Yearly Archives: 2011

Avoiding Tragedy of the Commons for Software Development

Posted on June 15, 2011 by John Hunter

Kanban and Tragedy of the Commons The “Tragedy of the Commons” archetype often manifests itself through “Shared Services”, when a small number of people with specific skills, work across different teams. Each team in isolation gets benefit from the Shared … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Software Development, Systems thinking | Tagged agile management, kanban, programming, project management, Software Development, Systems thinking | 2 Comments

The aim of leadership is not merely to find and record failures of men

Posted on June 13, 2011 by John Hunter

The aim of leadership should be to improve the performance of man and machine, to improve quality, to increase output, and simultaneously to bring pride of workmanship to people. Put in a negative way, the aim of leadership is not … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Deming, Management | Tagged Books, Deming, leadership | 8 Comments

Management Improvement Carnival #133

Posted on June 10, 2011 by John Hunter

The Curious Cat management blog carnival is published 3 times a month with select recent management blog posts. I also collect management improvement articles through Curious Cat Management Articles, you can subscribe via RSS to new article additions. Why I … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Tagged change, management, productivity | Comments Off

Management Blog Posts From August 2006

Posted on June 8, 2011 by John Hunter

Here are a few posts from the Curious Cat Management Blog back in 2006. Distort the System by focusing on data improperly – “When people mistake the data proxy for the thing to improve… they focus on improvement of how … Continue reading →

Posted in Management | Tagged management, previous posts | Comments Off

Management Improvement Carnival #132

Posted on June 1, 2011 by John Hunter

The Curious Cat Management blog carnival highlights recent management blog posts 3 times each month. The posts generally focus on the areas I have focused on in the Curious Cat Management Guide since 1996 (Deming, agile software development, systems thinking, … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Lean thinking, Management | Tagged Lean thinking, management, respect for people | 1 Comment

One factor at a time (OFAT) Versus Factorial Designs

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Guest Post

Guest post by Bradley Jones Almost a hundred years ago R. A. Fisher‘s boss published an article espousing OFAT (one factor at a time). Fisher responded with an article of his own laying out his justification for factorial design. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Design of Experiments, Popular, Quality tools, Science, Six sigma, Statistics | Tagged Design of Experiments, guest post, Popular, Quality tools, Science, Six sigma, Statistics | 6 Comments

Management Improvement Carnival #131

Posted on May 21, 2011 by John Hunter

The management improvement blog carnival is published 3 times a month (though not this month – May 10th was missed) with select recent management blog posts. Curious Cat also collects articles on improving management practices, you can subscribe via RSS … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Tagged management | 2 Comments

Respect People by Creating a Climate for Joy in Work

Posted on May 9, 2011 by John Hunter

Respect for people sure sounds great. And most of us have plenty of experience with organizations that dis-respect people continuously (both employees and customers). So what does respect for people mean at the core? For me: A system that lets … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Psychology, Respect | Tagged Deming, Joy in Work, managing people, Psychology, respect for people | 8 Comments

Management Improvement Carnival #130

Posted on May 1, 2011 by John Hunter

The management blog carnival highlights recent management blog posts 3 times each month. The posts generally focus on the areas I have focused on in the Curious Cat Management Improvement guide since 1996 (Deming, lean thinking, agile software development, respect … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Tagged management | 1 Comment

Sometimes Micro-managing Works

Posted on April 27, 2011 by John Hunter

Sometimes micro-managing works. That doesn’t mean it is a good strategy to replicate. If you benchmark Apple you might decide that you should have a tyrannical obsessive involved CEO who is directly involved in every detail of products and services. … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Customer focus, Innovation, Management | Tagged Apple, Creativity, Customer focus, Investing, leadership, management, stockholders | 5 Comments