Every organisation has a different way of working.
Way of Working
09 April 2020 • 10 minutes • Written by Christine Chien
How do you identify risks in software development? This article will examine 10 of the biggest risks in software development, why they occur, and how you can mitigate these software risks.
Way of Working
03 March 2021 • 5 minutes
Once you understand the problem more, the team now can move onto one of the most important stages that is often over looked, Observe.
Way of Working
03 March 2021 • 7 minutes
The first part the scoping process is understanding the problem. This article will help you understand how to Understand.
Way of Working
03 March 2021 • 6 minutes
With your understanding of the problem now rock solid and validated, and the people who you hope to impact have been observed, now it is time for the most intense and rewarding stage of the scope, Ideate.
Way of Working
01 March 2021 • 1 minute
Before you start to visualise the product, you should have a grasp of the brand identity you are building towards.
Way of Working
01 March 2021 • 3 minutes
Have a chat with your users to gain insights into what they need and want and how your product can solve problems they are facing.
Way of Working
01 March 2021 • 3 minutes
Effectively matching estimation to reality.
Way of Working
01 March 2021 • 3 minutes
Create more scalable spreadsheets.
Way of Working
01 March 2021 • 4 minutes
Reduce risk and complexity when migrating large legacy systems.
Way of Working
01 March 2021 • 4 minutes
Reverse engineer your requirements to set the stage for success.
Way of Working
01 March 2021 • 1 minute
The typical starting point for a new Codebots application.
Way of Working
01 March 2021 • 3 minutes
Figure out the community of people involved in your app.
Way of Working
01 March 2021 • 4 minutes
Embrace an experimental mindset and encourage an investigative culture in your team.
Way of Working
01 March 2021 • 2 minutes
Card sorting allows the scoping team to throw up all potential functionality up onto the wall. Once it’s all up there we can begin to sort them into MUST haves, SHOULD haves and NICE to haves.
Way of Working
01 March 2021 • 6 minutes
Well-managed expectations are crucial to project success.
Way of Working
01 March 2021 • 4 minutes
Systematically record a divide-and-conquer migration pattern.
Way of Working
01 March 2021 • 1 minute
Time to share with the people what you built and see what they think about your ideas.
Way of Working
01 March 2021 • 1 minute
Now you have a rock-solid foundation and know what to start building, time to visualise the product.
Way of Working
01 March 2021 • 1 minute
A model is designed as part of the scoping process for the purpose of creating an early understanding of the way the data will be structured and show this to the client.
Way of Working
01 March 2021 • 7 minutes
Migrate your PDFs to a web-based form.
Way of Working
01 March 2021 • 1 minute
The best way to test a product is with a high-quality prototype that allows the users and project team to really understand what is being made.
Way of Working
25 June 2020 • 2 minutes
So, you have a rough idea for an app to address some problem in your business - what next? Getting started on any software project can often be overwhelming, so it is crucial to be equipped with the right artefacts prior to building your application.
Way of Working
25 June 2020 • 5 minutes
Discussing how often you should be scoping when building software.
Way of Working
24 June 2020 • 4 minutes
This article will help you understand a little more about building a product backlog. The product backlog is the basis for how a software project is estimated and the roadmap constructed. For the old school, the product backlog is a list of requirements.
Way of Working
23 June 2020 • 9 minutes
Or, how do you scope a legacy migration? While we talk about the many different approaches to scoping, there are certain aspects which can be done differently when you are trying to modernise an existing system. This article explores what those differences are, and the most effective way you can modernise your product.
Way of Working
15 June 2020 • 5 minutes
Take the time to lay out the Users Journey through your product, so you understand where all the key interaction points are.
Way of Working
15 June 2020 • 5 minutes
The basics of what you need to make while scoping a product.
Way of Working
15 June 2020 • 16 minutes
Scoping is more than process, its a whole mindset that can help you unlock
Way of Working
15 June 2020 • 7 minutes
Design Thinking is a fantastic method for getting ahead in business.
Way of Working
15 June 2020 • 7 minutes
Understanding the importance of scoping out a project before you begin work.
Way of Working
15 June 2020 • 5 minutes
Look at the big picture to see what groups your problem is affecting and what people you should target your solution towards.
Way of Working
09 June 2020 • 14 minutes
The quick answer is that Scrum uses sprints and delivers software at the end of each iteration. There is a Scrum guide that details all of the principles and practices of Scrum. Scrum is considered to be Agile. On the other hand, Kanban uses a continuous flow of work and delivers software when it is ready. The Kanban philosophy has roots in lean manufacturing and limits the work in progress through a pull mechanism to do work. It can also be considered to be Agile.
Way of Working
05 June 2020 • 6 minutes
Perspective cards is a quick activity to help you gain insight into how your product’s stakeholders or users see your product from their angle and perspective.
Way of Working
02 June 2020 • 14 minutes
Understanding when it is time to foster ideas or when it is time to focus on solutions during a project scope.
Way of Working
02 June 2020 • 4 minutes
The project journey lets you both plan and reflect on activities and lessons in the scoping stage.
Way of Working
22 May 2020 • 7 minutes
What is the activity kit, how was it made and how is it helpful?
Way of Working
22 May 2020 • 6 minutes
A breakdown of how you can go create and document your own Activity Kit item.
Way of Working
22 May 2020 • 13 minutes
A few of the key things you can do when scoping a product to ensure it hits the mark.
Way of Working
22 May 2020 • 9 minutes
Part of being a product designer is learning how to navigate the start of a project so you can help your team and clients understand exactly what needs to happen to get started.
Way of Working
15 May 2020 • 4 minutes
The cone of uncertainty is a powerful tool depicting the uncertainty about the time required to complete a project, based upon the amount of knowledge (or lack thereof) at the beginning of a project. In this article, we explore an experiment conducted by a team of people at Codebots to determine how the application of a cone of uncertainty could enhance project estimations.
Way of Working
15 May 2020 • 3 minutes
Tech spikes are an important part of our Way of Working, as they help us reduce the complexity and unfamiliarity of an issue for high risk projects. The tech spike experiment was conducted following the introduction of the risk matrix, as we began to notice issues that had higher risks were too difficult to estimate with a reasonable level of precision. In this article we will follow the how to propose an experiment methodology to understand why Codebots decided to start using tech spikes in our projects.
Way of Working
13 May 2020 • 3 minutes
In this article we will look at an experiment the Codebots team conducted to discover how we could best manage software risks.
Way of Working
11 May 2020 • 4 minutes
An experiment is a scientific method of evaluating ways to solve a problem. In this article, we’ll explore how we run experiments at Codebots, and explain why it’s essential for all businesses to encourage their employees to develop an experimental mindset.
Way of Working
11 May 2020 • 4 minutes
In an age dominated by the spread of misinformation, it is crucial to remember the pursuit of truth is what lies at the heart of the scientific endeavour. As we embark on this journey of discovery, we should always be asking ourselves the following - How do we know what is true? Who and what should we trust?
Way of Working
01 May 2020 • 6 minutes
Have you ever been in a meeting where someone is stuck in a waterfall mindset? I have. Many times. And if you start out a project where this still lingers, you have effectively left your future self a land mine and when you step on it … bang! Your project will derail and life will not be fun.
Way of Working
01 May 2020 • 11 minutes
If you are new to software development methodologies, you can think of them like a recipe for cooking. A cooking recipe usually gives you a list of ingredients with their weights/volumes, an instruction list of some sort, and eventually you will serve it up for people to eat. Because the recipe is written down, other people can follow it.
Way of Working
01 May 2020 • 8 minutes
Every organisation has a different way of working. Some organisations align themselves with a specific methodology, but the truth is they usually only use a subset of what’s available and end up making their own hybrid approach. The philosophy behind a Way of Working is to embrace this.
Way of Working
28 April 2020 • 3 minutes
Channel your inner scientist and follow these 5 steps for proposing an experiment to make your software more loveable.
Way of Working
23 April 2020 • 19 minutes
On the surface, story points seem great and make a lot of sense. They provide software teams with the ability to make story estimations relative to each other, without considering time. This allows velocity to be measured. What could be wrong with that?
Way of Working
23 April 2020 • 9 minutes
Do you know how to reduce software development costs? On average companies spend 3.28% of total revenue on IT and services, according to a study from Deloitte. In this article I will discuss eight strategies we have found to bring down the cost of software development.
Way of Working
23 April 2020 • 4 minutes
How do you estimate a software project? It is possible to calculate a decent estimation of a software project (as long as you are willing to put in some effort). Previously, we have covered some other approaches on how to estimate a software project, but in this article we are going to dive into the details on how to follow the Way of Working and use a time estimation spreadsheet.
Way of Working
22 April 2020 • 3 minutes
Anyone who has spent time before building software knows that estimating the length of a project is notoriously difficult. There are of course a number of different methods for estimating. As you build more projects you will likely discover which method works best for you. In this article, we will discuss the method we have come to prefer - estimating in man hours.
Way of Working
17 April 2020 • 8 minutes
This article will give you insight into the logistics of the software development lifecycle, and explain why developers need extra time at the end of a project to polish things off.
Way of Working
17 April 2020 • 3 minutes
In this article, we explore the ongoing demand for new skills and features in technical fields, and how Codebots uses tech spikes to maintain focus and keep projects on track.
Way of Working
17 April 2020 • 6 minutes
Various studies have found that the average employee is only productive for three hours a day, or an average of 12.5 hours per week.
Way of Working
14 April 2020 • 2 minutes
Expectations can be a powerful, yet unavoidable force in any project. In the following article, we explore some of the ways in which you can best manage these through the lifecycle of your software project.
Way of Working
14 April 2020 • 4 minutes
No matter the software project, there will always be an element of risk present that you must account for. The follow article explores some of the most effective ways to identify and manage risks in the software development process.
Way of Working
14 April 2020 • 6 minutes
All too often, we hear stories of software failing as IT systems become an increasingly prominent part of our everyday lives. In the following article, we investigate some of the most significant factors behind past examples of failed software projects.
Way of Working
09 April 2020 • 6 minutes
Skills and challenges faced when forming a cross-functional team.
Way of Working
08 April 2020 • 9 minutes
If you have had experience estimating software projects, you might think it is an impossible task. However it is possible, and there are a number of known techniques on how to best estimate. If you have a little time and are willing to do some deeper research in the area, you will be able to get your head around the general ideas and the pitfalls of some of the approaches.
Way of Working
06 April 2020 • 14 minutes
Besides being a prediction of the future, there is a very human element to why software estimates are so hard. The psychology behind software estimations is fascinating and some studies have turned up some very interesting results. Knowing about your own biases and human psychology can help improve the realism of software estimates. As Dan Ariely sums up nicely with the title of his book, we are Predictably Irrational.
Way of Working
03 April 2020 • 4 minutes
Quickly build and test out prototypes to help validate your idea so you can ideate on improved solutions.
Way of Working
02 April 2020 • 1 minute
Red routes are a map that sorts out how often people use a feature and how many of the user bases interact with it. They will help to filter key tasks and prioritise your Story backlog.
Way of Working
02 April 2020 • 9 minutes
Taking a creative approach to generating ideas and narrowing down the best solutions to start building.
Way of Working
02 April 2020 • 1 minute
Look for patterns in the research and interviews to give more insight into the project
Way of Working
16 March 2020 • 1 minute
You’ve learnt everything you need from your project manager and built a basic prototype. Now its time to start testing the solution on actual users to validate your work.
Way of Working
25 February 2020 • 7 minutes
Working with the stakeholders to define the problem that team will be solving with the project.
Way of Working
20 November 2019 • 1 minute
The process we follow to evolve the bots.
Way of Working
20 November 2019 • 2 minutes
How to write epics and stories to capture the requirements of a project.
Way of Working
06 September 2019 • 2 minutes
The activity kit contains a number of recommended activities that people can use throughout the Way of Working.