Innovation@Work: Socialware Receives Patent for Intellectual Property That Enables Social Media Risk Management

Hi all:

I'm really proud to have helped push this through to the final stages and receive this critical patent that captures and protects our ability to serve our amazing customers in a way that no one else can.

"This patent really represents the core of our technology, business and purpose," said Matt Roberts, Socialware vice president of product development. "While the language of patents is complex, we make it our mission to assure that social media use and compliance are easy for every financial advisor and firm. The technology behind this patent makes that possible, which is why it's so valuable."

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/2669988#ixzz3lMN3KU3q

~m@

Continuous Development Team Product Innovation in an Agile/Lean World

Hi all:

I presented one of my favorite topics at last weekend's Product Camp Austin 11 here in Austin, TX.  While the crowd turnout was fairly small, it was still a great session packed with tons of interactivity.  I have presented this content to the Agile Austin community a number of times, so I've been able to synthesize all the feedback from a variety of groups (Development, Product Management, Project Management) into the following slide deck.  The best way to convey the information is face-to-face, so I'd be happy to share my insights, challenges, and what we've learned if you have the time and inclination.

I also found this great article by Jeff Atwood titled "Today is Goof Off at Work Day" about the broader topic of open time for developers to innovate.

Enjoy!

~@MulticastMatt

The Ripples of Pebble Across My Life's Pond

Hello all:

On Saturday, March 16th 2013,  I unboxed my Pebble, which represents a "new" era of wearable computing.  For those that don't know, the Pebble was an insanely successful kickstarter project to build an e-paper watch as an extension to your smart phone (iPhone or Adroid).  They acheived 10,000% of their funding plan with $10,000,000 of $100,000 raised. 

Here's their kickstarter page:  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-e-paper-watch-for-iphone-and-android.

I thought I would keep a running total of ways that this "wearable computing" has affected my life.  Note, as I have my phone with me so much, I already feel as though I have wearable computing integrated in my life--perhaps too much.

But first, why did I back the Pebble?  Well, all the cool kids were doing it.  OK, they weren't.  I was pretty early on, but I really liked the idea of this scrappy company using Kickstarter to get their product funded.  It allowed me to play VC (venture capitalist) at a very low entry point.  Note:  playing VC meant that I could have lost all money and gotten nothing in return or gotten a potato in a dozen years.  I don't know how many backers really understood that concept given the online groaning about the missed delivery dates.

From a pure feature and benefit perspective (i.e. logical), I thought it would be a kick ass way to remotely control my iPhone, which is usually in my pocket or on my arm band when I'm running or riding.  There is promised RunKeeper integration which could have additional benefits, unknown to me at the time of writing.  I have made certain allowances to spend any monies necessary to keep my exercise plan on track--this fell (after some heated internal debate) under those auspices.  Additionally, I thought it would be a good way to get status messages that may or may not be important when in meetings with others and I don't want to be so rude as to check my phone, but checking one's watch is perfectly socially acceptable (mostly).

The Pebble replaces the Timex Ironman watch that I've been wearing since 2008, and whose features I use just about every day when it comes to seeing day/date and time and timing my well-defined runs and moutain bike rides.  I use to use my Garmin for the latter, but given the propensity for my running partner and I to run the same routes, I found I didn't need the distance piece as it was essentially the same every time (note, this might be an issue and we should consider changing it up).

So here it is, my ongoing observation log of the ripples in my life from Pebble in reverse chronological order.  The ones in bold are a bit more meaninful:

• [March 18] No one at work has noticed my Pebble at work.  What is wrong with people? :)
• [March 18] I keep looking down at the watch (currently in "TextWatch" face (right now it reads "one six" with the six below the one in modern font) looking for the day and date.  I find it irritating that it's not there, but I'm not willing to switch to any other watch face that includes it as it isn't as cool.
• [March 17] I've figured out a great new feature--I can use the music control to find my iPhone!  I know that there is an app for that, and I do have it, but it takes about two seconds to start playing tunes on my watch--no need to find a computer or iPad, log in, wait for it to find it, and then tell it to play the tune.  I'm amazed that the bluetooth actually reaches across my first floor.  This is a very usable feature!
• [March 17] I keep getting notified on my phone that the Pebble app wants to communicate with the Pebble.  I don't know why--I'm all up-to-date.
• [March 17] Realization--while there aren't too many features available today, I feel like the folks at Pebble have created a great minimum viable product (MVP) with time, date, music control, alarm.  I believe that this can be extended through software in the future akin to the original iPhone.  I'm really glad I backed this project.
• [March 17] Notifications are going to be a bit more of an issue than I had first thought.  You have to go through a manual series of steps to get them to come across correctly. 
• [March 16] Downloading the first update was unsuccessful the first few times, then it wasn't.  It seems to help for the watch to be close to the iPhone.
• [March 16] Getting intimate with Pebble in our first shower together--I CAN CHANGE MUSIC IN THE SHOWER-WOOT! Yes, it's water resistant to 5 ATM.  I wasn't expecting that when I backed it, but it's really nice for it to be there, especially given the exercise implications.
• [March 16] Argh!  There is no stopwatch (chronograph).  Wow, at least for the short term, I'm going to need to use my other watch for runs.

Problems Maintaining Product Development Innovation in an Agile/Lean World

Hi all:


I'll be presenting the following discussion at the Agile Austin Leaders SIG on Friday, March 1st, 2013 at CA Technologies in Austin, TX.  I'm really looking forward to feedback!

@multicastmatt

Sign up:

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5381488176 

Abstract:

One of the benefits that many product development teams are able to realize when they switch to an iterative or limited WIP process for developing software is (finally!) a ranking of work items on which the team can focus.  Over time, this allows a good deal predictability for the stakeholders of the project, especially when work items have corresponding “done” criteria that are adhered to.  Some organizations are so enamored with the results of this shift that they begin to assemble all members of team into these types of structures, including team members that were previously dedicated to research or advanced product development efforts.  While this is not necessarily a bad decision for these organizations, some face issues with maintaining a level of innovation in the product efforts as there may be a perception that there is neither time nor the people to work on important innovation efforts.  Further, some of these team members may be doing work that is neither challenging to them as individuals nor is bringing the appropriate value to the company.

In this discussion, Matt will help shine a light on this issue that can be especially challenging for a product development company that seeks to maximize the velocity of a product team working against the near-term roadmap but may lose sight of competitive challenges that may change the very nature of the playing field.  He will describe the challenges faced by teams he has worked with both in the past and currently and share what he has learned.  A healthy discussion is expected to follow!

Bio:

Matt Roberts is an agile pragmatist continuing his lifelong learning journey, currently serving multiple teams as Senior Director of Software Engineering and Agile Coach at CA Technologies. His experience is wide-ranging as he has developed software and led efforts to create systems for product development teams to deliver innovative solutions in companies ranging from early-stage startup to publicly-traded companies in both consulting and full-time roles. He has had the privilege of serving the Austin software development community as Agile Austin President over the past two and half years and as Secretary for the IEEE Computer Society over the past eighteen months.
Matt holds certifications as a Certified Scrum Practitioner (CSP), Certified Scrum Master (CSM), and Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO).  If you’d like to learn more about him, please visit http://linkedin.com/in/cpgmattr or see his latest thoughts at multicastmatt.blogspot.com.