TL; DR: Flow Thinking, Trust Building, North Star Playbook, Prediction & Planning — Food for Agile Thought #221
Food for Agile Thought’s issue #221—shared with 24,513 peers—addresses the evolution of flow thinking; we delve into visualizing of forecasts, OKR, and non-static roadmaps, and we learn how to build professional trust in the workspace.
We also appreciate a new guide on north star metrics; we face our industry’s dismal track record regarding dealing with uncertainty, and we agree on that product strategies shouldn’t be executed blindly, but inspected and adapted like all the rest.
Lastly, we thank Allan Holub for voicing the obvious: when teamwork becomes the new standard, HR techniques from the Roaring Twenties need to be ditched.
TL; DR: Taylorism & Agile, Kick-Start Self-Organization — Food for Agile Thought #220
Food for Agile Thought’s issue #220—shared with 24,421 peers—asks whether Taylorism is probably less of a villain than often believed; we get back to the agile-industrial complex, and we appreciate a simple introduction on how to kick-start self-organization.
We then learn more about value propositions in niche markets; we can compare our activities as product managers with the results of a recent study, and we listen to a discussion on six critical ingredients for a great product strategy.
Lastly, we consider a heretic thought: might the benefit of team longevity be overrated?
Join the Agile Camp Berlin and experience two energizing days with 200 agile peers focusing on community, sharing, and learning. We will practice games and exercises—from Liberating Structures to paper snowflakes and airplanes to building castles with 50 other folks you have never met in your life. We will share tips & tricks, lessons learned, war stories from the agile trenches, and enjoy the company of 200 like-minded people at a perfect venue for our purpose: the Evangelische Schule Berlin Zentrum, one of twelve organizations that Frédéric Laloux describes in his book “Reinventing Organizations.”
TL; DR: Conflict Fear, Tough Conversations — Food for Agile Thought #219
Food for Agile Thought’s issue #219—shared with 24,328 peers—focuses on how to handle tough conversations and overcome conflict fear. We also appreciate a team-building canvas based on core protocols.
We then educate ourselves on the different stances of the Product Owner role; we give skipping the minimum viable product a second thought, and we embrace one more time the benefits of transparency to build trust.
Lastly, we enjoy a short lesson from the trenches on how holacracy works.
Food for Agile Thought’s issue #218—shared with 24,269 peers—delves into alignment and autonomy at an organizational level; we shed more light on something we all believe in understanding well — the waterfall process —, and we explore the necessary mindset to become a good coach.
We also learn more about an extension to the Lean UX canvas, handling the prioritization of hypotheses; we discover techniques to take agile UX research to the next level, and we applaud a new 2020 Product conference listing.
Lastly, we enjoy a BBC article on the man who brought you timeboxes. Well, sort of.
Food for Agile Thought’s issue #217—shared with 24,172 peers—delves into agile playbooks and the optimal Sprint length; we learn how to convince the finance folks to embrace ‘agile,’ and we figure out how team contracts and alignment maps support to create psychological safety.
We also appreciate the visualization of the path from waterfall to a product team that deserves the name; we get more clarity on product reviews when using dual-track agile, and we are surprised by the range of MVP costs.
Lastly, we enjoy a 5-minute video clip, reminding us of all the madness in our industry.
