tech·nic·al·ly agile class·i·fic·at·ion

Engineering Excellence

Promoting high standards in software craftsmanship and development practices.

Image
https://nkdagility.com/resources/engineering-excellence/

Overview

Engineering Excellence: Driving High-Quality, Sustainable Software Development

Engineering excellence is the foundation of high-quality, maintainable, and scalable software systems. It is about fostering a culture that values continuous improvement, technical rigor, and long-term sustainability in software development. This category is dedicated to discussions on how organisations can elevate their engineering standards to deliver predictable, resilient, and valuable software.

Why Engineering Excellence Matters

Core Principles of Engineering Excellence

  1. Software Craftsmanship - Engineering excellence is grounded in a deep understanding of design, architecture, and maintainability. It prioritises clarity, simplicity, and adaptability, ensuring that software remains robust over time.
  2. Modern Software Engineering Practices - A commitment to continuous validation, automation, and integration enables teams to build and evolve software with confidence. These practices ensure that software remains reliable, scalable, and secure, while allowing teams to respond quickly to change.
  3. Technical Debt Management - Engineering excellence requires a proactive approach to code health and system maintainability. It involves regular assessment, improvement, and simplification to prevent long-term inefficiencies and ensure that systems remain adaptable.
  4. Metrics & Observability - Effective engineering is driven by measurable outcomes and transparency. By establishing clear metrics and monitoring, teams gain insights into performance, stability, and efficiency, enabling data-driven improvements.
  5. Security & Compliance - A secure and compliant system is fundamental to engineering integrity. Engineering excellence ensures that security is embedded into development processes, reducing vulnerabilities and aligning with regulatory and organisational standards.
  6. Scalable & Resilient Architecture - Scalability and resilience are essential to long-term software success. Engineering excellence ensures that systems are designed to handle change, growth, and unexpected conditions, enabling sustainable evolution.

Learn More about Engineering Excellence

Videos

Building a culture of Quality

Unlock the true potential of CI/CD! Join Martin Hinshelwood as he reveals best practices for Continuous Integration and Delivery to enhance quality and speed.
Videos

The Power of Technical Excellence in Agile Development

Unlock the secrets of Agile success! Discover how prioritising technical excellence over speed can transform your software development and deliver exceptional value.
Blog

Quality enablement with Visual Studio 2012

Discover how Visual Studio 2012 enables continuous quality in software development, helping you meet modern user expectations and enhance brand differentiation.
Videos

Transforming Chaos into Clarity: How Optimising Systems Fuels Engineering Excellence

Transform chaos into clarity! Discover how optimising systems and tackling technical debt can boost productivity and innovation in your organisation.
Videos

Transforming Engineering Excellence: The Power of Naked Agility in Quality and Leadership

Transform your engineering practices with naked agility! Discover how to enhance quality, build trust, and foster technical leadership in your organisation.
Videos

Cultivating a Culture of Quality: Lessons from Boeing and Volkswagen for Engineering Excellence

Cultivate a culture of quality in your organisation! Discover how to prioritise integrity and excellence for exceptional, safe products.
Blog

Professional Scrum teams build software that works

Discover how Professional Scrum Teams can deliver high-quality software that works. Learn to enhance accountability and trust in your development process.
Videos

Technical Debt Management for Long-Term Quality

Discover how automated testing transforms software engineering, reducing errors and speeding up feedback for high-quality, efficient delivery.
Blog

Getting started with a modern source control system and DevOps

Discover how to choose a modern source control system that enhances your DevOps practices and supports your software development lifecycle effectively.
Videos

Mastering Site Reliability: Insights from Azure DevOps on Building a Resilient Live Site Culture

Discover how the Azure DevOps team at Microsoft balances reliability and agility in software development. Learn key SRE practices to enhance your team’s performance!
Blog

Stop Hiding Behind Complexity and Start Delivering Continuously

Unlock continuous delivery for any software, regardless of complexity. Invest in fixing technical debt and automate processes for faster, reliable releases.
Videos

The Crucible of Learning: Transforming Organizational Effectiveness Through DevOps

Discover how DevOps consulting tackles technical debt and complex architectures, leading to improved efficiency and streamlined integration for clients.
Blog

Without Delivery, There Is No Value

Everything before delivery is an assumption, and all non-delivered product represents a cost of delay. Learn why frequent delivery is critical to maximising value.
Blog

Delivery is the only Measure of Progress in Scrum

Delivery, not just a Done Increment, is the real measure of progress in Scrum. In 2025, if you’re not delivering every Sprint, you’re not truly Agile.
Videos

Navigating Technical Debt: How to Transform Challenges into Opportunities for Quality and Efficiency

Discover the true cost of technical debt and poor quality in product development. Learn how to manage them for sustainable success and happier users!
Blog

Avoid the pick-n-mix branching anti-pattern

Discover how to avoid the pick-n-mix branching anti-pattern in software development. Learn effective strategies to enhance code quality and team trust.
Videos

The Hidden Costs of Poor Quality Code—and How to Turn It Into a Superpower

Discover the hidden costs of poor-quality code with Martin Hinshelwood. Learn how investing in quality boosts productivity and protects your brand.
Blog

Stop Promoting Branches

Explore how audience-based deployment, also known as ring-based deployment, challenges traditional environments, accelerates feedback, and transforms continuous delivery.
Videos

Maximising Deployment Frequency: The Key to Faster Time to Market and Business Success

Unlock the secrets to efficient software delivery! Discover how deployment frequency, stability, and learning time can transform your team’s success.
Blog

Testing in Production Maximises Quality and Value

Explore how audience-based deployment, also known as ring-based deployment, challenges traditional environments, accelerates feedback, and transforms continuous delivery.
Videos

Evidence-Based Management: The Four Key Value Areas in Scrum

Discover the four key value areas of Evidence-Based Management to optimise your organisation’s success and drive innovation. Unlock your potential today!
Videos

Embracing Automation: The Key to Transforming Your Development Process and Boosting Confidence

Unlock the secrets of successful product development! Discover how automation transforms testing, deployment, and quality assurance for engineering teams.
Videos

Unlocking Code Quality: The Transformative Power of Frequent Deployments

Unlock the secret to better code quality! Discover how frequent deployments enhance user feedback, reduce technical debt, and boost team confidence.
Videos

From Chaos to Clarity: My Journey Through DevOps and the Three Key Challenges to Overcome

Discover the evolution of DevOps from chaotic deployments to streamlined processes. Learn key challenges and how to foster a culture of continuous improvement.
Blog

Getting started with a Definition of Done (DoD)

Learn how to establish a robust Definition of Done (DoD) for your Scrum team to ensure quality and transparency in software delivery. Start improving today!
Practices

Definition of Done (DoD)

Discover more about Definition of Done (DoD) and how it can help you in your Agile journey!
Videos

Unlocking Continuous Delivery: How Feature Flags Transform Software Development

Unlock the power of feature flags for seamless software delivery! Discover how incremental releases and user feedback can transform your development process.
Blog

Automated Testing in a modern application lifecycle

Discover the essential role of automated testing in modern application lifecycles. Learn how to enhance software quality and streamline your development process.
Blog

A better way than staggered iterations for delivery

Discover a superior approach to delivery that enhances agility and reduces technical debt. Learn how to implement effective cross-functional teams today!
Blog

Definition of Done - Objective vs Subjective

Learn the critical distinction between subjective goals and the objective Definition of Done (DoD) in Scrum. This guide dives into why a measurable, automated DoD is essential for consistent quality, stakeholder trust, and professional-grade product delivery.
Videos

Mastering Technical Debt: Strategies to Transform Challenges into Opportunities for Your Development Team

Unlock the secrets of technical debt! Discover how to manage and pay it back effectively to boost your team’s productivity and deliver more value.
Videos

Code Reviews for Quality Assurance

Reimagine code reviews with Martin Hinshelwood! Discover how automation and a shift-left approach enhance quality and speed in software development.
Blog

You are doing it wrong if you are not using test first

Unlock the power of Test First principles in software development. Learn how TDD and ATDD can enhance quality, reduce bugs, and meet customer needs effectively.
Blog

Metrics that matter with evidence-based management

Discover how Evidence-Based Management can enhance your metrics and KPIs for better decision-making in software development. Elevate your team’s performance!
Blog

Building a release pipeline with Release Management with Visual Studio 2013

Learn to build a scalable release pipeline with Visual Studio 2013’s integrated release management. Enhance your DevOps practices for continuous delivery success!
Blog

Quality enablement to achieve predictable delivery

Achieve predictable software delivery by establishing quality enablement. Learn key strategies to enhance your development process and reduce bugs.
Videos

Security by Design Building Secure Software

Learn to embed security from the start in software development. Join Martin Hinshelwood as he explores shifting left for resilient, secure software.
Videos

Unlocking the True Power of Continuous Delivery: How Automation Transforms Software Development

Unlock the true power of continuous delivery! Discover how automation transforms software delivery, mitigates risks, and boosts efficiency in your organisation.
Videos

Code Reviews for Quality Assurance

Discover how to integrate quality from the start in software development with Martin Hinshelwood. Embrace shifting left for better products and reduced technical debt!
Videos

Unlocking the Future of Software Development: Why Automation is Your Key to Success

Unlock the power of automation in software development! Discover how it boosts efficiency, reduces errors, and transforms your deployment process.
Videos

Why Embracing Automation is Essential for Reducing Human Error in Software Development

Discover how automation transforms software development by minimising human error and enhancing efficiency. Learn why embracing automation is essential for success!
Blog

Standard Environments for Automated Deployment and Testing

Discover how to automate deployment and testing with Standard Environments in Visual Studio 2012 TFS, enhancing your DevOps practices for seamless delivery.
Videos

NKD Agility: Your partner in developing engineering excellence

Discover how performance engineering enhances user experience! Join Martin Hinshelwood as he shares strategies for optimising software in production.
Videos

Embrace Simplicity: How to Transform Complexity into Continuous Delivery Success

Unlock the secrets to continuous delivery! Discover how to simplify your software and foster a culture of agility for faster, more reliable feature delivery.
Blog

Why Handoffs Are Killing Your Agility

Explore the detrimental impact of handoffs in software development and discover strategies to eliminate them for better agility.
Blog

The Insufficiency of Scrum is a fallacy

Explore the myth of Scrum’s insufficiency and learn how effective engineering practices can enhance Agile success. Elevate your team’s performance today!
Videos

Rethinking Continuous Delivery: Why Best Practices Don't Exist in Complex Environments

Discover how to enhance continuous delivery in complex environments with audience-based strategies, testing in production, and a commitment to improvement.
Videos

Transforming Waste into Value: How to Boost ROI with Agile Metrics

Uncover the hidden waste in your organisation! Learn how DORA metrics can boost innovation and ROI while embracing agility for better value.
Blog

Professional Scrum Developer (.NET) Training in London

Join the Professional Scrum Developer training in London to enhance your .NET skills, collaborate in teams, and master Agile practices. Sign up now!
Blog

Release Management with Team Foundation Server 2012

Enhance your release management strategy with Team Foundation Server 2012. Discover automation techniques and best practices for seamless deployments.
Blog

Release planning and predictable delivery

Master release planning and achieve predictable delivery in agile environments. Discover strategies to enhance quality and streamline your software development process.
Videos

Scaling Smart: How to Tackle Technical Debt for Sustainable Growth

Avoid the pitfalls of technical debt! Discover how to scale effectively with sustainable practices and automation for a robust, innovative future.
Blog

The Sprint is a container for Planning and not necessarily for Delivery

Explore how Scrum can enhance planning without strict delivery schedules. Learn to embrace Continuous Delivery for better software development practices.
Videos

Transforming Agility: How Azure DevOps Went from Two-Year Releases to 880,000 Deployments

Unlock your organisation’s potential with continuous delivery! Discover how to shorten feedback loops and stay ahead in a fast-paced market.
Blog

All technical debt is a risk to the product and to your business.

Discover how technical debt poses risks to your product and business. Learn strategies to manage it effectively and ensure quality delivery. Read more!
Blog

Who broke the build?

Discover why broken builds matter in development. Learn how to identify issues and maintain code quality with effective build management strategies.
Blog

Create a Release Management pipeline for Professional Developers

Learn to create a Release Management pipeline for developers, enhancing automation and deployment efficiency with Team Foundation Server. Dive in now!
Course

Applying Professional Scrum for Software Development (APS-SD) with Certification

Experience APS-SD: Hands-on Scrum training for delivering quality software. Gain practical skills in Agile, DevOps, and Scrum principles. Free PSD I certification exam included. Enhance your software development expertise.
Videos

If a client hasn't considered DevOps consulting as part of their Agile Consulting needs, why should they?

Discover why integrating DevOps consulting into your Agile coaching can enhance team performance and streamline software delivery. Watch now!
Videos

Empowering Teams for Success: The Key to Thriving Product Development

Unlock the secret to successful product development! Discover how to empower your team, foster collaboration, and boost morale for exceptional results.
Videos

The Problem with Incompetent Scrum Masters: Why Lack of Skills in Team Context Results in Poor ROI

Discover the true ROI of hiring skilled Scrum Masters and learn how their competence impacts team performance, innovation, and value delivery.
Course

Continuous Delivery Using Azure DevOps Services Training

This two-day course provides students with the DevOps principles and related hands-on practices to work better as a team, scale their agility, share and integrate their work, and deliver working software continuously in order to enable faster delivery of value and receive early and valuable feedback.
Blog

How Usable Working Products Are Your Ultimate Weapon Against Risks

Discover how delivering usable working products can mitigate risks in Agile practices. Embrace feedback loops and automation for true agility!
Course

Assuring Quality Using Azure Test Plans Training

Azure DevOps provides a set of cloud-hosted tools that software teams can use as an end-to-end solution to plan, develop, test, and deliver value in the form of working software.
Course

Mastering Azure Repos Training

Azure DevOps Services provide a set of cloud-hosted tools that software teams can use to quickly plan, develop, test, and deliver value in the form of working software. Azure Repos provide public or private Git repositories that enable better collaboration and cleaner code. To maximize learning, students will work in teams, in a common team project, on a common codebase.
Blog

Great Scrum Masters Need Technical, Business, and Organisational Mastery

Explore the essential skills for effective Scrum Masters: technical, business, and organisational mastery to empower teams and drive value in Agile environments.
Blog

There Is No Such Thing as a "Junior" Scrum Master

The idea of a junior Scrum Master is a fallacy. The Scrum Master is not an entry-level position and should be born fully formed!
Blog

Why Most Scrum Masters Are Failing and What They Should Know

Discover why many Scrum Masters fail and learn essential skills for success. Elevate your Agile practices and ensure your team’s effectiveness today!
Videos

Navigating the Unpredictability of Software Development: Embrace Agile for Success

Navigate the complexities of software development with insights on technical leadership and Agile principles. Discover how to turn challenges into opportunities!
Videos

DevOps: Elevating Your Organization’s Performance Through Bespoke Solutions

Explore tailored DevOps consulting services in this video, uncovering how organisations can optimise practices for better software delivery and quality.
Videos

Transform Your Software Architecture: The Game-Changing Impact of TDD and Pair Programming

Unlock the secrets of software excellence! Discover how test-driven development and pair programming can elevate your code quality and architecture.
Videos

Mastering Evidence-Based Management for Agile Success

Unlock the power of Evidence-Based Management! Learn to gather and analyse data for better product decisions and boost customer satisfaction.
Blog

The fallacy of the rejected backlog item

Explore the fallacy of rejecting backlog items in Scrum. Understand the impact on development and learn how to enhance collaboration and transparency.
Blog

Can the Definition of Done change per Sprint?

Explore how the Definition of Done can evolve in Scrum. Learn to enhance quality without compromising standards in your agile development process.
Blog

Live Site Culture & Site Reliability Engineering

Explore how Live Site Culture and Site Reliability Engineering drive agility and DevOps practices, enabling rapid delivery and enhanced customer satisfaction.
Blog

Testing in the modern application lifecycle

Explore modern manual testing in agile development. Learn to integrate tools and streamline processes for effective quality assurance in your application lifecycle.
Blog

Is ALM a useful term?

Explore the significance of ALM in modern software development. Discover how Agile practices enhance quality and adaptability for all organizations.
Videos

Unlocking the Superpower of Software Development: How Shifting Left Transforms Quality Assurance

Unlock the superpower of software development with the shift-left approach! Discover how early QA integration boosts quality, speed, and team morale.
Practices

Metrics and Reports

Discover more about Metrics and Reports and how it can help you in your Agile journey!
Guides

Detecting Agile BS

Discover more about Detecting Agile BS and how it can help you in your Agile journey!
Guides

The Evidence-Based Management Guide: Improving Value Delivery under Conditions of Uncertainty

Discover more about “The Evidence-Based Management Guide and how it can help you in your Agile journey!
Videos

Detecting Agile BS: Lessons from the Department of Defense

Is your development ecosystem truly Agile? Discover insights from the DoD and learn to eliminate bottlenecks for seamless, innovative delivery! 🚀
Blog

Evidence-based Management: Gathering the metrics

Discover how to effectively gather metrics for Evidence-based Management in software organizations to enhance value delivery and drive agile success.
Blog

Continuous value delivery with modern business applications

Discover how modern business applications enable continuous value delivery, transforming software development practices for happier consumers and faster updates.
Blog

DOD has made it illegal to do waterfall

Discover how the DOD’s new procurement rules outlaw waterfall methods, paving the way for agile practices that enhance efficiency and success in IT projects.
Blog

Why Measuring Individual Cycle Time is Killing Your Flow (And What to Do Instead)

Measuring individual cycle time is a fundamental misunderstanding of flow in a system. Learn why flow efficiency matters and how to measure the right things in Kanban.
Videos

Balancing Speed and Stability: Why Quality Should Always Come First in Delivery Management

Discover how to balance speed and stability in project delivery. Learn why prioritising quality over tight deadlines is essential for long-term success.
Blog

The Definition of Done: Ensuring Quality without Compromising Value

Discover the importance of the Definition of Done in agile practices. Ensure quality and transparency in your projects with insights from NKDAgility. Learn more!
Blog

Unit Testing against the Team Foundation Server 2012 API

Learn how to effectively unit test against the Team Foundation Server 2012 API, tackling authentication challenges and enhancing your TDD practices.
Blog

Do you know the minimum builds to create on any branch?

Discover the essential builds for any branch in your project. Learn how to set up Gate, CI, and Nightly builds to ensure code quality and collaboration.
Blog

Solution: Testing Web Services with MSTest on Team Foundation Build Services 2010

Learn how to effectively test web services using MSTest on Team Foundation Build Services 2010. Overcome common challenges and streamline your testing process!
Blog

Developer Day Scotland

Join Developer Day Scotland for insights on refactoring, dynamic languages, and MVVM in WPF. Enhance your coding skills and connect with fellow developers!
Blog

Does test-driven development speed up development?

Explore how test-driven development can enhance software productivity by reducing complexity and rework. A must-read for software professionals!
Blog

The future of software development

Explore the future of software development with insights on software factories and web services to enhance efficiency and client satisfaction. Read more!

Connect with Martin Hinshelwood

If you've made it this far, it's worth connecting with our principal consultant and coach, Martin Hinshelwood, for a 30-minute 'ask me anything' call.

Concepts


Categories


Tags

Lean (9)
MVP (2)
Windows (174)

Our Happy Clients​

We partner with businesses across diverse industries, including finance, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, technology, engineering, transportation, hospitality, entertainment, legal, government, and military sectors.​

Genus Breeding Ltd Logo
SuperControl Logo
Epic Games Logo
Sage Logo
Lean SA Logo
Teleplan Logo
Higher Education Statistics Agency Logo

NIT A/S

Jack Links Logo
MacDonald Humfrey (Automation) Ltd. Logo
Boxit Document Solutions Logo
Akaditi Logo
Healthgrades Logo

CR2

Slaughter and May Logo
Flowmaster (a Mentor Graphics Company) Logo
Graham & Brown Logo
Freadom Logo
Ghana Police Service Logo
Washington Department of Transport Logo
Royal Air Force Logo
Department of Work and Pensions (UK) Logo
Nottingham County Council Logo
New Hampshire Supreme Court Logo
Sage Logo
Brandes Investment Partners L.P. Logo
Cognizant Microsoft Business Group (MBG) Logo
Workday Logo
Emerson Process Management Logo
Graham & Brown Logo