https://walkden.me/blog/ Notes on technology, product, teams, and the decisions that connect them. https://walkden.me/blog/the-code-repository-as-working-memory/ https://walkden.me/blog/the-code-repository-as-working-memory/ Sat, 17 Oct 2026 05:00:00 GMT Explore how treating the code repository as durable working memory preserves decisions and evidence, enabling people and AI agents to build more ambitious software together with continuity and confidence. https://walkden.me/blog/good-automation-doesnt-eliminate-human-decisions/ https://walkden.me/blog/good-automation-doesnt-eliminate-human-decisions/ Thu, 15 Oct 2026 05:00:00 GMT Good automation doesn't eliminate human decisions. It makes them more visible, deliberate, and informed. Sometimes that means deliberately keeping a manual step. https://walkden.me/blog/as-ai-gets-cheaper-judgment-becomes-more-valuable/ https://walkden.me/blog/as-ai-gets-cheaper-judgment-becomes-more-valuable/ Wed, 22 Jul 2026 15:02:13 GMT As AI models become cheaper and more interchangeable, competitive advantage shifts toward better decisions, proprietary data, workflows, and customer relationships. https://walkden.me/blog/ai-doesnt-lower-the-cost-of-building-the-wrong-thing/ https://walkden.me/blog/ai-doesnt-lower-the-cost-of-building-the-wrong-thing/ Fri, 10 Jul 2026 16:06:36 GMT AI is rapidly lowering the cost of building software. But it doesn’t lower the cost of building the wrong thing. https://walkden.me/blog/building-collaborative-user-centered-product-teams/ https://walkden.me/blog/building-collaborative-user-centered-product-teams/ Tue, 22 Oct 2024 01:35:57 GMT A conversation on the Innovation and The Digital Enterprise Podcast about applying product expertise to advance Double Good’s mission. https://walkden.me/blog/when-i-started-this-blog-agile-was-not/ https://walkden.me/blog/when-i-started-this-blog-agile-was-not/ Fri, 09 Nov 2018 13:47:00 GMT When I started this blog, Agile was not yet the lingua franca of product development. I was passionate about teaching the Chicago community about Agile. I helped start the Chicago Agile Project Managers Meet Up. https://walkden.me/blog/an-easier-way-to-decide/ https://walkden.me/blog/an-easier-way-to-decide/ Thu, 11 May 2017 22:58:00 GMT Originally posted on ForeverCar Blog: https://blog.forevercar.com/an-easier-way-to-decide You probably have far more important priorities than taking the time to research vehicle service protection plans. That’s where we come in. https://walkden.me/blog/ember-actions-up-data-sideways/ https://walkden.me/blog/ember-actions-up-data-sideways/ Mon, 25 Jan 2016 21:39:00 GMT The rallying cry for Ember 2.0 has been “Data Down, Actions Up”. Ember's component based architecture sets a pattern where data is passed “down” to child components, while children “request” changes from their parents by triggering actions. https://walkden.me/blog/debugging-minified-javascript/ https://walkden.me/blog/debugging-minified-javascript/ Mon, 09 Nov 2015 15:46:00 GMT This is an error we got in the early morning hours from our staging environment: There are lots of things to like about minifying Javascript except this of course. Removing proper variables annihilates context so completely. https://walkden.me/blog/your-inconsistent-design-makes-me-worry/ https://walkden.me/blog/your-inconsistent-design-makes-me-worry/ Thu, 09 Jul 2015 16:04:00 GMT This is from a product I use daily. Who wrote this code and thought they were done? Who approved these two button styles next to one another? I have this vision of a developer choosing a library that made their development life easier. https://walkden.me/blog/product-design-in-nutshell/ https://walkden.me/blog/product-design-in-nutshell/ Fri, 20 Mar 2015 11:59:00 GMT I got asked by an investor recently how we at Digital H2O do design. I liked the conciseness of my response and thought it was a good example of how to tie user centric design into a business plan. https://walkden.me/blog/how-to-get-started-on-product-redesign/ https://walkden.me/blog/how-to-get-started-on-product-redesign/ Tue, 06 Jan 2015 17:06:00 GMT A few months back I was working on a large, ground-up redesign for a product I own. I had a little trouble getting started. I realized I needed a playbook to remind me of the basics. https://walkden.me/blog/the-some-of-my-experience-with-product/ https://walkden.me/blog/the-some-of-my-experience-with-product/ Tue, 15 Jul 2014 13:38:00 GMT People make companies and products. Process helps support and grow good people, but fundamentally it's all about the people. There is a whole lot more to it than that, but this is the first thing to know. https://walkden.me/blog/advice-for-developers-and-designers/ https://walkden.me/blog/advice-for-developers-and-designers/ Tue, 26 Feb 2013 23:05:00 GMT From my talk at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business: Excellent advice on getting developers, designers and managers to work together. It's featured here in our [UrbanBound's] latest blog! hub.am/XeZ6hq https://walkden.me/blog/customer-development-for-product-you/ https://walkden.me/blog/customer-development-for-product-you/ Fri, 18 Jan 2013 17:10:00 GMT As a manager I've always found it hard to get honest feedback from employees and my management. https://walkden.me/blog/what-is-showcase/ https://walkden.me/blog/what-is-showcase/ Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:26:00 GMT I couldn't find a simple description of a product showcase today so I wrote a quick one myself The showcase is an important part of product development. https://walkden.me/blog/an-update-to-principled-leadership/ https://walkden.me/blog/an-update-to-principled-leadership/ Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:32:00 GMT One my most popular posts of all time is one I put up in 2009 about Principled Leadership. I still get traffic from this post and once got a very aggressive job solicitation based on the principals outlined in the post. https://walkden.me/blog/swallow-copy-in-ruby/ https://walkden.me/blog/swallow-copy-in-ruby/ Fri, 03 Aug 2012 17:15:00 GMT I often wonder why some organizations only consider candidates who have computer science or computer engineering degrees. In the real world I have seen many great developers who have come from diverse backgrounds. https://walkden.me/blog/from-makers-perspective/ https://walkden.me/blog/from-makers-perspective/ Thu, 03 May 2012 21:50:00 GMT I came across this article via LinkedIn. It reminds me of the Maker Schedule, Manager Schedule discussion except its from a maker perspective. https://walkden.me/blog/call-it-like-it-is-save-time-and-money/ https://walkden.me/blog/call-it-like-it-is-save-time-and-money/ Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:34:00 GMT At UrbanBound we are necessarily obsessed with who our users are - and who they aren't. An application designed for baby boomers utilizes very different design principals than one designed for a younger audience. https://walkden.me/blog/why-i-hate-internet-sometimes/ https://walkden.me/blog/why-i-hate-internet-sometimes/ Tue, 10 Apr 2012 21:43:00 GMT Watch my site get slow. Watch me download the logs to make sure nothing happened. Thanks for wasting my time script kiddies. https://walkden.me/blog/why-car-companies-need-to-do-usability/ https://walkden.me/blog/why-car-companies-need-to-do-usability/ Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:01:00 GMT Overall I love my Toyota Prius. Under the hood, it is an engineering marvel. Prius' have been around for 10 years and still sell like hotcakes. I honestly don't understand why Ford hasn't made a competing product by now. https://walkden.me/blog/looking-back-at-my-most-popular-posts/ https://walkden.me/blog/looking-back-at-my-most-popular-posts/ Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:17:00 GMT Anybody who has worked with me knows that I'm a fan of analytics. If you are selling soap or software development services, I strongly believe you should be capturing metrics on how people use and interact with your product. https://walkden.me/blog/jakob-nielsens-kindle-fire-usability/ https://walkden.me/blog/jakob-nielsens-kindle-fire-usability/ Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:37:00 GMT I don't like to re-post, but I highly recommend reading this. Tablets are, finally, not going to go away and will only increase in usage. Jakob Nielsen does a great job of discussing the usability and design of 7-inch tablets. https://walkden.me/blog/review-individuals-and-interactions/ https://walkden.me/blog/review-individuals-and-interactions/ Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:15:00 GMT In Individuals and Interactions an agile guide, Ken Howard and Barry Rogers give us a set of tools for managing individuals on agile projects. https://walkden.me/blog/review-leading-lean-software-2011-07-05/ https://walkden.me/blog/review-leading-lean-software-2011-07-05/ Tue, 05 Jul 2011 22:08:00 GMT I am reviewing books I have read in the past for an upcoming coaching gig. I realized I hadn't posted this review on my blog yet! https://walkden.me/blog/six-reasons-why-ea-should-not-be/ https://walkden.me/blog/six-reasons-why-ea-should-not-be/ Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:15:00 GMT I have always disliked working with the "big architecture" people. It was only in the last 5 years that I came to realize why. Enterprise Architects are often software developers who have reached the pinacle of programming greatness. https://walkden.me/blog/agile-in-regulated-software-partnering/ https://walkden.me/blog/agile-in-regulated-software-partnering/ Sat, 25 Jun 2011 13:10:00 GMT This may be generic advice, but it might not be a familiar concept for those in IT working within a large organization doing validated software: Once you adopt the practices described in my previous blogs about regulated software, you will https://walkden.me/blog/agile-in-regulated-software-sweat/ https://walkden.me/blog/agile-in-regulated-software-sweat/ Wed, 25 May 2011 20:25:00 GMT Very few people in the software development community have issues with maintaining good attention to the details. However, I bet those who live in the regulated software community view the “normal” software world as quite sloppy. https://walkden.me/blog/agile-in-regulated-software-its-not/ https://walkden.me/blog/agile-in-regulated-software-its-not/ Mon, 16 May 2011 22:22:00 GMT Its not what you wear. Its how you wear it. I have to thank Tavi Scandiff-Pirvu for coining this expression as it relates to regulated software development. https://walkden.me/blog/agile-in-regulated-software-functional/ https://walkden.me/blog/agile-in-regulated-software-functional/ Tue, 10 May 2011 19:07:00 GMT Testing is a crucial part of all software development. If you don't believe this you are likely just starting your career or haven't had to support an application in production with users. https://walkden.me/blog/agile-in-regulated-software-checklists/ https://walkden.me/blog/agile-in-regulated-software-checklists/ Tue, 10 May 2011 19:05:00 GMT Lets be honest: Checklists aren't the most exciting topic to blog about. However, in the context of regulation they become interesting. Everybody loves checklists and hates them at the same time. https://walkden.me/blog/agile-in-regulated-software-have-some/ https://walkden.me/blog/agile-in-regulated-software-have-some/ Tue, 10 May 2011 19:03:00 GMT The FDA states that a medical device is a product that is used for medical purposes in patients, in diagnosis, therapy, or surgery. https://walkden.me/blog/agile-in-regulated-software-methodology/ https://walkden.me/blog/agile-in-regulated-software-methodology/ Tue, 10 May 2011 19:01:00 GMT Methodology "The analysis of the principles of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a discipline" For software companies these day it seems that its not a hard choice to follow Agile principles. https://walkden.me/blog/agile-in-regulated-software-it-can-be/ https://walkden.me/blog/agile-in-regulated-software-it-can-be/ Tue, 10 May 2011 18:59:00 GMT We have all heard that developing software utilizing Agile principles yields high quality, working software in customers' hands quickly. https://walkden.me/blog/product-camp-chicago/ https://walkden.me/blog/product-camp-chicago/ Tue, 29 Mar 2011 04:31:00 GMT Join me at Product Camp Chicago this Saturday April 2, 2011 to see my talk about How to Incorporate Apple like design into your products. http://bit.ly/eCTVN5 https://walkden.me/blog/all-things-i-never-thought-i-would-use/ https://walkden.me/blog/all-things-i-never-thought-i-would-use/ Sun, 20 Mar 2011 20:47:00 GMT My family bought me an iPad for fathers day last year. I have been completely surprised how much I use it professionally and personally. https://walkden.me/blog/everyone-hates-gadgets-dont-make-your/ https://walkden.me/blog/everyone-hates-gadgets-dont-make-your/ Wed, 19 Jan 2011 03:54:00 GMT My mother sent me the following comment in a email recently: "Us senior citizens don't need anymore gadgets. The tv remote and the garage door remote are about all we can handle." I find the concept of gadgets interesting. https://walkden.me/blog/boarding-pass-youre-doing-it-wrong/ https://walkden.me/blog/boarding-pass-youre-doing-it-wrong/ Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:59:00 GMT Boarding Pass or Billboard? https://walkden.me/blog/what-i-have-been-reading-recently/ https://walkden.me/blog/what-i-have-been-reading-recently/ Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:37:00 GMT I have been busy helping customers design apps and doing more reading than writing these days. https://walkden.me/blog/in-reflections-on-management-how-to/ https://walkden.me/blog/in-reflections-on-management-how-to/ Fri, 13 Aug 2010 04:29:00 GMT In Reflections on Management: How to Manage Your Software Projects, Your Teams, Your Boss, and Yourself Watts Humphrey presents a number of essays discussing how to manage software projects, teams, bosses and yourself. https://walkden.me/blog/how-to-find-software-developer/ https://walkden.me/blog/how-to-find-software-developer/ Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:10:00 GMT A friend contacted me for advice on how to find and hire a good software developer. The problem is that he is a non-technical manager and only needs one person. https://walkden.me/blog/i-have-workshop-and-bridge-to-sell/ https://walkden.me/blog/i-have-workshop-and-bridge-to-sell/ Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:01:00 GMT I got an advertisement for a workshop about how to develop SaaS products. The title was, "Silly Agility--The Myth of the SaaS Agile Product Manager". https://walkden.me/blog/android-what-i-like-about-you/ https://walkden.me/blog/android-what-i-like-about-you/ Wed, 02 Jun 2010 02:21:00 GMT Anybody who has been to our office knows I am an Android fan. My prediction is that the Android platform will end up with a much, much larger install base than iPhone OS. https://walkden.me/blog/review-making-it-big-in-software/ https://walkden.me/blog/review-making-it-big-in-software/ Wed, 12 May 2010 17:19:00 GMT In Making it Big in Software, Sam Lightstone has the ambitious task of giving you "all the information you need to jumpstart your software career: the best ways to get hired, move up, and blaze your way to the top!". https://walkden.me/blog/review-succeeding-with-agile/ https://walkden.me/blog/review-succeeding-with-agile/ Tue, 23 Mar 2010 02:06:00 GMT In Succeeding with Agile, Mike Cohn gives organizations a handbook for how to succeed using Agile practices and principals. https://walkden.me/blog/who-values-your-product-and-do-you/ https://walkden.me/blog/who-values-your-product-and-do-you/ Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:27:00 GMT We have reached the most critical point on a project I'm working on. After a few months we think we know enough about the domain and application to build a product road map that will take us to the first public release. https://walkden.me/blog/whats-value-of-agile-out-of-box-12/ https://walkden.me/blog/whats-value-of-agile-out-of-box-12/ Wed, 13 Jan 2010 04:31:00 GMT I often meet peers who ask what Agile practices Pathfinder utilizes. From the outside we pretty much use all of XP’s practices. https://walkden.me/blog/review-leading-lean-software-2010-01-10/ https://walkden.me/blog/review-leading-lean-software-2010-01-10/ Sun, 10 Jan 2010 14:14:00 GMT In Leading Lean Software Development, Mary and Tom Poppendieck present a handbook for how to run a software development group, top to bottom. https://walkden.me/blog/sdlc-or-product-design-you-decide/ https://walkden.me/blog/sdlc-or-product-design-you-decide/ Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:33:00 GMT …or the telephone game Last weekend I was watching a movie with my kids. In the movie there was a chain of monkeys that needed to pass on the message from one character to one on the other side of the chain. https://walkden.me/blog/looking-back-creating-software-factory-2009-11-13/ https://walkden.me/blog/looking-back-creating-software-factory-2009-11-13/ Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:22:00 GMT This is the final post in my three part series (see parts one & two) about creating a software factory. https://walkden.me/blog/how-to-interview-and-hire-good-project/ https://walkden.me/blog/how-to-interview-and-hire-good-project/ Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:24:00 GMT This is a topic near and dear to me these days. I have been blogging about leadership a lot recently and think some discussion about how to actually find and hire those with leadership skills is in order. https://walkden.me/blog/we-dont-have-time-for-all-of-these/ https://walkden.me/blog/we-dont-have-time-for-all-of-these/ Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:23:00 GMT :: Originally Posted on Pathfinder Development's Blog :: The majority of people who develop software utilizing agile practices find that they spend much less time in meetings than they did before they discovered Agile thinking. https://walkden.me/blog/building-high-performance-agile-team/ https://walkden.me/blog/building-high-performance-agile-team/ Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:21:00 GMT :: Originally Posted on Pathfinder Development's Blog :: One thing about agile teams is that they constantly strive to get better. In my experience an Agile team takes 2-4 iterations to work through the forming stage. https://walkden.me/blog/agile-2009-reminder-of-why-each-team/ https://walkden.me/blog/agile-2009-reminder-of-why-each-team/ Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:19:00 GMT :: Originally Posted on the Pathfinder Development's Blog :: Last week I presented at Agile 2009 a workshop for those new to Agile entitled: The Agile Game: An Experiential Workshop. https://walkden.me/blog/getting-team-over-fear-of-daily-scrums/ https://walkden.me/blog/getting-team-over-fear-of-daily-scrums/ Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:17:00 GMT ::Originally posted on the Pathfinder Development's Blog:: If my previous post about the value of agile meetings over traditional status meetings got you interested, I want to share a common pattern of behavior I often see from teams trying https://walkden.me/blog/great-article-about-how-to-manage/ https://walkden.me/blog/great-article-about-how-to-manage/ Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:51:00 GMT The unspoken truth about managing geeks http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/print/9137708/Opinion_The_unspoken_truth_about_managing_geeks https://walkden.me/blog/looking-back-creating-software-factory-2009-09-01/ https://walkden.me/blog/looking-back-creating-software-factory-2009-09-01/ Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:25:00 GMT In my last post I talked about the first iteration of the software factory I created. In it I talked about how I followed traditional management techniques to add offshore developers and testers to the team. https://walkden.me/blog/makers-schedule-managers-schedule/ https://walkden.me/blog/makers-schedule-managers-schedule/ Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:49:00 GMT One of my colleagues at Pathfinder sent this out to the whole company. I have been on the manager's schedule since 2001. Now [more and more] I'm on the maker's schedule. https://walkden.me/blog/looking-back-creating-software-factory-2009-07-14/ https://walkden.me/blog/looking-back-creating-software-factory-2009-07-14/ Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:39:00 GMT A few years back, while managing a software development department, I developed an efficient software factory based on lean principals that directly supported a $2Billion per year business. https://walkden.me/blog/death-of-productivity/ https://walkden.me/blog/death-of-productivity/ Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:18:00 GMT I don't often re-post from others' blogs. However, I came across a blog post worth passing on. In my career I have never understood working 60+ hours. Even in graduate school I'd work from 10am to 11pm - but only for 4 days a week! https://walkden.me/blog/effective-vs-efficient-teams/ https://walkden.me/blog/effective-vs-efficient-teams/ Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:51:00 GMT We hear more and more about large organizations adopting Agile software development practices recently. This is not surprising given that Agile practices have many advantages over traditional methods. https://walkden.me/blog/something-you-can-try-on-your-next/ https://walkden.me/blog/something-you-can-try-on-your-next/ Thu, 14 May 2009 14:53:00 GMT Depending on your company’s commitment to agile principals you might find yourself on a classic fixed bid project. A while back, at a previous employer, I found myself in just such a position. https://walkden.me/blog/adopting-agile-practices-its-going-to/ https://walkden.me/blog/adopting-agile-practices-its-going-to/ Wed, 15 Apr 2009 20:17:00 GMT Right now I'm coaching some teams with projects in flight. To do this I generally start by showing them one or two agile practices. After getting buy-in we use the practices for an iteration - retrospect and refine. https://walkden.me/blog/there-is-no-conductor-in-agile/ https://walkden.me/blog/there-is-no-conductor-in-agile/ Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:23:00 GMT Recently I have been coaching a number of SAP project managers on how to manage their projects utilizing agile practices and principals. https://walkden.me/blog/principled-leadership/ https://walkden.me/blog/principled-leadership/ Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:28:00 GMT Something I have been thinking about recently... Principled Leadership has the following principles representing actions that leaders need to take to transform their organizations into outcome and value focused organizations serving https://walkden.me/blog/systematic-amateurism-27/ https://walkden.me/blog/systematic-amateurism-27/ Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:18:00 GMT Occasionally somebody from outside of my project stumbles upon notes I have written from a retrospective or other meeting. https://walkden.me/blog/state-of-scrum/ https://walkden.me/blog/state-of-scrum/ Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:28:00 GMT I found this interesting article in the Agile Journal about Scrum. A few quotes stood out to me: "When you consider that Scrum challenges teams to always be growing and improving, it makes sense that it has emerged as the most popular agile https://walkden.me/blog/planning-for-improvisation/ https://walkden.me/blog/planning-for-improvisation/ Tue, 23 Dec 2008 23:15:00 GMT When I joined Redpoint I noticed a disproportionate number of musicians in the firm.