Presentation (video): Pair Programming Re-Design
Presentation by Larry Leifer, Professor of Mechanical Engineering Design and founding Director of the Stanford Center for Design Research (CDR).
“…this study examines professional pair-programming practices in detail to understand when, how, and when pair programming is most effective. “
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I’ll take two.
The moon disaster that never happened
“Fate has ordained that the men who went to the Moon to explore in peace will stay on the Moon to rest in peace…”
- President Richard Nixon’s archives
The line above is a from a memo written by Bill Safire, President Nixon’s speechwritter to the Whitehouse Chief of Staff Harry (“Bob”) Haldeman (made famous by Watergate and All the President’s Men).
‘Sick Sigma’? Is quality a waste of time?
“…why are companies that embraced Six Sigma..doing no better in this downturn than the companies that ignored it?”
Six Sigma mystique takes beating in downturn, Reuters, April 29, 20090
This is how bad rumors start…
Companies don’t make products, they make decisions
Behavioral economics & corporate decision making
Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman encourages us to think of companies not as mechanisms for manufacturing products but for manufacturing decisions. Several “user friendly” practices are described to improve decision making quality including conducting pre-mortems.
(Source: McKinsey & Co.)
Your turn to be a Web marketing guru
First, read this quote from a recent article entitled: “Amazon’s Simple Little Secret” [Forbes.com, May 5, 2009]
“…according to internal traffic numbers, a few years ago, [guess what?????] was the only feature with a measurable impact on how long a user stayed on Amazon’s page”
Okay, it’s your turn to play marketing guru. What’s the ONLY feature that increased session duration? Read the article at Forbes.com to see if you were right!
This bird dances better than me.
And probably you too
5 Important Videos on the Flu (Swine, Bird, 1918)
1. What can we learn from the 1918 flu pandemic?
(Source: Ted.com | Presenter: Pulitzer Prize winner Laurie Garrett)
Wise vs. smart problem solving
Question: How do smart people solve problems? Answer: They develop complex solutions.
Better Question: How do wise people solve problems? Answer: They simplify the problem to eliminate the need for complex solutions.
This is the first lesson on lean I ever learned. To quote from the source:
“Instead of developing complex solutions, the Japanese way is to simplify the problem.”
Thought it’s nearly 17 years old, Japanese Manufacturing Techniques: Nine Hidden Lessons in Simplicity by Richard (buy it @ Amazon | read it online at Google) is an important book to read.