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Our posts by Stefan Wolpers
Stefan — based in Berlin, Germany — has been working for 12+ years as agile coach, ScrumMaster and Product Owner. He is an XSCALE Alliance XBA Coach (XBAC) as well as a member of Scrum Alliance (CSP, CSPO, CSM). He is also a certified LeSS practitioner (CLP). He has developed B2C as well as B2B software, mainly for startups, including a former Google subsidiary.
Food for Agile Thought’s issue #172—shared with 20,138 peers—focuses on Taylorism Agility and its contribution to imposing ‘agile,’ why agility and governance do not have to be mutually exclusive, and busts several agile planning myths.
We also refresh our memory why the engineers need to participate in product discovery, how you prepare for product experiments, and what this whole customer journey mapping is about.
Lastly, we learn what good leadership has to do with intrinsic motivation in the trenches.
This is the last edition of the ‘Food for Agile Thought’ newsletter in 2018. Thank you so much for your feedback and continued support; we will be back on January 6th, 2019, with issue #173.
The Agile Camp Berlin 2019 will happen from April 26 to April 27, 2019. The ACB19 venue will be the Evangelische Schule Berlin Zentrum right in the middle of Berlin.
Food for Agile Thought’s issue #171—shared with 20,122 peers—focuses on pushing agile, or better its futility as ‘agile’ needs to be pulled, we analyze current trends in corporate transformation efforts, and we ask: how safe did the attendees of your last workshop feel?
We also try to learn from Netflix’ failures, we come back to technical debt and its influence on product creation once more, and we compare our problems to the most pressing issues Marty Cagan has identified in today’s product-driven companies.
Lastly, we appreciate a great recipe on how to run a team charter creation workshop.
Food for Agile Thought’s issue #170—shared with 20,108 peers—focuses on agile transformation lessons. We learn that becoming ‘agile’ is one but not the only answer, that agile teams are no causation for business agility, and that the 10,000-hour rule applies to agile practitioners, too.
We also remind ourselves that user research is always a team sport, that NPS detractors are not necessarily bad-mouthing your product, and why there is a difference between cooperation and collaboration.
Lastly, we go back to Scrum basics and revisit the idea of delivering a ‘done’ product increment every single Sprint—without making excuses.
Do you need an emergency fund as a change agent—whether you are acting as Scrum Master, Product Owner or agile coach—because conflict is inevitable, but change is not?
In my experience, speaking truth to power, pointing at the emperor’s new clothes and the reality in the trenches, is necessary a trait for every change agent — including Scrum Masters and agile coaches — in organizations that lack strong leadership.
Learn more, how this form of professional honesty can backfire when the incumbents, privileged by the existing system, strike back.
Scrum Master Hiring: Demand Creates Supply and the Job Market for Agile Practitioners is No Exception
Maybe, “Agile” in general is a management fad and not trend at the moment. But what we can say for sure is that Scrum has become very popular for software development purposes. A seasoned Scrum master is nowadays in high demand. And that demand causes the market-entry of new professionals from other project management branches, probably believing that reading one or two Scrum books will be sufficient.
If you are looking to fill a position for a Scrum master (or agile coach) in your organization, you may find the following 38+9 interview questions useful to identify the right candidate. They are derived from my ten years of practical experience with XP as well as Scrum, serving both as Product owner and Scrum master as well as interviewing dozens of Scrum master candidates on behalf of my clients.
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