Agile*Product*AI

I've seen some recent posts in the user groups about eliminating the distinction between developers and testers on teams. One word – Hogwash (that’s the polite version). The best developers I've worked with create beautifully engineered and usually bug-resistant code. They do this with passion and will commit every ounce of their soul to the purpose. Now, if they're a bit more enlightened, they'll like the idea of unit testing and build out a [j|n]unit test suite for their component. Often, here the passion dissipates, and testing isn't quite as complete as you'd like it to be. I've yet to truly experience test-first, but I am sure it’s out there somewhere. Now testers are a different beast entirely. They are devious. They will take this piece of artwork, conspire with others, and meticulously commence punish it in every way conceivable. They will do this over and over again with a fervor that it at times frightening. They can't be stopped in their searc...

Lamborghini's vision is to "move beyond supercars by creating new, unprecedented and exciting experiences." Our collaboration has brought our mutual customers completely new ways to interact with their vehicles that is only now possible using the latest AI and ML technologies. In addition to using voice to interact with What3Words geolocation services, occupants of the car can simply say "Hey Lambo, I am cold" while sprinting around the Nürburgring loop and the temperature will be adjusted accordingly.  From the article below. “Lamborghini is a trailblazer in being the first to implement this system,” said John Scumniotales, Alexa Automotive’s head of product. “They certainly won’t be the last. We’re excited to see how this partnership progresses.” https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/27/business/lamborghini-huracan-what3words.html

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in automotive technology is significantly altering the landscape of in-vehicle digital experiences. This transformation is not merely an enhancement but a fundamental shift in how we interact with our vehicles.  When you enter a modern car equipped with AI, the first noticeable change is the personalization of settings. Through AI-powered systems, the vehicle recognizes the driver and automatically adjusts seats, mirrors, climate control, and even media preferences. This level of personalization, achieved through pattern recognition and predictive analytics, ensures a comfortable and tailored driving experience. As you start your journey, AI's role becomes more evident. Vision systems, employing cameras and sensors, provide a 360-degree view around the car. These systems significantly enhance safety by identifying potential hazards, such as pedestrians in blind spots or unexpected obstacles on the road. The AI processes this informati...

They say you live in dog years when your at Amazon. I've certainly found that to be true over the last few years in the Alexa group leading the product team building new products and experiences for the automotive industry. I've needed the 7:1 dog:human ratio to ingest the culture of Amazon and the tech of Alexa! For this blog post, I'll summarize what I've learned about how Alexa works. When you say "Alexa," what exactly happens? It's not just a signal whizzing through the air; it's the culmination of years of artificial intelligence research and development. Let's take a journey through the AI that powers Amazon's Alexa Voice Service, unfolding the layers of technology that make it possible for Alexa to respond with more than just a robotic "I didn't catch that." Picture yourself asking Alexa to play your favorite song. The moment the microphone picks up your voice, a complex process kicks off. The first step is Automatic Speech...

There is a broader context that agile development fits in. We forget about that sometimes. We can apply agile and lean practices to optimize the throughput of our development teams and still fail. For the business to succeed, we got to make sure we are building the right products with the right features. Agile is just a means to an end. If we're not working on the right stuff, our business will fail, and don't be surprised if agile gets blamed! Making sure "you’re working on the right stuff" reaches outside of the software development life cycle. Your team/business/organization needs have some king of demand management practices in place. With effective demand management, you are continuously evaluating and prioritizing incoming requests. That way you’re moving the "right stuff" into product backlogs. The other side of it is evaluating your current products and projects and having the guts to kill/cancel them if they are not returning adequate value to your ...

I've always felt, and said, that agile is a means to an end, not the end in and of itself. So, what is the end? That's a rhetorical question of course. The reason we build software systems is to deliver value to our customers or to the business. Even a CMMI level 5 agile implementation will fail if it’s not driven in a manner that is delivering value. I like to abstract the software value stream as follows: Demand flows into the funnel in a variety of forms. If you have an existing product, application or service, it may be an enhancement request or defect reported by a customer or user. Or perhaps, a line of business you support may request a major new service in support of a new business initiative. The request needs to be evaluated and measured not only against other new requests, but its value should also be assessed against existing products/applications/services in the portfolio. It may make sense to eliminate or defer and existing investment in favor of the new request t...

Our teams have collaborated over the last year to bring this exciting partnership to fruition with an integration of the world's leading voice assistant and artificial intelligence driven digital experience into Toyota vehicles. I really enjoyed the conversation with Spencer Soper at Bloomberg. The journey is just starting with the transformation of the digital cockpit!  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-09/amazon-s-alexa-voice-assistant-coming-to-toyota-s-cars-this-year?embedded-checkout=true