Category Archives: Management

Team Health, Anonymous Surveys, and Data

Posted on April 25, 2016 by stevek

I’m often asked a series of questions related to managing team health, creating realistic schedules, the need for crunch time, how to “squeeze an extra 20%” out of an already efficient team, and so on. Here I explain what we … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Uncategorized, Zynga | Leave a comment

Who Cheesed My Penguin?

Posted on February 25, 2013 by stevek

Some years back, I was seated at a departmental all hands meeting.  My colleagues and I were viewing a series of fairly mundane presentation slides, when up came something new and surprising.  Without additional context, the slide read something like … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Leadership, Management | Leave a comment

Thrashing The Delivery Truck

Posted on January 19, 2012 by stevek

I’ve previously compared software estimation to variations in the time required to drive to work. Dispatching delivery trucks is my mental model for comparison to changes in project direction.  This can help others to understand the impact when changes happen … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Software | Leave a comment

Scoping for 90%

Posted on September 24, 2011 by stevek

I’ve been working at Zynga since early 2010.  One of the challenges of running an online game (like Café World, on which I’ve spent most of my time) involves releasing new features on a regular, predictable cadence. As a result, … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Software, Zynga | 2 Comments

Klink’s Hierarchy of Train Wrecks

Posted on August 17, 2011 by stevek

You’ve heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?  I’ve got Klink’s hierarchy of train wrecks. I was talking to a colleague recently about basic expectations for staff responses in adverse situations, based on their level of experience.  The further up the … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Management | Leave a comment

Dusty Leaders

Posted on November 8, 2010 by stevek

After a number of years, I recently re-watched Ken Burns’ iconic documentary The Civil War (the video streamed from Netflix splendidly). It’s a great series full of wonderful moments – Shelby Foote stealing the show, the pan-and-scan effect, and many … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Management | 4 Comments