Simon G's Blog

The Lean Startup is a book I have been meaning to read for years and never got around to. It contains lots of useful advice and good case studies explaining experiences of what has and hasn't work. The book is oriented towards software development startups (and software development innovation in general in any sized organisation) and could have easily been condensed into a third its size. Key takeaways: Build, Measure, Learn (go through this loop as fast as you can) Use validated learning and measure using actionable metrics, not vanity metrics. Use cohort analysis. Do split testing to measure what matters to customers Build a Minimal Viable Product (MVP), gain quick feedback from customers, learn quickly and evolve as required Use 5 whys for root cause analysis and identifying what to target in terms of improvements

Sprint is a superb book that is very easy to read, with real world examples of how to apply the techniques discussed. I have taken some of the concepts discussed and am applying them to other activities beyond a 5 day Sprint process. Thoroughly recommended.

I’ve spent a bit of time at the CIO Summit  in Auckland over the past couple of days and below is a synopsis from the sessions I attended. Key overall themes Digital Transformation (DX) is still a key focus of organisations, with cultural change being one of the most fundamental shifts. Increased use of Cloud/“as a Service” models is prevalent across most organisations. Customer-centricity as opposed to other models such as Product-centric. Connections & ecosystems (internal and external to organisations) is key to DX, with APIs being a key enabler. Smart use of data is becoming increasingly important to drive great customer experiences. Further detail Trends & Insights “The 3rd platform is the key to creating new value” IDG Mobility, Big Data/Analytics, Cloud, Social “By 2020, over 2/3 of Enterprise IT and software spending will be for cloud-based offerings” IDG “70% of CIOs have a cloud first strategy” IDG “By 2019, 42% of IoT data will be process...