Andy Singleton is an entrepreneur who has long studied and practiced the art of distributed software development. Influenced by the open source and agile movements, he has arrived at some startling conclusions about how to manage commercial projects. Among them: don't interview people, don't estimate schedules, and don't spend time in teleconferences. In this conversation with host Jon Udell he explains why not to do these things, and what to do instead.
Andy Singleton is President of Assembla, where he builds software and helps launch Web companies. He bring experience as an engineer and entrepreneur to the task of building new products quickly. He is currently interested in organizing people with “inspired by open source” methods.
He previously founded PowerSteering Software, an enterprise software company and ASP that provides project portfolio management and collaboration tools for managing billions of dollars worth of projects at companies like Raytheon, EMC, Tyco, and Textron. Before that, he founded Cambridge Interactive and bootstrapped it into a significant Web consulting firm, launching e-businesses for Giga (now Forrester), CERA, Forum, and other leading research and advisory firms.
He started his career as a hedge fund analyst, and helped start SNL Securities, where he designed a complete product line to deliver research on banks and thrifts. He also designed and built securities research product lines for Nelson Publications (acquired by Thomson), and Reuters.
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This free podcast is from our Jon Udell's Interviews with Innovators series.
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