Insights
The state of our thinking and other current topics
Automation in AWS
How is automation revolutionizing cloud operations? How has it changed the tech industry? Listen as the podcasters dive into the world of automation in AWS.
An intro to AWS Well-Architected Review
The podcasters dive into the AWS Well-Architected Review, a crucial framework for optimizing your cloud environment. What it is, how it works, and how to get started.
The AWS re:Invent pre:Event
Get insider tips on surviving and thriving during the AWS re:Invent Conference.
Tech predictions for 2024
How is AI going to take over, are we going to Mars, and what about self-driving cars? The podcasters discuss all these & more in their tech predictions for 2024.
Nomadic Workers: How do they do it?
Nomadic Workers: How do they do it? An expert joins the podcasters to discuss all his tips and tricks for working around the country.
Why the Industry Needs Agile Project Management
Embrace the Tremor: Why the Industry is Shifting Towards Agile Project Management. Discover the evolving landscape of project management and how Agile bridges the gap between tradition and innovation.
Working with Amazon Web Services
The podcasters are joined by SDG Consultant, Chad LaVigne as they discuss the ins and outs of working with AWS as an Advanced Tier Services Partner.
5 Essential AWS Services for Successful Application Modernization
It can be a little daunting to start building out your architecture. After all, AWS offers over 200 services that can be used in nearly infinite combinations to solve problems. Where do you start? What are the best services for the job? How should they work together?
An intro to The Pollinator
The podcasters are joined by SDG’s Head of Product, Jason Scherschligt! He talks about the new product newsletter ‘The Pollinator’ which you can find here: https://sdg-pollinator.beehiiv.com/
100th Episode Spectacular
A reflection and trip down memory lane on the 100 podcast episodes that the SDG podcast has produced.
SDG Hackathon: Up and Running with Kubernetes, Crossplane, and ArgoCD
Go through solving a hackathon using Kubernetes, Crossplane and ArgoCD.
Quantum Computing
Join the podcasters as they dive into the world of quantum computing. What exactly is it, how do people use it and what could it mean for the future?
Interviewing in a virtual world
The last three years have been a whirlwind, for a variety of different reasons! The pandemic has really shifted the way we do things these days, specifically the way recruiters do our job. As Recruiters at SDG, we’ve discussed this topic more than once and I’m willing...
Too many cooks in the kitchen
We’ve all encountered situations where executive decisions become a recipe for disaster due to an overflow of opinions. Join the podcasters as they discuss how to navigate this situation as a consultant.
Generative AI
Join the podcasters as they explore Generative AI, where machines create, compose, and design in ways that mimic human creativity. They discuss its evolution, applications, and the profound impact it can and will have on various industries.
Stretching your skills
Join the podcasters as they explore the positive and negative aspects of pushing your boundaries and taking on new challenges, and how finding the right balance can lead to both personal and professional growth.
Other Peoples Code
Whether you’re a seasoned developer or just starting out, understanding and working with code written by others is a skill every programmer must master. The podcasters discuss the strategies, challenges, and invaluable lessons that come with analyzing and collaborating on someone else’s codebase.
AI Copyright Conundrum
How will the future of AI affect copyright licensing? The podcasters discuss this conundrum as it pertains to intellectual property, movies, athletes & more!
A primer to game design
Get into game design. Remember it’s an iterative process with the goal of always having fun!
Staying in the pocket with vanilla tech
How do you know when to use bleeding-edge technology? Sometimes the right decision means sticking with what you know and using vanilla technology.
5 stages of QA readiness
The podcasters are joined by SDG consultant, Akila Kavo to discuss Quality Automation. What challenges the QA industry, how will AI impact it & how to prepare to test!
Avoiding Mediocrity
The podcasters discuss avoiding mediocrity. What types of people should you surround yourself with and what should you be doing to avoid being mediocre?
Three improv games to play with your agile team
You may be asking yourself - what does improv have to do with me and my agile team? Well, the principles behind successful improvisation can relate directly to the core values and principles of a successful agile team. The three improv games linked in this list will...
How roles have changed in tech
The podcasters discuss how roles in technology have changed over time. How do waterfall and agile methodologies play into changing roles?
Board Gaming
The podcasters discus board gaming. Gateway games, their favorites, and how can be helpful in the workplace!
AI Governance vs. Freedom
The podcasters talk about the balance between establishing safeguards to prevent evil AI, while fostering a climate for creativity and innovation to create AI that will be a boon to humanity.
Open Source North Recap
The podcasters talk about their time at the recent Open Source North conference!
Ascending with Optimism
how to turn the mundane into the best parts of life. By shifting your perspective on the small obstacles in life, you can gain positive momentum. There are only so many hours in a day, and you influence how many of them bring you joy.
DevOps 101
The podcasters are joined by 2 SDG consultants as they talk all things DevOps. What it is, why you should have a DevOps expert on your team & their favorite anti-patterns.
We’re bored with the board!
It’s time to challenge the traditional daily scrum practices, try some new methods, and remember the true purpose behind the daily scrum is a valuable team interaction, not just another obligatory meeting.
Cloud Anti-Patterns
The podcaster discuss cloud anti-patterns. From DevOps to security tools and more the podcasters dive into the top anti-patterns.
The Right to Repair Act
The Right to Repair Act has the potential to affect everything from John Deere tractors to Apple iPhones. The podcasters discuss what this is and how it could affect the technology industry.
You’re the PM? I thought I was the PM!
SDG’s Head of Product explores the relationship between *project* management and *product* management. One simple way to understand your company’s dominant mindset: what do you mean by the abbreviation “PM”?
Decision Fatigue
Being a consultant, there are so many decisions that need to be made and important ones that we sometimes have to make for our clients. This can lead to decision fatigue. The podcasters discuss what it is, how it affects people, and what to do to combat it.
Q&A with Young Cardinal, SDG’s Newest Talent Sourcer
"It's very interesting to speak with folks about how they found the world of IT and why they're passionate about it!" What do you like most about your job? What I love most about my job is learning about each individual candidate’s background. Rarely do you see a...
Job Security
The podcasters share their personal experiences with job security, specifically in consulting. What is it, how do you market yourself and what can you do to stay relevant in an evolving industry?
Why test?
Testing is more than just testing. Despite its importance, many developers tend to shy away from writing automated tests, citing the added effort involved and the difficulty of quantifying its benefits in real-time. However, by shifting our perspective and emphasizing...
Knowing your audience and speaking their language
The podcasters talk about insights and strategies for identifying your audience’s needs and tailoring your message to resonate with them.
Architecture is an art form
So, you’re building a digital product. The business goals are well defined, the user or customer needs have been established, and the concept has been reviewed with enthusiastic support. It’s now time to determine the technical architecture for this product, but the...
Stepping outside the developer status quo
“I think something that I’ve been really enjoying about this festival is that I feel like there is so much space here for thinking about new ideas and opportunities and radical Imagination,” Agyei Archer. As a developer, I have been pondering on how I can merge more...
Getting outside of your comfort zone
Your comfort zone is a safe place to be, but you don’t learn, grow, and level up unless you step outside, into the unknown. Sometimes the willingness to embrace discomfort can differentiate a good consultant from a great one.
The right champion pays dividends
Over the last few years, I have witnessed many organizations invest in understanding their business, users, and customers prior to building their digital products. They start at the highest level, in what we call the innovation phase, drafting a concept from...
What does success look like?
How do you define the success of a project? Who decides if the project is successful?
An introduction to ChatGPT
An intro to Chat GPT: why it isn’t Skynet, how to use it to help with chores, why is there such a media craze about it.. and is it going to take our jobs?!
The Road to Consulting
The podcasters discuss the many jobs that led them to the IT industry and consulting at SDG!
An introduction to Low Code
What is Low Code? What does it do for us? How does it fit in with development projects? How does it solve business problems? Why is it a good thing? Some of these questions may be answered in this podcast!
Recognition at SDG
At SDG, recognition and showing appreciation for each other has always been a natural part of our culture. To give proper kudos when they are due, we have a number of different recognition programs that are designed to show appreciation to employees that go above and...
Turning business data into business intelligence
How do you get started on the path to making business decisions with data to back it up? The podcasters discuss how to turn business data into business intelligence.
Utilizing Wisdom
How do you know Wisdom when you see it? And how do you use it to avoid common mistakes. How can you get other people do the same?
Successful Digital Product Innovation
Building software to bolster the digital capabilities of your business is a costly and time-consuming adventure. Often the digital products that are created during this process fail to return the desired business outcomes, fall short of user (and customer) needs, and...
Defining Done
It’s important to know where the finish line is, not just for a project, but for a set of tasks, user stories, sprints, and in your personal life! We go through how to define “done”
How do you know when you need more help?
No one can do all of the things all of the time… so, whether you are a team of one or 100, how do you know when you need to add headcount and get some help?
Finishing strong
Making a first impression is important. Making a lasting impression by finishing strong may even be more important.
Plans, plans and more plans
The podcasters talk about plans! When to make them, when to change them, and when abandoned them completely. And also, what’s wrong with “winging it”?
Getting comfortable with iteration
There is a constant debate happening between the new way of thinking about development, typically agile methodologies, and the old ways of thinking, typically the beautifully named but oft-disparaged "waterfall." The thing is: this debate isn't happening much in a...
2022 Year in review
It’s the last podcast of the year and the podcasters reflect on all the things that happened in 2022!
Special Edition: AWS re:Invent Recap
The podcasters come to you with a special edition episode; the AWS re:Invent recap. Chad is joined by SDG’ers who attended the conference to give you a detailed insiders look into the conference, favorite parts and tips for new comers.
Influential Books
The podcasters talk about their picks of books that have had a positive influence and them personally, as a tech, and as a consultant.
When do you use bleeding edge technology?
When is the next big thing the right thing? Bleeding edge tech is a risk, but sometimes it is a risk worth taking. How do you approach bringing brand new tech into production?
Over-hyped technology & other things
In quite possibly the greatest thing to have ever been recorded, the podcasters talk about hype in general and hype in technology.
Blockchain 101: Real-World Uses
You might know bitcoin as a preferred payment system for ransomware or a volatile investment but like every technology there are two side to the coin. With one side being the potential to impact financial and social systems… in a good way!
A Developers POV: moving from waterfall to agile
When the business is used to a traditional waterfall process how does a team move into an agile development process? Here are some tips from a developer’s POV on how to make that transition as smooth as possible.
How to give a great product demo
Effective Demo’s are critical. Whether they happen as part of Scrum or just demoing in general, we talk about our thoughts, success, and a few failures!
The Virtue of Patience
The podcasters dig into patience. Why it’s valuable to practice patience, especially as a consultant.
Consulting as a Career
The podcasters try to shed some light on Consulting. What it is, the pros and cons, and why it might not be for everyone.
Getting started with User Research
In part 2 of our User Research journey, User Research expert Melanie Sorensen joins us again to talk about User Research methods and tools and to answer many many questions!
How to be sure your product can go the extra mile
SDG consultant, discusses the parallels between digital product launches and going out for a jog.
Giving and receiving criticism
How does one deliver bad news, negative feedback and criticism? Clare joins us as we try to determine the best way to be honest when it could hurt.
Imposter Syndrome and how to deal with it
An “Imposter” pretends to be something they are not, until they can no longer hide their incompetence and are found out. Imposter syndrome is the fear that you are not competent enough to succeed, and are therefore an imposter. How do we deal with this and come out triumphant in the end?
The modern logging landscape
The logging landscape has evolved from the near past of files on the web server to the rich logging frameworks and cloud logging tools that we know today. The podcasters discuss the importance of logging and some philosophical takes on the what, when and why of modern logging.
Connecting beyond the screen
Working from home taught us it was possible to connect remotely but as we get used to the new normal of a hybrid workforce, how do we go beyond the screen to connect?
Hanging in there when things are tough
There are good days and bad days, but when work gets tough and becomes all bad days, how do you hang in there and make it to the finish line?
The Product Mindset: Promises, Promises
Product Consultant, Jason Scherschligt discusses how to make and keep high-integrity commitments with key business partners while allowing time and space for product discovery and delivery.
User Research
SDG’s Melanie Sorensen joins us to talk about user research. Why it is critical for UI/UX design and for an organization to really know their customers and users, and how they work.
A Counterintuitive Approach to Consulting
A gentleman named Mark Manson wrote a book called: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck!, on this episode we apply the mostly counter-intuitive wisdom to consulting. If you hear many bleeps, those are the times that we said the word duck. I swear!
Your “product” driver has arrived
Being assigned as a Product Owner feels a little bit like being handed the keys to a brand new car only to watch your driving instructor get in after you and immediately ask if you remember how to activate the defroster. The excitement and adrenaline you feel knowing...
Changes in the Dev-Ops Scenery
What’s new in Dev-Ops? The podcasters dive into the history of Dev-Ops, automating infrastructure with code, and deploying and maintaining services and features in cloud architectures.
Making and Breaking Rules
Today we talk about rules. How important are they? Do we need them? Should we break the rules? What is the impact rules have on our lives?
Meet Ben Fischer: SDG’s Talent Sourcer!
What do you do at SDG? I connect and build relationships with professionals throughout the Twin Cities that could be potential fits for SDG! Why did you pick the type of role you have? I like connecting with professionals throughout the Twin Cities and having the...
Life lessons from Dungeons & Dragons
RPG (Role Playing Game) enthusiast Steve Bunda joins us to talk about the benefits of playing Dungeons and Dragons we can take into the real world. Lessons in teamwork, soft-skills, leadership and more!
Agile Anti-Patterns
The Podcasters are joined by one of our Agile/Scrum experts to talk about stuff not to do in an agile project.
Get to Know Ashley Sime: SDG’s Technical Recruiter
Get to know Ashley SIme: SDG’s Technical Recruiter!
Do generational differences really matter?
The Generation X podcasters chat with a Millennial and a Gen-Z’er to figure out if we need to do anything as members of different generations to work better together.
Fostering and Maintaining Connections
It’s all about connections! So how do you connect with your team, company, and coworkers? How do you maintain that feeling of connection? How do you maintain connections in a hybrid work setting? We discuss all of this and more!
Setting Expectations
Expectations: How we can keep from disappointing ourselves and others for failing to predict the future.
Conferences: Are they worth it?
Is attending a tech conference worth it? We talk to Jeff Urban about Tech Conferences from the perspective of an attendee, speaker, and organizer and share our experiences.
When you feel Undervalued
Feeling undervalued, under appreciated, underpaid, and/or under-recognized. The podcasters adopt as positive an attitude as possible and try to figure out how to know when your feelings are justified or if you are just being paranoid, expecting too much or misreading the situation.
Getting Started with Indoor and Outdoor Gardening
In the pursuit of the ultimate BLT sandwich, Brien Coffield joins us to talk about getting started with indoor or outdoor gardening.
Fads in Technology and Business
The podcasters talk about fads. Business fads, tech fads, and other fads. We may have mistaken some trends for fads, so I guess we are talking about trends as well.
Joining the Data Evolution
The Podcasters lean on a few of our data people to understand the evolution of data, data literacy, and joining the new world of Data in the cloud.
Building a Great Team Part 3: Norming & Performing
In the third and final part of our series on building a great team, Nick Bruecken joins us to talk about coming together as a well oiled machine that gets it done and how to keep it that way.
Building a Team Part Two: Storming & Norming
Part 2 of a 3 part series on building a great team with Nick Bruecken.
Storming: Now that you have formed, how do you finish “Storming” to get everyone settled into their roles and how the team will operate, and then move on to “Norming” where the team is operating as well oiled machine?
Building a Team Part 1: Forming & Storming
Part 1 of a 3 part series on building a great team with Nick Bruecken.
Forming and Storming: How do you field and form a team to get everyone on board and heading in the right direction and ready to work on your project or initiative? As a team member, what can you do to help the process along?
Talking Frontend Development
We ask Danny from the JavaScript practice a lot of questions about the latest stuff in the world of Front End Development.
Learning from Comic Books and Movies
What have we learned from Comics and Comic Book Movies? Anything? Everything? Listen as the Podcasters dive into life lessons taught from their favorite superheros.
Interviews and Interviewing
We have quite a bit of experience among the podcasters doing interviews and being interviewed. Listen as we discuss interview hot topics, tips and horror stories of our past interviews.
Questioning your way to success
Asking the right questions of the right people at the right time are critical for a project to be successful. Gucci joins us to share her experiences as a BA and Scrum Master to answer our questions about questions.
Boundaries
We talk about identifying, setting, and keep boundaries at work. Not just work-life balance, but also protecting your productivity and focus. Boundaries for yourself and your team.
Organizational Change Management
We are joined by one of our seasoned project and program expert Jim Rathe to talk about how to make change happen in an organization.
All about risk
What is an actual “Risk” to a project? What do you put in that risk box on a status report? Jen Deutsch one of our seasoned project delivery people helps us figure this out.
Going Slow in a Hurry
Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything: Wyatt Earp basically said that the people who win are the ones who can take their time the fastest. How does that apply to work? We try to figure that out.
Creating Special Moments
Creating special moments for your team to brighten the day and help each other connect. Or just because it is fun.
Managing Burnout
What is burnout? How does it happen? Why does it happen? How can you avoid it? How can you recover from it? Today we talk all about burnout from every perspective we can think of and explain it to Chad, who is apparently immune.
How did you get to where you are today?
In this exciting episode, we talk about what we do for a living and what got us here – doing the jobs we do now in the tech world.
Avoiding Documentation
Is documentation really necessary? Today we talk about how much is too much. We also discuss why documentation and knowledge capture are important and that we should do it even it’s not our favorite.
Get to Know the SDG Podcasters
Even though it’s officially season two, do you know the podcasters? Well, let them introduce themselves. If you want to learn more, this is the episode for you!
Season 1: the 2021 Year in Review
The last ‘Cast’ of season 1! We talk about the highlights of 2021 and reflect on all the stuff we dug in to.
Game Day: Day 1 of Release
When “Done” happens and the product is delivered, what is day 1 like? Whatever you are unleashing on the business or customers, how do you make sure things go well for day 1, and what do you do when surprises happen?
The Importance of Empathy
The podcasters talk about empathy and the important role it plays on the workplace, in IT, on projects, applications, design, and probably everything else.
Getting the Most Out of IT
There is no avoiding the IT Department. In this episode, we talk about how we can get the most out IT, the role IT plays, and why it matters.
The Hobbies and Obsessions of IT People
The podcasters talk about all the hobbies and obsessions common to IT people and why they all hook up to a raspberry Pi board.
Training vs. Learning
The Podcasters talk about training and learning and learning to train, and training to learn.
Company Culture
The podcasters dive into company cultures, what they are, how to create a good culture, and how they can impact people and projects.
Home Automation and the Internet of Things
The podcasters talk about the different ways they have automated their homes, except for Kyle who still lives like a caveman.
Apprenticeship in Tech
Can the traditional “Master/Apprentice” model work in tech and technical consulting?
The Wisdom of Ted Lasso at Work
The podcasters discuss the many nuggets of Ted Lasso wisdom from the show “Ted Lasso” and how they can be applied to the workplace.
Gaining and Keeping Trust
Entering at a new client can be challenging, especially when you aren’t welcomed with open arms. The Podcasters talk about tips to gain trust and keep it.
Overcoming Cloud Hesitancy
People still have reservations about moving to the cloud. Peter, Chad, and Kyle talk about the Pros and Cons of going Cloud.
The World of Online Delivery
The podcasters Peter, Chad, Clare and Kyle talk about their experiences with getting food to eat during 2020 and beyond. Important tips like: “Don’t order hardshell tacos from 30 minutes away”, “If you don’t have experience with a restaurant, order more than one entree just in case the one you want isn’t the one you want”
How to Get a Team Back on Track
Elle, Chad, Peter, and Kyle talk about turning around a team that is not doing so great. Maybe stuck in the mud, maybe drama, maybe some other dysfunction. How do you recognize it, and how can you fix it.
What the heck is Machine Learning
What is machine learning? How does it work, why would you use it, and can you accidentally create A.I. that will take over the planet?
Meet Cassandra Jastram: SDG’s newest recruiter
"I love that I get to help people find a career they are passionate about!" What do you like most about your job? I love that I get to help people find a career they are passionate about. You spend so much of your time working that I want to find people a job that...
Disasters, Fails and Things of that Nature
The podcasters Kyle, Chad and Peter talk about some of the problems that they have created and learned to avoid. Experience is often a great teacher, especially if the lesson isn’t too painful.
Choosing the Right Cloud Provider
Two of our cloud experts Chad Lavigne and Bryan Wolf join Peter, Chad, and Kyle to talk about selecting the right cloud provider and the differences between Azure and AWS.
Problem Solving Podcast
The podcasters Clare, Kyle, Chad, and Peter use their problem solving skills to solve the problem of problem solving. Problem Solved!
Brain Tricks Podcast
How we trick our brains to influence our behavior and make our lives easier and the tricks our brain may play on us.
Time Management Podcast
Working in Tech can be fast paced and it is easy to be overloaded with more work than you can fit in a day. Chad, Peter, and Kyle talk about all the demands we have on our time and how we deal with it.
Crypto Currencies and NFTs
Peter, Chad, and Jordan attempt to explain crypto currency and NFT’s to Kyle, who still writes checks for things.
I Spent Too Much on the Cloud!
The Podcasters Peter, Chad, and Kyle are joined by Mark VanDriel and Shawn Imholt to talk about moving to a Cloud architecture and some of the pitfalls of moving to the cloud without doing your research and some things to look for as you have those discussions.
From Atoms to Pixels: Digital Product and Manufacturing
This is the fifth in our series of posts on The Product Mindset. See the first post in the series here: The Product Mindset. At first glance, software companies and manufacturing companies seem diametrically opposed: pixels vs atoms, machine learning vs. machines,...
The Move to Online Work – A Retrospective
Peter, Chad, and Kyle talk about how we made the transition from an in-person workflorce to an Online-Only workforce.
Product Mindset with Jason Scherschligt
Our Product Guru Jason Scherschlight talks with us about making the shift from viewing Software Development Projects as Software Development Projects.
QA Automation Journey with Jess and Eddy
The podcasters Peter, Chad, and Kyle are joined by QA champions Jess Herdegen and Eddy Hegland to school us about the Automated QA Journey, determining where you are at, where you want to go, and how to get there. And of course why you should do it in the first place.
Hybrid Cloud: “the best of both worlds”
Cloud deliveredThe cloud has successfully delivered on its promise to bring highly-scalable, resilient applications with seamless deployment while reducing infrastructure cost. This change has also assisted in more agile development with a better focus on return on...
The Product Mindset: Let Them Eat Cake
For a clue about what a company or team (or a person or nation) values, just look at what it celebrates. After all, we celebrate things we're proud of or things that are meaningful to us. If you work in business or technology, you're likely familiar with the rituals...
The Product Mindset: Your Secret Weapon is Value
This is the third in our series of posts on The Product Mindset. See the first post in the series here: The Product Mindset. As we've explored throughout this series, a surefire way for companies and teams to improve their value to their customers and align their own...
In Progress and the Curse of Reductionism
This is the third in our series of posts on The Product Mindset. See the first post in the series here: The Product Mindset. As we've explored throughout this series, a surefire way for companies and teams to improve their value to their customers and align their own...
Spring and Spock: Happy Together
Things change for the betterAbout four years ago I wrote a blog post describing how to use Mockito to mock dependencies within a Spring test. You can find that blog post here: https://www.solutiondesign.com/insights/spring-and-mockito-happy-together/. In the...
The Product Mindset: It’s Your Users’ Product
This is the second in our series of posts on The Product Mindset. See the first post in the series here: The Product Mindset. Several years ago, one or another of my daughters (I have three) said, "Whoa. Dad has an Instagram?" First of all, my Instagram account is...
5 Remote Work Tips for Exhausted Employees
I have worked remotely with several of our customers and I have a few tips for those finding their new remote working situation difficult. It comes in waves and I’ve heard from many people that they are exhausted of working remotely after 8+ months. In time, you may...
The Product Mindset
Product is enjoying a moment. Twenty years ago, when I first landed a job with the title of "Product manager, interactive media," not many people even knew what the job was. (Confession: I may not have even known what the job was!). Now every smart company is building...
What’s New With Microsoft in Autumn 2020
There are so many great things happening in the Microsoft space these days, it’s hard to keep track of them all. I for one continue to be amazed at the pace in which Microsoft releases new Azure products. With hundreds of available products surrounding compute,...
SDG Consultant Co-authors North Star Playbook
Consultant Jason Scherschligt recently co-authored The North Star Playbook
Software Development with Agile Hybrid Projects
Is Agile the only way?Often software development projects in highly regulated industries combine delivery methods of both Agile and traditional. The complexity of delivering projects in specific industries such as finance, medical, insurance and education require...
What a Technical-Minded Scrum Master Brings to the Table
5 Advantages of a Technical-Minded Scrum MasterEach member of a scrum team has a role to play in contributing to the team’s success similar to any sports team. All successful teams need a coach to foster cohesion, remove barriers, and generally support the rest of the...
What’s New and Interesting in SQL Server in 2020?
There are several interesting or helpful and generally under-used SQL Server features that Microsoft added over time. In the future, I would like to dive somewhat deep into some of them. For now, here are some of the latest ones that I have found to be either...
Save Money, Fire the Scrum Master?
So, you did itYou’ve hit your goal and implemented agile at your company. You feel like you’ve checked off the box and now understand all the “things” you are supposed to do to be agile. So you ask yourself “Why keep the scrum master?”It has crossed your mind and you...
The Struggle is Real: 5 Tips for Remote Collaboration
At the beginningA month ago, I was at the office preparing for my normal week ahead. In a matter of days, we rescheduled all in-person meetings and started working remotely until further notice. As a consulting company, we are used to engaging with a remote workforce,...
Winning Over a Team
As a Business Systems Analyst or a Business Analyst consultant, I have learned a new placement is never a walk in the park. It is extremely rewarding when there becomes a comfortability in the placement after you connect with your team. At first, there is general...
Pause, Plan, Proceed
The process of planning is just as important, if not more important, than the plan itself.
Four technologies to investigate in 2020
The sdg Tech DNA night is one of my favorite events of the year. It’s a time to take stock of the technology developments of the past year, revisit last year's predictions and think about where we're headed for the next twelve months. The front end development group...
What is the SDG Big Event?
Editor's note: The SDG Big Event is an annual event hosted by the SDG Presents Committee. In 2021, it is going digital! This internal event is for SDG'ers only and is a favorite employee event. 15 presentations, 3 tracks, 1 night. One of SDG's best attended events of...
The Agile Mindset: Expanding One’s Horizons
Have you ever been on a project and heard someone say, “I’ve finished what was assigned to me and there is nothing else assigned in the sprint, so I’ll need something else assigned to me….” Unfortunately, it’s heard on projects more often than one would like. Many...
Why You need a Front End Developer (Instead of Another “Full Stack” Dev)
The Spectrum of ScaleYour company is six people working in the basement of the founder’s house. The “CTO” is also going to have to configure the server, write requirements, debug CSS, do UAT, make Costco runs for snacks and Red Bull, figure out the financials and make...
Defining Our Own Technology Map
Introducting the Tech DNABased on our experience, sdg’s consultant-led learning communities gather each year to define our organization’s technology DNA.Synthesized from ExperienceOur DNA is a reflection on our ecosystem –what people are doing in the modern enterprise...
Composition of a Successful Scrum Team
Why are some scrum teams successful whilst others struggle to ship working software? The Scrum Alliance defines a scrum team as consisting of a"product owner, the development team, and a scrum master". While an accurate definition, it offers little in the way of...
Life After Infopath
It comes as no surprise that Microsoft is sunsetting InfoPath. It was made with very good intentions which made people aware that you could move on from paper forms to create digital forms online as well as automate your business processes (workflows). It did,...
Metatesting: A Pattern Based Approach to Testing Java Programs
This post will describe how to achieve 100% code coverage within a typical JPA domain model with an incremental cost of a few lines of code per class and absolutely no need to update the tests when changing the model classes. If there’s one thing that we can be better...
A Millennial’s Take on the Life of a Software Developer
Why is a so-called millennial’s take on life as a software developer a topic worth thinking about? What is different about my professional career compared to my older *ahem* more experienced colleagues? There must be a reason that my generation is the topic of so much...
The Value of Quality Assurance: Part 2
As you learned in Part 1 of the Value of Quality Assurance (QA) blog series, QA roles have evolved from software testing to true quality assurance. This means that projects can see huge benefits by including QA Engineers in all phases of the Software Development Life...
Teamwork: A Partnership Between Teammates and Leaders
INSERT teamwork cliche hereWe’ve all heard the clichés such as, “There’s no ‘I’ in TEAM,” or “We’re all stronger than the sum of our parts.” Some leaders will throw around trite expressions, while others will simply throw a bunch of people in a room and tell them to...
An Introduction to the Value of Quality Assurance
We can all agree that Quality is vital to software development. So when does the Quality Assurance (QA) team get involved in the process? Historically, QA resources have not been engaged until after development starts, or more often than not, when development...
Spring and Mockito – Happy Together
Open-source mock testing meets the application framework of choice
Being Good at Being Wrong
You're a technical wizard, HarryAs a software consultant, it’s expected that you bring a certain degree of technical expertise to the table. This is a reasonable assumption based on the fact that consultants gather experience from many projects across various...
The SDG ESOP: From Shocked to Excited
At our company meeting last November, SDG’s owners announced that we were becoming 100% employee-owned by way of an ESOP, or Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Essentially this means that over time, full ownership of SDG will be transferred to employees through stock...
WebGL and Three.js: Particles
What is WebGL / Three.js?WebGL is a Javascript API used to render 3D graphics to the screen in a browser. The WebGL API can be complicated and messy, but lucky for us there are libraries that simplify this. One such library is Three.js.Three.jsThree.js is a...
7 Lessons that Make Communication Easier
Communicating is difficult. Most of the really good lessons I’ve learned came through pain. Sometimes it came through my pain, and sometimes through someone else’s pain. Below is a list of communication lessons that I wish I had learned prior to experiencing, or...
Upgrade Your Scrum Retrospectives
How do you get a team full of developers, who are generally comprised of introverts, to respond to a session where the key underlining topic is discussing their feelings? That, to me, has always been the ultimate challenge of the Scrum retro. Developers, by nature,...
The Cost of Poor Quality
Do moreIn this day and age, we’re often asked to get more done with less and to get products to market on time — no matter the cost. After all, if the product hasn’t shipped you can’t sell it, right? But in the squeeze between the three pillars of project management —...
WebGL and Three.js: creating a real scene
What is WebGL?WebGL is a Javascript API used to render 3D graphics to the screen in a browser. The WebGL API can be complicated and messy, but there are libraries that simplify this. One such library is Three.js. Three.js is a lightweight 3D library that hides a lot...
The Problem With “Get Creative”
Editor's note: Stormy waters can pose some challenges to organizations but they also can present new opportunities!Difficult waters aheadAs leaders, we’re often asked to navigate our teams through difficult project waters. More often than not, the project management...
Jumping into Crisis
1,2,3 - JumpEvery now and again, we’re asked to help out a colleague or another team member who may be struggling and in over their heads with a project. We’ve all seen it before -- they’ve been limping along, working long hours, burning the midnight oil, falling...
Helping Customers Succeed
Adding valueThe 21st century business landscape is one of constant change. And within this new setting we see the need for businesses to continually reinvent themselves to meet the demands of any given market. Whether it be finding new product or service...
The Passion Paradox: Why Following Your Passion isn’t Always The Best Advice
Editor's note: You can find "So Good They Can't Ignore You" by Cal Newport at your local bookstoreI’ve always been told that following your passion is the best way to truly love what you do. When I was younger, I loved to write, draw and talk about sports. I thought I...
You Say Vanilla, I Say Value
Vanilla software development Vanilla software development, for the purpose of this post, is the most common and mainstream way to make a decision. If software architecture were the savanna, vanilla would be in the middle of the herd of thundering wildebeest. Vanilla...
Motivation: The Key to a Successful Team
Editor's note: If you are a new manager motivating your team can be a hard task that everyone has an opinion on. This is my point of view on how to motivate your team.There's always tomorrow“Tomorrow I’m going to start eating better.” “Tomorrow I’m going to start...
WebGL and Three.js: Lighting
What is WebGL and Three.js?WebGL is a Javascript API used to render 3D graphics to the screen in a browser. Programming directly in the WebGL API can be complicated and messy, but lucky for us there are libraries that simplify this. One such library is...
Building Dynamic Columns in JasperReports
JasperReportsThe JasperReports Library is a very powerful and full-featured open source reporting engine. The jaspersoft.com web site states, “The JasperReports Library is the world's most popular open source reporting engine. It is entirely written in Java and it is...
A Simple Trick to Centralize Your .NET Configuration
Is your .NET configuration a mess? Do you wish there was a way to centralize configuration instead of deploying config files with every application instance? Have you considered rolling your own configuration handling, but were too nervous to stray from .NET...
WebGL and Three.js: Texture Mapping
Three.jsThree.js is a lightweight 3D library that hides a lot of the WebGL complexities and makes it very simple to get started with 3D programming on the web. Three.js can be downloaded from github or the three.js website, where you will also find links to...
All Good Things Must Come to an End
The end is nearIn my previous blog post, New Job Checklist: How to Start a Gig, I detailed advice for how to start an engagement positively. In this post I will give advice for what to do when your contract comes to an end. Like the other post, this is written with...
Stages of Building a Team
This post will explain the different stages of building a team to illustrate what I meant by it taking time and being fragile. This will be a bit brief as I have opted not to spend one post per stage and drag this out. At each given stage, I will give a summary...
The Product Owner
A lot of folks come over to Scrum after spending a considerable amount of their careers navigating the possibilities present in a Waterfall model. At its fundamental levels, the roles associated with Waterfall projects are: Project Manager Business Analyst Development...
The Science & Art of Project Management
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” — Sun Tzu, The Art of War At the young age of 22, I studied a Project Management college course. I was taught the science around Gantt Charts, PERT charts,...
Getting Started with WebGL and Three.js
What is WebGL?WebGL is a Javascript API used to render 2D and 3D graphics to the screen in a browser. Programming directly in the WebGL API can be very complicated and messy, but lucky for us there are libraries that simplify this. One such library is Three.js....
New Job Checklist: How to Start a Gig
First Impressions One nice aspect of consulting is we get a lot of practice starting new jobs, projects, or contracts. Through personal experience and mentors, I’ve formed a personal list of things I try to do when beginning a new engagement with customers. This...
What is a Scrum Master?
When I first encountered Scrum circa 2005, the role of a Scrum Master seemed pretty easy to understand: a person that spent 50 percent of their time doing story work and 50 percent of their time doing "Scrum Master" work (Larman, Craig. Agile and Iterative...