Category: knowledge

Seven Principles of Lean Software Development - Create Knowledge

December 11, 2008 by Przemysław Bielicki

Picture courtesy of J.C.Rojas@flickr

"There is no fool like an old fool" says popular international proverb. One of the meanings of this proverb is that people can make mistakes but they should learn from them. You are not a fool if you make mistake but you become one if you make the same mistake again. It simply means that you're not learning.

The same rules apply to the software development teams - it's much easier to work in an environment that encourages you to learn and to create knowledge. Why should you create knowledge? Well, the best way to learn something is to make mistakes by yourself but it wouldn't be wise to let all the engineers invent the wheel all over again. It's much better to teach them about what we already know, what works and what doesn't. It's much better and safer (yet a bit less effective) to learn from someone else's mistakes.

In this post I will try to explain "Create Knowledge" principle from "Implementing Lean Software Development - from Concept to Cash" book.

Professionalism = Knowledge First, Experience Last

July 22, 2008 by JurgenAppelo

Do you trust a doctor with diagnosing your mental problems if the doctor tells you he's got 20 years of experience? Do you still trust that doctor when he picks up a knife and ice picks, and asks you to prepare for a lobotomy?

Note: A lobotomy, or leukotomy, which involves the cutting of connections to and from the prefrontal cortex, was used on many thousands of patients all over the world in the 20th century. These days it is seen as "one of the most barbaric mistakes ever perpetrated by mainstream medicine".

Would you still be impressed if the doctor had 20 years of experience in carrying out lobotomies?

I am always skeptic when people tell me they have X years of experience in a certain field or discipline, like "5 years of experience as a .NET developer", "8 years of experience as a project manager" or "12 years of experience as a development manager". It is as if people's professional levels need to be measured in years of practice.

This, of course, is nonsense.