I spoke about agile methods, including Scrum, and data modeling in my Heart of Data Modeling webinar this month. One of the topics I touched upon was the concept of conflict and hostility between Data Modelers and Agile Developers.  We modelers have always experienced a bit of conflict with development teams due to the fact that our roles are measured and rewarded for conflicting outcomes.  Modelers are typically rewarded for ensuring data quality, for building models that are highly r...

Are there any of today's software development teams that aren't using some form of agile method? Dictionary.com defines agility as "the power of moving quickly and easily" and "the ability to think and draw conclusions quickly".  Both of these definitions fit perfectly with what developers (individually or in teams) need more of in their projects. Early computer software methodologies involved so-called "heavyweight" or "ad hoc" methods. When I worked at TRW in Los Angeles in the 1970's we us...

I went to visit Mount St. Helens yesterday. Unfortunately, it was raining and we couldn't see the volcano.  We stopped at the Johnston Ridge Observatory (JRO), named for David A. Johnston.  Johnston was a USGS volcanologist who was on duty at the ridge the day Mount St. Helens exploded on May 18, 1980.  "Vancouver! Vancouver! This is It!" was all he could report when the mountain erupted. Johnston was one of the 57 people who lost their lives.  The JRO is 5 miles from the volcano on the ridge wh...