Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Why do software development projects fail?

23 May, 2011 by Bela Hamid

Are you going to take a guess?

The reason is not usually because of technology.

The reason is usually connected to the project sociology.

What does this mean?  It means people.  We are a complex conglomerate of cells and when evaluating the success of IT projects most of us need to stop thinking that we are in the high-tech business and realise that we are actually in the human communication business.

This is what I’m getting out of the first chapter of Peopleware which is about productive projects and teams in the software development industry.  The book reminds us that though we develop our products or organise our affairs using technology components, we do so via teams and projects.

The authors studied 500 project histories from real world development efforts and found:

  • 15% of all projects were cancelled, postponed or the products were never used
  • 25% of projects that lasted 25yrs or more failed to complete.
  • For a huge majority there was not a single technological issue to explain the failure.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Opinions | Tagged , | 2 Comments »

Events Menu: 23rd – 30th May

22 May, 2011 by Kate Ho

Here’s this week’s events menu …

Monday 23rd May, Lean Startup Lessons Learnt

Startup Lessons Learned 2011 is the sequel to last year’s inaugural event, which brought together nearly 400 entrepreneurs and executives interested in building and supporting lean startups. The goal for this event is to give practitioners and students of the lean startup methodology the opportunity to hear insights from leaders in embracing and deploying the core principles of the lean startup Continue Reading »

Posted in Events | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

Edinburgh gathering of Startup Lessons Learnt 2011

21 May, 2011 by Kate Ho

This coming Monday (23rd) will see the 1 year anniversary of Scottish Lean Startup Circle starting and a repeat of the 1st ever event held: Scottish Startup Lessons Learnt simulcast.

Startup Lessons Learned 2011 is the sequel to last year’s inaugural event, which brought together nearly 400 entrepreneurs and executives interested in building and supporting lean startups.  The goal for this event is to give practitioners and students of the lean startup methodology the opportunity to hear insights from leaders in Continue Reading »

Posted in Events | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

TED Global is coming to Edinburgh.

20 May, 2011 by Thomas Drapier

TED Global 2011 EdinburghGreat news Edinburgh! TED Global is making the EICC its home from now on. Historically held in Oxford, the conference outgrew the university-city’s capacity.

For those who don’t know: TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. TED brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives. Continue Reading »

Posted in Inspiring/Motivating, Knowledge, Local News | Leave a Comment »

60 second interview: Bruno Panara (@Brunopanara from @Tigatag)

19 May, 2011 by Kate Ho

Our 60 second interviews are designed as a way for people within the Edinburgh community to find out about each other.

This week’s interviewee is Bruno Panara from Tigatag. Bruno was a recent graduate from the BSc in Computer Science and AI course from the School of Informatics. With a colleague, Bruno built a located based check-in game over the summer as part of a Informatics iPhone app scholarship. Since then, they have turned the app into a business called Tigatag.

What’s your startup?
Tigatag. We get users to use their GPS phones to play games together (think treasure hunts or group games), winners get prizes!

Who/what inspired you to go down this road?
I wanted to be able to choose what I wanted to do and how I would go about doing it. Continue Reading »

Posted in 60 Second Interview | Leave a Comment »

Run a startup in Edinburgh? Getting featured on Startupcafe

18 May, 2011 by Kate Ho

I was talking to someone about StartupCafe over the weekend and it struck me that it’s been a while since we’ve talked about how we work and where our posts come from.

One of the things that we try really hard to do is to feature startups around the Edinburgh area (that includes Glasgow and Fife!). We like talking about people around us. That’s how a community grows. 🙂 Plus, if you’re just starting out, having a post about you on StartupCafe helps you start building your reputation (and SEO!) early. Fact.

The thing is, we sort of need your help. We don’t know all the startups you know. And even if we know YOU pretty well, we don’t always know all the cool things you’re working on. Continue Reading »

Posted in Local News | Leave a Comment »

StartupCafe is throwing a party – and you’re all invited!

17 May, 2011 by Kate Ho

It’s hard to believe, but our little blog is celebrating its 2nd birthday next month (9th, to be precise – this was our first post).

Headline: We’re throwing a party for our 2nd birthday. It’s our way of saying thank you to the whole startup community!

We’re delighted to announce that CloudSoft, Kotikan, Fanduel, MBM Commercial and Skyscanner are the generous startups that are sponsoring the party.

There will be free food and a very healthy free bar tab.

Date: 27th May (next Friday)

Venue: Assembly, next to Negotiants (map)

Who’s invited: You! If you work in a startup, or want to be in one, come along!

Mark it in your diary – now

Continue Reading »

Posted in Local News | 8 Comments »

Deadline for SICamp idea submission!

17 May, 2011 by Kate Ho

Just a quick reminder folks, that this Friday is the deadline for Social Innovation Camp idea submissions. So if you have an idea about how to change the world, then write it down and submit it!

If you want to find out more about the sorts of ideas that are a good fit, then you should check out SICamp’s own blogpost about what they are looking for.

You can check out what’s been submitted already.

Posted in Local News | Leave a Comment »

60 Second Interview – Craig McKenna (@craig_mckenna at The Growth Academy)

13 May, 2011 by Kate Ho

Our 60 second interviews are designed as a way for people within the Edinburgh community to find out about each other.

This week’s interviewee is Craig McKenna. As an experienced business developer who has in excess of 12 years top level business development behind him, Craig uses this knowledge to help other businesses grow. A highly ambitious and motivated entrepreneur he is always looking to push businesses forward.

What’s your startup? 

The Growth Academy

Who/what inspired you to go down this road?
Whilst running another company it became apparent that there was no cost effective but structured mentoring support for small businesses which aren’t funded.

Continue Reading »

Posted in 60 Second Interview | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

Meet the new Glasgow Web Dev House: Level Up (@thisislvlup)

12 May, 2011 by Kate Ho

Startupcafe favourite, Aaron Bassett, and a few folks from his old web agency, has set out and formed their own web dev house called Level Up.

As you would imagine, Level Up deals with all things web (including mobile web). So if you need a website built – you know where to go!

We wish Aaron, Raymond, Allan and Becky luck in their new venture!

Posted in Local News | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »