Jul 14, 2020
3 min read
607 words
Tech’ing up the office - Waza ideas
Its Waza time again!
One of the fun things that we do at EndGame is Waza.
Waza is a Japanese word meaning technique. We use this phrase to emphasise that our Waza is about exploring good techniques — in code, in delivery and in collaboration and ideation.
We had originally planned on the Waza day being May, but unfortunately New Zealand was in lock down, so it was a little hard to get together. So we delayed and then New Zealand was back to level 1 and we thought it was time to have a celebration.
Nov 25, 2019
6 min read
1202 words
Managing a crisis
We will be defined by how we react in a crisis. It is ideal that we act with empathy and a level head, though that can be hard with things…
We will be defined by how we react in a crisis. It is ideal that we act with empathy and a level head, though that can be hard with things crashing round your head.
This is part of a training session I did with EndGame’s technical leaders, on how we should try to act in a crisis.
Aug 19, 2019
6 min read
1168 words
How we do an Incident Retrospective
Once the dust has settled on an incident, it is worth the introspection to discover if there is any the organisation can do to improve…
Once the dust has settled on an incident, it is worth the introspection to discover if there is any the organisation can do to improve. Small steps can lead to big change so any actionable insight, however small it may seem, can lead great improvements.
Jul 29, 2019
8 min read
1612 words
IoT: plan big, start small
Over the last few years, we’ve really enjoyed working with a number of Internet of Things (IoT) partners — providing a seasoned software…
Over the last few years, we’ve really enjoyed working with a number of Internet of Things (IoT) partners — providing a seasoned software product development team who have teamed up with the hardware & mechatronic engineers building a physical product. The combination has been a long-term partnership, where we each have a clear focus and are able to work together to bring to market a complete solution. Our motto — when building these partnerships is, “Plan big, start small.”
Aug 16, 2018
6 min read
1127 words
Repeatable Good Waza – Part 3
I was very proud of all the pitches but the winners by popular vote on the day were (drum roll)… Clothes For Good!
I was very proud of all the pitches but the winners by popular vote on the day were (drum roll)… Clothes For Good!
To understand more about EndGame and our Waza, I’d like to talk about each of the teams and outline what they achieved over the two days.
Jul 27, 2018
2 min read
234 words
Repeatable Good Waza – Part 2
Firing on all cylinders we kicked off the 3rd EndGame Waza at 4pm on July 26th!
Firing on all cylinders we kicked off the 3rd EndGame Waza at 4pm on July 26th!
After a brief and (sort of) inspirational talk by yours truly, the teams dived into their projects.
Two hours of Waza intenseness whizzed past before pizza arrived. Martin won the coveted first prize for his Pizza Selfie and received a fine pair of dollar store “party” sunglasses.
Jul 24, 2018
2 min read
355 words
Repeatable Good Waza – Part 1
We value learning at EndGame — and one way we show this love of learning is by having periodic Waza.
We value learning at EndGame — and one way we show this love of learning is by having periodic Waza.
Waza is a Japanese word meaning technique. We use this phrase to emphasise that our Waza is about exploring good techniques — in code, in delivery and in collaboration and ideation.
Feb 5, 2018
3 min read
456 words
Floating on the winds of change.
As the wind picks up again in Wellington it’s time to think how change sweeps into a solution, and how the last part of the EndGame…
As the wind picks up again in Wellington it’s time to think how change sweeps into a solution, and how the last part of the EndGame manifesto — Maintainable — addresses this.
Picking up from where I last left off in Why Sturdy?, the team at EndGame are always looking to produce solutions that are long lived. As such, you can expect that maintenance will need to happen at some point. And, while we will create sturdy solutions (which act to remove the need for the support maintenance) we are customer driven so __ the feature set will change over time.
Sep 6, 2017
5 min read
865 words
Magical Spaces.
So…there’s a space. And it wants to make your life more magical. How does it interact with you?
So…there’s a space. And it wants to make your life more magical. How does it interact with you?
This is the brief we gave to our staff for the latest Waza (read more about them here). We deliberately set it broad and open, to keep our ideas unbounded by what might be currently achievable.
May 24, 2017
2 min read
376 words
Why sturdy?
Long-lived solutions have ‘long tails’.
Long-lived solutions have ‘long tails’.
“What does sturdy mean to you?” I asked our designer. She immediately thought of an elephant. I may not have given her enough context for that question, but here I’ll be discussing what sturdy means in the context of our technical manifesto:
“Customer driven, long-lived solutions that are sturdy and maintainable.”
In a previous post I talked about why long-lived solutions were a fact of core business systems. But what I didn’t touch on was that long-lived solutions also have ‘long tails’. Which is why I included sturdy in the manifesto.