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All Topics (Science, Publishing, Management)

The General
By
Clemens Lode
, posted on
March 11, 2023
.

Why a Clean Organizational Hierarchy helps with Management

When implementing Agile methodology, some things are often overlooked: the organizational structure, the culture of the organization, and the people involved.

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Idle Hands are the Manager’s Workshop
By
Clemens Lode
, posted on
March 11, 2023
.

Why You Should not Worry About Idle Time at Work

Using examples from the real time strategy game StarCraft, this article explains why idling resources might even speed up your production process.

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Evolutionary Improvements
By
Clemens Lode
, posted on
March 11, 2023
.

The Advantage of Small Improvement Increments

When introducing agile methods, small improvements might lead to better results than a revolution. The advantage is the constant feedback you get at each step.

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Scrum and Jira: A Love-Hate Relationship
By
Clemens Lode
, posted on
March 11, 2023
.

Steps to Bring Your Agile Project Back on Track

Usually, the Scrum process is employed by using little stickers, and moving them around on a physical board. Jira makes that easier, but it comes at a cost.

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To the Frontlines
By
Clemens Lode
, posted on
March 11, 2023
.

How are Agile Methods comparable to Managing a Frontline?

Kanban accepts a non-optimal situation: teams are not 100 percent dedicated to a project, and project work is done in phases outside the core team.

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Automate Your Definition of Done
By
Clemens Lode
, posted on
March 11, 2023
.

Reducing Repetitive Work in JIRA

With this Plugin, you can automate your definition of done (DoD) by creating templates and having them added to each new task in JIRA automatically.

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Scouting the Market
By
Clemens Lode
, posted on
March 11, 2023
.

The Similarities of "Scouting" in Games and Marketing

Knowing how to deal with a "fog of war" in real time strategy games like StarCraft can help understanding and teaching the principles of marketing.

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Team Communication
By
Clemens Lode
, posted on
March 11, 2023
.

How Soft Skills Translate from Computer Games to Business

Team-building exercises involving computer games can help participants to train soft-skills like dealing with frustration as well as communication skills.

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In Scrum, Ownership Matters
By
Clemens Lode
, posted on
March 11, 2023
.

From “Command and Control” to “Innovative Agile Management"

This article discusses how “ownership” describes how a knowledge worker needs to be part of the whole process and not just be a specialist in a department.

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Keep Some Energy in Reserve
By
Clemens Lode
, posted on
March 11, 2023
.

How a 100% Workload Slows You Down

Taking no breaks is a local optimization which might ultimately slow down your project. Instead, try to distribute workload in the team or try XP instead.

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A Closer Look at the Numbers
By
Clemens Lode
, posted on
March 11, 2023
.

Why Agile is not about Speed

A better indicator how well your project goes along is how much value you produce for your customers throughout the time of your project, not just at the end.

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Sprinting to Delivery
By
Clemens Lode
, posted on
March 11, 2023
.

Why Sprints and Delivery should be Completely Disconnected

This article discusses how the idea of delivering products at the end of sprints contradicts agilty. Agility is about delivering working software frequently.

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When Growing Gets Tough
By
Clemens Lode
, posted on
March 11, 2023
.

How to ‍Handle Multiple Teams in Scrum

Applying the principles of Scrum in a larger organization with multiple teams can be challenging. This article discusses a number of improvement ideas.

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Daily Scrum with Jira
By
Clemens Lode
, posted on
March 11, 2023
.

7 Ideas of How to Use JIRA Effectively During Dailies

This article gives you a 7 small ideas of how to improve your daily standups. Maybe try NOT using JIRA next time and try using stickers instead?

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Virtual Camera and OBS for Zoom
By
Clemens Lode
, posted on
March 11, 2023
.

Virtual Camera and OBS for Zoom

Step-by-step instructions to use OBS as the video source for your next video conference. This allows you to switch scenes or add filters to your picture.

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Book Publications

You can find all our books on Amazon, Amazon.de, or Leanpub.

Untold Secrets of Structured Product Investing

Like Terry Pratchett, I would not want to drink a suspicious cocktail, the ingredients, and level of alcohol of which were unknown to me. Likewise, I wouldn’t want to invest my hard-earned money in some complicated investment product while understanding neither the purpose nor the risk profile of the investment. This is why I decided to write a guide that takes a deep dive into the world of structured product investing—to explain their purpose, construction rules, and risk and performance profiles. This is the book where you will find many of the untold secrets of structured products—secrets usually known only to the expert traders who construct these products. Just as you don’t need to know how to mix a martini to enjoy one, you don’t need to know any complex statistical formulas to get a great deal from this book. You should, of course, know that the likelihood for positive or negative returns is often described by probability distributions. For instance, you may want to keep in mind the plot of the bell-shaped Gaussian distribution. Payoff charts and illustrations of the probability distribution of returns are powerful concepts that we will use in this book to illustrate the performance and risk characteristics of structured products. Where I have introduced concepts, the first mention is in bold type, and you will find a full definition in the glossary.

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Cover image of the book Kanban Remastered, Agile Lessons from Strategy Games

Kanban Remastered, Agile Lessons from Strategy Games

With Kanban Remastered, being an Agile coach, I realized that especially in industries with teams with a gaming background, coaching lessons could benefit if I could show the relationship between games and Agile methodology. Likewise, you can start explaining management methodology in a language that your tech-savvy audience understands.‍

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3D Cover of Scrum Your JIRA! Your Waterfall Organization Transformed into Multidisciplinary Teams, 10 Essays on Using Online Tools to Improve an Offline Technique

Scrum Your JIRA!

This book challenges two illusions that can get in the way of your company’s road to being genuinely Agile: first, that your Scrum is “special,” and second, that you can hide behind project management software. JIRA is powerful—and this book will show you how to use it more effectively—but it makes it easy to forget that the first idea of Agile is: Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.‍

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The cover of Does Your Brain Need You? - An Introduction to Neuroscience and Consciousness

Does Your Brain Need You?

Recently, researchers have found a theory that explains every aspect of conscious experience. To understand the relationship between you and your brain, we need to take a look at neuroscience and consciousness. This book explores the theory and introduces you to the science of the brain and our subjective experience.

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Book Cover with the title Better Books with LaTeX the Agile Way, Streamline Your Writing Process and Connect with Readers from Day One in 2023

Even Better Books with LaTeX, the Agile Way in 2023

Streamline your writing process with LaTeX and connect with readers from Day One. Self-publish your book on Amazon, Google, and Leanpub. Here you can find all tools you need to publish your book professionally online or in print with LaTeX. Learn to complete your book project in small steps—the agile way. Better Books with LaTeX the Agile Way covers the entire publishing process, from your initial concept to marketing your book on Amazon, Google, or Leanpub.

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Cover mit griechischen Statuen und dem Titel Philosophie für Helden, Wissen und Sprache

Philosophie für Helden: Erkenntnis (Wissen und Sprache)

Ein Held zu sein ist mehr als eine Heldentat zu vollbringen. Man verwandelt sich nicht auf wundersame Weise in einen "Helden" als ein Ergebnis der Umstände. Die Rettung in letzter Sekunde, das Aufbegehren in Zeiten einer Krise oder sogar das Führen anderer aus einer brenzlichen Situation, ein Held zu sein ist mehr als diese mutigen Taten. Es bedarf einer tiefen Einsicht -- die Art philosophischer Reise die die weisesten Köpfe der Menschheitsgeschichte gemacht haben‍.

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Cover of Philosophy for Heroes: Act, a book on neuroscience and consciousness

Philosophy for Heroes: Act (Neuroscience and Consciousness)

Being a hero means standing up to false heroes. To gain this ability, we need to have a good grasp of the nature of the universe and to be able to understand our minds. This book is an introduction to the most current research in neurobiology and consciousness. It is easy to read, uses numerous examples, and introduces concepts from the ground up. After reading the book, you will be able to explain what it means to be conscious. Becoming a hero requires gaining an understanding of what the greatest minds of history have pondered. Philosophy for Heroes summarizes their wisdom and connects it with the modern world.‍

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The cover of the book Philosophy for Heroes: Continuum showing a ocean with a turtle and a human head.

Philosophy for Heroes: Continuum (Physics and Evolution)

In this, the second book in a four-part series, Clemens explores questions like: What is the quantum theory and how can we interpret it? How did the universe come out of "nothingness" and how did life develop from non-living matter? What is the origin of our own creativity? ‍

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Cover of the book Philosophy for Heroes: Knowledge, with two Greek statues in front of a blue sky

Philosophy for Heroes: Knowledge (Philosophy and Language)

True heroes don’t follow, they lead. In order to be a leader, you have to be free of unwanted external influences or ideas. While we are not completely free in our decisions, the more we know about the world and ourselves, the freer we can become.

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