TL; DR: The Taste of Salt & Agile Coaching, Visual Planning w/ Jeff & Gojko — Food for Agile Thought #338
Welcome to the 338th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 35,072 peers. This week, we listen to Jeff Patton, Gojko Adzic, and James Shore delving into the benefits of visual planning. We also reflect on an often referred-to but rarely understood critical concept required to solve complex adaptive problems. Speaking of teamwork, we dive into the importance of group sizes in creating social cohesion and collaboration, referring to the ‘Dunbar number’—often used, simplified, and rarely understood as a concept. Moreover, Shai Yallin describes a process often causing technical debt and how to create systems to prevent this from happening.
We then analyze three significant problems with long-term planning, from premature decision making to the inevitable time consumption to promoting rigidity. Also, we criticize distinguishing between problem-solving and problem definition; this is probably less helpful than you think. Moreover, we suggest a simple approach to getting started with a critical element of product analytics and product-led growth to prevent you from slipping into feature factory mode.
Lastly, we follow Yves Hanoulle and Jason Yip using a compelling metaphor to explore the idea of ‘agile coaching.’ Then, borrowing from the human-centered systems thinking school, Deirdre Cerminaro suggests a visualization technique to help you ‘spot opportunities for growth and change.’ And we ask: How does Le Corbusier’s ‘Cité Frugès de Pessac’ masterpiece relate to going back to the office? Or shall we rather say: being forced back into the office?
Did you miss the previous Food for Agile Thought’s issue #337?
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🏆 The Tip of the Week
and : 📺 It’s Hard to Explain how Salt Tastes: ‘Who Is Agile’ 012 with Jason Yip
In this talk, Yves Hanoulle and Jason Yip use a compelling metaphor to explore the idea of ‘agile coaching.’
➿ Agile & Scrum
(via InfoQ): How Psychological Safety at Work Creates Effective Software Tech Teams that Learn and Grow
Ben Linders reflects on an often referred-to but rarely understood critical concept required to solve complex adaptive problems.
: Dunbar’s number and how speaking is 2.8x better than picking fleas
Matt Webb dives into the importance of group sizes in creating social cohesion and collaboration, referring to the ‘Dunbar number’—often used, simplified, and rarely understood as a concept.
: The Anatomy Of A Rotten Codebase
In this article, Shai Yallin describes a process often causing technical debt and how to create systems to prevent this from happening.
🎓 🖥 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Product Owner Training w/ PSPO Certificate — Online: May 9-10, 2022
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Learn more: 🖥 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Product Owner Training w/ PSPO Certificate — Online: May 9-10, 2022.
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🎯 Product
, and : 📺 Agile Book Club: Visual Planning
In this session of the Agile Book Club, Jeff Patton, Gojko Adzic, and James Shore delve into the benefits of visual planning.
(via Medium): Finding Your Way out of the Planning Illusion
Andrew Quan delves into three major problems with long-term planning, from premature decision making to the inevitable time consumption to promoting rigidity.
: The Problem With Problems
John Cutler criticizes distinguishing between problem-solving and problem definition; this is probably less helpful than you think.
📯 27 Product Backlog and Refinement Anti-Patterns
Scrum is a tactical framework to build products, provided you identify what is worth making in advance. But even after a successful product discovery phase, you may struggle to create the right thing in the right way if your Product Backlog is not up to the job—garbage in, garbage out. The following article points to 27 common Product Backlog anti-patterns – including the Product Backlog refinement process – limiting your Scrum team’s success.
👉 Learn more: 27 Product Backlog and Refinement Anti-Patterns.
🛠 Tools & Measuring
(via IDEO U): What is a Systems Map?
Borrowed from the human-centered systems thinking school, Deirdre Cerminaro suggests a visualization technique to help you ‘spot opportunities for growth and change.’
(via mixpanel): How to develop and measure feature adoption
Mark Simborg suggests a simple approach to getting started with this critical element of product analytics and product-led growth to prevent you from slipping into feature factory mode.
✂️ Cutting Room Floor
: What Le Corbusier got right about office space
And now for something completely different: How does Le Corbusier’s ‘Cité Frugès de Pessac’ masterpiece relate to going back to the office? Or shall we rather say: being forced back into the office? What about the empowerment and autonomy we enjoyed when working from home?
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📺 Join 3,750-plus Agile Peers on Youtube
Now available on the Age-of-Product Youtube channel to improve learning:
- 🆕 Hands-on Agile #38: The Product Owner with Roman Pichler.
- 🆕 Agile Camp Berlin 2021: The Power and Pains of Autonomy with Jimmy Janlén.
- Hands-on Agile #31: The Zones of Value Framework with Valerio Zanini & Zeina Zeitouni.
- Hands-on Agile #35: Designing Powerful Questions to help you Coach & Create with Daniel Stillman.
- Hands-on Agile #34: Core Protocols for Psychological Safety with Richard Kasperowski.
- Agile Camp Berlin 2021: Adapt How You Lead for Agile Success with Johanna Rothman.
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