tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44423036006144352772024-03-17T05:22:53.077-04:00andrewfuqua.comA blog about product development, product management, team and program management, lean, agile, and software development. Occasional posts about bicycling, Christianity, or racism.Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-82955705160169618602023-04-23T19:21:00.003-04:002023-04-23T19:21:54.347-04:00VSM is about neither value nor management<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5XVNrBlUCMDiBpm98pLzwmlMYTNLDx01mbRoEdrj-MeTuwDDIyZOCwh-H1ljEl4Hdm_Ah3BLT6ejFYZcs2oArLKGsQ8pP5Et2LpGvOHYQz9ZauLg1NoVoVFhiJQOE_g64mFYyoA7RpyT5ZJCPbbS0eYfLndSvdqR_4ECYcEfkc1_d5Nllqhg3bbybA/s500/41qvpuD+twL.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="367" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5XVNrBlUCMDiBpm98pLzwmlMYTNLDx01mbRoEdrj-MeTuwDDIyZOCwh-H1ljEl4Hdm_Ah3BLT6ejFYZcs2oArLKGsQ8pP5Et2LpGvOHYQz9ZauLg1NoVoVFhiJQOE_g64mFYyoA7RpyT5ZJCPbbS0eYfLndSvdqR_4ECYcEfkc1_d5Nllqhg3bbybA/s320/41qvpuD+twL.jpeg" width="235" /></a></div>Some folks are still spreading misinformation about value stream management. For example, in a recent webinar, the so-called authority made up a definition of value stream management. Their logic went thusly: "What is value stream management? Well, let's look at the definition of each word: value, stream, management." After giving a definition of each, stated "Therefore, value management must be about managing value."<br /><p></p><p>To the contrary, it's about neither managing nor value.</p><p>For the authoritative definition, I look to the early book on Value Street Management by Tapping, Luyster, and Shuker circa 2002 titled "Value Stream Management: Eight Steps to Planning, Mapping, and Sustaining Lean Improvements."</p><p>The authors clearly defined value stream management as an eight-step process of lean improvement. </p><p><b>It's not about management.</b></p><p>It's about lean improvement. This original book on VSM says nothing at all about "managing" the flow, such as expediting work, or tracking work -- stuff commonly thought of as 'managing'. It's more about leadership than management. It's not about working in the system. It's about working on the system. </p><p><b>It's not about value.</b></p><p>This authoritative book on VSM says nothing at all about what is sent through the system. </p><p>It says nothing at all about how to measure the value of what you put into it. </p><p>It's not about evaluating the value of what is flowing. </p><p>It isn't about measuring the value you get out of it. </p><p>Although those are good things to attend to, that's product management and strategy, not value stream management. </p><p>In VSM, value is not computed, ensured, or measured. Value is assumed.</p><p>VSM is about improving the flow of whatever through the stream. VSM is about improving the stream. In true VSM, the theme is about reducing waste and improving the flow of whatever it is deemed by management to flow. In lean, improvement of flow is the theme. It's not about determining what should flow through the stream at all.</p><p>Okay, so, sure, value stream management is poorly named. But I still prefer that those who choose to have a voice about it do their homework first. That way they can stay true to the original definition rather than make up their own out of ignorance.</p><p></p>Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-48041717004231191502023-02-19T16:33:00.000-05:002023-02-19T16:33:09.865-05:00The Other Reason I Stopped Blogging<p>I blogged a fair amount (for me, and relative to many colleagues) before I went into consulting and continuing on into my time at Leading Agile -- right up until it became mandatory. The company had a desire to have more people write more content more often so it became expected that everyone be involved. The implementation was a well intentioned across the board writing calendar; a rotation for every consultant to write a blog post when his or her week came up.</p><p>That killed my writing motivation. </p><p>I stopped writing. Corporate writing scheduler: "Write something!" Me: "Uh, well, no, and why don't you go pound sand." That's the lack-of-autonomy and lack-of-purpose (ref Pink's Drive) triggers for me. That was part of my writer's block.</p><p>Then I got over that (not wanting to comply) and began to think that I just couldn't write on schedule. I could write only when the inspiration hit me. Creativity can't be scheduled. There is some truth to that for me. Much of my writing was in response to either (a) a question someone asked me or (b) an answer someone gave me in response to a question I had. Even in the 1st case, the writing was a thinking tool. It helped me think though how to articulate a point or express a concept for the benefit of others.</p><p>It just now hit me that my writing also scratched the itch that Pink in Drive called mastery. As long as I was learning, I was writing. As long as I was learning how to better help others learn, I was writing. </p><p>There came a time when my learning in some old areas slowed, and writing declined. And my learning shifted to a couple new spaces and before I figured out how to write about those things, I changed employers. </p><p>I just discovered an important point about why I didn't start writing again in that new role. I discovered this while reading John Cutler's "<a href="https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-952-writing-culture-challenges" target="_blank">TBM 9/52: Writing Culture Challenges</a>". John wrote "A writing culture is a reading culture and a feedback-giving culture. A write-and-reading-and-feedback-giving culture requires time to think, process, and respond. Writing isn't the end goal: thinking and improving is the goal."</p><p>That's what happened when a writing schedule was put in place at Leading Agile -- writing was the goal; marketing was the goal. Well, the company's leadership might have known that writing was to develop thinking, but that's not how the expectation was expressed.</p><p>Then in the new role, the work-load set it. John says that you don't get a writing culture in "Conditions of high reactivity, cognitive load, and passivity. No one has time or energy to think, ask questions, and process. Too much energy goes into doing and reacting."</p><p>John goes on: "…you can't just 'switch' to writing culture. It has very little to do with the writing and everything to do with the preoccupation with busyness, optics, power, control, and tempo. ... Work-in-progess [sic], change-in-progress, and planning-in-progress is just too high to think." Yikes!</p><p>John gives some good suggestions, techniques in his article. Worth reading. But he doesn't tell you what to do with the high WIP, high change-in-progress problems in that article. I expect he has in some of his other articles that I haven't read. It's worth subscribing to his articles. </p>Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0Atlanta, GA 30328, USA33.9253024 -84.3857441999999915.6150685638211542 -119.54199419999999 62.235536236178845 -49.229494199999991tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-38828859815231563322023-02-07T21:20:00.004-05:002023-02-07T21:21:53.629-05:00"Value Stream Management is Human" Patterns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Q2vBUww8A8tT1h2HzsbYbw1Vu8nt8hcP-eAsiYiERbIgvKhdiUGmVlp8bBP75TrciqxeUWq6wRmU7lVxefiorQXzIlqB0b5cWGMMlEUPshYIfXSD6zHR2j6T89Pdw-tw7D18OoujsGesWYq-t2FHR-7NDzRjtwB3HSVFXqrghnEvI9FcAMIvJ5FR6g/s500/41qvpuD+twL.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="367" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Q2vBUww8A8tT1h2HzsbYbw1Vu8nt8hcP-eAsiYiERbIgvKhdiUGmVlp8bBP75TrciqxeUWq6wRmU7lVxefiorQXzIlqB0b5cWGMMlEUPshYIfXSD6zHR2j6T89Pdw-tw7D18OoujsGesWYq-t2FHR-7NDzRjtwB3HSVFXqrghnEvI9FcAMIvJ5FR6g/s320/41qvpuD+twL.jpeg" width="235" /></a></div>
<p>In spite of how others are redefining it to be something different, Tapping, Luyster and Shuker defined value stream management in 2002 as an 8-step lean process “for planning and linking lean initiatives though systematic data capture and analysis.” Basically, commit to lean, choose a value stream, map it, pick a future state, and create and implement kaizen plans. It’s improvement. And it’s a human endeavor. Too many people think VSM is about managing-the-work-in-the-system instead of improving-the-system.</p>
<p>Over my career I’ve noticed several approaches to value stream management:</p>
<p><b>“Unintentional”</b> – Not done on purpose. In this pattern, no one is intentionally improving the value stream. Every org has a value stream whether they realize it or not, whether they think about it or not. This doesn’t mean that the organization is bad or that their value stream isn’t effective, efficient or optimized. Very talented managers could manage a value stream to great effect by pure skill and experience, not conscious of any improvement efforts. They don’t think about it. Others, however, don’t think about it and get “Value Stream Mismanagement”.</p>
<p><b>“Casual, ad hoc, decentralized and distributed”</b> – This pattern is typified by teams doing their own retrospectives. There is little sharing of lessons learned across teams even though there may be attempts to catalog or share these. No one is driving improvement across the org.</p>
<p><b>“Intentional and distributed”</b> – In this pattern, there is someone high up, often a CIO or VP, very much interested in process and improvement. This works well, particularly through lean, kaizen, the Toyota Kata, and the Coaching Kata. Multiple techniques/tools are often used such as A3 Problem Solving, systems thinking, and the theory of constraints. There are often measures and metrics, typically lean (flow) metrics. Kaizen moments and retrospectives are encouraged and expected throughout the organization.</p>
<p><b>“Agile Transformation / Agile Coach / Centralized”</b> – In this pattern, there is an agile transformation initiative driving process improvement efforts. Such efforts are often time-bound, tied to the duration of the transformation initiative. Attention and efforts wane after a time.</p>
<p><b>“Biz Process Reengineering / Centralized”</b> – This is another form of the “agile transformation” pattern but is more explicit around improving the value stream, and it’s likely much broader than just IT or software development in that it likely includes business operations as well. This might be led by a process reengineering group, expert or consultant and should involve business architects.</p>
<p><b>“Control”</b> – I insist that value stream management absolutely, chiefly, and primarily includes the concept of improvement. However, some organizations are more concerned with control and reporting of work progress, percent completion, and due dates than with improvement. Not much improvement happens with this pattern. (I first labeled this pattern “PMO”, but decided that wasn’t fair. PMOs didn’t have the best reputation in the heyday of the agile movement. Perhaps that’s changed now, and I’ve seen many PMOs adopt agile and even drive agile transformations with some success.)</p>
<p>The best approach to take is “Intentional and Distributed”.</p>
<p>My purpose for writing this was twofold:</p>
<ul><li>I want everyone to understand the true point of value stream management, which is continuous improvement. So many people (platform vendors especially) are making it out to be something else entirely.</li>
<li>I hope more people will be intentional about improvement efforts. Perhaps they’ll recognize their pattern and consider other alternatives.</li></ul>
Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0Atlanta, GA 30328, USA33.9253024 -84.385744199999991-44.6222947163866 134.98925580000002 90 56.239255800000009tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-7793996336181441592023-01-07T09:09:00.001-05:002023-01-07T09:09:16.360-05:00Context is King: Why I stopped blogging<p>A lot of the articles I read about agile don't describe the context in which their advice applies. The authors don't take the time. Many authors aren't even aware of their context. They haven't seen enough different kinds of agile implementations to understand that their advice doesn't apply outside of their context.</p><div>Writing was easy for me when I worked for <a href="https://www.leadingagile.com/author/andrew/" target="_blank">Leading Agile</a> because we had a well documented and limited context. Grossly oversimplified, companies who wanted predictability in their software development efforts were attracted to our offering. We had one message, one services offering, and one target market.</div><div><br /></div><div>Everything on our blog and everything on our website and every talk given at a conference adhered to this single context. That context was explained so much that it didn't have to be explained every time. Yet every blog post pointed back to that context in some way. It all dovetailed together.</div><div><br /></div><div>Every aspect of agile, of teams, of org structure, of metrics, of forecasting, of planning, of funding, of portfolio management, of roadmapping, of prioritization, and on and on needed to be explained in terms of that context, so there was lots of fodder.</div><div><br /></div><div>I stopped blogging when I left Leading Agile because of this need for the applicable context to be explained. When I left the firm I left the context. I've seen agile done many different (valid and effective) ways before my time at the firm and in many ways after. For which context should I write? How should I explain the applicability of my opinions? </div><div><br /></div><div>I don't run my agile programs now the way we did at Leading Agile. It's not because I didn't believe in that approach, didn't find value in it, or can't do it. In fact, I like that approach a great deal. But it doesn't apply to my context now. Predictability isn't my driver. </div><div><br /></div><div>This isn't anything new. People have been arguing over agile since the 90s, with much disagreement stemming from the unique and unstated context in the mind of each author and consultant.</div><div><br /></div><div>What triggered me to write this was some things <a href="https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-152-product-manage-your-meetings" target="_blank">John Cutler</a> wrote. "…the key to putting bets in motion is to tailor your working approach to the bet." How you develop the idea of the bet and how you implement the bet should vary based on the nature of the bet, the uncertainty of the opportunity, the uncertainty of the solution, urgency, size, allowance for failure, level of collaboration needed, and etc. There's no single agile prescription that's best for every kind of bet. John explains the anti-pattern of when companies "lack any sense that the things they are doing have different characteristics. They try to use a mono-process for everything." "Impact: picking less-than-optimal ways of working." And "Mono-process kills companies." </div><div><br /></div><div>Don't bother trying to do agile "right" and don't fret over other people's advice when it doesn't match your context.</div><p></p>Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0Atlanta, GA 30328, USA33.9253024 -84.3857441999999915.6150685638211542 -119.54199419999999 62.235536236178845 -49.229494199999991tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-84319214743583154882021-05-12T21:00:00.004-04:002021-05-12T21:02:07.342-04:00What I got out of Woke Church<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYNEQ5JzVdk9smGDNDK2BP2fgsoZMT8J9qpOIZnNFvVPLPnNVRQXJbbCQQ8a4uECDQ2O9OWMrXHquS5gQTlPVcVXtwriDSNZCWpUJQLT9DbjGAVqqmCcLTtp-Uw1FBwvs6R6_ugjiD2W9/s279/woke+church.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYNEQ5JzVdk9smGDNDK2BP2fgsoZMT8J9qpOIZnNFvVPLPnNVRQXJbbCQQ8a4uECDQ2O9OWMrXHquS5gQTlPVcVXtwriDSNZCWpUJQLT9DbjGAVqqmCcLTtp-Uw1FBwvs6R6_ugjiD2W9/s0/woke+church.jpeg" /></a></div><br />As Christians, we are to love other people in the same way that the Good Samaritan loved the injured stranger. We are to love other people like Christ loved us, to the point that he died for us. We are to minister to their needs and also share the Good News with them. This includes all peoples: Immigrants, Foreigners, Blacks, Aliens, the undocumented, and those who don't look or dress or talk like you. To be effective at this, we need to be aware. We need to be aware of what is going on in our city, in our country, and in our world. We need to have empathy. We need to show love. We need to be steadfast in our commitment to fulfill the Great Commandments. (p22.)<p></p><p>I believe all of those things are Fruit of the Spirit. That doesn't come naturally to a fallen human. The Spirit can bear such fruit in us if we allow it. And we should allow it. We should ask for it. Don't extinguish the Sprit, the Bible says.</p><p>To be blunt, the Holy Spirit allows certain Christians to see things in our society that other Christians do not. The Spirit allows some Christians to have empathy, understanding, and love for others that some Christians still lack. The Spirit helps some Christians understand gospel truths that other Christians are still blind to. </p><p>In my <a href="2021/05/what-does-the-lord-require-of-you.html">last post</a> I asked "if there is any group of people that believes they are mistreated, disadvantaged, shouldn't we as Christians endeavor to heal their hearts, their fears, and at least understand their point of view, their problems? To listen?" Blacks are saying that they are suffering. Why don't we Christians care enough to hear and understand? In <u>Woke Church</u>, Eric Mason claimed that "God's intent is for us to hurt with one another, to care about the suffering of one another." (p24.) The Church should be the group that society turns to when hurting. The Church should be leading reconciliation. (A recurring theme in the book, but particularly addressed in p107-108.)</p><p>Why do we have to keep talking about race? "The question is evidence of a level of disconnectedness that is either willful or based on a lack of knowledge. This is what apathy looks and sounds like." (p150.)</p><p>Has the gospel given you a new heart? Does the Holy Spirit compel you to actively "seek what is good and right for [your] fellow man" (p40)? If not, then something isn't as it should be.</p><p>"He expects us to be active in good works for His glory as a response and proof that we have been transformed. As Jesus stated to His disciples in John 15:8: 'My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples.'" (p47.) </p><blockquote><p>Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35.)</p></blockquote><p>And, we Christians are to be peacemakers. (p55.) Many of us need to consider whether our posts on social media make peace, or stir up strife and provoke. The underlying emotion behind so many posts seems to be not love but hate. (p134-135.)</p><blockquote><p>Jesus said, "as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40)</p></blockquote><h4 style="text-align: left;">The Review</h4><p>I don't call what I wrote above a "summary" of <u>Woke Church</u>. Likewise, I didn't want to call this a book review. I don't think it is a fair or complete review. Now that I have read a few books on racism, I'm not noticing the stuff I already know. If I had read <u>Woke Church</u> a few books ago, I would have pointed out more great stuff. My notes here are just the things that stood out to me given where I am in my own personal journey. </p><p>Nevertheless, I do have a few thoughts of a review nature. In <u>Woke Church</u>, the author makes great use of scripture, backing up his points in a Biblically sound way. I appreciate the amount of scripture used and the care with which it is used. </p><p>I don't remember if the author gave any evidence about things like structures and systems that tend to disadvantage certain groups, or about things like privilege. If he did, he didn't give much. If you don't already believe that these things exist, I'm not sure that this book will open your eyes to that. Read one of the other books I've reviewed first. This book should convict you if you are lacking love, and should help you see the need to open your eyes.</p><p>Eric Mason addresses many other topics that a good Christian should be interested in, but I think his main point, or the main thing I got out of this book, is that we "must be clear on the issues of our day. We have to do our homework. In order to appropriately engage the issues, we must know them. There are many glaring issues that need a prophetic voice: classism, sexism, elitism, poverty, ignorance, wealth, greed, etc. … I'm not saying that we have to jump at every issue that comes up in the world. However, we should know when an issue reaches a boiling point. It is our job to be in the Word and to soberly assess the world around us." (p121 - 122.) </p><p>The author dedicates a chapter to practical actions we can take. Many good suggestions.</p><p>I definitely recommend <u>Woke Church</u> to any Christian who has begun their journey of awakening, especially anyone who is any kind of leader.</p>Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0Atlanta, GA 30328, USA33.9253024 -84.3857441999999915.6150685638211542 -119.54199419999999 62.235536236178845 -49.229494199999991tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-85602875490641070052021-05-05T22:32:00.002-04:002021-05-05T22:32:39.709-04:00what does the Lord require of you but to do justice<p>Today I'm thinking about the parable of the Good Samaritan, how Christians are to love their neighbor, help the oppressed, to love one another. </p><blockquote><p>He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the <span class="small-caps">Lord</span> require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? ~ Micah 6:8 (ESV)<br /></p></blockquote><p>To do justice.</p><p>To be kind.</p><p>If a Christian brother or sister is hurting, we should minister to them.</p><p>This applies to people groups as well as to individuals. </p>All of us Christians are ministers now. Romans 15:14. The priesthood of all believers. <blockquote><p>But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him
who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. ~ 1 Peter 2:9 <br /></p></blockquote><p>I'm thinking about Ezekiel 34. In the 1st half of the chapter the
LORD is lambasting the priests, leadership, ministers and wealthy for
not caring for the sheep, for abusing them. Stop and re-read that with the thought that you and I, us Christians, are ministers, priests. Ask how this passage might apply to us today. <br /></p><p>We clothe ourselves, but do not <span class="text Ezek-34-4" id="en-NET-21318">help the weak or injured, or
seek the lost, but treat others with force and harshness. I don't mean that we have not helped others <i>at all</i>. Many will counter this thought will all the good things they have done. All the good their church has done. But we, us WASPs, have we done all we should? Is there anyone neglected? Anyone mistreated? Any poor? Any that have trouble getting education? You may think not. Or you may think about you paying your fair share of taxes and about certain legalities, or illegalities. But if there is any group of people that believes they are mistreated, disadvantaged, shouldn't we as Christians endeavor to heal their hearts, their fears, and at least understand their point of view, their problems? To listen?</span> </p><p>Around verse 10-11 the LORD says He will withhold blessings from those ministers (us Christians) and He
will care for his sheep, <b>all </b>of his sheep, and in particular, those sheep who were neglected. </p><blockquote><p><span class="text Ezek-34-17" id="en-NET-21331"><sup class="versenum">17 </sup>“‘As for you, my sheep, this is what the Sovereign <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> says: Look, I am about to judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats. </span> <span class="text Ezek-34-18" id="en-NET-21332"><sup class="versenum">18 </sup>Is
it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must
trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? When you drink clean
water, must you muddy the rest of the water by trampling it with your
feet? </span> <span class="text Ezek-34-19" id="en-NET-21333"><sup class="versenum">19 </sup>As for my sheep, they must eat what you trampled with your feet and drink what you have muddied with your feet!</span></p> <p><span class="text Ezek-34-20" id="en-NET-21334"><sup class="versenum">20 </sup>“‘Therefore, this is what the Sovereign <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> says to them: Look, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. </span> <span class="text Ezek-34-21" id="en-NET-21335"><sup class="versenum">21 </sup>Because you push with your side and your shoulder, and thrust your horns at all the weak sheep until you scatter them abroad, </span> <span class="text Ezek-34-22" id="en-NET-21336"><sup class="versenum">22 </sup>I will save my sheep; they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.</span></p> <p><span class="text Ezek-34-23" id="en-NET-21337"><sup class="versenum">23 </sup>“‘I will set one shepherd over them, and he will feed them—namely, my servant David. He will feed them and will be their shepherd. </span> <span class="text Ezek-34-24" id="en-NET-21338"><sup class="versenum">24 </sup>I, the <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them; I, the <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>, have spoken!</span><br /><span> </span>~ Ezekiel 34 (NET)</p></blockquote><p>Without being particular, in my lifetime, much damage has been done against certain people groups. I can't read that without thinking of groups that have been trampled in my lifetime. "We" muddied the waters. Those groups that some of us would like to scatter, don't want to deal with, don't want around here using our government benefits and consuming our tax dollars.<br /></p><p>Here I quote from <a href="https://biblehub.com/commentaries/mhcw/ezekiel/34.htm">Matthew Henry's commentary on this passage</a>:</p><blockquote><p> Conviction spoken to those of the flock that were fat and strong, the
rams and the he-goats (v. 17), those that, <b>though they had not power</b>, as
shepherds and rulers, to oppress with, yet, being rich and wealthy, <b>made use of the
opportunity </b>which this gave them to<b> bear hard upon their poor
neighbours.</b> <b>Those that have much would have more,</b> and, if they set to
it, will have more, so many ways have they of <b>encroaching </b>upon their
poor neighbours, and forcing from them the one ewe-lamb, 2 Sa. 12:4. Do
not the rich oppress the poor merely with the help of their riches, and
draw them before the judgment-seats? Jam. 2:6. Poor servants and tenants
are hardly used by their rich lords and masters. The rams and the
he-goats not only kept all the good pasture to themselves, ate the fat
and drank the sweet, but they <b>would not let the poor of the flock have
any comfortable enjoyment of the little that was left them; they trod
down the residue</b> of the pastures and fouled the residue of the waters,
so that the flock was obliged to eat that which they had trodden into
the dirt, and drink that which they had muddied, v. 18, 19. <b>This
intimates that the great men not only by extortion and oppression made
and kept their neighbours poor, and scarcely left them enough to subsist
on,</b> but were so vexatious to them that what little coarse fare they had
was embittered to them. And this<b> seemed a small thing to them; they
thought there was no harm in it, as if it were the privilege</b> of their
quality to be injurious to all their neighbours. Note, <b>Many that live in
pomp and at ease themselves care not what straits those about them are
reduced to</b>, so they may but have every thing to their mind. Those that
are at ease, and the proud, grudge that any body should live by them
with any comfort. But this as not all; they not only robbed the poor, to
make them poorer, but were troublesome to the sick and weak of the
flock (v. 21): ...<br /></p></blockquote><blockquote><p>they did what they could to <b>rid </b>the country of, and so <b>scattered </b>them
abroad, as if the poor, whom, Christ says, we must have always with us,
were <b>public nuisances</b>, not to be relieved, but sent far away from us.
Note, It is a barbarous thing to add affliction to the afflicted.
Perhaps these rams and he-goats are designed to represent the scribes
and Pharisees, for they are such troublers of the church as Christ
himself must come to deliver it from, v. 23. <br /></p></blockquote><p>I was once and even recently very callous to the plight of other groups. I was ignorant and cared not to listen. I repent of my old opinions. <br /></p>Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0Atlanta, GA 30328, USA33.9253024 -84.3857441999999915.6150685638211542 -119.54199419999999 62.235536236178845 -49.229494199999991tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-71169953105620460012021-04-06T19:07:00.004-04:002021-04-06T19:46:09.567-04:00Reading While Black -- a book review<p></p><blockquote>"Are those who disdain the church correct that the Bible isn't up to the challenge of speaking to the issues of the day? Put simply, is the Bible a friend or foe in the Black quest for justice?" Esau McCaulley, p 73.</blockquote><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Frt8op-zXXVQZzB8ovrD1Kp4KDgr-KdtEHXw1cjA5pSBbKG_m-2qJA7ycN4sU9o7YbV98zfNDqlPe6TBtBoYHZhZaEkFg3gD6XUuQ4K1GGX2jxndcXI9NMDph02eUd7El33YUUNCc6us/s2048/reading+while+black.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Frt8op-zXXVQZzB8ovrD1Kp4KDgr-KdtEHXw1cjA5pSBbKG_m-2qJA7ycN4sU9o7YbV98zfNDqlPe6TBtBoYHZhZaEkFg3gD6XUuQ4K1GGX2jxndcXI9NMDph02eUd7El33YUUNCc6us/s320/reading+while+black.jpeg" /></a></div>In <u>Reading While Black</u>, Esau McCaulley takes a look at well-known but overlooked, underinterpreted, and misinterpreted passages. This book opened my eyes to a wealth of scripture with depth of meaning that I had been missing. Esau explains how Blacks in America do and should interpret scripture. But Whites should interpret the same way, so this is an important book for pigment challenged people to read. <p></p><p>I LOVE this book! It explains and stresses the importance of "naming and protesting evil, expressing anger, and pursuing freedom and justice, but also promoting reconciliation, practicing forgiveness, and living in hope -- all aspects of proclaiming the gospel of God revealed in Jesus", as it's put in one of the reviews in the front of the book. All things that I longed to understand, expressed in a very accessible way: It's written to the Black Christian in a way that I, a White Christian, never felt offended or attacked. </p><p>Esau walks the reader through his own struggle with common (Caucasian-European-American) Biblical interpretation, especially in light of the injustices done to Black folk over the centuries by supposed Christians. Esau observes that there is a good connection between Evangelical belief and the Black church (p 9):</p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>• Emphasis on Scripture and the Bible as the ultimate authority.</p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>• The belief that all people need to be born-again, the Gospel of Christ. </p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>• The importance of Discipleship, the lifelong process of becoming more like Christ.</p><p>"God is fundamentally a liberator." (p 17.) Through and through you can see that He liberates His people, whoever His people are. Notice all the times God liberated the Jews. Notice how Jesus liberated believers from their sins. Notice the passages on setting captives free. Notice the apostles freed from prison. Notice those freed from illness, possession, and even death. We should emphasize "God as the liberator and humankind <b>as one family united under the rule of Christ</b>" (p 19). "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28 ESV)</p><p>Esau addresses the fact that White Americans, in their culture, hear different messages from scripture than do Black Americans, Asian Americans, and etc. He makes the point this isn't necessarily bad unless each group keeps that message to themselves. "but if we all read the biblical text assuming that God is able to speak a coherent word to us through it, then we can discuss the meanings our varied cultures have a gleaned from the Scriptures. What I have in mind then is a unified mission in which our varied cultures turn the text in dialogue with one another to discern the mind of Christ." (p 23.) I like that. We need <i>each other </i>to more clearly understand the truth, and enjoy the richness of the message. "The job of the scholar is to probe and press and challenge simplistic readings. It is also important to challenge simplistic readings using our own experiences that might provide insights<i> that others who do not share those experiences</i> might have missed." (p. 181)</p><p>An "ah-ha!" moment I had reading chapter 2 is that Romans 13 is about submission to the laws, to the state. It doesn't say what to do with corrupt or evil or mistaken or errant individual officers or officials. Submit to the office, not the wicked office holder. The authority is the governing institution, not the individual. In fact, implied in the passage is an expectation for the good behavior of the individuals in the government. I.E., don't be a terror to good works. See Luke 3 for examples pointed to tax collectors and police ("soldiers"). </p><p>Biblical evidence does show that we are to resist evil and immorality. (Good examples are given in chapters 2 and 3.) We Christians are indeed to work for positive change. We are to strive for peace, even if to achieve it requires some unrest. But it's a fallen world and we will suffer the consequences of challenging the systems or the individuals. That doesn't mean don't challenge. We have an inability to discern God's timing and God's means of righting wrongs. The author picks up this point again in chapter 3: "this does not mean that a Christian cannot protest injustice, it means that we cannot claim God's justification for violent revolution. Submission and acquiescence are two different things."</p><p>Pointedly, "Paul says that the government should not be a source of fear for the innocent. This problem of innocent fearfulness continues to plague encounters between Black persons and law enforcement." (p 35.) As Christians, white or black, we should work towards a country where Black citizens do not fear interactions with our police. They should not have to live in fear, though they still do. Nevertheless, "the Roman Christian's interaction with the power of the state bears some striking similarities to the potential encounters African Americans might have with the police in our day." (p 38.)</p><p>A lasting problem is that the laws we have today were written over more than just decades, but over centuries during a time in which Black disenfranchisement was a common and accepted practice. Many of those laws are still on the books and many of them still tend to disenfranchise Blacks. Esau calls this institutional corporate sin. (p 39.) Christians should endeavor to ensure that the laws reflect Christian values. We should shape public opinion and hold elected officials accountable for the just treatment of all. As stated above, we need insight from multiple Christian cultures to identify bad laws and proper solutions -- we Whites can't discern that on our own.</p><p>Chapter 3 reminds us of numerous passages in which Israel is criticized for its injustice and oppression of the poor. All the prophets and Jesus and the apostles spoke truth to power.</p><p>There are 2 interpretations of scripture made in this book that I disagree with, but I don't disagree with the author's ultimate point, so my disagreements are perhaps immaterial. First, on page 61, the author suggests that Galatians 3 is about more than spiritual enslavement. I don't see it. (But again, I refer to the point above about needing each other to understand the truth.) Galatians 1 thru 3 is about the Law and the circumcision party, Jews vs Greeks. I don't think Paul was calling for the equal political or social treatment of women, slaves, Greeks, and non-citizens. But I concur with Esau's point, which he goes on to back up with passages from Colossians. </p><p>Secondly, on pages 65-66, Esau changes the word 'righteousness' in Matthew 5 to 'justice'. He acknowledges that he is giving his own translation, but of all the translations I use, only the NLT uses the word Justice. Look at the rest of Matthew 5 -- righteousness is meant throughout that passage, not justice. </p><blockquote><p>"Justice is <u>making things right</u> that are unfair in society; righteousness is <u>doing right</u> by people, especially the vulnerable. Justice is more about legal and systemic problems; righteousness is more about good deeds, acts of generosity toward those in need." https://www.blockislandtimes.com/affiliate-post/let-justice-and-righteousness-flow-making-things-right-and-doing-right/45390</p></blockquote><p>Sure, the terms are close. Amos 5:24 and Psalm 103:6 and over three dozen other places use both of those terms together, and synonyms and parallelism are often used in Hebrew poetry to reinforce a single point. (Right?) But changing one term to the other in a chapter that only uses one of those terms consistently, and that is not Hebrew poetry, seems wrong. Nevertheless, I agree with Esau's ultimate conclusion, which he backs up with other Scripture. </p><p>Chapter 5 is a fun read. In it, Esau destroys the lie that the Europeans and slavery brought the Gospel to the Africans. Christianity was known by black and brown people at the very beginning of Christianity. It also persisted there through history. In fact, Joseph's sons born in Egypt, Ephraim and Manasseh, were multi-ethnic, namely, African and Hebrew. There are no biologically "pure" Hebrews. They too were a mixed "race". And in Exodus 12:38, a "mixed crowd" went up with them, meaning non-Israelites. Esau shows us over and over how God intends to bless all nations; all people groups. There are many many examples in this chapter that I had NEVER noticed before. Esau goes on to explain that the promotion of "colorblindness" is sub-biblical. Colors and ethnicities will exist in eternity! What a fantastic book!</p><p>Chapter six covers the rage of the Black American and rage in the Bible. Cry out to God about injustice. Cry out for vengeance. "Sometimes we need to lament injustice and call for God to right wrongs." (p 127.) Yet, there is also forgiveness, but "excepting abuse is inappropriate for Christians. … it is appropriate for those suffering unjustly to forgive their enemies from a distance if necessary. We do not have to stay. … the New Testament also calls on believers to help those who are suffering. … James does not say, 'Tell the orphans and the widows to put up with suffering.' He says to the Christian, 'Help them!'" (p 133.) Christians should not allow suffering to continue when we have the resources to do something about it. I got a lot out of this chapter.</p><p>I got a lot out of this book. What I appreciated the most is that the author dug into numerous passages. It wasn't a light treatment of Scripture. When logic was called for, he used it with a sound theological underpinning and correct Biblical exegesis. The Bonus Track at the end of the book puts forward his thoughts on correct Biblical interpretation. </p><p>Skipping ahead to the conclusion of the book, the author states that he didn't set out to exhaustively and conclusively answer questions of import today to Black Christians. Rather, his aim was to answer whether the Bible is reliable and useful to Black Christians. Returning to the question presented at the top: "Are those who disdain the church correct that the Bible isn't up to the challenge of speaking to the issues of the day? Put simply, is the Bible a friend or foe in the black quest for justice?" He answers "that the very process of <i>engaging</i> these Scriptures and <i>expecting</i> an answer is an exercise in hope. It is an act of faith that has carried Black people through unimaginable despair toward a brighter future. The Bible has been a source of comfort, but it has also been more. It has inspired action to transform circumstances. It has liberated Black bodies and souls." (p 166.) In his book, Esau McCaulley answers through an examination of the Scriptures that Black Christians definitely have reason to hope! The One True God is the God of Liberation. He is the God of Justice.</p><p></p>Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0Atlanta, GA 30328, USA33.9253024 -84.3857441999999915.6150685638211542 -119.54199419999999 62.235536236178845 -49.229494199999991tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-86211284877285919882021-02-07T07:42:00.002-05:002021-02-07T07:58:48.463-05:00White Awake - a book review<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLSP-zihuuu-p7xfQFdZzNG4hgHPCSrs9fRONsfBfsuNUVFgiZg5-CVmZ3waZE1MQdc39PJQNSc-g3B15torVG9l1_jQ8lKouBrEigLQ7DgaUbFI46bOh51MuTsB2gt8Rf4WMsGzApppG/s275/WhiteAwake.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLSP-zihuuu-p7xfQFdZzNG4hgHPCSrs9fRONsfBfsuNUVFgiZg5-CVmZ3waZE1MQdc39PJQNSc-g3B15torVG9l1_jQ8lKouBrEigLQ7DgaUbFI46bOh51MuTsB2gt8Rf4WMsGzApppG/s0/WhiteAwake.jpeg" /></a></div>Subtitled "an honest look at what it means to be white", <u>White Awake</u> by Daniel Hill is indeed a pretty good look at what it feels like to be a white Christian in America going through a cultural or racial awakening. It's written to that white Christian to help them understand and process these new feelings.<br /><p></p><p>This is not a hard-hitting book. I found it much more gentle than the other books on this topic that I've <a href="http://www.andrewfuqua.com/search/label/racism" target="_blank">reviewed previously</a>. </p><p>White Awake has a similar approach as <u>White Fragility</u>, by Robin DiAngelo. They both instruct the white person who is just beginning a racial awakening about the feelings they are about to experience, and how to navigate those. Indeed, White Awake often quotes White Fragility. </p><p>Whites who haven't had some initial shock, revelation, eye-opening, or disorienting experience just might not get much out of White Awake. I don't think you need to read White Fragility first, but reading that or <u>How to be An Antiracist</u> or <u>Dispossession</u> or something more hard-hitting first would be helpful for many whites. </p><p>Would this make a good Bible study? In the back of the book are a set of discussion questions for each chapter. Those certainly would be helpful for conversation starters, but there's really not a lot of scripture in this book. It's written to discuss what white Christians will be going through as they have their awakening, and it will help them as a guide through that journey. The book includes examples from scripture to illustrate many points. The author takes a culturally-aware biblical worldview throughout. I suppose you could say that the author uses scripture as the foundation for everything he has to say. But it's just not a Bible study, and that's okay. Maybe you don't need a lot of scripture to back up a very simple truth. We all need to read the Bible, but we need to read lots of other stuff as well.</p><p>There are good, sound theological points made in the book, and a significant one is in chapter 6. That one goes like this: Scripture is full of good advice, but if whites are blind to the plight of the black American, they'll probably also miss the point made in much of scripture, or at least underemphasize actions they should be taking, and overemphasize other stuff. </p><p>Don't let this ho-hum overview turn you off. I did get value out of reading this book. For example, I spotted my own behavior as "the annoying, self-righteous white guy [who had] finally seen the light, and [was] determined to make everyone around me see it." (pg 11.) Daniel explains that this is bound to happen, but that we should strive to avoid it by being self-aware. Something I've heard in some of the books I've read, including this one, is a warning about coming across as a paternalistic rich white guy, coming to save the poor brown people (pg 15). I need to hear that over and over.</p><p>One point in this book not in any of the others is this: given the racial history in most of America, very few black people will attend a church with a white pastor, so there is no point in making integration the #1 goal or 1st step (p16). We enlightened whites immediately want to go into action, but that action is almost always misguided (p19, 105-106). Rather, our vision is likely still blurry. Let's just focus on making sure we can see (p21, 153-155, 162-165). Keep doing that. Never stop. Not only are do we whites not have the right answers, but we also don't even know how to ask the right questions yet, generally speaking of course (p23). </p><p>There are some really great stories in White Awake. There were at least two that really woke me up. They were about how whites respond to blacks when their racial hackles are raised, and I could see myself giving the wrong kind of response.</p><p>Chapter 3 gives a great explanation of why trying to be "color-blind", or color neutral, seeing everyone in the same way, is a very bad strategy, and un-biblical. </p><p>The author's recommendation for us whites is to engage in self-reflection and expose ourselves to perspectives outside our comfort level (p45). Among other recommendations is to get close to suffering (p165-172) and put yourself under the leadership of people of color (p172-173).</p><p>There were a couple things in this book I didn't agree with, but they are of no consequence. The author pretty much goes on to say that even if you disagree with that point, it's just one example of many and you can't deny the preponderance of the evidence.</p><p>In one place (p61) the author states that "assigning value to human beings… is a sin of the highest order." I don't know what he means by "highest order". Aren't all sins (except denying Christ) the same in God's eyes? The sin of the highest order is denying Christ. Perhaps this was a slip. The author, apparently protestant with a Pentecostal upbringing (p134), seems to have quite a bit of Catholic influence, so that remark gave me pause. I didn't notice any other issues with his theology, and even that one isn't a big deal. </p><p>1. Does the author handle scripture accurately? Yes</p><p>2. Does their teaching lead to a greater understanding of reconciliation, unity, and witness in the church? Yes</p><p>3. Does it spark greater love for Christ and others in me? Yes</p><p>4. Is it consistent with the gospel by pointing to Christ? Yes</p><p>5. Does a study or discussion guide accompany the book? Yes</p><p>In conclusion, I recommend White Awake to white Christians everywhere but note that White Awake would make a better book study than Bible study.</p><p></p>Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0Sandy Springs, GA, USA33.9304352 -84.37331475.6202013638211525 -119.5295647 62.240669036178843 -49.217064699999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-83919990669429515542020-12-27T17:25:00.006-05:002020-12-27T17:32:49.058-05:00Red Dirt, Blue Blood -- Book Review<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_fFZw2VLz5M6uxn2IS5pdZugHRItmpRwpSIGXstk_WUMhr7HDON9SL4nfyrfjhw6tu8eSD8WhWptZUab9R4kfx2jAIeuHqPfIHhAY1WjWDXx5HV33zZ46KAQZXWCtwrS3p6L1iKqp0273/s499/red+dirt+blue+blood+book.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_fFZw2VLz5M6uxn2IS5pdZugHRItmpRwpSIGXstk_WUMhr7HDON9SL4nfyrfjhw6tu8eSD8WhWptZUab9R4kfx2jAIeuHqPfIHhAY1WjWDXx5HV33zZ46KAQZXWCtwrS3p6L1iKqp0273/s320/red+dirt+blue+blood+book.jpg" /></a></div><u>Red Dirt, Blue Blood, The Story of the Nances of Lower Alabama</u> (Rahkia Nance, 2020) is exactly that, a human-interest story of a family, descended from slaves, who at one time settled in the area that is now Fort Rucker, and surrounding counties. In this book are many interesting stories of young mayors, philanthropists, teachers, farmers, soldiers, and mill and factory workers. <div><br />This book isn't about racism, and there are very few mentions of racism in the book. This book was interesting to me since my family came from a near-by part of the state, and because some of the Nance's have stuff named after them in my hometown of Union Springs.<p></p><p>Red Dirt is a quick read, only containing about 60 pages of text and another 50 pages of interesting photos. Unfortunately, some of the photos aren't clear.</p>In many ways, <u>Red Dirt, Blue Blood</u> is much like <u>Poppa Didn't Play That</u>, by Mildred Burrell (2020).<br /><u><br /></u><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVZ2pz0ihqvltiavVEm0k6NA0ALyIc3_hnlvhl-C0QZOG0Lg7yGi3hm_Q_NjbmE_lQKTznNNfydL1gxV_0iHpWbpDcQ_1BNZ8tBl8P3itSw8A_VwQWVXNfmRwlm-WbGHkKTSaIX5OFRDYV/s499/poppa+book+cover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVZ2pz0ihqvltiavVEm0k6NA0ALyIc3_hnlvhl-C0QZOG0Lg7yGi3hm_Q_NjbmE_lQKTznNNfydL1gxV_0iHpWbpDcQ_1BNZ8tBl8P3itSw8A_VwQWVXNfmRwlm-WbGHkKTSaIX5OFRDYV/s320/poppa+book+cover.jpg" /></a></div></div><div><u>Poppa Didn't Play That</u> is a quick and delightful read. There are only a few mentions of racism and discrimination in this book. The book isn't about that. This book is about one particular family. It's about their family life. It's a human-interest story. I was glad to read this after reading <a href="2020/12/dispossession-white-fragility.html">Dispossession</a>; I needed something lighter.<p></p></div>Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-38861767880329871022020-12-24T12:28:00.007-05:002020-12-24T12:35:00.492-05:00White Guilt - book synopsis<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimV60RugQZvt47mAbE6fC2V0KEvMdqGfKItTy2XJJZEtH0qDUyEBMDV8qDznSCS68sxiIHmAsAHMdJO0wbYJsZMKdOtBishrZQNm6yKMu5ixTsnsnU2orQ6BH9NLLQU4j3SXw25wNUv8Vq/s277/White+Guilt.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimV60RugQZvt47mAbE6fC2V0KEvMdqGfKItTy2XJJZEtH0qDUyEBMDV8qDznSCS68sxiIHmAsAHMdJO0wbYJsZMKdOtBishrZQNm6yKMu5ixTsnsnU2orQ6BH9NLLQU4j3SXw25wNUv8Vq/s0/White+Guilt.png" /></a></div>White Guilt, by Shelby Steel, puts forth quite a Conservative point of view on racism, moral relativism, welfare, civil rights, affirmative action, individual responsibility, the new white liberal, and what we should do about those. These messages resonated with me. I suspect they would not resonate <i>at all</i> with a Liberal. I didn't fact check anything in White Guilt, and I can't say how much of the text is opinion versus factual. In fact, there aren't a lot of facts, at all, in this book. This isn't to say that it is nonfactual, just that it's subjective, opinionated. It uses logical arguments. It isn't backed up by facts and figures and science, but it is about social issues and psychology, so there is no science or numbers to back up this nor a contrary point of view. But to be fair, the same can be said by all the other books in my <a href="2020/12/dispossession-white-fragility.html">prior post</a>, with the exception of <u>Dispossession</u>.<br /><p></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">The Vacuum of Moral Authority</h4><p>Shelby does not defend or excuse white supremacy. In fact, he says that it has undermined the moral authority (legitimacy) of America and its institutions. "Segregation was... an institutionalized infidelity to democratic principles." </p><p>White guilt, then, come out of "...the vacuum of moral authority that comes from simply knowing that one's race is associated with racism. Whites (and American institutions) must acknowledge historical racism to show themselves redeemed of it, but once they acknowledge it, they lose moral authority over everything having to do with race, equality, social justice, poverty, and so on. ... The authority they lose transfers to the 'victims' of historical racism and becomes their great power in society. This is why white guilt is quite literally the same thing as black power." </p><p>To take that a bit further, "[w]hites know on some level that they are stigmatized by their skin color alone, that the black people they meet may suspect them of being racist simply because they are white." Whites have this fear of being called a racist, and so take actions so as to be seen as not racist. "...racism was also <i>evidence</i> of white wrongdoing and, therefore, evidence of white obligation to blacks. King had argued that whites were obligated to morality and democratic principles. But white guilt meant they were obligated to black <i>people</i> because they needed the moral authority only black people could bestow."</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Riots Out of Proportion</h4><p>Thankfully, this shift in attitudes away from racism brought on beneficial civil rights advancements, and some helpful policies and programs. But it also drove most remaining overt racism underground and made it harder to sustain black power and civil rights momentum. Therefore, the focus shifted to "systemic", "structural", and "institutional" racism. </p><p>Such makes "every racist event the tip of an iceberg so that redress will be to the measure of the iceberg rather than to the measure of its tip." "...the smallest racial incident proved the 'global truth' of systemic racism. This is why one black man being beaten by police in Los Angeles could trigger a massive riot in which some 60 people were killed. ... A riot to the scale of systemic racism rather than to the scale of the [single] racist event." [According to Wikipedia, "63 deaths, 2,383 injuries, more than 7,000 fires, damage to 3,100 businesses, and nearly $1 billion in financial losses", and that's just in LA.] We now have a "riot paradigm in which the scale of the violence was always far out of proportion to the triggering event, usually [an] ... instance of police brutality." Some part of white America now sees them "as authentic expressions of black rage and would respond to them with understanding rather than disregard and withering suppression."</p><p>Shelby says these riots are a manipulation of white guilt, evidenced by the fact that whites are rarely the targets. The damage was always to fellow blacks and within black neighborhoods. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Blacks as Victims</h4><p>Shelby gives multiple chapters to make a point that this all makes blacks perpetually victims, doesn't encourage personal responsibility, and encourages support of black identity (group identity) as being more important than individual identity. Black leaders say they can't uplift themselves, that they have no power, thus feeding white guilt. Making others responsible for its advancement ultimately harms blacks, keeping "black America underdeveloped".</p><p>This is where Shelby turns on white liberals and "corrupt black leadership". "Thus we got remedies pitched at injustices rather than at black academic excellence -- school busing, black role models as teachers, black history courses, "diverse" reading lists, "Ebonics," multiculturalism, culturally "inclusive" classes, standard tests corrected for racial bias, and so on. All this but no demand for parental responsibility, for hard to work on reading, writing, and arithmetic." Asking a black child to study harder is interpreted as racism.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Liberal Grasp for Moral Authority</h4><p>Then, "poverty came to be seen as a condition unrelated to the dysfunctions of those who suffer it, and always treatable by the 'interventions' of government and other institutions." This gives the liberal party the moral authority and legitimacy it seeks. This "brings real power to whites to embrace it. ... This has been the essential power of the political left in America since the 60s -- this promise to restore legitimacy by taking responsibility for inequality and poverty..." Their "social morality is nothing more than dissociation." </p><p>Throughout his book, Shelby gives a few logical arguments to the absurdity of some policies and programs that have come from this situation. For example, in chapter 19 Shelby gives an argument to how Justice O'Connor in the Michigan affirmative action case, because of white guilt, "applies a remedy to something that is not a problem -- diversity. ... So O'Connor is saying that it is perfectly constitutional to have a remedy that remediates nothing, a race-based remedy that does not remediate racial discrimination; and that this is so even when that remedy is literally executed through programmatic racial discrimination." "Worse, implied in her decision is a view of blacks as inferiors who simply cannot compete without <i>25</i> more years of white paternalism." Chapter 22 gives an interesting treatment about Justice Clarence Thomas' dissenting opinion on the case.</p><p>It is as if it doesn't matter what policies or programs are put in place, as long as they are <i>seen as an effort to </i>make amends for past wrongs, and to not hold "victims" of historical racism accountable for their own uplifting. </p><p>"Institutions are not interested in the reasons for minority non-competitiveness; they are interested only in the <i>fact</i> that this persistent weakness means they must use preferences ..." Institutions only have to <i>appear</i> to dissociate from America's racist past, not actually do anything meaningful about it. Minority recruitment and lower standards for minorities don't solve the real problem.</p><p>It's theatre. "... hoping that money thrown at blameless poverty would win moral authority."</p><h4>Liberal White Supremacy</h4><p>"This points to the sad irony at the core of black-white relations in America. The price blacks pay for the mere illusion of recompense for past injustice <i>always</i> requires them ... to be merchandised to whites as inferiors in victims."</p><p>"...the great internal contradiction of white liberalism: that its paternalism, its focus on whites rather than on blacks as the agents of change, allows white supremacy to slip in the back door and once again to find a fundamental relationship between whites and blacks. So the very structure of the liberal faith – that whites and "society" must facilitate black uplift – locks white liberals into an unexamined white supremacy."</p><p>This Liberalism is all about dissociation and is inherently elitist. Such a person asserts they are better than any Conservative "because he is conspicuously dissociated from the litany of American sins." Worthy of moral authority. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Black Responsibility</h4><p>Throughout the book, Shelby repeats his point of view that blacks need to take more "responsibility for themselves and their children." "A 70% illegitimacy rate among all blacks ... pretty much makes the point that there is a responsibility problem. To know this, as all blacks do, and to have to pretend that it is not strictly true or that certain "systemic" forces are more responsible than blacks themselves is knowingly to lie to oneself."</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Conclusion</h4><p>I don't claim that this synopsis is free from bias. On the contrary, there is surely bias in how I arranged the points, in what text I selected to include, and in what I chose to exclude. Nevertheless, I tried to be fair to Shelby's thesis, to not misrepresent.</p><p>In a December 2020 discussion on Facebook, Curtis Stuehrenberg said "Shelby Steele has made himself famous and wealthy being one of the Black men who tell White people they aren’t racist." Shelby does indeed state that "Unreconstructed whites in America are not so unreconstructed anymore. Racism and imperial ambition no longer characterize the attitudes of most Americans." </p><p>However, Shelby's book isn't written to tell white people they aren't racist. In fact, Shelby does indeed give examples of ongoing white racism. He acknowledges that it still exists. He also lambasts the white liberal as the new racist. But, it seems to me, his point isn't to let whites off the hook. His point is to get blacks to accept responsibility.</p><p>As I stated in my <a href="2020/12/dispossession-white-fragility.html">prior post</a>, I have been intentionally seeking out voices I previously wouldn't have listened to, and reading stuff I normally wouldn't have read. This isn't something I normally would have read, but I'm glad that I did. I don't see the core message of White Guilt at being at odds with the core messages of those other books. It's "yes and". Yes there is systemic racism and whites should take responsibility for eliminating racists policies. Yes individual responsibility is important. Every family and individual should take responsibility for their own education, health, morality, civic duty, and contribution to society. Yes, everyone has some racist thoughts or actions, in various ways, at various times. We are all brought up in this system that none of us created. Whites do not have a monopoly on racism. Let's learn how to not be defensive, but to have positive conversations on how to move forward.</p>Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0Sandy Springs, GA, USA33.9304352 -84.37331475.6202013638211525 -119.5295647 62.240669036178843 -49.217064699999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-15247985740119712752020-12-03T14:18:00.005-05:002020-12-24T12:28:40.640-05:00Dispossession, White Fragility, Antiracism: Book Reviews<p>I am ignorant of a great many things. The interests and concerns of minorities in America are among them. I've spent my whole life, thus far, in a largely white male environment. Interactions with the few black friends in high school, college, at church, and at work were always civil, professional, and superficial. No one ever talked of the black struggle. Most people don't bring those things up in "polite company". Like religion and politics, such topics aren't always well received. That's too bad.</p><p>Anyway, over the last couple of years I have been intentionally seeking out voices I previously wouldn't have listened to, and reading stuff I normally wouldn't have read. I've begun researching, learning, and employing critical thinking and introspection over all that. I'm on a journey to understand racism and racist policies, how they are seen by and affect those impacted, how to not perpetuate it, and how to eliminate it. I invite you to join me on a similar journey of your own.</p><p>I recommend <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLroVQKzpuYvFLRDZ0z86--7B_z6fph57U" target="_blank">"Black in 2020"</a>, a webinar series from Duke University's Black Alumni Association, which you can find on youtube. It's an excellent series. I've also started watching movies and documentaries on this theme. Unfortunately, I didn't keep track of all that I've watched or my thoughts on them. </p><p>I did make notes on some of the books I've read. Here are some of those notes. I highly recommend all of these books.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><u>Dispossession: Discrimination against African American farmers in the age of civil rights</u>. Pete Daniel. 2013.</h4><p style="text-align: left;"><u>Dispossession</u> is a weighty tome, full of evidence of discrimination on the part of our own government, particularly the USDA, Farmers Home Administration (FmHA), and Farm Service Agency. I had no idea. Sure, I knew discrimination was all around, but I had no idea the extent to which it infiltrated our government or how it persisted into the 2000s. This book is backed up by evidence. It's almost nothing but documented case after documented case. </p><p style="text-align: left;">It would have helped me to understand the cases better if I had first read a short history on those agencies, when they came into being, and what their purposes were <i>supposed </i>to be.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I originally named this blog post after this book because it was so impactful to me. Then I read some other books that were equally impactful.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><u>Poppa Didn't Play That</u>. Mildred Burrell. 2020.</h4><p style="text-align: left;"><u>Poppa Didn't Play That</u> is a quick and delightful read. There are only a few mentions of racism and discrimination in this book. The book isn't about that. This book is about one particular family. It's about their family life. It's a human-interest story. I was glad to read this after reading <u>Dispossession</u>; I needed something lighter.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><u>Black Farmers in America</u>. Ficara & Williams. 2006.</h4><p style="text-align: left;"><u>Black Farmers</u> is mostly a book of photographs of black farmers. I've enjoyed studying the photos, the people, what I can see on their faces and in the background. There is one long well-written essay included in the book that's well worth reading. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><u>White Fragility</u>. Robin Diangelo. 2018.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Diangelo supports "the fashionable argument that blacks cannot be racist because they lack power". More on that when I discuss <u>Antiracist</u> below. Diangelo says that people of color may "hold prejudices and discriminate... but they lack the ... power that transforms that prejudice and discrimination into racism." (pg 22.) Therefore, she says, that only whites can be racist. I don't take offense at that. Most authors do well to carefully define their terms, and it helps to frame the topic.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Diangelo's point seems to be that White people don't need to get bent out of shape by discussions of race and racism. She says if "I understand racism as a system into which I was socialized, I can receive feedback on my problematic racial patterns as a helpful way to support my learning and growth." (pg 4.) "All humans have prejudice; we cannot avoid it." The problem is that we are taught that prejudice is bad and that only bad people are racist, that it's binary, either one is a racist or they are not. (ch 5.) We want to think of ourselves as good, moral people. Therefore, we won't admit to having prejudice, or any racist opinions or thoughts. Therefore, we shut down our self-awareness, don't reflect, and therefore can't entertain any thoughts of change -- we can't see or remove any bias or prejudice we have. "[A] simplistic definition of racism -- as intentional acts of racial discrimination committed by immoral individuals -- engenders a confidence that we are not part of the problem and that our learning is thus complete."</p><p style="text-align: left;">Diangelo then defines discrimination as action based on prejudice. She says that turns into racism when backed up by social or institutional power. "Racism is a structure; not an event." Racism goes beyond individuals and individual actions. "Racism is a system." "Ideology is reinforced across society..." (pg 20-21.) "Constantly reinforced."</p><p style="text-align: left;">"A racism-free upbringing is not possible, because racism is a social system embedded in the culture and its institutions. We are born into this system and have no say in whether we will be affected by it." (pg 83.) So, don't feel guilty about the existence of this system. But do accept responsibility for our role in it. (pg 149.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">Diangelo doesn't try to solve the problem of systemic racism. She does try to get white people involved, to get us to see it, to learn how to think about it and talk about it, and how to <i>not</i> think and talk about it. This book has given me a great deal of appreciation for what black people go through daily. (I say that realizing that this book is written by a white person.) I would have gotten much less out of this next book, <u>Antiracist</u>, if I hadn't read <u>White Fragility</u> first.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><u>How to be an Antiracist</u>. Ibam X. Kendi. 2019.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Kendi takes "a refreshingly strong stand against anti-white racism in the book, rejecting the fashionable argument that blacks cannot be racist because they lack power", a quote from Coleman Hughes taken from the Wikipedia article on Kendi. I couldn't have said it better myself, other than to add that he takes on all kinds of racism beyond just black/white/color/ethnicity. In his book, Kendi walks us through his own journey of racism toward anti-racism.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Kendi defines antiracist as "one who is expressing the idea that racial groups are equals and none needs developing, and is supporting policy that reduces racial inequity." Antiracist ideas are better than segregation, integration, and assimilation.</p><p style="text-align: left;">But Kendi's main point seems to be that it's best to focus on racist policies because racist policies are the cause of societal problems. Policies create the culture. Racist policies support and perpetuate racism. Change the policies and you'll change the culture. Our upbringing here in the culture in the US makes us racist, all of us, regardless of gender or color. Kendi defines racist as "someone who is supporting racist policies or expressing racist ideas". We all do that in various ways at various times. We don't need to get defensive. Rather, let's admit it, confess it, acknowledge the source, and struggle to support antiracist ideas. "...racial inequity is a problem of bad policy, not bad people."</p><p style="text-align: left;">I had the most trouble with Kendi's chapters on gender-racism and queer-racism. "To truly be antiracist is to be feminist." I had to look up feminism: advocacy of women's rights <i>on the basis of equality </i>of the sexes. Ok. I can go along with that.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Kendi: "We cannot be antiracist if we are homophobic or transphobic." I had to look up homophobic, which in my mind is an unfortunate and unhelpful term because it's not really about a phobia, a fear. Rather, it's simply "dislike of or prejudice against gay people". The point is that whether queer or straight we're all human. </p><p style="text-align: left;">My purpose in writing this blog post is to encourage everyone to read these books, particularly other white, evangelical Christian, males like myself. Therefore, let me editorialize for a bit. Hopefully, this will help you see that you can maintain your Christian beliefs and still get lots out of this book. This book is not anti-Christian. </p><p style="text-align: left;">A Christian should be able to see any LGBTQIA individual as a human and love them. A heterosexual Christian should not see themselves as better than or superior to a homosexual. Christians see many things as sins and know that they themselves have committed most of them. Like Paul, a humble Christian might seem themselves as the "chiefest of sinners". There is so much that can be said on this difficult topic, but that's not the point of this post. Since I am writing to the white heterosexual evangelical, I think I can stop there. </p><p style="text-align: left;">I support the liberty of religious organizations and certain small businesses. They should not be compelled to do things against their conscience, beliefs, and faith. The refusal to make a same-sex wedding cake lawsuits come to mind. Likewise, churches shouldn't be required to allow same-sex couples to rent their facilities. But I also believe that it's reasonable to allow same-sex couples to have the same health-care protections and allowances as heterosexual couples. What comes to mind is that if a hospital allows a heterosexual spouse into the ICU, then they should allow a same-sex partner into the ICU. Then comes the tax codes. This gets tricky. Maybe if Christians don't want benefits to be afforded to same-sex partners, then perhaps heterosexuals shouldn't get those benefits either. Just eliminate the benefit. In any event, Christians demand allowances for religious beliefs. Individual Christians and their religous organizations don't have to support same-sex unions, and shouldn't feel bad about their convictions. In such a case, that would be an instance of <i>not</i> holding or supporting queer-<i>antiracist</i> ideas. <b>But that's no reason for a Christian to not like this book or to avoid it. This concept isn't binary. No human can be completely anti-racist, in every instance, in every situation, and I believe the author agrees with that statement. </b>Every Christian should read this book, and they'll get much goodness out of it. An intelligent person can hold multiple conflicting ideas in their head at the same time. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">In Conclusion</h4><p style="text-align: left;">What surprised me the most about these books is that none of them made me mad. At no point did I get defensive. (Well, that's not true. I did get slightly defensive in a few cases, but I did what the books suggest, which is to self-examine why I got defensive. That helped me either acknowledge or even change a couple of unhealthy beliefs, attitudes. Then the defensiveness went away.) At no point did any of these books say I was a bad person. They each opened my eyes to some things that I was previously blind to, and for that I am grateful. I highly recommend all of these books.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Update 12/8/20</p><p style="text-align: left;">UNFORTUNATELY, whereas I was previously quite content in my ignorance, those books awakened and aroused in me white guilt. I have begun reading a book by that title, White Guilt, and I am now disturbed by how disturbed I've become beyond the level of which I was disturbed from reading those prior books. Bummer. Once I'm done reading that and perhaps Shelby's other book and possibly also a book entitled racism without racists, I'll post another update or another whole blog post.</p>Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com2Sandy Springs, GA, USA33.9304352 -84.37331475.6202013638211525 -119.5295647 62.240669036178843 -49.217064699999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-11110685847504092582018-10-20T12:28:00.000-04:002018-10-20T12:28:17.482-04:00Lessons learned as a Juror, For the Young WomanAs I mentioned in my <a href="http://www.andrewfuqua.com/2018/10/lessons-learned-as-juror-for-young-man.html" target="_blank">prior post</a>, I served on a jury earlier this month and it was a real eye-opener. The prosecuting attorney talked about the consequences of getting drunk, the symptoms of the hangover. The consequences are rightly a headache, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dizziness, shakiness, and the like. The consequences <b>are not </b>rape. They are not sexual assault. Alas, crime should not exist, but it does. Don't get me wrong: putting yourself at risk does not excuse the person who would commit a crime. We should all be able to get drunk and go wherever we wish. Perpetrators should all be caught and convicted. Nevertheless, it is prudent to take precautions.<br />
<ul>
<li>Being drunk makes you an easier target for crime.</li>
<li>Having another person there with you will not guarantee your safety. There is safety in numbers, but a person can easily be separated from one or even two others. And with more than two others, attention is divided such that one person can be put in danger.</li>
<ul>
<li>Further, your friend may be unable to convince the police that you were kidnapped.</li>
<li>If your friend can convince the police that you were kidnapped, an additional crime against you will be over before the police can use things like pinging your phone to find your location.</li>
</ul>
<li>Drunk people are terrible at providing protection, and even worse at coming to your defense.</li>
<li>The perpetrator's defense attorney will try to discredit or defeat DNA evidence, and they can be successful.</li>
<li>When there is DNA from 3 or more persons (the victim + 2 or more, or when there is sperm from 2 individuals), DNA testing cannot separate the DNA from the various individuals in order to make a match to any individual.</li>
<ul>
<li>And even if they could, you'll find that a conviction is unsatisfactory.</li>
</ul>
<li>Cell phone location records are kept for only 18 months. It may be impossible to use such records for proof since…</li>
<li>It can take <i><b>months</b></i> for DNA evidence to be tested. Your perpetrator's DNA profile may not yet be in the crime database. It can take <i><b>months</b></i> for DNA from another victim to be tested. It can take time to find the defendant, to get his DNA, and <i><b>months</b></i> for his DNA to be tested. By then, certain other evidence is no longer available.</li>
<li>Although there are cameras everywhere, they are never where the victim needs them to be, or they aren't turned on, or they aren't recording, or the technology isn't working, or the video or audio isn't clear, or it's been so long since the event that the recording has been lost.</li>
<ul>
<li>Even the police's car cam audio may be ineffective because the car isn't pointed in an ideal direction, or because of glare from other lights, or because of the radio being on. Police officers rightly use music to keep them alert during the night shift. They might not turn it off before they get out of their car.</li>
</ul>
<li>Although there are eye witnesses everywhere, eye witnesses are terribly unreliable, and the police will testify to that in court. Eye witnesses don't pay attention until it's too late. Once the witness realizes something is going wrong they will have missed the opportunity to make a rational observation and to commit important details to memory. That can work to your disadvantage, rarely to your advantage.</li>
<ul>
<li>Example: "We took a ride with someone. We were in the car with him for half an hour. Maybe more. But I generally trusted and ignored him. Then, suddenly, after I was out of the vehicle, I realized something was going wrong. After the driver was gone, with my friend still in the car, I realized that I never really looked at him. I can't describe him at all. DAMN IT! And I couldn't get the license plate."</li>
</ul>
<li>The GBI specifically, and the state and district DAs have a large backlog of work and limited time and funds. They will not do everything possible for your case. They will do what they think is just sufficient, and efficient.</li>
</ul>
<br />
I don't believe young women understand how easily they can be abducted; nor do they realize how hard it is to catch the perpetrator; nor how little satisfaction would come from a conviction. The victim will live with and relive the pain the rest of her life.<br />
<br />
The same goes for parents. I live in a safe, upscale neighborhood, more safe than most, but perhaps not the safest since it's not a gated and guarded community. Nevertheless, I feel safe. My family feels safe. Yet, in the case in question, there was a point in time in which this newly convicted felon lived within two miles of my house. One of his crimes was committed within three miles of my house.<br />
<br />
I don't suggest living in fear. I do suggest living one's life with aplomb and gusto, to the fullest. But also with prudence.<br />
<br />
<br />Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-44731712825598504552018-10-20T11:50:00.000-04:002018-10-20T12:29:00.943-04:00Lessons Learned as a Juror, For the Young ManI served on a jury earlier this month. It was an eye-opener to me. So many decisions are made as one grows up, the odds of making a wrong turn are great. Each bad turn can lead to another; or to repentance and a better direction. "There, but for the grace of God go I." Given this experience, I thought I'd write down some of my thoughts, first for the young man. <a href="http://www.andrewfuqua.com/2018/10/lessons-learned-as-juror-for-young-woman.html" target="_blank">Later for the young woman</a>.<br />
<ul>
<li>Having sex with someone who is inebriated is rape (assuming no prior valid informed consent for the sake of this article). An inebriated person cannot give informed consent. If a female's judgment is impaired in any way, she cannot give informed consent. If you think she gave consent, you better think again.</li>
<ul>
<li>The penalty for rape can be life imprisonment.</li>
</ul>
<li>If a male has sex with someone who is inebriated or who can claim to be so, she can claim she didn't give consent to the sex.</li>
<ul>
<li>In fact, that person can claim rape even if she wasn't inebriated. Unless there is testimony or video that the jury believes, you can be (justly or unjustly) convicted of rape.</li>
</ul>
<li>You don't realize how much DNA and other evidence you leave behind.</li>
<ul>
<li>A condom will not conceal all evidence, particularly not even all DNA evidence.</li>
</ul>
<li>If you run from the cops, you will get caught. Perhaps later.</li>
<ul>
<li>Running from the cops makes you look guilty of more than you may be guilty of.</li>
</ul>
<li>Being inebriated can cause you to make mistakes and get caught doing stuff that you would not get caught doing if sober.</li>
<li>You are more likely to get noticed by cops and pulled over after dark.</li>
<li>Certain evidence for your defense such as cell phone records are only kept by the phone companies for 18 months.</li>
<ul>
<li>You may need those records for your defense for longer than that.</li>
<li>Evidence for your conviction, however, is kept around for what would seem like a sufficiently long time.</li>
<li>This will not work out in your favor.</li>
</ul>
<li>There are cameras everywhere. There are eye witnesses everywhere.</li>
<ul>
<li>Witnesses are unreliable, but that will not work to your advantage.</li>
</ul>
<li>The jury will not believe your explanation. It will sound fantastical to them. Imagine the people in the jury. Do you think any of them have ever been in your situation? Not likely.</li>
<li>Public Defenders (state provided attorneys) can be surprisingly bad at their job. While they can also be surprisingly good, and they can be better than private attorneys due to the number of cases they handle (lots of experience) and their knowledge of the juries, of the local law enforcement, of the prosecutors, and of the judges, the big problem is their backlog of work. Their heavy caseload limits the time they can spend on your case.</li>
<li>The GBI (or your state bureau of investigation), prosecuting attorneys, law enforcement and DAs have limited funds and will therefore not do every test and collect everything possible. Nevertheless, they will try to win their case.</li>
<ul>
<li>“About 90 percent of the cases end with a plea bargain, and of those cases going to trial, about 90 percent end in a guilty verdict,” (Something I found on the internet -- sorry, I'm quoting this without attribution.)</li>
<li>"In the United States, the federal court system, the conviction rose from approximately 75 percent to approximately 85% between 1972 and 1992. For 2012, the US Department of Justice reported a 93% conviction rate. The conviction rate is also high in U.S. state courts. Coughlan writes, "In recent years, the conviction rate has averaged approximately 84% in Texas, 82% in California, 72% in New York, 67% in North Carolina, and 59% in Florida." Wikipedia</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
If you are a defendant in a criminal case, don't think you'll fare well with a jury. Don't make up a story. Plead guilty, repent, beg for forgiveness, and throw yourself on the mercy of the court.<br />
<br />
I don't believe young men realize what constitutes rape; nor do they realize how severe the penalty is. Likewise for any list of crimes. Perhaps that should be taught in school: crime and punishment.<br />
<br />
For a biblical perspective on this, consider how this comes about and grows: "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." (James 1:14-15, ESV)<br />
<br />
Yet, even if one were to make some big mistakes, he can still have forgiveness from God, salvation and eternal life.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)</li>
<li>For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)</li>
<li>But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NKJV)</li>
<li>If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (Romans 10:9-10)</li>
<li>For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13 NKJV)</li>
<li>So then faith [comes] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17 NKJV)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Yes, it's that simple. You can feel hope once again. You can feel love once again.</div>
Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-69266529861259353832015-10-16T17:23:00.000-04:002015-10-16T17:23:37.570-04:00A Personal Kanban & a OneNote Folder for Every Client, Project, Aspect of LifeFor the last couple years I have almost always had 5 to 10 active Personal Kanbans in <a href="http://www.trello.com/" target="_blank">Trello</a> along with a folder in OneNote and another in Outlook or gmail (one for each PK). I have one of these trios for each client. I also have a trio for personal/home projects and another for church projects. I can access all 3 of these on my Mac, my windows laptop, and my Android phone. Sweet!<br />
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I'll generally work on one client or one project per day, or for a week, or even a month at a time. Whenever I finish for the day I endeavor to ensure my PK and notes pages are all up to date and in a state that will help me pick it back up tomorrow or some other day. Whenever I switch contexts, it's a simple matter to switch which Trello board and which OneNote folder I'm viewing.<br />
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I really like the way these work together. It's helping me become paperless which is a bonus given my travel and the number of notes I need to search for (and the sloppiness of my handwriting). This approach has segregated notes and tasks and emails into specific views so that I don't get distracted by what I don't need to focus on at the moment.<br />
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Seeing people take notes on a laptop, or open laptops in general, can be off-putting to many people. This is especially true when working with many different people or with a newish client, where we're still gaining trust and feeling each other out and haven't had many (or any) interactions yet. So I tend to take notes on paper whenever I'm having a conversation in person. Then I'll transcribe what is important of those notes into my PK or OneNote. Rewriting them (I'm told) helps to digest, consolidate, and remember what is important, a skill I never got the hang of in school. Many of my colleagues use those fancy pens to record handwriting and automatically convert it to text. I can see the benefit of that, but I'm a late adopter of new technology, due in part to being overly frugal. (I used a paper PK for a long while, until I found Trello.) I think I'll stick with manually reviewing and transposing the notes for a while.<br />
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All of this has gotten my life very organized. David Allen's Getting Things Done has helped too, but I've <a href="http://www.andrewfuqua.com/2012/10/what-i-discovered-about-personal-kanban.html" target="_blank">covered that in a prior post</a>.<br />
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<i>This may be the fastest blog post I've ever cranked out, one of the few I've cranked out in one sitting. I didn't know where the post was going to go until I wrote it. I just thought I'd share something about this system since it's been so powerful for me. I figured there was a blog post to be written about this, but I didn't/don't know what my readers would want to know. </i><br />
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<i>What have I not covered that you'd want to know?</i>Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-22037160857125906522015-09-11T14:55:00.001-04:002015-09-11T14:55:35.313-04:00What do you estimate and when do you do it?<div style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
Pick up most any book on agile or Scrum and see what it says about planning a product backlog or planning a release or about computing an end date for a project. It will say to identify the stories, estimate them in points, add up all the points, and compare the backlog point total with your velocity to figure out how many sprints it will take to implement all those stories. Then reserve some room for unknowns and for changes (agility).</div>
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So, that implies identifying and estimating stories far enough in advance to match whatever your planning and commitment horizon is. This implies that estimating story points in sprint planning or just before sprint planning or even one sprint in advance is likely not far enough in advance unless you are ultra-agile and aren't making commitments or setting date expectations more than a couple weeks out.</div>
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Most companies I work with have a planning horizon that is 3 to 6 months out. So, we put together a 4 or 6 month plan. That plan is going to be based on what we can know in advance, namely, user stories. (Sometimes we do this at the feature level, but that's another blog post.) We won't know research stories or spikes or defects or production support in advance. Whatever goes into the plan is what should go into the velocity metric. Stated differently, you shouldn't put anything into your velocity metric that you can't plan for 4 to 6 months in advance. Which means you shouldn't bother putting points on defect or on research stories. If you are going to compare apples to apples, your velocity must exclude unplannable stuff.</div>
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That's why I put points only on real user stories. Here is a series of blog posts I did on each of these topics:</div>
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<a href="http://www.leadingagile.com/2014/03/dont-estimate-software-defects/" target="_blank">Don't Estimate Defects</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.leadingagile.com/2014/04/dont-estimate-spikes/" target="_blank">Don't Estimate Spikes</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.leadingagile.com/2014/09/dont-estimate-stories-sprint-planning/" target="_blank">Don't Estimate in Sprint Planning</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.leadingagile.com/2015/07/estimating-placeholder-stories-is-a-bad-practice/" target="_blank">Estimating Placeholder Stories is a Bad Practice</a></div>
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Now, some people try to estimate this unplannable stuff. They try to quantify it in points and include it in placeholders in their plan. You absolutely should track this unplannable stuff, and you should reason about whether it will be more or less in the future, but trying to back it into points or plan it using points is folly. </div>
Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-3556206834636999442015-02-26T20:30:00.000-05:002015-02-26T20:30:24.941-05:00Don't Spike DefectsI've recently seen a small number of teams create <a href="http://www.andrewfuqua.com/2013/06/spike-solutions.html">Spikes</a> for defects. That seems strange to me. If you have a good reason for doing this, please let me know.<br />
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It should be rare that we’d have a spike to research a defect. Defects almost always have some amount of unknown research and debugging to them. It would seem strange to me to have a SPIKE to debug a problem which would then be fixed under a Defect.<br />
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The exception case may be if we want a triage/debugging step where we figure out what’s wrong and estimate the effort to fix before agreeing to fix it. But typically with defects, once you know how to fix it, actually fixing may be faster than all the debugging. By the time you’ve got it debugged, you know exactly how to fix it. I rarely find that approval step necessary these days.<br />
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I haven't heard of spiking defects discussed in the agile community so I assume it's generally accepted that this is <i>not</i> a recommended or common practice.Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-53701044278642162892015-02-12T10:53:00.001-05:002015-02-12T10:55:15.896-05:00How Many Stories per Sprint? Rules of ThumbI'm often asked how many stories you should have in a sprint. People are looking for guidance.<br />
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I've heard some coaches recommend “3-6 stories per iteration per developer”. That's a bad rule of thumb. For a team of 7 developers you would have over 20-40 stories which is likely way too many. That kind rule of thumb also subtly takes the focus off of swarming and puts attention toward a developer per story, a story per developer.<br />
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My rules of thumb:<br />
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<b>5 to 15 stories per sprint</b> are about the right number, particularly for the clients I often work with in which there are maintenance teams knocking down a backlog of small defects and teams doing Web work with lots of small changes to do. 4 stories in a sprint may be okay on the low end from time to time, and 20 is an upper limit for me. <br />
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Most s<b>tories shouldn't take more than half the sprint</b> to develop <i>and test</i>. Having 1 story each sprint that takes more than half the sprint is about all I would advise, and in that case all the other stories should be very small. For a 2 week sprint, it's better if every story can be completed in <b>1 to 3 days</b>. (Adjust that for longer sprints.)<br />
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I need to elaborate on my comment that it's better if every story can be completed in 1 to 3 days. After stating that I'm often asked whether that's the developers working independently or all together. The answer is "whatever you are doing today." It is best if the team can swarm stories such that multiple developers can work on a story at the same time. If 2 or 3 devs can work on a story at the same time, then you can
have larger stories finished within that 1 to 3 day rule of thumb. But if the team isn't there yet, if that's not the way they work today, then having stories that are too big given the way they are working is counter productive.<br />
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What's the maximum number of points for a story? How big is too big? How many points is too big for a story varies according to the team's pointing scale. I've known teams that start with 5 (5, 10, 20, 30, 50, 80). For them, 50 and 80 were too big. I've also known teams where a 1 point story would take less than half a day. For them, a 13 might not be too big. If a 1 takes more than a day, then 13 is probably too big. Generally, <b>too big is an order of magnitude</b> larger than the typical small story.<br />
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Here's an example: Assume my 1 point story takes a day or two and once in a while we have something that is truly tiny and we call those half a point. The 1 pointer is my typical low end of the range. I have something smaller, but it's not typical. A 13 is an order of magnitude larger that 1 point story. It's <a href="http://www.andrewfuqua.com/2011/09/partial-points-and-unstable-velocity.html">very difficult to keep the scale linear</a> when there is that much diversity in your story sizes.Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-8472273036850312282015-02-10T20:28:00.000-05:002015-02-10T20:28:31.004-05:00Story Splitting: Where do I start?I don't always follow the same story splitting approach when I need to split a story. It has become intuitive for me so I might not be able to write about everything I do or what goes through my mind or how I know. But I can put here what comes to mind at the moment:<br />
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Look at your acceptance criteria. There is often some aspect of business value in each acceptance criteria that can be split out into a separate story that is valuable to the ProductOwner.<br />
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Consider the tasks that need to be done. Can any of them be deferred (to a later sprint)? If so, then consider whether any of them are separately valuable to the ProductOwner. If so, perhaps that would be a good story to split out.<br />
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If there are lots of unknowns, if it's a 13 because of unanswered questions, make a list of the questions and uncertainties. For each, ask whether it's a Business Analyst (BA) to-do or a Tech to-do. Also ask for each whether it's easy and should be considered "grooming". If it's significant enough and technical, maybe you should split that out as a ResearchSpike. Then make an assumption about the likely outcome of the spike, or the desired outcome of the spike, note the assumption in the original story, and reestimate the original story given the assumption.<br />
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Look in the story description for conjunctions since and's and or's are a clue that the story may be doing too much. Consider whether you can split the story along the lines of the conjunctions.<br />
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Other ideas:<br />
<ul>
<li>Workflow steps: Identify specific steps that a user takes to accomplish the specific workflow, and then implement the work flow in incremental stages</li>
<li>Business Rule Variations</li>
<li>Happy path versus error paths</li>
<li>Simple approach versus more and more complex approaches</li>
<li>Variations in data entry methods or sources</li>
<li>Support simple data 1st, then more complex data later</li>
<li>Variations in output formatting, simple first, then complex</li>
<li>Defer some system quality (an "ility"). Estimate or interpolate first, do real-time later. Support a speedier response later.</li>
<li>Split out parts of CRUD. Do you really really really need to be able to Delete if you can Update or Deactivate? Do you really really really need to Update if you can Create and Delete? Sure, you may need those functions, but you don't have to have them all in the same sprint or in the same story.</li>
</ul>
<i>Some of the phrases in the above list may have been inadvertently recited from Dean Leffingwell's book "Agile Software Requirements".</i>Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-36388969502607965842015-01-20T21:01:00.000-05:002015-01-20T21:01:08.413-05:00Airplane Etiquette: 12 Rants<style media='print' type='text/css'>.widget-content, .tabs-outer, #header-wrapper, #header, .header, #sidebar-wrapper, .sidebar, #leftsidebar-wrapper, #rightsidebar-wrapper, .date-header, .post-meta-data, .comment-link, .comment-footer, #blog-pager, #backlinks-container, #navbar-section, .subscribe_notice, #navbar, #Navbar1, #comments, #comments-block, .post-footer, .noprint {display: none !important;} </style>How about a little airplane etiquette? <span class="noprint"><br />
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<i>Surely my readers don't commit any of these blunders, so my suggestion is to print a copy of this to bring on board. This works especially well because those who have a lower airline status tend to be more unaware. Slip this in a seat-back pocket in the row in front of you before the others board. This paragraph won't (shouldn't) print with the rest of the page.</i><br />
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</span>Here's my rant for the year. <br />
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# 1 - Avoid cologne and perfume. Many people, like me, are actually allergic to cologne and perfume. Our sinuses get stuffy, we get a headache, and our eyes start to itch. Very uncomfortable for a flight of any duration. Use Beano®. Use deodorant. But don't try to mask it with cologne.<br />
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# 2 - Before reclining your seat, look back first to see if you're going to squash a laptop or bump a head. Give a polite warning. Then recline your seat back SLOWLY. <br />
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# 3 - Don't flop down in the seat. Doing so can crush whatever is going on behind you.<br />
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# 4 - Don't punch the seat-back display. The person in front of you can feel the lightest taps through the headrest. <br />
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# 5 - Similarly, the person in the seat in front of you can feel everything you shove into the seat-back pocket, especially if you let the elastic on the net snap back. (I'm a big offender for this one. I'm working on being more considerate.)<br />
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# 6 -The middle seat armrests belong to the guy in the middle seat. The window seat has an armrest by the window… AND the window. The isle seat has an armrest at the isle… AND the isle. The only thing the dreaded middle seat has is… nothing. Give the poor sap in the middle a couple of arm rests.<br />
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# 7 - Ugh, a plane full of roller-bags. I wish the airlines would charge for carrying on more than 1 item and for any item that's the size of a roller-bag. Checking bags should be free. Come-on people. Let's travel light out there.<br />
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# 8 - The window seat has the prerogative to raise or lower the window shade as desired. Still, it is polite, but not required, to consider the others. Lowering it a little is kind if others are watching a movie, using their laptop or sleeping. Raising it for someone reading a book is a kind gesture. If you aren't by the window, ask very kindly if you'd like the shade adjusted. <br />
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# 9 - Turn off the ringer and alert tones on your phone. Completely. There are enough dings and beeps on the plane. We don't need phones beeping and dinging for every email that arrives and meeting that we are missing. Keep your reminders to yourself. <br />
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# 10 - Unbelievably, I see people play movies, games and music on planes without headphones. Some yack on the phone loudly while boarding, sometimes even on speakerphone. Use headphones. Speak softly.<br />
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# 11 - Pay attention. If you intend to wrap up in a blanket or a big coat and sleep, ensure that you haven't thrown the end of your cover over onto another person.<br />
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# 12 - Sometimes flight attendants will suggest we stay seated after we reach the gate to let those with tight connections off first. Certainly, if we're arriving late, I support that. If we're arriving on time, I'm not so sure. I don't have a lot of sympathy for anyone booking a flight that doesn't give them sufficient time to make their connection. I should probably rethink that. There could be people who got a tight connection because of some other canceled or delayed flight, or some fault not of their own. Yeah, it's good to be considerate.<br />
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Bonus:<br />
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Bring an orange. Eat it on the plane. The smell of citrus is most often welcome on a flight.<br />
Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-90698886257516318672014-11-21T15:23:00.000-05:002017-01-28T11:12:17.771-05:00Repair a Leaky Cuisinart<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcat14mOz7l2RS5f9r0q2QZ4h6VG_0Z9WHnbRkVg03h-yfbrLBKJrZjaIfVIWP7HcMmezNpvKOWM95L3kILIo97RLNQKZBdc9KdvBKcZUh8yDmoo6XcR4ADC30A-y-dqOxFkrrkuTAgjTu/s1600/20151121_144240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcat14mOz7l2RS5f9r0q2QZ4h6VG_0Z9WHnbRkVg03h-yfbrLBKJrZjaIfVIWP7HcMmezNpvKOWM95L3kILIo97RLNQKZBdc9KdvBKcZUh8yDmoo6XcR4ADC30A-y-dqOxFkrrkuTAgjTu/s200/20151121_144240.jpg" width="112" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxB3OnPOMR-2J_sTODcg854bhP0O29MtGtw-e9Ju1zm8sggaYoQCmaWLJ9Yb6h-t__xTM0-LfrDueCTQzd9_ex0B0I3Idi3kcGiZcrUl_J4BtNUp1mKIdIFk-Nw-Phx5zEIwn2bITsKWlj/s1600/20151121_143125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxB3OnPOMR-2J_sTODcg854bhP0O29MtGtw-e9Ju1zm8sggaYoQCmaWLJ9Yb6h-t__xTM0-LfrDueCTQzd9_ex0B0I3Idi3kcGiZcrUl_J4BtNUp1mKIdIFk-Nw-Phx5zEIwn2bITsKWlj/s200/20151121_143125.jpg" width="112" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSAdqsbmEO4bszQLMH0LmYx0ij4RQxy8wyy0jiD-XSHEWpW3nDhjEDpaTjWdwTX6gFQOBrfn5DoDnfgFtcGokdBJR7U1Vm-2xyYS5bGNOLs9Hp5SxeeRWNUNgiN3N4AGtuWNTX_BApTpX_/s1600/20151121_143059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSAdqsbmEO4bszQLMH0LmYx0ij4RQxy8wyy0jiD-XSHEWpW3nDhjEDpaTjWdwTX6gFQOBrfn5DoDnfgFtcGokdBJR7U1Vm-2xyYS5bGNOLs9Hp5SxeeRWNUNgiN3N4AGtuWNTX_BApTpX_/s200/20151121_143059.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfN_9EWrmYAL3X21CocJXX2gCWJ9UaQLCT7b5pX0y8ED0HVSl-cbMh_IzFlmKin6hyphenhyphenXqlQjyoxCWyhrDAGdnivaRzsozt-ryni5Rg6SaQPTSETp-Fyt71HHN4q3HD_b_x2KZBH704RdYex/s1600/20151121_143029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfN_9EWrmYAL3X21CocJXX2gCWJ9UaQLCT7b5pX0y8ED0HVSl-cbMh_IzFlmKin6hyphenhyphenXqlQjyoxCWyhrDAGdnivaRzsozt-ryni5Rg6SaQPTSETp-Fyt71HHN4q3HD_b_x2KZBH704RdYex/s200/20151121_143029.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbj1XpQmeL-R_PDHnb8G2xyCk_I5IIbc_299m8qbvBYXiGg1UX-yoOZAGnnWHhbEWNuZWfAfrcUgE6isT_sKqYfaC4rYZ4t9wI5RzDuGT-FQVM6t73Wrnwr_SzgPWL8hWgnItUIpp8fIov/s1600/20151121_143505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbj1XpQmeL-R_PDHnb8G2xyCk_I5IIbc_299m8qbvBYXiGg1UX-yoOZAGnnWHhbEWNuZWfAfrcUgE6isT_sKqYfaC4rYZ4t9wI5RzDuGT-FQVM6t73Wrnwr_SzgPWL8hWgnItUIpp8fIov/s200/20151121_143505.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
My Cuisinart Grind and Brew developed a leak. There was a small hole in the plumbing. It would leak all over the counter. That made it more of a Cussinart in my household. Here's how I fixed it with a little metal epoxy that I got from the local hardware store.<br />
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Most of the posts I see online about leaky Cuisinarts blame a clogged thermos lid, using too much coffee, using too finely ground coffee, or a clogged filter. If yours is leaking clear water like mine did, the problem isn't any of those. Before I opened it up I suspected a leaky hose or a cracked reservoir (though there really shouldn't be any reason for the reservoir to crack).<br />
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There are 4 hex or torx-bit screws holding the bottom panel on. My tools weren't skinny or long enough to fit in the narrow hole, so I just drilled the holes out. I probably used a 7/16" bit.<br />
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When I opened it up I saw a rusty (and cheap) clamp on those big orange hoses. I thought that might be the problem. But I also saw some discoloration in a spot on the aluminum pipe. Now that I had the bottom off I filled it up with water to find the source of the leak. I saw that it was leaking from the aluminum. So, I sanded the area of the leak and cleaned it off. That made the hole more visible. I patched it with some epoxy made for metals that I got from the local hardware store. The smallest size cost $6 and is much much more than I'll ever need, but that's cheaper than a new Cussi..., er, Cuisinart.<br />
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Since I drilled out the bottom I can't just reattach it with the original screws. I'll use a little glue (not too much) to hold the bottom on. Superglue might work. JB Weld would work well. Some other assorted craft glues that I have lying around should work.<br />
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If yours has a leaky hose, that should likewise be an easy fix. You can get a new hose from your hardware store. Zip-ties and new clamps are easy to come by.<br />
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Good luck! Let me know if you find this useful.Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-17466561698670040962014-04-08T08:51:00.000-04:002014-04-08T08:51:52.248-04:00My Recent Posts on LeadingAgileI started working with <a href="http://www.leadingagile.com">LeadingAgile</a> in 11/2012 on some complex enterprise agile transformations and other lean management consulting. Related to that, I've done most of my recent blogging over there on LeadingAgile's blog. Here are some of those posts:<br />
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I <a href="http://www.leadingagile.com/2014/03/dont-estimate-software-defects/">Don’t Estimate Software Defects</a>, but it's not as simple as just that. If you follow my advice, you'll also have a zero-defect mentality and you'll fix defects as soon as you find them. In general, I want a conservative measure of velocity, so I don't record in my velocity anything that was unplanned. Therefore, I likewise <a href="http://www.leadingagile.com/2014/04/dont-estimate-spikes/">Don't Estimate Spikes</a>.<br />
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I'm fond of <a href="http://www.leadingagile.com/2014/01/theory-constraints-brooks-law/">The Theory of Constraints and Brooks’ Law</a>. In that post I evaluated Brooks' Law in light of the Theory of Constraints in a way that I hope helps the reader understand both concepts.<br />
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<a href="http://www.leadingagile.com/2013/07/lack-of-predictability-your-biggest-problem/">Lack of Predictability is Your Biggest Problem.</a> The senior leadership in most organizations I work with seem to agree. They aren't very interested in agile's agility. They want their design-build-test teams and their program teams to be able to make and meet commitments so they can make appropriate capacity constrained commitments across the portfolio and to external stakeholders.<br />
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<a href="http://www.leadingagile.com/2013/07/agile-health-metrics-for-predictability/">Agile Health Metrics for Predictability</a> was perhaps my most popular post on LeadingAgile's blog. <br />
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In <a href="http://www.leadingagile.com/2013/07/bottom-up-implementation-top-down-intent/">Bottom-Up Implementation & Top-Down Intent</a>, I discuss my recommended approach to agile transformations. <br />
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Related to that, I wrote a post arguing that you should fix your <a href="http://www.leadingagile.com/2013/06/structure-1st-why-you-should-not-start-with-practices/">Structure 1st: Why You Should Not Start With Practices</a><br />
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Part of your structure involves your design-build-test teams, also known as your Scrum teams. In <a href="http://www.leadingagile.com/2013/07/use-feature-teams-component-teams/">Use Feature Teams. Yes, Use Component Teams</a> I explaining these approaches and why I recommend using both.<br />
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<a href="http://www.leadingagile.com/2013/11/scrum-teams-release-sprint/">What do Scrum teams do during the Release Sprint?</a> Good question. This post has the answer. In short, many things, but not developing code that can't be tested immediately.<br />
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Oh, I also published an article in Agile Journal entitled <a href="http://www.agileconnection.com/article/identifying-and-improving-bad-user-stories">Identifying and Improving Bad User Stories</a> along with my friend and co-author Chuck Suscheck. We put another article up on sticky-minds: <a href="http://www.stickyminds.com/article/problems-overachievers-agile-teams">The Problems with Overachievers on Agile Teams</a>.<br />
Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-44271801208400291802014-01-15T06:30:00.000-05:002014-01-15T06:30:00.714-05:00What's DOING in Personal Kanban?<i>What do you do with Stories on your Personal Kanban that you are going to put aside for a day or three?</i><br />
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I'm committed to limiting my Work In Process (WIP) and to "stop starting / start finishing" but some stories/tasks just need to be put aside. I'm not talking about tasks that are blocked, waiting on someone else. Those I'll either flag or move to a Waiting/Blocked column. Rather, this post is about stuff that I need to stew on or need to come back to when my mind is ready. What do you do with those? Herein I'll tell you what I do, but I'm really interested in what you do. Please post your thoughts and ideas in the comments.<br />
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I don't have a HOLD column on my <a href="http://www.personalkanban.com/pk/">personal kanban</a> wall. Hold seems to be a misnomer for me. It's a kind of lie. The work really still is in progress. It's WIP. I'm going to come back to it this week, maybe tomorrow, maybe even today. It ain't done. <br />
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I could split my task or story each time I feel the need to set one aside, putting part of it in DONE and part of it back in a ready column, but I kind of like my definition of what is a story, what is a task and what is a next-action (or sub-task). I don't want to monkey with that. Anyway, <a href="http://www.andrewfuqua.com/2012/09/backlog-completion-date-kanban-hazard.html">splitting stories is a kanban hazard</a>.<br />
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<b>PROJECTS, STORIES, TASKS, NEXT-ACTIONS & SUB-TASKS </b><br />
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For the following discussion you need to understand my context: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Z7him7OWAXk-0tn2tHleVup_cLcNQKaI-hXoRzYMvRzd9aEFklWFWC6lKyd6WgGa1VUvBLMvq76U0prLcgQAvbpNB2uJXrZ01weuFIGvLAJPg6gYV-iMsT2-pCEym-Euuet0goNzbRMH/s1600/2012-08-13+15.41.01+-+Cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Z7him7OWAXk-0tn2tHleVup_cLcNQKaI-hXoRzYMvRzd9aEFklWFWC6lKyd6WgGa1VUvBLMvq76U0prLcgQAvbpNB2uJXrZ01weuFIGvLAJPg6gYV-iMsT2-pCEym-Euuet0goNzbRMH/s400/2012-08-13+15.41.01+-+Cropped.jpg" /></a></div>I have Projects (held in a folder) that get broken down into multiple Stories, each Story on its own stickie. Some Stories are stand-alone, not related to any Project. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizuM30O5FOPyeM3F27zRWQtYTmpFcvK59X8VF-I8WjMuRGwE2NvJcolJHiTUcnB61I-DRUgq2k6UVPsozhnNdEB55xudSOsE7Sq026l1AoEH9xyijLjNTp8xL0Sh-66Hg8pY-wv_Z_alZt/s1600/2012-08-13+15.22.18+cropped+1daycourseprep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizuM30O5FOPyeM3F27zRWQtYTmpFcvK59X8VF-I8WjMuRGwE2NvJcolJHiTUcnB61I-DRUgq2k6UVPsozhnNdEB55xudSOsE7Sq026l1AoEH9xyijLjNTp8xL0Sh-66Hg8pY-wv_Z_alZt/s180/2012-08-13+15.22.18+cropped+1daycourseprep.jpg" /></a></div>I also have some Stories that have multiple "next-actions" (or tasks or sub-tasks, whatever you choose to call them). In the spirit of <a href="http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/08/getting-started-with-getting-things-done">Getting Things Done</a> (GTD), I note the next-action, or next several actions, on the Story stickie. Often, each one of these next-actions might take 5 minutes or less, so they don't seem to be a Story deserving of a stickie of their own.<br />
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So here's what I do for those tasks in that nebulous state of not done but not active either. I'd love for you to add your thoughts in the comments.<br />
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<b>IT'S DOING</b><br />
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Some of my to-dos need time to stew, such as writing a blog post. I have lots of outlines and rough drafts. I create drafts quickly when the idea comes to me. Such activity never enters my personal kanban. In the spirit of GTD, if it takes less than a couple minutes to do, just do it. I very rarely create a Task or Story for such activity.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_Leo8h5e_fRzyFgB2avSlli_xseKNkFC5L2i-WV28nvdhYUbBtpRZWcYAyYSzY6Rh239rGYHtIIcBycwhOffshvMdSQc58tbv-cfyGKrLrKR5_PwyuZiTSV0xdgX_iD9BA6ohQ38dPxV/s1600/2012-08-13+15.23.40+cropped+pkblogpostwithaction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_Leo8h5e_fRzyFgB2avSlli_xseKNkFC5L2i-WV28nvdhYUbBtpRZWcYAyYSzY6Rh239rGYHtIIcBycwhOffshvMdSQc58tbv-cfyGKrLrKR5_PwyuZiTSV0xdgX_iD9BA6ohQ38dPxV/s180/2012-08-13+15.23.40+cropped+pkblogpostwithaction.jpg" /></a></div>But when I select a draft blog post to finish, I put the blog-post Story on my personal kanban in DOING and leave it there until I'm done-done. But I won't finish it in one setting. I'll flesh it out and let it sit. I'll come back to it, pretty it up, put in some links and gather some photos, and let it sit. I'll proof read and polish it and paste it into blogger, and let it sit. I'll come back to it some morning to be sure it's ready to go, publish it, and tweet it. During all of that, I might add a next-action (sub-task) either into my draft blog post (such as "--insert photo here--") or onto the stickie (such as "trim the photos").<br />
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I'm pretty satisfied with how I do that.<br />
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<b>IT'S DONE FOR TODAY AND A TODO FOR TOMORROW</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbsDADj3hKYyioJkR-lINa1uR8uvyeb5ZI-gHzfP2MYh1ATofUl5EkujM_uQTIVEBO6Sn2b33PL8dJhhWyRwrHa3nFB2-651Rwo6U_55u_IQehlr6TvN6JXmu3Pfqfkk0ZRDZGR5iKhSGu/s1600/2012-08-13+15.21.44+cropped+pcamp+prep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbsDADj3hKYyioJkR-lINa1uR8uvyeb5ZI-gHzfP2MYh1ATofUl5EkujM_uQTIVEBO6Sn2b33PL8dJhhWyRwrHa3nFB2-651Rwo6U_55u_IQehlr6TvN6JXmu3Pfqfkk0ZRDZGR5iKhSGu/s180/2012-08-13+15.21.44+cropped+pcamp+prep.jpg" /></a></div>Other times I'll have a to-do that I want to work on a little each day, such as practicing a coding kata or revising/rehearsing a short speech. Maybe I'll put a "next action" (sub-task) for each day of the week on the stickie and check them off as I go. <br />
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I don't usually leave those in DOING for the week. If I've done it for today, I don't like leaving it in the DOING column. I usually move them back to some ready column each day. But it's still in progress for the week. <br />
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I'm not completely satisfied with how I do that. Sometimes I've left such a story in DOING.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;">What do you think about this? Do me a favor and post your thoughts in the comments before you go.</span><br />
Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-70569511048232286392013-06-10T20:43:00.000-04:002015-02-26T20:31:44.955-05:00Spike SolutionsI like <a href="http://jamesshore.com/Agile-Book/spike_solutions.html">James Shore's explanation of Spike Solutions</a>. His focus seems to be on very short impromptu experiments (on the order of minutes). One thing about spikes that could use some more words are larger spikes. Sometimes I need to figure something out that may take more than a day. An example might be to experiment with one particular API for some new service I need to consume.<br />
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I recommend each team come to agreement on what's an acceptable maximum size for a spike. I recommend a day, or maybe two. If it will take more time than that, split it, just like you would for a story. Spikes need to have a clear acceptance criteria, a very specific question to answer. When the time-box is over, share the results with the team.<br />
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Often, such larger spikes are related to a user story and typically must be resolved before the story can be estimated. But for the spikes themselves, I recommend NOT estimating them. We want velocity to represent value added stories -- we want to measure the rate at which we add value. Either way, when using your velocity, when making release plans, you must understand your system and take into consideration when and how you come up with spikes and when you solve them. Do you find them late? Do you know about them but implement them late? If so, that represents unknown schedule risk. <br />
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I used to say that a consistent stream of day-sized spikes is good, but when I said that I would often forget to explain my context and assumptions. Having a continuous stream of new spikes that you solve almost as you create them makes sense if you are also doing continuous planning (without batching into large releases or without release commitments). Solving small spikes regularly keeps this activity from making velocity unstable.<br />
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Conversely, if you batch requirements into releases greater than, say, a couple months and if your organization is making release commitments, then in that case spikes represent risk in your backlog. Might want to knock out all spikes for the release right off the bat.<br />
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<i>Wow, this is just my first post this year. I've been very busy with my <a href="http://www.leadingagile.com/">LeadingAgile</a> clients. It's time to get back to my writing!</i>Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-60232112000001936672012-11-15T13:57:00.000-05:002012-11-15T14:09:33.078-05:00Sketchnotes of Agile Immersion<p>Here are the sketchnotes from my November <a href="http://www.andrewfuqua.com/p/presentations-and-courses.html">Agile Immersion workshop</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS7l90BWNnHb5qL0Sps4jd5RRRFF9F8hT8EWP5HMvUdA8opOZgzEzqJNmcFAIAYkxXaTHTh6DUQG0eri-6ka1I87_aLtGW5zbcs1KmTe6uJ4UZnNeQyzh05dtjKZmK6sr31YNGiDZMc5wn/s1600/Agile+Wksp+Notes+1+-+blured.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="313" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS7l90BWNnHb5qL0Sps4jd5RRRFF9F8hT8EWP5HMvUdA8opOZgzEzqJNmcFAIAYkxXaTHTh6DUQG0eri-6ka1I87_aLtGW5zbcs1KmTe6uJ4UZnNeQyzh05dtjKZmK6sr31YNGiDZMc5wn/s400/Agile+Wksp+Notes+1+-+blured.jpg" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghVHL6gouiErwDAvnuj64-es3Z9OrdRnbucHNdDAnEqKo40dyQK82XxOHodb5pwFBNArASAGSqFu4fKLvNsSzUDiBBG0zFSGcCsWIpbCNklcDF5XYoFS3YLEEfCOqpgC9ec6JpHTYs1JoT/s1600/Agile+Wksp+Notes+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="310" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghVHL6gouiErwDAvnuj64-es3Z9OrdRnbucHNdDAnEqKo40dyQK82XxOHodb5pwFBNArASAGSqFu4fKLvNsSzUDiBBG0zFSGcCsWIpbCNklcDF5XYoFS3YLEEfCOqpgC9ec6JpHTYs1JoT/s400/Agile+Wksp+Notes+2.jpg" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFy5AsbIHL9lDj5dX8hvqVVDvJPf70zPnil2JNeoMTv8BIT6LIkCCme3S57aZi56esLUFs6_ShoNPscxHMyo1uEAAY-EN-IPADH3mGwB9xJ1QIrUbPMLoIFPZrhrqqciL5rEoYijAsoew/s1600/Agile+Wksp+Notes+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="308" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFy5AsbIHL9lDj5dX8hvqVVDvJPf70zPnil2JNeoMTv8BIT6LIkCCme3S57aZi56esLUFs6_ShoNPscxHMyo1uEAAY-EN-IPADH3mGwB9xJ1QIrUbPMLoIFPZrhrqqciL5rEoYijAsoew/s400/Agile+Wksp+Notes+3.jpg" /></a></p>
<p>These sketchnotes were done by a business partner of mine, Jenny Trautman of <a href="http://www.evenview.com/">evenview</a>. Sketchnotes aren't the main thing <a href="http://www.evenview.com/">evenview</a> does -- sketchnotes are an artifact. What <a href="http://www.evenview.com/">evenview</a> does is help people bring innovative strategies into focus. They lead fun, high-energy meetings using interactive visuals that draw a team together. With their support, groups collaborate to develop a shared vision, create a plan for action, and implement their ideas. Use them for your next strategy meeting or kickoff.</p>
<p>By the way, this workshop is designed for everyone. No agile experience or programming skills required. All types of roles have found it benefical: product managers, marketers, managers, office managers, business development executives, developers, testers, CFOs, and etc. Check out this <a href="http://highgroove.com/articles/2012/09/25/not-a-developer-not-a-problem-agile-is-for-everybody.html">interesting blog post</a> from a recent non-developer attendee.</p>Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4442303600614435277.post-82638679944539836392012-10-29T13:35:00.000-04:002012-10-29T13:35:07.830-04:00Personal Kanban Retrospectives<p>At the end of each week I do a quick retrospective on my use of Personal Kanban, the tasks I've completed, and the week in general. I don't do anything elaborate or time consuming. Just a simple evaluation of how I'm doing.</p>
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I use two particular approaches to my personal kanban retrospectives more than any other.</p>
<p><b>+s and Δs</b></p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNq6R-u2WhRO82ymkBlWvVrkGRLg4TKZo9xETar7hxlIEoX_RLdvPA4kj_VsSanyhe2CsTiTjH_nxpvucNZ3yiKtEjCKJvmrwh44e9rc_DZD1Jpyj843D7r5KbRF73KDvWI1vi0aBZZzzt/s1600/2012-10-28+20.03.08+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="297" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNq6R-u2WhRO82ymkBlWvVrkGRLg4TKZo9xETar7hxlIEoX_RLdvPA4kj_VsSanyhe2CsTiTjH_nxpvucNZ3yiKtEjCKJvmrwh44e9rc_DZD1Jpyj843D7r5KbRF73KDvWI1vi0aBZZzzt/s320/2012-10-28+20.03.08+cropped.jpg" /></a></div>With Pluses and Deltas I think more about what worked well and what I want to change going forwards. Sometimes I use 'Regrets' instead of 'Deltas'. I do look at the tasks I accomplished, but with this approach my mind considers more than the tasks. For example, some of my notes from prior retros include things like: relaxed, haven't been inbox-zero for a while, did I forget to plan?, someone important linked to my blog post, got a great lead from someone, so-and-so is unreliable, such-and-such didn't pan out, well prepared for next course, successful partnership with so and so, good blogging this week, etc. I use index cards for this style retrospective.</p>
<p><b>Most Successful / Least Successful</b></p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX2O2yRx3dNFxh910jOL8D3tX69v_eBXCl1IiVhJ4z4CM3EQ_yuIKfVaxS4yqYkwErvyqMmDcYGXdl6MIE5yGae2KQcFMTIWROju-e4GOGZGV3AIcS0gxH4JkbTGvk2bE4idkuRecarlPE/s1600/2012-10-28+20.03.58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="191" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX2O2yRx3dNFxh910jOL8D3tX69v_eBXCl1IiVhJ4z4CM3EQ_yuIKfVaxS4yqYkwErvyqMmDcYGXdl6MIE5yGae2KQcFMTIWROju-e4GOGZGV3AIcS0gxH4JkbTGvk2bE4idkuRecarlPE/s320/2012-10-28+20.03.58.jpg" /></a></div>
The other approach I use lots is to simply arrange my completed tasks by how I feel about them. Some I feel really good about. Some weren't so successful. Maybe some are neutral.</p>
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I'll take notes, again on an index card, on these high points and low points.</p>
<p><b>Not a Commitment</b></p>
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What I don't do is compare my actual achievement against a plan. I do "plan" my week, but it's not a commitment to specific tasks. It's more of a re-prioritizing of the backlog and preparation for the days ahead. I use that time to make sure I don't miss any commitments or fail to prepare appropriately.</p>
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I hope you found this useful. What kind of Personal Kanban Retrospectives do you do?</p>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><p>Register now for my <a href="https://www.123signup.com/event?id=srstr">11/5/12 Agile Immersion Workshop</a>. This low cost day-long hands-on workshop will guide you through an agile project, from inception through the first couple iterations. Through this immersion, you'll understand agile 1st hand. Lunch is included.</p></span>Andrew Fuquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04615561394305458570noreply@blogger.com0