Survival Skills for Difficult Times
(12-slides version for handouts only)
Mount St. Helens, 1982
Test Management Summit, 28 Jan. 2009
(inspired by
Survival Skills for Difficult Times
Bogdan Bereza-Jarociński
www.homocreatore.pl)
1 (12)
www.bettersoftware.eu
Test Management Summit
London, 28 January 2009
Great Survivors: Good & Bad
Fridtjof Nansen
Mother Teresa
Richard Branson
Ken Wilber
Andrei Gromyko
Lech Wałęsa
Survival Skills for Difficult Times
Bogdan Bereza-Jarociński
2 (12)
www.bettersoftware.eu
Francisco Franco
Steve Jobs
Test Management Summit
London, 28 January 2009
Survival – Avoiding Crises
• Avoiding crisis means sound Software
Engineering & Project Management practices,
especially:
– Requirements Engineering
– Risk Management
– Configuration Management
– Testing
– Mature processes
– Measurements
Survival Skills for Difficult Times
Bogdan Bereza-Jarociński
3 (12)
www.bettersoftware.eu
Test Management Summit
London, 28 January 2009
Survival - Mitigation
•
•
•
•
Risk management – contingences
Sound financial politics
Information security
Avoiding bottlenecks – integral quality (total
quality, CMMI)
• Management by values
• Proactive instead of reactive policies
• Corporate culture
Survival Skills for Difficult Times
Bogdan Bereza-Jarociński
4 (12)
www.bettersoftware.eu
Test Management Summit
London, 28 January 2009
Survival in Organizational Culture
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Clan culture
Adhocracy culture
Hierarchy culture
Market culture
Tough-Guy Macho Culture
Blame culture
Rituals and routines
Masculinity vs. femininity
Survival Skills for Difficult Times
Bogdan Bereza-Jarociński
5 (12)
www.bettersoftware.eu
Test Management Summit
London, 28 January 2009
Assertiveness
• Feel free to express your feelings,
thoughts, and desires
• Know your rights
• Control (not repress) your anger
• Ghandi
• Feel good about yourself
Survival Skills for Difficult Times
Bogdan Bereza-Jarociński
6 (12)
www.bettersoftware.eu
Test Management Summit
London, 28 January 2009
Negotiation Skills
•
•
•
•
•
Assertiveness
Positive emotions
Look for win-win solutions
Feedback
Direct communication, telephone,
e-mail and chat, SMS
• Non-verbal communication
• Games people play
Survival Skills for Difficult Times
Bogdan Bereza-Jarociński
7 (12)
www.bettersoftware.eu
Eric Berne
Test Management Summit
London, 28 January 2009
Stress Management
• Signs of workplace stress:
– Mood and sleep disturbances
– Upset stomach, headache
– Disturbed relationships
• Prevention:
–
–
–
–
Workload
Design jobs to provide meaning and stimulation
Clearly define roles and responsibilities
Opportunities to participate
Survival Skills for Difficult Times
Bogdan Bereza-Jarociński
8 (12)
www.bettersoftware.eu
Test Management Summit
London, 28 January 2009
Creativity in Survival
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Doing things differently
Change design and implementation
Finding joy in everyday activities
Cutting costs without suffering
Finding ways out of difficult situations
Using new technologies
Using your brains
Using your intuition
Survival Skills for Difficult Times
Bogdan Bereza-Jarociński
9 (12)
www.bettersoftware.eu
Test Management Summit
London, 28 January 2009
Pessimism vs. Optimism
• Martin Seligman (Learned Optimism,
Authentic Happiness)
• Mihály Csíkszentmihályi Flow: The
Psychology of Optimal Experience
• Richard Wiseman (The Luck Factor,
Quirkology)
Survival Skills for Difficult Times
Bogdan Bereza-Jarociński
10 (12)
www.bettersoftware.eu
Test Management Summit
London, 28 January 2009
Organizational Culture
• Various organizational cultures respond to
crisis in different ways
• Edgar Schein
• Geert Hofstede
• Deal & Kennedy
• Charles Handy
• Arthur F. Carmazzi
• Kim S. Cameron & Robert E. Quinn
Survival Skills for Difficult Times
Bogdan Bereza-Jarociński
11 (12)
www.bettersoftware.eu
Test Management Summit
London, 28 January 2009
Happy in Spite of Crisis?
• Eckhart Tolle
• www.eckharttolle.com
• The book has helped countless people
around the globe awaken to the
spiritual dimension in their lives, find
inner peace, increased joy and more
harmonious relationship
Survival Skills for Difficult Times
Bogdan Bereza-Jarociński
12 (12)
www.bettersoftware.eu
Test Management Summit
London, 28 January 2009