move it back to Work in Progress.  This allows me to visualize what I'm working on and know what I was working on before my break.

Have a Kanban or Pomodoro story?  I would love to hear it.

Why do I use a Piggy, you ask?  Because tomatoes give me gas and Chickens would just be wrong.

Image:  Amazon