W. Edward Deming’s influential work, crystallized in his seminal book Out of the Crisis, established a philosophical and practical foundation that revolutionized global industry and continues to form the bedrock of the modern Lean and Agile movements. His philosophy demands that leadership shift from arbitrary targets and fear-based management to a systematic, knowledge-driven approach. Deming’s primary mandate for management is encapsulated in the first of his 14 Points: Constancy of Purpose. This principle holds that management should dedicate itself to long-term improvement rather than succumb to short-sighted, reactive cost-cutting purges. Ignoring this constancy ensures a system destined for inefficiency and eventual decline.
(more…)November 19, 2025
W. Edward Deming and the Perpetual Cycle of Quality
Posted by tcagley under Quality | Tags: Deming, Management, Quality |1 Comment
July 20, 2025
🍝 When Management Won’t Buy In, A Panel Discussion, SPaMCAST 871
Posted by tcagley under Change, Process Improvement | Tags: Change, Management, Process Improvement |Leave a Comment
Pushing cooked spaghetti uphill…is exhausting.
Why it matters: It is hard to make change happen if leaders provide lip service to the cause. It is impossible if they actively oppose change. So what are you going to do?
Panelists include:
Jeremy Berriault – https://berriaultandassociates.com/
Jeremy Willets – https://www.jeremywillets.com/
Jon M Quigley – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonmquigley/
Brad Bittorf– https://www.linkedin.com/in/bittorfbradley/
Me – www.tomcagley.com
Mastering Work Intake sponsors SPaMCAST!
(more…)May 26, 2024
Committees to Dodge Responsibility, Certifications, Essays and Conversations, SPaMCAST 811
Posted by tcagley under Management | Tags: Management, Parente |Leave a Comment
When I published Accountability vs. Responsibility I did not anticipate being drawn back into the discussion of whether committees can be accountable and responsible. Over the last few weeks, I have observed several “product meetings.” In these meetings, consensus decisions are being made about releases, what they will contain, and a marketing approach. These are committee meetings. Is the committee accountable for their decisions and to whom? It is not a moot point!
In mid-2008, I wrote “Responsibility, Got Some?” As I considered the topic of accountability and responsibility, I re-read the piece and polished it a bit. It speaks to the idea of committees and the diffusion of responsibility. So a little detour on our summer road trip.
We also have a visit from Susan Parente. Susan and I discussed certifications. Does having a bunch make sense or does it reflect mass insanity? The answer is…it depends.
(more…)March 17, 2024
Beyond Buzzwords – Rethinking Collaboration in Software Development and Prioritization vs. Micromanagement – Finding the Right Balance – SPaMCAST 799
Posted by tcagley under Agile, Management, Uncategorized | Tags: Buzzwords, Management, Quigley |Leave a Comment
The Software Process and Measurement Cast 799 discusses why all communication is not collaboration. It is a commonly held belief that complex problems require collaborative efforts to solve. Couple that with an almost fad-like insistence that if a little collaboration is good, more is better, which leads to everything being deemed collaboration. We can do better with a little effort.
We will also have a visit from Jon M Quigley and his Alpha and Omega of Product Development column. Mr Quigley and I talk about prioritization as micromanagement. And how if you are not there to pick up the pieces when work is pushed into an organization you have a poor perspective.
(more…)October 1, 2023
SPaMCAST 775 – Re-release SPaMCAST 635 – Practical Ways to Manage, A Conversation with Johanna Rothman
Posted by tcagley under Agile | Tags: Management, Rothman |Leave a Comment
We are on our annual holiday and will return with new programs on October 22nd. The Software Process and Measurement Cast 775 is a re-release of SPaMCAST 635 – Practical Ways to Manage, A Conversation with Johanna Rothman. The show was originally released on January 24, 2021. It was one of the SPaMCAST’s many anniversary editions. Enjoy our conversation
(more…)September 10, 2023
SPaMCAST 772 – New Engineering Managers, Don’t Be A Victim, A Conversation With Ahmed Wasfy
Posted by tcagley under Leadership, Management | Tags: Leadership, Management, Wasfy |Leave a Comment
The Software Process and Measurement Cast 772 features our interview with Ahmed Wasfy. We discuss the role of the engineering manager and how people learn to be engineering managers. Coming to grips with the new role requires learning new skills not just rehashed technical skills. Ahmed, advises new leaders to take control of their careers and not to be a victim.
Ahmed is an experienced engineering leader, having led teams at Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. In addition to his day job, Ahmed also helps engineering managers become effective leaders through his coaching.
Links
Instagram: https://instagram.com/a1wasfy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/awasfy/
Website: https://www.thethrivingem.com/
(more…)June 12, 2022
SPaMCAST 707 – Leadership And Management, Next Re-read Saturday Books, A Conversation With Susan Parente
Posted by tcagley under Leadership | Tags: Leadership, Management, Parente |Leave a Comment
In SPaMCAST 707 Susan Parente and I discuss the difference between leadership and management in her Not A Scrumdamentalist column. These two concepts are related but not the same.
The votes are in! The next three books for Re-read Saturday are:
Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Arkins https://amzn.to/38G0ZD3
Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching by Bob Galen https://amzn.to/3wJsbtS
Team Topologies by Matthew Skelton, Manuel Pais, and Ruth Malan https://amzn.to/3yXINzo
(more…)April 13, 2021
Work Entry Definitions
Posted by tcagley under Work Entry | Tags: Management, Work Entry |Leave a Comment
How work comes to a team and the decision process deciding which work to start is the definition of work entry. Every team has a work entry process. Work entry ranges from highly controlled (Scrum for example) to everyone for themselves. The term, work entry, doesn’t have the fuzziest, user-friendly feel to it, however, you ignore this process at your own peril. It is the single most important determinant of whether an organization, team, or individual is going to embrace the ideals of the agile mindset. Understanding work entry requires grasping four concepts:
(more…)January 24, 2021
SPaMCAST 635 – Practical Ways to Manage, A Conversation with Johanna Rothman
Posted by tcagley under Agile, Management | Tags: Agile, Management, Rothman |Leave a Comment
Cue the music . . . Happy Birthday, Software Process and Measurement Cast! Today we begin year 15 with a visit from Johanna Rothman. We talked about her THREE new books:
Practical Ways to Manage Yourself: Modern Management Made Easy, Book 1 https://amzn.to/2LXKkiQ
Practical Ways to Lead & Serve (Manage) Others: Modern Management Made Easy, Book 2 – https://amzn.to/39Viwnj
Practical Ways to Lead an Innovative Organization: Modern Management Made Easy, Book 3 – https://amzn.to/3qS90Z3
We of course covered more ground. For example about 2/3rds of the way through we talked about why the word experiment is a dirty word in most organizations. This is a longer interview, but when I grow up I want to be just like Johanna (I am serious). Here is her bio:
Johanna Rothman, known as the “Pragmatic Manager,” offers frank advice for your tough problems. She helps leaders and teams do reasonable things that work. Equipped with that knowledge, they can decide how to adapt their product development.
With her trademark practicality and humor, Johanna is the author of 18 books about many aspects of product development. Her most recent books are the Modern Management Made Easy series, From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams (with Mark Kilby) and Create Your Successful Agile Project: Collaborate, Measure, Estimate, Deliver.
See all her books, blog, and other resources at jrothman.com and createadaptablelife.com.
The Software Process and Measurement Cast is a proud media sponsor of the DevOps Online Summit.
Not to put too fine a point on it, one of the best ways to get your message heard is to speak. The crew at the DevOps Online Summit provides a phenomenal platform to network with fellow practitioners from all over the world. Start the journey to speaking at the DevOps Online Summit 2021 by submitting at https://bit.ly/3syp2c5
Re-Read Saturday News
Today we take on Chapter 7 of Great Big Agile, An OS for Agile Leaders by Jeff Dalton. In three more weeks, we will begin Fixing Your Scrum: Practical Solutions to Common Scrum Problems (it is time to buy a copy).
Remember, buy a copy and read along.
This week’s installment can be found at http://www.tomcagley.com/blog
Previous installments:
Week 1: Re-read Logistics and Front Matters – https://bit.ly/3mgz9P6
Week 2: The API Is Broken – https://bit.ly/2JGpe7l
Week 3: Performance Circle: Leading – https://bit.ly/2K3poWy
Week 4: Performance Circle: Providing – http://bit.ly/3mNJJN7
Week 5: Performance Circle: Envisioning – https://bit.ly/2JEVXdt
Week 6: Performance Circle: Crafting – https://bit.ly/3ntsX69
Week 7: Performance Circle: Affirming – http://bit.ly/35OvFgC
Week 8: Performance Circle: Teaming – http://bit.ly/366CYk0
Next SPaMCAST
User Stories and Tony Timbol will take center stage. User stories are ubiquitous in agile. Getting them right is really important. Tony gives us some ideas to move the ball forward.
August 13, 2019
Work-in-progress, work entry and “no” are highly interrelated. Not saying no generates a cascade failure that reduces efficiency, quality, and value, while at the same time increasing cost, time-to-market, and turnover. Any way you slice an organization not judiciously saying no is a prescription for disaster. In the essay, Why Work Entry Is Important In Agile, we discussed the serious disruptions that occur when a team can’t or won’t control the flow of work to the team. The uncontrolled flow of work causes: (more…)
Software Process and Measurement 