Slides deck for my speech "Building software that matters" at BetterSoftware 2013 in Florence, Italy.

1. BUILDING SOFTWARE THAT
MATTERS
(if any)

2. FRANCESCO DEGRASSI
@EdMcBane
Enthusiastic yet pragmatic Lean Software Developer.
Uppish and cynical nihilist from time to time.

3. IT WAS THE YEAR 2005

4. I was lucky enough to join a GREAT team

5. ENTHUSIASTIC
COMPETENT
DEDICATED
PEOPLE

6. OUR CLIENTS WEREN'T EASY
Large companies
Heavy on process
Many teams and departments, often in conflict

7. A DIFFICULT ENVIRONMENT

8. WE DID OUR BEST
we did build great software

9. BUT THE CLIENT DID NOT APPRECIATE IT
It was late
It was irrelevant

10. IT WAS AUTOMATING
A USELESS PROCESS

12. WE DIDN'T APPRECIATE IT EITHER
We felt we did not HELP the client

13. WE DECIDED TO CHANGE

14. WE DECIDED
to pursue GOALS rather than build software
to work WITH the client, not FOR the client
to challenge the assumptions and find new ways

15. TO CONTINUOUSLY DELIVER

16. TO DROP THE BACKLOG

18. AT FIRST...

19. BUT ONCE WE SHOWED THE POSSIBILITIES...

20. Ma è uno spettacolo!
Luca
Whoa! Can you teach THEM how to do that?
Mauro
You are the best thing since sliced bread!
Nobody (yet)

21. THIS TIME IT WORKED!

22. BUT HOW?

23. NO GUIDELINES
This is what worked for us

24. FINDING TRUE
STAKEHOLDERS

25. BUILDING TRUST

26. BY BEING TRANSPARENT
How can people trust the harvest,
unless they see it sown?
Mary Renault

27. BY BEING ABLE
TO DELIVER

28. FOSTERING RESPECT

29. USING A SHARED LANGUAGE
Software developers talking business
and helping businesspeople express precisely

30. LOOKING FOR SYNTHESIS,
NOT COMPROMISES

31. AVOID TOTAL WAR

33. THE CLIENT WILL FIND THE WAY
if he believes in the need to

34. DON'T FORGET
TO CELEBRATE

35. CREDITING THOSE
WHO BELIEVED
Word of mouth is the best form of advertising

36. THIS IS G R E A T

37. BETTER SOFTWARE ?
For us, it means software that actually MATTERS!

38. THANKS!

39. RECOMMENDED READING
Discussing the undiscussable - William R. Noonan
Cynefin framework - Dave Snowden
Non è affatto semplice - Alberto Brandolini
Agile Software Development - Alistair Cockburn
Continuous Delivery - Jezz Humble
Lean Software Development - Mary & Tom Poppendieck

40. CREDITS
Microsoft org chart cartoon edited from original by Manu Cornet
http://www.bonkersworld.net/
"Banana flasher" by José María Andrés Martín is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Jenga tower by usedcarspecialist on Flickr
Cynefin framework diagram by Dave Snowden