by Stefan Wolpers|FeaturedAgile and ScrumAgile Transition
TL; DR: Ethical AI in Agile
Agile teams face ethical challenges. However, there is a path to ethical AI in Agile by establishing four pragmatic guardrails: Data Privacy (information classification), Human Value Preservation (defining AI vs. human roles), Output Validation (verification protocols), and Transparent Attribution (contribution tracking).
This lightweight framework integrates with existing practices, protecting sensitive data and human expertise while enabling teams to confidently realize AI benefits without creating separate bureaucratic processes.
by Stefan Wolpers|FeaturedAgile and ScrumAgile Transition
TL; DR: Not Onboarding But Integration
Stop treating AI as a team member to “onboard.” Instead, give it just enough context for specific tasks, connect it to your existing artifacts, and create clear boundaries through team agreements. This lightweight, modular approach of contextual AI integration delivers immediate value without unrealistic expectations, letting AI enhance your team’s capabilities without pretending it’s human.
When you step into a new role as Scrum Master or agile coach for a team under pressure, you’re immediately confronted with a challenging reality: you need to understand the complex dynamics at play, but have limited time to process all the available information. This article explores how AI interview analysis can be a powerful sensemaking tool for agile practitioners who need to synthesize unstructured qualitative data quickly, particularly when joining a team mid-crisis.
TL;DR: A Harvard Study of Procter & Gamble Shows the Way
Recent research shows AI isn’t just another tool—it’s a “cybernetic teammate” that enhances agile work. A Harvard Business School study of 776 professionals found individuals using AI matched the performance of human teams, broke down expertise silos, and experienced more positive emotions during work. For agile practitioners, the choice isn’t between humans or AI but between being AI-augmented or falling behind those who are. The cost of experimentation is low; the potential career advantage, on the other hand, is substantial. A reason to embrace generative AI in Agile?
TL; DR: Bridging Agile and AI with Proper Prompt Engineering
Agile teams have always sought ways to work smarter without compromising their principles. Many have begun experimenting with new technologies, frameworks, or practices to enhance their way of working. Still, they often struggle to get relevant, actionable results that address their specific challenges. Regarding generative AI, there is a better way for agile practitioners than reinventing the wheel team by team—the Agile Prompt Engineering Framework.
Learn why it solves the challenge: a structured approach to prompting AI models designed specifically for agile practitioners who want to leverage this technology as a powerful ally in their journey.
by Stefan Wolpers|FeaturedAgile and ScrumAgile Transition
TL; DR: Getting Hired as a Scrum Master or Agile Coach
Are you considering a new Scrum Master or Agile Coach job? However, you are not sure that it is the right organization? Don’t worry; there are four steps of proactive research to identify suitable employers or clients for getting hired as a Scrum Master and avoid disappointment later.
I have used those four steps for years to identify organizations I would like to work with, and they never failed me. Read on and learn how to employ search engines, LinkedIn’s people search, reach out to peers in the agile community, and analyze the event markets in the quest for your next Scrum Master job.
TL; DR: 60 ChatGPT Prompts for Agile Practitioners
ChatGPT can be an excellent tool for those who know how to create prompts. The simplest form of prompting ChatGPT is to feed it the task and ask for results. However, this approach is unlikely to trigger the best response from the model.
Instead, invest more time in prompt engineering, and provide ChatGPT with a better context of the situation, desired outcomes, data, constraints, etc. The following article offers a primer to creating ChatGPT prompts for Scrum practitioners to get you started running. You will learn:
Prompt engineering basics
Prompt engineering with services like PromptPerfect
Using ChatGPT for prompt engineering. (Yub, that works, too.)
TL; DR: The Scrum Master Interview Guide to Identify Genuine Scrum Masters
In this comprehensive Scrum Master Interview guide, we delve into 83 critical questions that can help distinguish genuine Scrum Masters from pretenders during interviews. We designed this selection to evaluate the candidates’ theoretical knowledge, practical experience, and ability to apply general Scrum and “Agile “principles effectively in real-world scenarios—as outlined in the Scrum Guide or the Agile Manifesto. Ideal for hiring managers, HR professionals, and future Scrum teammates, this guide provides a toolkit to ensure that your next Scrum Master hire is truly qualified, enhancing your team’s agility and productivity.
If you are a Scrum Master currently looking for a new position, please check out the “Preparing for Your Scrum Master Interview as a Candidate” section below.
So far, this Scrum Master interview guide has been downloaded more than 25,000 times.
TL; DR: 82 Product Owner Interview Questions to Avoid Imposters
If you are looking to fill a position for a Product Owner in your organization, you may find the following 82 interview questions useful to identify the right candidate. They are derived from my sixteen years of practical experience with XP and Scrum, serving both as Product Owner and Scrum Master and interviewing dozens of Product Owner candidates on behalf of my clients.
So far, this Product Owner interview guide has been downloaded more than 10,000 times.
TL; DR: Scrum Training Classes, Liberating Structures Workshops, and Events
Age-of-Product.com’s parent company — Berlin Product People GmbH — offers Scrum training classes authorized by Scrum.org, Liberating Structures workshops, and hybrid training of Professional Scrum and Liberating Structures. The training classes are offered both in English and German.
Check out the upcoming timetable of training classes, workshops, meetups, and other events below and join your peers.
TL; DR: SVPG Product Change Approach — Food for Agile Thought #493
Welcome to the 493rd edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 42,639 peers. This week, John Cutler explores how SVPG product change approach by framing executive challenges as leadership strengths, stressing that change agents must master timing, framing, and credibility. Cedric Chin asserts that authentic demand—not just value propositions—predicts startup success, while Roman Pichler presents the Innovation Ambition Matrix for strategic innovation. Also, Barry O’Reilly urges leaders to see AI as leverage, not a cure-all, and Oliver Schilke and Martin Reimann’s research highlights the paradox of disclosing AI use: transparency erodes trust, but concealment risks harsher backlash.
Next, David Pereira cautions that AI amplifies dysfunction if leaders neglect culture and strategy, while Peter Yang identifies five ways to future-proof your product career. Zvi Mowshowitz contends that AI-enabled student cheating reveals education’s core flaws. An AWS study finds AI prioritized over security, and Andy Cleff shows how nature’s distributed leadership inspires resilient, adaptive organizations.
Lastly, Charles Lambdin examines how narrative “sorcery” shapes power in organizations, while Alex Ewerlöf challenges Staff+ role rigidity, advocating for versatile engineers. Nir Eyal offers strategies to escape approval-seeking, and Gregor Ojstersek shares how AI elevates engineering leadership. Finally, Mike Loukides explores “vibe coding,” urging us to embrace efficiency but remain accountable for code quality and learning.
TL; DR: InfoQ Culture Trends 2025 — Food for Agile Thought #492
Welcome to the 492nd edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 42,631 peers. This week, Shane Hastie and Charity Majors spotlight InfoQ culture trends 2025, including AI’s dual impact on speed and collaboration, while reaffirming the importance of psychological safety and Agile-DevOps maturity. John Cutler introduces team “modes” like Questing and Spellcasting, reframing burnout beyond WIP. David Pereira shares leadership lessons for new product leads, Liam Ottley demystifies AI agents, and Zvi Mowshowitz critiques Zuckerberg’s dystopian AI ambitions.
Next, Melissa Perri tells Leah Tharin why AI fails at product strategy without real problem-solving, while Rich Mironov urges PMs to speak the language of money in a pod with Jason Knight. Gary Marcus warns of GenAI’s corrosive impact on academia, and John Pavlus captures NLP’s identity crisis. Meanwhile, Joost Minnaar explores how Haier’s RenDanHeYi model reinvents corporate structure through radical decentralization and entrepreneurial accountability.
Lastly, Jerry Colonna tells Lenny Rachitsky how self-inquiry fuels resilient leadership, while Maarten Dalmijn calls time on the Scrum Master role. Milan Milanović details how Google tackles tech debt at scale, and Vitaly Friedman reframes UX design as risk management. Finally, Jake Bowen-Bate borrows from military strategy to rethink how we communicate product requirements with clarity and intent.
TL; DR: David Pereira, Cliff Berg, and Jonathan Odo speaking at Hands-on Agile 2025
The second batch of videos of Hands-On Agile 2025 is in, and you don’t want to miss them: David Pereira reveals why product discovery often fails—and how teams can avoid common pitfalls to rapidly validate ideas and deliver real value. Also, Cliff Berg shares surprising insights from Agile 2 Academy’s study of highly agile companies like SpaceX, highlighting leadership behaviors rather than traditional Agile practices as key agility drivers, while Jonathan Odo explores timeless engineering principles shaping the future of high-performing, adaptive organizations.
These industry veterans bring decades of enterprise transformation experience, providing actionable insights you can implement immediately. Watch the session recordings to transform how you approach agility.
TL; DR: Automated Companies — Food for Agile Thought #491
Welcome to the 491st edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 42,669 peers. This week, Dwarkesh Patel envisions AI-powered automated companies that replace hiring, learning, and leadership with computing, radically reshaping how economies function. John Cutler curates 270 behaviors and 180 rituals from product leaders at Canva, Stripe, Notion, and more, revealing what makes strong product cultures tick. Ash Maurya rethinks roadmaps with a traction-first, constraint-driven approach. Ethan Mollick highlights how subtle personality tweaks in AI affect trust and influence, while Simon Willison uncovers ChatGPT o3’s eerily precise photo-location guessing, blending vision and reasoning in ways both brilliant and unsettling.
Next, Aakash Gupta shares how Attio builds AI-native products that disappear into workflows, avoiding flashy bolt-ons. Christina Wodtke warns against outsourcing thinking to AI, urging leaders to engage deeply with data, and Sangeet Paul Choudary dismantles shallow AI memes, redirecting focus to system-level change. Meanwhile, Anthropic’s analysis shows that Claude Code is rapidly reshaping front-end development, especially in startup environments.
Lastly, Willem-Jan Ageling outlines when and how to abandon Scrum; Gregor Ojstersek explores fixing “work about work” with more intelligent systems and AI, while McKinsey links decision quality to strategic speed. Moreover, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres reframe capacity planning conflicts, and Brian Feister debunks AI coding hype, pushing for experience-based, question-led practices over blind automation.
