Using NUnit with VS2010 Beta and .NET Framework 4.0

I've been test driving Visual Studio 2010 Beta recently and it comes with, and defaults to, .NET Framework 4.0, exciting stuff all around until you realize that if you target the 4.0 Framework you end up with this when trying to run your tests. Let's call this, less than helpful. Some googling turns up one solution, rebuild NUnit from source. Now while that is a viable solution you should never just go for the first solution that enters your mind. After some pondering I came to think of the metadata storage signature defintion present in all .NET Assemblies and how it actually does contain the desired framework version.

Using your hexeditor of choice (I like XVI32) simply open "nunit.exe" and search for "v2" it should turn up something like the screenshot below:

Notice the "BSJB" just preceding the version string, that's the metadata signature basically telling us we're in the right place. Now change "v2.0.50727" into "v4.0.20506" save and start NUnit. It will now run under the 4.0 framework instead, happily running your tests.

Oh, if you think that't both rebuilding from source, and hacking metadata is maybe not really "the right solution (tm)" you could just configure it instead.

Thinking in context.

There has been som general hubbub about establishing WIP limits in the Kanban community latly, some have gone so far as to claim that it is wasteful. Or more exactly that they are wasteful since if you're mindfull you can see the same bottlenecks without them. And theoretically I think that is true. But this is one of thoose times theory just won't help.

In my, not so humble, oppinion establishing WIP limits helps us the same way a budgets do. It help us set clear priorites and makes us think about our general goals. It also works as a clear leading indicator for when things are getting out of hand. One could make the claim that having a budget is waste, and if you're really disciplined I guess that is a viable option. But for me, it's not that I strictly need it, it's just way simpler than the alternatives.

Twitter via @hiranabe provided this gem: Kuroiwa-san(ex-Toyota mgr) concluded speech by emphasizing "Thinking for yourself in your context" is the heart of Lean

This is another very tangible postive effect of imposing limits, they help us establish context. The heart of lean and agile processes is thinking in context, anything that helps us faster establish context and be present have a great positive impact on the speed of communication. Thereby helping us improve, reflect, adjust and evaluate. That in turn helps us deliver more value faster, and sustain those improvements over time.

Thinking is not the key, thinking about the right stuff is. Establishing context is vital for that.