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This is the first in a series of episodes on software delivery flow. This is a remix on the typical episode format. It features a snippet from my ongoing conversations with my friend Jocko Selberg. Jocko and I discuss the idea of "Proto-Epics" as the artifact that joins the discovery and delivery process. Find Jocko on LinkedIn and check-out his own show the Complexity Lounge on YouTube. (00:00) - Proto-Epics (00:21) - Intro (01:17) - Background (03:37) - Adam & Jocko on Proto-Epics (11:10) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Better late than never. Small Batches returns in 2025. In this episode, Adam shares his learnings over the past year through the works of the Zen master Kaizenji. This is special follow-up episode to the previous episodes on the Zen of Programming. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Small Batches will return in 2025. Until then, I recommend checking out the Complexity Lounge on YouTube, hosted by my friend Jocko Selberg. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode, Adam reads haikus from The Zen of Programming (1988) by Geoffrey James. This book is unlike any programming book you've encountered. So, let's try something new for the podcast to showcase this poignant, accurate, and funny book. Want more? 🚀 New listener? Start with the introduction.🧭 Get the Small Batches Way guide to software delivery excellence 🥋 Software Kaizen: My One-on-One System for Engineering Leadership📘 The Zen of Programming by Geoffrey James Chapters (00:00) - The Zen of Programming: Book Five (00:22) - The Zen of Programming (01:08) - Support the Show (01:34) - The Zen Nun Yoshiko (02:16) - Haiku One (02:38) - Haiku Two (02:58) - Haiku Three (03:33) - Haiku Four (03:41) - Haiku Five (04:02) - Haiku Six (04:14) - Haiku Seven (04:21) - Haiku Eight (04:53) - Dedication (05:41) - Haiku Nine (06:46) - The Small Batches Way ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode, Adam reads book four in The Zen of Programming (1988) by Geoffrey James. This book is unlike any programming book you've encountered. So, let's try something new for the podcast to showcase this poignant, accurate, and funny book. This episode features koans from the fabled zen Master Lan-Hsi. Want more? 🚀 New listener? Start with the introduction.🧭 Get the Small Batches Way guide to software delivery excellence 🥋 Software Kaizen: My One-on-One System for Engineering Leadership📘 The Zen of Programming by Geoffrey James Chapters (00:00) - The Zen of Programming: Book Four (01:09) - Support The Show (01:34) - The Master Lan-Hsi (01:48) - Koan One (03:19) - Koan Two (05:01) - Koan Three (06:10) - Koan Four (07:52) - Koan Five (08:15) - Koan Six (09:22) - Koan Seven (09:31) - Koan Eight (09:56) - Koan Nine (10:30) - The Zen of Software Delivery ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode, Adam reads book three in The Zen of Programming (1988) by Geoffrey James. This book is unlike any programming book you've encountered. So, let's try something new for the podcast to showcase this poignant, accurate, and funny book. This episode features analects from the fabled zen Master Rinzai. Want more? 🚀 New listener? Start with the introduction.🧭 Get the Small Batches Way guide to software delivery excellence 🥋 Software Kaizen: My One-on-One System for Engineering Leadership📘 The Zen of Programming by Geoffrey James Chapters (00:00) - The Zen of Programming: Book Three (00:21) - About the Book (01:10) - Support the Show (01:39) - Master Rinzai (02:03) - Analect One (02:37) - Analect Two (03:02) - Analect Three (04:04) - Analect Four (05:14) - Analect Five (05:39) - Analect Six (05:59) - Analect Seven (07:26) - Analect Eight (08:23) - Analect Nine (09:06) - The Small Batches Way ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode, Adam reads book two in The Zen of Programming (1988) by Geoffrey James. This book is unlike any programming book you've encountered. So, let's try something new for the podcast to showcase this poignant, accurate, and funny book. This episode features folktales from the fabled zen Master Noa-Op. Want more? 🚀 New listener? Start with the introduction.🧭 Get the Small Batches Way guide to software delivery excellence 🥋 Software Kaizen: My One-on-One System for Engineering Leadership📘 The Zen of Programming by Geoffrey James☕️ Small Batches #84 - Deming Chapters (00:00) - The Zen of Programming: Book Two (00:21) - Introducing the Zen of Programming (01:09) - Support the Show (01:35) - Master Noa-Op (01:56) - Folktale One (02:46) - Folktale Two (04:46) - Folktale Three (06:29) - Folktale Four (07:26) - Folktale Five (08:11) - Folktalk Six (08:47) - Folktale Seven (09:50) - Folktale Seven (10:06) - Folktale Eight (11:16) - Folktale Nine (12:05) - The Small Batches Way ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode, Adam reads book two in The Zen of Programming (1988) by Geoffrey James. This book is unlike any programming book you've encountered. So, let's try something new for the podcast to showcase this poignant, accurate, and funny book. This episode features chronicles from the fabled zen Master Ninjei. Want more? 🚀 New listener? Start with the introduction.🧭 Get the Small Batches Way guide to software delivery excellence 🥋 Software Kaizen: My One-on-One System for Engineering Leadership📘 The Zen of Programming by Geoffrey James Chapters (00:00) - Intro (00:22) - The Zen of Programming (01:06) - Support the Show (01:31) - Master Ninjei (02:06) - Chronicle One (02:31) - Chronicle Two (03:14) - Chronicle Three (03:50) - Chronicle Four (04:36) - Chronicle Five (05:18) - Chronicle Six (05:35) - Chronicle Seven (06:07) - Chronicle Eight (06:41) - Chronicle Nine (08:42) - The Small Batches Way ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode, Adam reads the preface, forward, and introduction to The Zen of Programming (1988) by Geoffrey James. This book is unlike any programming book you've encountered. So, let's try something new for the podcast to showcase this poignant, accurate, and funny book.  Want more? 🚀 New listener? Start with the introduction.🎁 Enter the FREE giveaway for a copy of "Release It!"🧭 Get the Small Batches Way guide to software delivery excellence 🥋 Software Kaizen: My One-on-One System for Engineering Leadership📘 The Zen of Programming by Geoffrey James Chapters (00:00) - The Zen of Programming - Intro (00:23) - The Book (01:50) - Foreword by Dr. C.P. Yu (03:59) - Introduction by Charlie (Chuck) Babbage (15:19) - Preface (18:05) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode, Adam welcomes Dan Slimmon, an experienced Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) to discuss aspects of incident response and troubleshooting in software engineering. Dan explains his methodology for clinical troubleshooting, the importance of maintaining a common mental model, and techniques for leading effective incident response efforts. They also delve into the value of continuous ops reviews and ongoing mental model updates to prevent issues, emphasizing the need for structured processes and effective communication. Want more? 🚀 New listener? Start with the introduction.🎁 Enter the FREE giveaway for a copy of "Release It!"🧭 Get the Small Batches Way guide to software delivery excellence 🥋 Software Kaizen: My One-on-One System for Engineering Leadership🧑‍🎓 Dan's course on leading incidents (Code SMALLBATCHES24 for 24% off!) Chapters (00:00) - Incidents & Operations (01:14) - Guest Welcome (01:40) - Dan's Career Journey (02:33) - Evolution of Tech Stacks (04:59) - Clinical Troubleshooting Explained (11:53) - Incident Response Fundamentals (17:41) - Effective Communication in Incidents (26:09) - Training for Incident Response (33:22) - The Essence of Incident Response (33:53) - Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Fixes (35:01) - The Firefighting Analogy in Software Incidents (37:11) - Postmortems: Learning from Incidents (42:14) - Building a Shared Mental Model (42:41) - Looking for Trouble: Proactive System Monitoring (47:59) - Ops Reviews: Continuous Improvement (54:37) - The Importance of Closing the Feedback Loop (59:40) - Final Thoughts and Resources ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode of Small Batches, host Adam Hawkins welcomes Alex Nesbitt, a strategy expert and member of the Flow Collective, to delve into the nuances of strategic thinking. The discussion covers different types of strategies, pro-tips on strategic thinking, and how strategy relates to the concept of flight levels.  Nesbitt shares insights from his extensive consulting career, touching on topics like identifying leverage points, the relationship between strategy and tactics, and why being strategic is often more critical than having a strategy. The episode also stresses the importance of having a clear vision, enabling organizational constraints, and the roles of resilience and maintenance in strategic planning. Alex mentions practical examples, resources, and tips to help software and business leaders enhance their strategic approach. Want more? 🚀 New listener? Start with the introduction.🎁 Enter the FREE giveaway for a copy of "Playing to Win"🧭 Get the Small Batches Way guide to software delivery excellence 🥋 Software Kaizen: My One-on-One System for Engineering Leadership📘 Playing to Win by Lafely & Martin📘 Good Strategy, Bad Strategy by Rumelt📘 The Effective Executive by Drucker🧠 Effectuation TheoryChapters (00:00) - Intro (01:17) - Alex's Background (04:52) - What is Strategy? (08:10) - The Shadow Strategy (12:56) - How to Practice Strategy (22:03) - Software Architecture & Strategy (25:33) - Strategy & Being Strategic (29:50) - Five Pillars of Strategic Thinking (34:46) - Pain of Bad Strategy (37:22) - Alex's Tip for Surviving Ambiquitous Strategy (38:38) - Strategy Deployment & Hoshin Kanri (42:47) - Tip of Software Development (48:03) - Alex's Recommend Resources (52:47) - Adam's Takeaway & Segue into AI (55:19) - Alex's Links (57:19) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Adam discusses strategy in preparation for the next episode. Want more? 🚀 New listener? Start with the introduction.🎁 Enter the FREE giveaway for a copy of "Playing to Win"🧭 Get the Small Batches Way guide to software delivery excellence 🥋 Software Kaizen: My One-on-One System for Engineering Leadership📘 Playing to Win by Lafely & MartinChapters (00:00) - Playing to Win (00:46) - Flight Levels (01:53) - What is strategy? (03:45) - Strategy for SRE at Skillshare (05:16) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Adam discusses three (new-ish) ideas from time on a new gemba.  Want more? 🚀 New listener? Start with the introduction.🎁 Enter the FREE giveaway for a copy of "Modern Software Engineering"🧭 Get the Small Batches Way guide to software delivery excellence 🥋 Software Kaizen: My One-on-One System for Engineering Leadership📘 Flight Levels by Klaus LeopoldChapters (00:00) - On the Gemba (00:22) - What's new (00:44) - Sequencing over Prioritization (03:44) - Flight Levels (05:11) - Thought Experiment (06:50) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Adam describes using Hexagonal Architecture, also known as Ports and Adapters, for software delivery excellence. Want more? 🚀 New listener? Start with the introduction.🎁 Enter the FREE giveaway for a copy of "Modern Software Engineering"🧭 Get the Small Batches Way guide to software delivery excellence 🥋 Software Kaizen: My One-on-One System for Engineering Leadership📘 Hexagonal Architecture by Alistair Cockburn☕️ Small Batches #17 with Dave FarleyChapters (00:00) - Hexagonal Architecture (00:23) - Reflections on Ruby and Rails (01:41) - What is Hexagonal Architecture? (02:45) - The Repository Pattern (04:32) - Dependency Injection (06:43) - Thinking in Pipelines (08:03) - Development Environments (09:09) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Adam welcomes Steve Pereira and Andrew Davis to discuss their new book, Flow Engineering. They discuss the book's origin story and the use of cybernetics to drive effective action. Want more? 🚀 New listener? Start with the introduction.🎁 Enter the FREE giveaway for a copy of "Modern Software Engineering"🧭 Get the Small Batches Way guide to software delivery excellence 📘 Buy Flow Engineering: from value stream mapping to effective action🧠 Join the Flow Collective🥋 Software Kaizen: My One-on-One System for Engineering LeadershipChapters (00:00) - Flow Engineering (00:23) - Intro (00:59) - Free June Giveaway (01:38) - Andrew's Intro (02:38) - Steve's Intro (03:46) - Book's Origin Story (06:49) - Adam's Thoughts on the Book (13:03) - The Five Maps (19:16) - Value, Clarity Flow (23:46) - What is Essential? (27:12) - Cybernetics & Effective Action (39:51) - The Principles & Visual Management (53:21) - Wrap up (56:53) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★