InfoQ

Culture & Methods Trends Report March 2021

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  • COVID-19 was the biggest driver of culture change in the last year
  • There are dramatic differences between good and bad remote work cultures
  • Management practices are evolving to adapt to the new ways of working and the expectations of the workforce
  • Creating real psychological safety and focusing on employee experience is hard, but pays off in terms of engagement, motivation and outcomes
  • Ethical issues, diversity and inclusion and tech for good make a difference and need to be addressed purposefully.

COVID-19 was the largest influence of change in the culture and methods space in 2020 and the knock on effects in 2021 are driving many of the trends we see at this time.  The previous trends report was released early in the pandemic and we now have a year’s worth of content to explore how the IT world has adapted and responded. There have been many examples of great collaboration, teamwork and adapting to new ways of working along with plenty of stories of hardship, Zoom Fatigue, mental and physical health challenges and other impacts as people have adapted to working from home, managers have changed long-held beliefs about remote work and organisations have adopted new technologies to support the shift.

Source: Culture & Methods Trends Report March 2021

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Engineering Culture Trends Report – March 2021

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In this podcast the Culture and Methods editorial team discuss their views on the current state and trends in the Culture and Methods area that they monitor.  The editorial team consists of Ben Linders, Craig Smith, Doug Talbot, Raf Gemmail, Shaaron Alvares and Shane Hastie. Unfortunately Shaaron was unable to join in the recording, however her perspectives are included in this and in the accompanying trends report article.

Source: Engineering Culture Trends Report – March 2021

Draft Published of the Code of Ethical Conduct for Agile Coaching

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The Agile Coaching Ethics Initiative has published a draft code of ethics that aims to raise the standards around agile coaching. It runs under the auspices of the Agile Alliance to independently represent the wider agile community.

The January 2021 draft of Code of Ethical Conduct consists of 18 points covering 9 subject areas:

  • Confidentiality and information security
  • Acting within your ability
  • Introspection and continuing professional development
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Social responsibility, including diversity and inclusion
  • Ensuring the relationship is valuable for both coach and the client
  • Agreeing on boundaries
  • Abuse of power
  • Responsibility to the profession

The Ethics Scenarios provide guidance on how the code relates to common challenges experienced by agile coaches, whether they are experienced or new to the role.

The expectation is that anyone taking on agile coaching at any level in an organisation will be able to use this code to help guide their behavior when faced with ethical dilemmas.

For questions and feedback on the code of ethics and the related agile scenarios, you can contact the initiative team at AgileCoachingEthics@agilealliance.org.

InfoQ interviewed Craig Smith and Shane Hastie about the code of ethical conduct.

Source: Draft Published of the Code of Ethical Conduct for Agile Coaching

Software Teams and Teamwork Trends Report Q1 2020

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  • Remote work is suddenly the new normal due to the impact of COVID-19, and many teams are not fully ready for the change
  • The spread of agile ideas into other areas of organizations continues—business agility is becoming much more than just a buzzword
  • At the practices level, Wardley Mapping is one of the few truly new ideas that have come into this space recently. Invented by Simon Wardley in 2005, they are gaining traction because they are truly a powerful tool for making sense of complexity.
  • The depth of impact that computing technology has on society has heightened the focus on ethical behavior and the move towards creating an ethical framework for software development, as well as growing concern in the environmental impact the industry has.
  • Diversity and inclusion efforts are moving forward, with a long way still to go
  • Practices and approaches that result in more humanistic workplaces, where people can express their whole selves, are recognized as important for attracting and retaining the best people and result in more sustainably profitable organizations

Source: Software Teams and Teamwork Trends Report Q1 2020

Culture & Methods – the State of Practice in 2019

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The latest Culture and Methods Topic Graph shows the topics that the editorial team feels are gaining traction and should be explored at the beginning of 2019.

Source: Culture & Methods – the State of Practice in 2019

The 2018 InfoQ Editors’ Recommended Reading List: Part Two

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As part of our core values of sharing knowledge, the InfoQ editors were keen to capture and share our book and article recommendations for 2018, so that others can benefit from this too. In this second part we are sharing the final batch of recommendations

Source: The 2018 InfoQ Editors’ Recommended Reading List: Part Two

ThoughtWorks Sold to Private Equity Firm Apax Partners

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Global software development and digital transformation company ThoughtWorks is to be acquired by London-based private equity firm Apax Partners. The terms of the deal were not disclosed and it is expected to close in Q4 2017.

Source: ThoughtWorks Sold to Private Equity Firm Apax Partners

Agile 2017 Keynote: Creating Leadership and Engagement at Every Level

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At the recent Agile 2017 conference in Orlando, David Marquet, retired Navy captain and author of best selling book “Turn The Ship Around!” gave an entertaining keynote on intent-based leadership.

Source: Agile 2017 Keynote: Creating Leadership and Engagement at Every Level

Jenkins Gets a Facelift with Release of Blue Ocean 1.0

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Jenkins, the popular open source automation server that is used by development teams worldwide for continuous integration and continuous delivery pipelines, has recently announced the general availability of Blue Ocean 1.0.

Source: Jenkins Gets a Facelift with Release of Blue Ocean 1.0

Opinion: What 2017 Has in Store for Culture & Methods

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InfoQWe polled the InfoQ Culture & Methods editors for their takes on what 2017 has in store for the technology industry, what are the trends which we see coming to the fore and what the implications will be for organizations around the globe.

Source: Opinion: What 2017 Has in Store for Culture & Methods