Simon Roberts

New Domain and Platform

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 13:39:23 GMT

I'm moving to a new blogging platform (Wordpress) and domain (simonroberts.de). Barring something unforeseen, this will be my last post using Radio Userland. I'm hoping that simonroberts.de will be my virtual home for many years.

Radio has served me well over the last couple years but it's time to move on. The main reasons that I'm moving are:

Radio is no longer under active development. There is no sign of this changing so bug fixes and new features will most likely not be coming along.
Radio runs on my laptop and publishes to an external server. This has advantages and disadvantages. However, for me, it has proved to be a disadvantage. Sometimes I want to post when I don't have my laptop with me - using my mobile phone or from any web browser that I have access to.

I've chosen Wordpress for a number of reasons, including:

It is under active development. Bugs are fixed quickly and new releases are made frequently.
There is an active community delivering functionality that is not included in the base release in the form of plugins and a vast range of themes to define the presentation.
Generally, the themes that are available support modern technologies such as CSS better than their equivalents under Radio.
Wordpress is very open - effectively, I can get the same level of configurability and the ability to write my own scripts as I have with Radio. In fact there is more flexibility than Radio because Wordpress is a a server-side system.

I've been posting to both Radio and Wordpress in parallel for a few weeks. From now on, I'll be posting primarily to Wordpress. Agile oriented posts will be mirrored on my agile software development and project management blog.

Anyone reading this through my RSS feed, please update your subscriptions to point to here.

Christmas Eve in Berlin - Relay Cooking

Sun, 24 Dec 2006 21:21:36 GMT

We've been doing lots of cooking and baking today. I started by making the stuffing and cranberry sauce for tomorrow's turkey, both based on recipes from Gary Rhodes. When I was finished, I passed the baton to Birgit and Liam who baked Bratapfelkuchen.

In between we've been decorating the Christmas tree and listening to Jethro Tull's "The Christmas Album".

The Christmas spirit is rising! Merry Christmas!

Pausing radio?

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 09:45:16 GMT

I was listening to the radio this morning and had to go and do something else for a few minutes. I reached for the pause button - until I realised that this was live radio and not a podcast! Either an indication that I've been listening to too many podcasts or that podcasts are becoming more important to me than radio (or both).

If only I could get the Archers as a podcast, I would be largely free of normal radio (apparently not possible because of a rights issue). Although the Archers can be obtained through the BBC Radio Player which can be paused.

Skype Announces New Skype Unlimited Calling Plan

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 09:44:54 GMT

About Skype: "Offers 12 Months of Unlimited Skype Calls to Any Phone Within the US and Canada for a Flat Annual Rate SAN JOSE, Calif., December 13, 2006 %u2013 Skype, the global Internet communications company, is now offering U.S. and Canadian consumers the new Skype Unlimited Calling plan, a paid annual subscription service that allows registered users to make 12 months of unlimited SkypeOut%u2122 calls to any phones within the U.S. and Canada."

When I first saw the headline I thought that this might apply worldwide. This looks like a fantastic offer for those in North America but how about a similar deal for other territories? I would even pay more (say 30 Euros for an annual subscription) for a European Union wide SypeOut flatrate.

SiM ist wieder da!

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 08:26:04 GMT

My favourite German language podcast, Schlaflos in München, is back after a break of almost 3 months. Annik Rubens (nom de pod), its creator, took a break after 400 episodes of the original SiM.

Unlike the original, which was released on most weekdays, the new format is weekly and divided into different sections such as "Der Mann der Woche" and "Ratlos in München". Two episodes have appeared already and so far I like it very much. The same wonderful voice with a new sense of purpose.

Technorati Tags: SiM, German, podcast

Agile Day in Munich

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 14:09:58 GMT

I'm in Munich again visiting my major new agile enablement client. Today we discussed the most likely candidate for a pilot project, the makeup of the team (4 developers, 1 tester, the customer, the ScrumMaster and myself as coach and mentor) and Sprint 0 activities. These will include training the team, establishing the development and test environment and preparation of the initial product backlog etc.

Over the next few months, we're going to have to solve some tough issues concerning how to integrate the agile team into the wider organisation. Today showed that key people are really committed to making this a success and I'm very much looking forward to working with this team. Sprint 0 will kick-off in January.

As part of this engagement, I'll be facilitating a Scrum quick start, something that I've facilitated for several teams recently. This combination of customised training and facilitation is a very effective means for helping a Scrum team go from zero to starting their first Sprint, and hence starting to deliver business value, within days. I'm combining the quick start with ongoing coaching and mentoring which means that I'm there to support the team and other stakeholders when needed. I have some capacity free - please contact me if interested.

Technorati Tags: agile, scrum, Scrum quick start

New agile projects in the UK and Germany

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 17:55:11 GMT

The demand for agile method consultancy seems to be growing. I've secured two new clients during the last two weeks: one in Stevenage, UK and the other one in Munich, Germany.

This week I'm with the UK client, doing a Scrum Quick Start. Last week I introduced agile to some of the key stakeholders. Today, I've taught Scrum to the project team (two sessions of about 15 people each, with a mixture of business and developers). Definitely a good bunch of people and I think that they have an excellent chance of making this a success.

Tomorrow, I'll be facilitating their first Sprint planning meetings and on Wednesday the teams will be starting their first Sprint. A Scrum of Scrums approach will be used to help coordinate the activities of the four Scrum teams. I'll be supporting the teams with regular visits over the next few weeks. It should be an interesting engagement.

I'm also gearing up for my Munich engagement. Over several months I'll be helping a household name select a pilot project and then transition to agile (again Scrum based).

Alan "Fluff" Freeman

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 08:28:25 GMT

The DJ Alan "Fluff" Freeman has died at the age of 79. Alan was known and loved by many for his BBC Radio 1 show "Pick of the Pops" which was broadcast from the launch of Radio 1 in 1967 until 1972. Alan relaunched the show with an oldies chart format in 1989. His catchphrases included "greetings pop pickers", "alright" and "not arf". I'm not normally a fan of catchphrases but Alan's lack of ego and that he seemed to be a genuinely nice bloke meant that they never became annoying.

My fondest memories of Fluff are on Radio 1's "Saturday Rock Show", which he hosted from 1973 until 1978. This show's mix of progressive and heavy rock was so important in helping to define my musical tastes. We've now lost the three DJs who were most important to me: Tommy Vance, another host of the Saturday Rock Show; the great John Peel; and now Fluff. Thanks for the music guys.

Technorati Tags: Alan Freeman, Radio 1, Saturday Rock Show, DJ