5G will reshape networks and information system architectures through the emergence of radical, large-scale, new products and usage patterns. Will long-established principles of computer science remain unchanged? CAP Theorem, published in 1998 by Eric Brewer (founder at Inktomi, now at Google, a…

WiFi Calling refers to the ability to place and receive calls over a WiFi network, using the native dialing (and video and text) interface that comes with your mobile phone. Both Android and iOS devices support WiFi Calling, and it’s available through most major carriers in the…

Here are more architecture guidelines from my work with a product development department in a Fortune 50 company five years ago. I wrote about “Optimize for last mile” previously. Some of the guidelines have survived the test of time, others clearly have not. Some…

Many of us who have spent significant time working with large organizations, are motivated by a sense of respect and optimism for the power of teams to achieve big, valuable objectives. But it can be surprisingly difficult to talk about this experience.…

Not all innovation is product based. In fact, product innovation is a very narrow slice of a much broader spectrum of innovation that’s possible. Operations is particularly rich in non-product based innovation. Innovation in operations can take many diverse forms. For example: A…

A few years ago I worked with a product development team in a large company. Posted on a large sign on a wall in the common area was a list of development and architecture guidelines. One of them read: Optimize scale economics…

What’s great about agile is that its tenets emerged from the culture of real teams responsible for actual technical delivery. For example, horizontal team structures emerge again and again as a key characteristic of successful teams. The same is true about frequent…

In the introduction to the excellent book How To Measure Anything, Douglas Hubbard provides this guidance about the importance of statistics, performance indicators, and data-driven business: Like many hard problems in business or life in general, seemingly impossible measurements start with asking…

I’d like to detail another key factor for successful software production in a distributed team environment: delivery pipeline. Delivery pipeline refers to the process, infrastructure, roles, and tools an organization uses to deliver software from repository to production. Delivery pipeline varies between organizations and generally includes build,…

Following my recent post on distributed SDLC, I’d like to detail a key factor contributing to successful software production with highly distributed teams: horizontal orientation. The Agile mindset is horizontal. Its purpose is to delight customers. Making money is the result, not the…