show episodes
 
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 wh ...
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show series
 
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? That is reverse agile scaling. Join Construx’s Mark Griffin, Jenny Stuart, and Earl Beede as they share strat…
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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. Knowing the targeted value is critical for prioritization and scope control and for knowing when to stop. It is also t…
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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 Earl Beede recently spoke with Inogen's Norbert Leinfellner and Horst Pichler, who have decades of experience leading this transition. We kick off 2024 with an Inspect & Adapt…
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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 stories split-able. Earl and Jenny will share their stories from the trenches and explain how they assist tea…
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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 many companies, including Intuit, WebMD, eBay and Capita CCS and is now semi-retired with his own coaching …
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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 comments and questions that came up. Earl is joined by host Mark Griffin and Jenny Stuart as they take a fresh …
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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? Join Construx's Jenny Stuart, Mark Griffin, and Earl Beede as they discuss how organizations can Inspect & Adapt …
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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 Steve Tockey as they Inspect and Adapt those disaster stories and improvement opportunities.…
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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 Steve Tockey for an Inspect and Adapt of right-sizing software development process. We cover the process for figuri…
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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 Tockey for an Inspect and Adapt of individual estimation. We cover the pitfalls of individual estimation but…
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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 backlog refinement has become a critical part of agile teams, how it should work, common mistakes in backlog refinement, and how it adapts to differ…
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"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 testing, strategies to help determine "enough," and the common mistakes organizations make when developing and executing tests…
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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 experienced by women. Jessica leads and coaches women toward both leadership and authenticity. She will go over h…
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Many, if not most, agile teams include the practice of a daily gathering. It goes by slightly different names: the daily standup, the daily scrum, or walking the board. Join host Mark Griffin with Construx's Jenny Stuart and Earl Beede for an inspect and adapt of the daily. We cover the daily's origins, how it differs across agile approaches, commo…
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Matt, Colin and Tom come together to rank the Halo Infinite sets we've received from Mega Construx so far. Join the team for a deep dive into the most recent Halo game and some of the coolest merchandise to be created based on it! Thank you for your support! LEARN MORE Halo Mega Construx Official Website: https://www.megaconstrux.com/en-us/halo SUP…
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Gabe leads a conversation on the best Micro Action Figures to grace our collections in this deep dive into the annals of the Mega Construx & Mega Bloks lines. Matt invades about 3/4 of the way into the show to share a handful of his own favorites. Thank you for your support! LEARN MORE Halo Mega Construx Official Website: https://www.megaconstrux.c…
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Brick Man 117 returns to the show to talk through his incredible Banished AA Gun with Colin & Tom. If that's not enough, then the trio also dive deep into their highlights from 2021. Thank you for your support! LEARN MORE Check out Brick Man 117's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrhkKHWEBHmiJPQHvrcQ7Ag SUPPORT THE SHOW PATREON: ht…
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The Builds with Blocks crew is back and they are talking all things Halo Infinite! In this episode, the crew not only has a full on spoiler discussion of Halo Infinite but they also compare and contrast the Mega Construx set with their in game representation! Thank you for your support! LEARN MORE Halo Mega Construx Official Website: https://www.me…
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Colin and Tom are joined by Kevin & Laird from Halo Collector to discuss the Halo Collecting Community, places to find cool merchandise AND the memorabilia you can't go without this holiday season! We’d love to hear your thoughts…enjoy! LEARN MORE Halo Collector's Facebook Page:: https://www.facebook.com/Halocollector/ SUPPORT THE SHOW PATREON: htt…
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Hearing about different scaling frameworks and wondering which one is for you? Join host Mark Griffin and guest Jenny Stuart for an overview of the popular Agile scaling frameworks SAFe, Nexus, and LeSS, including their strengths and relative weaknesses. We’ll cover the frameworks’ core techniques and approaches; this will provide you with a basis …
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In this episode, the Builds With Blocks crew talk about their favorite Mega Construx sets from Halo 5: Guardians. We’d love to hear your thoughts…enjoy! LEARN MORE Halo Mega Construx Official Website: https://www.megaconstrux.com/en-us/halo SUPPORT THE SHOW PATREON: https://www.halopodcast.com/patreon PAYPAL: https://www.paypal.me/podcastevolved EV…
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The Builds With Blocks crew are here to officially reveal the Spring 2022 Mega Construx sets - thanks to a partnership with the Mega team. Hear Kevin_MCX talk through each set and share insight into how it was created. We’d love to hear your thoughts…enjoy! LEARN MORE Halo Mega Construx Official Website: https://www.megaconstrux.com/en-us/halo SUPP…
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Kevin_MCX joins Builds with Blocks to discuss the history of the Mega Construx micro action figure. Then, Kevin's unveils his team's plans for creating the fan vote winning figure, Spartan Haunted. Turns out, it will be much more than just a new head mold! LEARN MORE Halo Mega Construx Official Website: https://www.megaconstrux.com/en-us/halo SUPPO…
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The Builds with Blocks crew share their thoughts on the Fall offerings from Mega Construx. We'd love to hear your thoughts...Enjoy! LEARN MORE Halo Mega Construx Official Website: https://www.megaconstrux.com/en-us/halo SUPPORT THE SHOW PATREON: https://www.halopodcast.com/patreon PAYPAL: https://www.paypal.me/podcastevolved EVEN MORE MERCH: https:…
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Today’s episode focuses on the very basis of Agile: its principles and values. Steve McConnell recently gave a keynote at XP2021 in which he said they need to be updated. You'll hear a quick recap of Agile’s beginnings, what was happening in software development when people got together at that Snowbird conference: primarily "code & fix" and the SW…
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Working with external software development partners often increases stress for the existing internal staff. A Construx client asked us to conduct research with our clients on approaches to reducing this stress. We identified six recommendations and related specific actions that organizations can take to decrease internal stress and improve overall …
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Daniel Bovee from Misriah Armory joins the Builds with Blocks crew to help rank the best sets from the NMPD and ODST themed Mega Bloks/Construx sets. Daniel has nearly completed his quest to collect every micro action figure from the Halo line, with only a handful of elusive figures remaining. Colin, Gabe, and Matt dig in on his massive collection …
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Ian from Halo Canon joins the Builds with Blocks crew to discuss collecting Mega Bloks/Mega Construx from a different perspective. Colin, Gabe, and Tom discuss his history with brick based construction sets, LEGO Bionicle, and his wish list for future sets. The show closes with a little E3 speculation. We'd love to hear your thoughts...Enjoy! LEARN…
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E3 is drawing near and the next wave of Mega Construx product announcements is likely to follow soon afterwards. The Builds with Blocks crew peer deep into their crystal balls and make some bold predictions about the sets they'd like to see released in stores later this year. Join them for a fun conversation and we can see how wrong they were in a …
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The Flood is universally revered by fans as a necessary pillar of the Halo Universe. While most of us love to hate them, no one can argue that Halo would be the same without these grotesque zombies led by their giant omniscient tentacle. Over the years, Mega Brands has provided a number of figures and sets that pay homage to the Flood as we await t…
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Construx VP of Consulting Jenny Stuart and Mark Griffin cleared up common misconceptions about Kanban in Episode #19. In Episode #24, they discussed numerous best practices for establishing and optimizing your Kanban system. Here, they focus on seeing the big picture—working with Kanban at higher levels of workflow. Topics included setting up progr…
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The Builds with Blocks crew reacts to Mega Construx's Halo Infinite Series 3 Blind Bags reveal! Gabe leads the conversation as Tom, Matt, and Colin chip in with their thoughts and identify favorites. Then, the team dreams up their own individual blind bag series they'd love to see produced. You won't believe what's included in 4 very unique sets of…
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Halo: Combat Evolved released in 2001, eight years before the first Mega Bloks sets were first on shelves. Since then, most sets released have been focused on the current games. However, Mega Brands has made it a priority to create a collection that pays homage to Halo’s roots. Join the Builds with Blocks crew as they share their favorite sets them…
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Join Builds with Blocks for a special interview with John Friend! The crew takes a deep dive into merchandising from the perspective of the team at 343 Industries and Microsoft. A huge thanks to John, 343 Industries, and the Microsoft team for making this interview possible ahead of Halo Infinite's release later this year! We'd love to hear your th…
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For the past year, Steve McConnell has applied his extensive estimation expertise to a timely problem: Covid-19 forecasting. Steve’s Covid Complete Data Center provides US national data, state data for every state, state scorecards, forecasts, forecast evaluations, and other data on the pandemic: https://stevemcconnell.com/covidcomplete/ His Covid …
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The Builds with Blocks crew have finally tracked down all of the new Halo Mega Construx sets available this spring. Tom, Matt, Gabe, and Colin discuss their hands on impressions of the first Halo Infinite sets to drop in 2021. Sets Discussed: -Halo Infinite Series 2 Blind Bags -Hijacked Ghost -Mini Helmets -Mercenary Combat Unit -UNSC Combat Unit -…
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We thought we’d do something fun to start our second season and use a familiar vehicle to help new listeners and our old friends understand Construx’s software engineering expertise. And how are we going to do that? We’re going to use beer! You might be thinking, "Well, now you have my attention." Host Mark Griffin and Construx consultant Steve Toc…
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Halo Reach's unique, gritty art style is largely a fan favorite and Mega Brands has done a fantastic job of capturing that essence with their construction sets and figures over the years. Gabe leads the Builds with Blocks crew through a debate about the best Mega Bloks / Mega Construx sets that feature elements from Halo Reach. We'd love to hear yo…
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Joe from Gun Nut Productions joins Builds with Blocks for a fresh season of Creator Chat! The team goes in depth with one of the most successful community members to animate with Mega Bloks. Using a visceral art style, Gun Nut Productions breaths unique life into the Halo universe with his stories. We'd love to hear your thoughts...Enjoy! GUN NUT P…
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**Disclaimer** We had some technical difficulties during recording and did the best we could to salvage the audio fidelity during post-production. Apologies for a few rough patches. Builds with Blocks goes back to the beginning! Join Matt, Gabe, Tom and Colin as they rank the best sets based on the original Halo Wars era. Mega Bloks' first wave of …
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Our final Builds with Blocks episode of 2020 reflects across the year we have had. The crew starts the show with some fun banter about how they've closed out the year before diving into a month by month recap of all the Halo Mega Construx news, set releases and community highlights. We'd love to hear your thoughts...Enjoy! SUPPORT THE SHOW PATREON:…
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The Builds with Blocks Boys are Back! In this episode of the show Colin, Matt, Tom, and Gabe discuss the alternate builds from the Mega Construx Halo Infinite Line! The crew goes through the pros and cons of these additional builds. We'd love to hear your thoughts...Enjoy! SUPPORT THE SHOW PATREON: https://www.halopodcast.com/patreon PAYPAL: https:…
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Listen to the Builds with Blocks crew debate the best sets from the Halo 4 era! Tom, Matt, Gabe and Colin have identified all of the sets that feature characters, vehicles, structures, and events from 343 Industries' first original game and determine which one stands above the rest. Things get a bit more intense than normal...you won't want to miss…
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Lead Product Designer Kevin_MCX from Mega Construx joins the Builds with Blocks crew for exclusive insights on the the set design process. Tom, Matt, Gabe and Colin discuss Kevin's history with the Halo license, the process to create the new Halo Infinite sets, and some fun behind the scenes stories from the design team the over the years. They clo…
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Gabe from GCustomsCreations officially joins the Builds with Blocks crew on this figure focused episode! Tom, Matt, Colin and Gabe provide a deeper analysis of the 1st wave of Halo Infinite blind bags and two of the figure packs that are finally available. Colin also provides an overview of the buildable Master Chief Helmet. Sets covered in this ep…
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Construx VP of Consulting Jenny Stuart and Mark Griffin cleared up common misconceptions about Kanban in the first episode in this series (episode #19). This time they cover numerous best practices for establishing your initial Kanban system—determining work item types, workflow, work state policies, work-in-progress limits, and more—and running it…
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Pelican Inbound is Here! Colin, Tom, and Matt are Back with in-depth thoughts on the newest Pelican to join the Mega Construx line. We hope that their analysis provides you with a complete overview of this set! Thanks to Mega Construx for providing each of us with a copy of the Pelican for review purposes. We'd love to hear your thoughts...Enjoy! S…
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The team bring you an ODST special to commemorate the launch of Halo 3: ODST on the Master Chief Collection on PC and Xbox One. We dive feet first into hell with special guest Thomas Bovee as we discuss all things Orbital Drop Shock Trooper. We'd love to hear your thoughts...Enjoy! SUPPORT THE SHOW PATREON: https://www.halopodcast.com/patreon PAYPA…
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