Most of us know the importance of sticking to a budget. In order to do that, you need to understand what money is coming in and what money is going out. You need to make sure that you aren’t committing to more than you can spend or you can end up in serious financial trouble. Astute businesspeople also know that financial acumen is key to making a business successful and keeping it that way.

I find myself constantly surprised that this same concept doesn’t always get applied to a development team’s capacity for work – either by the client or the dev management. The same skills that allow people to be successful at their budgeting and account balancing, both personally and professionally, can and should be applied directly to the capacity handling of development teams.

It all boils down to living within your means. It is important for individuals and companies alike. If you are a people manager, and want to be respected by your employees, you must understand your capacity balance sheet.

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Have you been asked to put metrics around your team’s efficiency? You’re not the only one. If you’re like me, you accept the challenge and begin the journey to figure out how in the world you actually do it. You may already have metrics around your team’s work, but which one will reflect that efficiency metric you’re looking for? All throughout the Lean Software and Systems Conference ’12 in Boston, MA and at David Anderson’s Kanban Advanced Masterclass in Port Angeles, WA, I kept this question in mind as I listened to and discussed things with other seasoned members of the Lean & Agile community.

What does efficiency really mean to you?

Many managers likely focus on what’s right in front of them and what they are responsible for: their team. The biggest realization that I had coming out of these events and classes was that I need to ask more questions to my executives before I could continue. Continue reading