t2informatik Blog – People and Organisations, Software and Projects
The selection of management consultants
Small and medium-sized enterprises are often reluctant to engage with business consultants. How does a good selection work and what should companies pay attention to?
Agility? We tried it! Does not work! – Part 2
There are many reasons why agility does not work in companies. Part 2 of the series deals with typical problems in introducing and implementing agility.
Be more courageous about user testing!
There are many excuses why organisations do without user testing. Why is user testing important and how can it be done with little effort?
Tooling in hybrid project management
The integration of classic project management and agile procedures is a success factor for many companies. Why is this the case and what is essential when it comes to tooling?
Do we need a digital mindset?
In many companies, digitisation leads to numerous adjustments. How important is a digital mindset and what is the basic requirement?
5 Strategies to build inner strength
Permanent changes unsettle many employees in companies. Inner strength is needed here. How can you build it up? Which strategies can help you?
Small Data
For many companies, Big Data is a promise of transparency and revenue. An alternative to Big Data is Small Data. What is it, and what is so special about it?
The one talent we need in the digital future
The demands to teach school children programming at an early age are becoming louder. But how meaningful is this and which talent will become even more important in the future?
Who needs long-term goals?
How important are long-term goals for companies in agile times? How exactly are goals defined in organisations and when do they offer benefits?
Agility? We tried it! Does not work! – Part 1
There are many reasons why agility does not work in companies. Part 1 of a series about misunderstandings, problems, obstacles. With many tips, but without a recipe.
The destructive path to requirements
Products and systems are often misused. What are the reasons and why are such Misuse Cases suitable for determining requirements?
What computer manufacturers can learn from farmers
Can you imagine milk and petrol being transported in the same tank? In a figurative sense, computer manufacturers do just that, and that has consequences.
The cover letter – duty or freestyle?
The cover letter in the application process is not popular with many companies and also with applicants. Why does it make sense, however, and what tips are there for writing it?
What if? – A call to thought experiments
“What if” is a questioning technique to question mental and self-imposed boundaries – e.g. in organisations. A field report.
Lean Kanban in Change Management
Many change management methods do not deliver what companies expect from them. Why is Lean Kanban a better approach to initiate lasting change?
The development of skills
The development of competences is very important for the world of work 4.0. What learning formats are there and what are the differences to learning specialist knowledge?
Strategic Scope Management
The scope is a central factor in project management. How can it be structured, how important are dependencies and which goals are addressed by scope management?
From Monolith to Microservices
How can you develop a monolith into a microservice technology? A field report on stability, performance, automation, testability, maintainability.
The Product Owner Team
When does it make more sense to use a product owner team than to work with a single product owner? A practical report on projects, tasks, responsibilities and conflicts.
Deficits of the computer architecture
Hackers consistently exploit deficits in the computer architecture. What are the deficits and what could a computer architecture of the future look like?
How can I avoid uncertainty?
Many people associate uncertainty with a loss of control, hence they want to avoid it. This is understandable, but not effective. What is the alternative?
The Agile Organisation of Work in the Craft Sector
How can a medium-sized craft enterprise improve if the products are good but the organisation of the work is not yet perfect?
The Discovery of Sustainability
Sustainability is becoming increasingly important for many companies. What is sustainability, what concepts and approaches are there for organisations?
The Implementation of Clean Code
The principles and practices of professional software development are not enough to implement clean code. How can clean code be developed?
10 Characteristics of a Digital Mindset
What mindset is needed in the digital world and how do we educate our children so that they can survive and succeed the day after tomorrow?
Google Ranking Factors
What are the main Google ranking factors? Read backgrounds and a classification of important aspects and often repeated statements.
VUCA, so what?!
We live in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world. What does VUCA mean for companies and how can the challenges of the VUCA world be mastered?
I spy with my little eye
Although dealing with stakeholders is important for the success of organisations, it is often neglected. How does good stakeholder management work?
Cultural differences in projects
In international projects, project managers often have to moderate cultural differences. What cultural dimensions are there and what does this mean for project execution?
Jobs to be done
“Jobs to be done” refers to the needs that a user really wants to meet with a product. How can the needs be determined in a workshop?
New Work and Old Work – An interview with Dr. Andreas Zeuch
Many organisations are in a state of upheaval. New concepts for new work are being sought. An interview with Dr. Andreas Zeuch about New Work and Old Work.
Perfectionism and Procrastination
Are you a perfectionist? Are you prone to procrastination? What are the differences between perfectionism and procrastination and what can you do in case of doubt?
Train soft skills by computer simulation
Personal, social and methodological competencies are becoming increasingly important for organisations. How can these soft skills be trained in a team using computer simulation?
With SCARF towards a more agile organisation
What is the SCARF model, on which principle is it based and how does it help in managing employees in the course of organisational change processes? An opinion.
Agility begins with the heart
Many organisations try to become more agile, but the “Excellarator”, the “Statusrititis” and the “General” have something against it. Empathy and heart are needed here.
Argue – but do it right
Businesses waste valuable resources in conflicts when they focus on problems rather than solutions. How do you resolve conflicts?
Work agile or be agile
Agile living can be stressful for organisations because complex challenges require complex and original solutions. What should organizations do?
Advantages of Remote Work
Remote work offers several advantages for companies. What are these? How does Remote Work get started in organisations and does it work permanently?
Mission customer focus
Companies are increasingly demanding greater customer focus. Why does this make sense and how can it be achieved? And who determines its success?
Digital collaboration of distributed teams
When distributed teams work together, it is often difficult to know who is doing what, when, why and how. It’s time for a different approach.
Liberating Structures – Freedom for Better Communication
What is behind Liberating Structures (LS)? What is the benefit of LS, which mindset is necessary for the application, which principles are there and what are the advantages?
Digital Transformation – A Plea for Quality
The IT world is turning slower than expected. What is the reason for this, what awareness is important for companies and what should they value? A plea.
The agile label fraud
Many organisations call the project manager the Scrum Master, the product manager the Product Owner. What is the intention behind it and why does it often not work?
Conway’s one-way street
If a software architecture created in an organisation reproduces its structure, how does an adaptation of the organisation affect existing architectures?
Don’t Uber yourself
Uber is a synonym for disruptive business models. Who can learn from Uber? How does benchmarking work and why does a comparison with Uber often make no sense?
Use Working Out Loud to develop competencies for agile work
What is Working Out Loud (WOL)? What are the core principles, what are WOL’s goals, and how can WOL be used to develop competencies for agile work?
Health as a strategic success factor in companies
How can companies operate economically successfully without the increasing demands for performance and learning being detrimental to the health of their employees?
The superfluous Scrum Master
The roles of Scrum Master and Product Owner are increasingly being merged in organisations. What are the reasons for this and what are the consequences?
An open letter on the abolition of executives
In an interview, a company announces its intention to abolish IT-executives. How do those affected feel, how should the goal be achieved and which questions remain unanswered?
Agile administration and local politics
Agility in public administration is gaining in importance. How can agile methods improve the interaction between administration and politics? A discussion impulse.
Agile Requirements Engineering
Does agile requirements engineering replace traditional requirements engineering? Where are the limits and where does the use of conventional techniques still make sense?
Recruiting competencies
The recruiting of many companies is biased and subjective. How can modern recruiting be successful and what competencies are important?
Is the world getting more complex?
It feels like complexity is increasing in many areas. What impact does this have on making decisions, planning projects and using models?
Communication at work
There are many tips and advice for communication in the workplace. However, there are many situations where attitudes and perspectives influence communication.
Fear and courage – two unequal siblings?
What are organisations afraid of? Do changes automatically trigger fears? And how can fear be overcome in both private and professional contexts?
Artificial Intelligence and our Future
Is artificial intelligence merely the continuation of a known development or will it revolutionise life as such? An opinion.
Learning coaching, but do it agilely
Learning is individual, it depends, for example, on previous knowledge, the learner’s interest and the type of learning objective. This is where the agile learning coach and the learning coaching come into play.
Requirements Management with Jira and Confluence
How can Jira and Confluence be used for integrated requirements management? Which tool should be used for which tasks and what are the limits?
My wish list to Scrum Master
The Scrum Master is an important role in many organizations and projects. If you could wish for something from a Scrum Master, what would it be?
Allrounder executive
What should executives be like? How important are they for the success of companies and what can organisations do to best support executives?
The interactive beacon
Interactive beacons could revolutionize communication between people and with machines. Which technologies and which application scenarios already exist?
Communication trends
What does nudging mean? How does communication change in companies? What trends are there in podcasting and what beliefs can be observed in older people?
Design Emergency
Design Emergency is a phenomenon in which the design of a software gets worse and worse during the development period. What can you do to eliminate this state of emergency?
Change needs time
Change processes in companies often take a long time and are difficult. Why is this so? What is the magic of change and how important is a vision?
Courage, the miracle cure for the future?!
What is courage? How important is it individually in professional life and for corporate innovation? How is it encouraged in organisations and how can courage be trained?
Scrum – The Rules of the Game
Scrum is a game in which the rules of the game create meaning for certain actions. What is the essence of game rules and what do they do in organizations?
Is agility the solution to all problems?
Putting the focus on the customer, working together better and deciding faster – such statements are omnipresent. Can agility be the solution to such demands?
Modern personnel selection vs. skilled worker shortage
Many industries complain about a shortage of skilled workers. What can companies do in their personnel selection to address applicants better and win them over?
Developer 2019 – Facts and Figures
88,883 developers from 179 countries participated in Stack Overflow’s annual survey of methods, technologies and their working environment. A selection of the results.
The Groundhog says hello
A corporation does not use color printouts in order to reduce costs. Sounds good, but new processes and special rules, new roles and precautions are needed. A gloss.
Digital Awareness
The development of digital awareness is becoming increasingly important for both individuals and businesses. What are the challenges and opportunities?
Misunderstandings in Requirements Engineering
When working with specialist departments, there are often misunderstandings. What are the causes of these misunderstandings and how can they be avoided in practice?
Do you still manage processes?
Companies often define processes that offer little benefit. How does a meaningful process definition succeed and why does a rethinking of process management become necessary?
Software development made easy
Good software brings products to life. Learn everything you need to know about hyper-agile procedures, best practices and the top 10 of modern software development. A parody.
Project Marketing – Do good and talk about it
Project marketing tries to increase the acceptance of projects. When does project marketing take place, who is the centre of attention and what tips are there?
Agile documentation in software development
The source code is sufficient as documentation – this is not always a correct statement from developers. How does agile documentation succeed as part of software development?
Error Handling in Angular Applications
How can errors be logged and persisted in angular applications, how does an error message occur, and how does the export of the error list work? A suggestion.
On the way to an independent employment
In many areas independent work is becoming more and more important. Which factors are essential for this and how can you tell whether you fulfil these factors?
Mind Change in Project Management
The mindset and mind change in project management have a great influence on the success of a project. What if much more is possible than we can imagine?
Corporate culture in digital change
The corporate culture is very important in the development of companies towards digital organisations. What practical dimensions should be taken into account in the change process?
Conflicts at work
There are always conflicts at the workplace. How can internal communication be improved, what can participants contribute to the solution and which perspective helps?
CI/CD pipeline on a Raspberry Pi – Part 4
How can you set up a CI/CD pipeline on a Raspberry Pi? Part 4 of the experiment deals with the deployment, the test of the pipeline and a conclusion.
Democracy in strategic decisions
The development of corporate strategies is a complex challenge. Why does it make sense to include the diverse perspectives of employees?
CI/CD pipeline on a Raspberry Pi – Part 3
How can you set up a CI/CD pipeline on a Raspberry Pi? Part 3 of the experiment deals with the preparation of the Jenkins server and a first build client project.
Central IT versus Shadow IT
Shadow IT is growing continuously in numerous companies. This offers challenges and opportunities for central IT. How can optimal cooperation be achieved?
CI/CD pipeline on a Raspberry Pi – Part 2
How can you set up a CI/CD pipeline on a Raspberry Pi? Part 2 of the experiment is about setting up a build server.
New learning in projects
The topic of personnel development must be thought of differently in order to master the present and future challenges in projects. Why does “new learning” make sense?
CI/CD pipeline on a Raspberry Pi – Part 1
Can a Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipeline be set up on a Raspberry Pi? Which steps are necessary in which order? An experiment.
The agile speed lie
Agile methods are designed to bring speed to slow organisations. This is misleading and has little to do with agile motives. What is Scrum & Co. really about?
The expectation management
Dealing with our own expectations is usually a challenge that influences our relationship with ourselves and with our customers. How does good expectation management work?
From “dismissed” to error culture?
A culture of error is easily required, but simply using a buzzword cannot be the right way for companies. How can mistakes be handled correctly?
Scrum as a basis for “New Learning”
The half-life of knowledge is only 3 years. Why does Scrum offer a meaningful basis for “new learning”? And how important are digital media in teaching?
Promotion of women in companies
The promotion of women in companies often does not work as desired. What influence do existing structures have and how should employees be promoted in the future?
The Biggest Obstacles in Requirements Engineering
In theory, requirements engineering sounds simple, but in practice there are always obstacles. How can you identify and overcome them?
Digital Designer – a new IT profession?
Digitalisation demands a new approach to software development. The digital designer should take care of the design of the software. How useful is that?
Modern leadership: When nothing works as planned
The management of an organisation is complex. What is important in modern leadership, why is leadership a process and why can’t companies do without leaders?
The project review
A project review is a retrospective of a project phase or project. How can it be structured, how important are approach, moderation and timing for success?
Talent Management ≠ Human Resources Development
How are talents identified in organisations? Can talents be managed as they develop? And who should oversee such developments: HR or specialist department?
Customers don’t know what they want
Is it true that customers don’t know what they want? Is the problem with the customer or the service provider? And what would a good service provider do if necessary?
The customer behind the IP address
In the Internet age, companies often forget the person behind an IP address. They ask customers for assessments, but ignore their needs. How does it work better?
Success factor emotional competency
Emotional competence means understanding yourself and others better. It is indispensable for successful cooperation in projects. How can it be trained?
Sense and Nonsense of Unit Test Coverage
Coverage is an important aspect of unit testing. What types and problems are there, how important is a testing concept, and what should organisations pay attention to?
Stop agility
The inflationary use of “agile” and “agility” and the associated belief in methods and recipes go too far. Stop the mania for agility! Stop agility!
Beware: Turnover of Staff
In the past, turnover of staff was a phenomenon that caused companies little headaches. Today, the consequences can be dramatic and the loss of employees serious.
The key to agility
In modern business management, agility is the key to success. But what does the trend word agility actually mean? A psychological look behind the hype.
What prevents creativity in requirements analysis?
The migration of technologies or systems offers creative opportunities that are not always exploited. Fears prevent creativity – what can be done about it?
Transformation is a constant
We are living in an age of transformation, but what does this mean for companies? Where stays the customer during the transformation? And what comes after the transformation?
Generation Talk
What are the differences in communication and understanding between Baby Boomers, Generation X, Y and Z? Which values, attitudes and goals influence communication?
Design Thinking in Product Development
What can you do if you don’t have time for a Design Thinking Workshop in product development? Use individual methods in a targeted manner.
What are low-code platforms?
How do low-code platforms work, what are the different concepts, what are the advantages of low-code and what is a Citizen Developer?
Why Scrum fails in your company
Companies expect small miracles from Scrum and fail with the application, because agile product development stands and falls with the support of the entire company.
Every day the GDPR gives its greetings
Data protection is important – but the new basic data protection regulation misses the mark – a personal assessment and approach.
What’s New Work?
The term New Work goes back to Frithof Bergmann. What did he mean at the time, what definition is common today and what could be a subjective interpretation?
The SWAT team in Scrum
How can the further development of a software with Scrum be harmonised with simultaneous software operation? A practical solution is the use of a SWAT team.
Best practices for requirements workshops
What best practices are there for the preparation, implementation and follow-up of requirements workshops? What questions help and how do you deal with conflicts?
The Black Box of Scrum Team Building
Scrum propagates self-organised teams. In which phases are teams formed, which 9 team roles exist and why should teams be understood as social systems?
Agility in public administration
“Agility and public administration don’t go together.” Read 13 theses and challenges on why agility is necessary in public administration.
The company as an ecosystem
The viable company of the future is an ecosystem. How can it be developed, what will employees pay attention to and why does a look into the past help?
Reasonable limits for self-responsible teams
Which decisions should self-responsible teams be able to make and how does a technically clean design help in assembling self-responsible teams?
Buy software or have it developed
Should software be purchased or developed individually? Which arguments speak for a standard software, which for an individual development? A pros and cons.
Eliminating requirements
How can you eliminate requirements if the requirement quantity is too large? Which criteria are suitable for eliminating requirements?
The power of the subconscious
Table of Contents How important is our subconscious? The bypass of the conscious mind What the abbreviation stands for It’s your choiceHave you ever thought about your subconscious? Do you know how much importance your subconscious has on your life? Do you know how...
The Frankenstein Principle in IT Analysis
Is there a pattern that all IT solutions follow over time and in accordance with current trends? The Frankenstein principle provides the answer.
Machine ethics – a question of development
How does the error-free development of machines succeed? How do machines learn ethical behaviour? And what decisions can machines make?
Introversion or Extraversion
There are introverted and extraverted personality types. How can you optimally design the cooperation – also in software development?
Planning subject to reservation
Uncertainty is a characteristic in projects and technology is an essential factor for uncertainty. How can organisations still plan meaningfully?
Factors of software acceptance
Lack of software acceptance jeopardises corporate investments. On which factors does acceptance depend and how can it be increased?
Software selection in 10 steps
Do you know the most important factor of a software selection? What should you pay attention to during the software selection process and which steps make sense?
Project Management 2030
What will project management look like in 2030? How will the role of the project manager change? 11 theses about the project management of the future.
Transparency in New Work
Personal responsibility and employee participation require trust between companies, employees and colleagues. Does transparency ensure trust?
The best process in requirements management
What is the best process in requirements management? What is the ideal procedure for requirements collection and which steps are essential?
The Principle of Effectuation
How do successful entrepreneurs deal with uncertainty? How can you operate successfully on the market in the long term? The answer is: Effectuation.
IT analysis as a creative process
Does IT analysis support creative thinking? And how can the phases of preparation, incubation, illumination and verification be integrated?
The agile migration of applications
How do you migrate an application? How can an agile, iterative approach be successful and what challenges do you have to pay attention to?
Be carful judging
Judgments often lead to misunderstandings. What should you be aware of and what can you do to permanently improve your communication?
More success with composure
Successful project work requires a self-confident inner attitude. How do you stay calm, focused and confident in projects?
Inspection of the specification
Specifications often contain contradictions, gaps and errors. The task of an inspection is to uncover this. Six best practices help.
Avoid communication traps
In projects there are some communication traps. Read about generalisation as a perception filter and how to recognise generalisations.
Creativity in meetings – a comparison of methods
Meetings are often not effective. What can you do and what are the benefits of brainstroming, brainwriting and braindumping? A comparison of methods.
