How can management decisions lead to the derailment of a train and the deaths of 107 people? In the case of the Amagasaki derailmentâand countless other incidentsâit came down to the flawed use of metrics.
Could the same blind reliance on numbers be quietly sabotaging your software team? Why do some metrics help, while others create perverse incentives that wreck productivity?
I explored these questions in my latest article.
Read the full story on the Lean Poker blog:
www.leanpoker.org/blog/2025-03-05-why-metrics-are-âŠ
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Reacting to the ever-changing needs of a business is tough, and most engineers haven't had the chance to learn how to handle that environment. Itâs a recipe for burnout.
I mentioned my workshop in my latest video, and some of you reached out if you could participate. I will be hosting one online soon that should work for Europe and APAC. For folks in US and the Americas in general, I'll be scheduling another one soon.
Join to experience how you can leverage fast feedback directly from production to meet ever changing demands, while fostering a healthy work environment.
Find out more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXdNI...
Sign up: leanpoker.org/event
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Break free from the shackles of rigid plans and achieve your business/product goals faster.
Here's the reality: You can't build value-aligned teams through processes that enforce formal checkpoints. True alignment comes from fostering a culture of cross-functional, autonomous teams that deeply understand and care about their users.
Many companies struggle to build such cultures because the industry has become accustomed to agile coaches and leaders setting up rigid rules to optimize processes. In doing so, we've lost sight of what true excellence looks like. We've created a learned helplessness that needs to be overcome by rekindling the joy of building software that delivers real value.
If you want your team to experience this joy and success, reach out to me or visit leanpoker.org/.
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I changed the channelâs name once again, and this also reflects a vital change in my approach. Let me explain!
When I first started uploading videos to this channel, I didnât have a plan. All I knew was that I wanted to serve the software engineering community by sharing knowledge. Unfortunately, I ended up choosing a name tied to the implementation (interviews in my car) rather than the purpose. When COVID hit, meeting people at conferences became unsustainable as a format, so I changed the channelâs name before I really knew what direction I was heading in. I changed it twice, but neither name really resonated with me or the audience I wanted to reach.
A couple of days ago, as I was reflecting on my next steps, I realized something important. My whole career has been built around one single notion: whatever you build, build it one small step at a time, and seek feedback. This is something Iâve adhered to as an engineer and as a manager, but I failed to apply it as a YouTuber. I kept trying to come up with the ultimate format, the perfect way to communicate, instead of experimenting and letting my audience guide me towards the format that works for you.
From now on, Iâll take a slightly different approach. I know that the roughly 1000 subscribers I have right now are the right audience for me, and Iâd like to serve you better. To serve you better, I need to experiment more, which will mean more content, but it might be a bit rough around the edges and less consistent in its format.
The channels âMorning Commute,â âCup of Code,â and âLeaders Workshopâ were all just increments, and this isnât any different. This is just the âNext Increment.â
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Building valuable software teams one step at a time.
I'm Ivett Ărdög, and I first learned coding 35 years ago, and software engineering and managing teams of engineers has been my passion ever since. I worked as freelancer, as an engineer at various international companies, and I'm currently running my own software business.