The role of leadership in software development

Google Tech Talks
May 6, 2008

ABSTRACT

When you look around, there are a lot of leaders recommended for software development. We have the functional manager and the project manager, the scrum master and the black belt, the product owner and the customer-on-site, the technical leader and the architect, the product manager and the chief engineer.

Clearly that's too many leaders. So how many leaders should there be, what should they do, what shouldn't they do, and what skills do they need?

This will be a presentation and discussion of leadership roles in software development -- what works, what doesn't and why.

Speaker: Mary Poppendieck
Mary Poppendieck started her career as a process control programmer, moved on to manage the IT department of a manufacturing plant, and then ended up in product development, where she was both a product champion and department manager.

Mary considered retirement 1998, but instead found herself managing a government software project where she first encountered the word "waterfall." When Mary compared her experience in successful software and product development to the prevailing opinions about how to manage software projects, she decided the time had come for a new paradigm. She wrote the award-winning book Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit in 2003 to explain how the lean principles from manufacturing offer a better approach to software development.

Over the past six years, Mary has found retirement elusive as she lectures and teaches classes with her husband Tom. Based on their on-going learning, they wrote a second book, Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash in 2006. A popular writer and speaker, Mary continues to bring fresh perspectives to the world of software development.

Speaker: Tom Poppendieck
Tom Poppendieck has 25 years of experience in computing including eight years of work with object technology. His modeling and mentoring skills are rooted in his experience as a physics professor. His early work was in IT infrastructure, product development, and manufacturing support, and evolved to consulting project assignments in healthcare, logistics, mortgage banking, and travel services.

Tom led the development of a world-class product data management practice for a major commercial avionics manufacturer that reduced design to production transition efforts from 6 months to 6 weeks. He also led the technical architecture team for very large national and international Baan and SAP implementations.

Tom Poppendieck is an enterprise analyst and architect, and an agile process mentor. He focuses on identifying real business value and enabling product teams to realize that value. Tom specializes in understanding customer processes and in effective collaboration of customer, development and support specialists to maximize development efficiency, system flexibility, and business value.

Tom is co-author of the book Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit, published in 2003, and its sequel, Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash, published in 2006.

• Category

  People & Blogs

[meitarm]

This. Is. AMAZING. What a remarkably clear, and exceptionally well-presented discussion. I am very glad I took the time to watch this video. I feel like it took me from 0 to 60 in understanding the importance of business process management—and how not to shoot myself in the foot with it!

[Johnsonharris]

Excellent guide with all examples. It will be very useful. Thank you

[InteticsVideo]

They say too many cooks spoil the stew – that’s what best describes what this discussion is all about. It’s well-presented no doubt, and at the same time clears the air as to what should the leaders do.

[ilichio]

A little bit slow at the beginning (the first hour of the video hahahaha) for anyone that have had a management training, but well... it's ok, like @meitarm already said, it's a nice summary on the management topic. And please change the name of the video to comprehensively management or something like that, because the name it has now is really wrong!!!

[Takaphan Jaruhungsin]

The network.

Was in the links quickly.

Communicate Well .. a category or group or field, group.

The rest of the group leader.

Description and responsibilities of each group.

Send to a larger center. To check in, and management.

[kjtfreight Graham]

Everything meitarm wrote.

[NightSurfer47]

Life is too short for for this shit.

[imogen ross]

yes, good  technology but uh......can you fuck it? lol