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 […]
Q&A: Allison Pollard Answers Myths, Mobbing, Morals & Craftsmanship
Principal Agile coach Allison Pollard was kind enough to take a break from her busy Keep Austin Agile schedule to discuss how to create an Agile tech practices craftsmanship culture, management’s role during a tech turnaround, and the developer secret handshake. Watch the full video below…full transcript also included.
Agile2016 Souvenir Booklist
A few things I learned attending Agile2016: There are a lot of Agilists. Over 2,500 attended Agile2016–the biggest one yet. Agilists know how to socialize. There’s no board game you can’t giantize. Books are everything. They are the life force that sustains and grow our community. For every keynote and session I attended, at least […]
How To Find Your Next Product Owner
A hurdle for companies who are transitioning to Agile is how to find your product owner. Should they look externally or is it OK to look within as they already have roles that are similar to the Product Owner (PO) position. Common questions I’ll see pop up when they are considering who would make good […]
Agile And The Death Of Annual Reviews
One of my (many) mantras is “an Agile team succeeds or fails together.” To elaborate, I mean that the stronger/more effective and weaker/less effective members of the team should all be combined to deliver more value. No more culture of fault and blame (“it’s all HIS fault”) or culture of heroism (“we can always count […]