8 Roles Agile Coaches Play
Vince Lombardi. Phil Jackson. Kathryn Smith. These are some of the greatest Coaches in the history of sports. But what does being a Coach really mean? While they are experts of the game at hand, chances are, being an SME is only 50% of what a Coach does or is. A great athletic Coach takes […]
The News Cycle, Breakpoints, And Agile Coaching Opportunities
During the first session of the Professional Coaching Course with New Ventures West, we discussed the idea that we as people live within our own self-sealed and self-reinforcing narrative. Within that narrative, our interactions with the world around us are interpreted and, through that interpretation, used to reinforce the strength of our narrative. Similar to […]
Agile Team Coaches: What Do They Even Do?
Agile coaches are subject matter experts in Agile principles and practices and they apply their knowledge towards guiding struggling individuals, teams, and organizations. They are called when teams and organizations begin their Agile transformation, or if they when teams start and see realize that the road to high-performance may be rockier than expected. In both […]
Technical Skills And The Product Owner
Product Owners are in high demand. Searching on Indeed for “Product Owner” pulled up 103 new jobs posted this month. While its existence is relatively new compared to a Product Manager, it’s gaining attention as Agile and Scrum begin to overtake traditional methods of building software and managing creating projects. The Product Owner (PO) is […]
Do this, Not that: 8 Bad Habits Sabotaging Your Agile Transformation
There are a lot of bad work habits: being late, checking Facebook too* many times, not putting your dirty coffee mug in the dishwasher, and interrupting your coworkers during meetings. Bad habits are “bad” because results are negative. They become even more destructive when they directly oppose a goal, e.g., late-night eating when you’re trying […]
Should The POTUS Be More Like A ScrumMaster Or a Product Owner?
Did you guys know it was election season? Don’t worry, we’re not here to discuss the five candidates on the presidential ballot. We’re here to discuss and debate the following question… If the United States was a development team, would POTUS be a ScrumMaster or Product Owner?
Adventures in Agile Marketing: Estimating Story Points
A lot has happened since my last Agile marketing post about revamping the editorial calendar. For one thing, I still use my editorial calendar, but it’s become a brainstorm repository instead of an organizational tool. Also, I now have another person on my marketing team which has been a tremendous help and immense relief as […]
The Frozen Middle And Agile Transformations
I was recently asked what in my experience was the most likely cause of gummed-up Agile transformations. I didn’t hesitate in answering “the frozen middle.” Top-level management buys into a transformation because they hear faster, better, and more predictable. Teams buy in because it is simply more fun (I’m told “funner” isn’t really a […]
In agile, “Resource” can be a 4-letter word
Sometimes I get emails from recruiters inquiring if we have open positions. The following is an example: Good afternoon, I was just wondering if you got any open spots for BA ( Financial ) or Network Admin. I have these senior resources based out of CA but open to relocating nationwide. Each time I receive […]
Welcome To The Matrix! Organizational Structures to Support Agile [Video]
An Agile transformation is more than a process change. The organizational structure is affected as well. In a presentation for Keep Austin Agile 2016, Doc List explained how traditional hierarchies are challenged during a transformation and how Agile teams can make it through storming to become high performing. **Not a transcript word for word. We […]