Category: Agile Transition

Eric Ries’ ‘Incorruptible’ Solved the Later Problem. AI Builders Have an Earlier One.

by Stefan Wolpers |  Featured Agile TransitionBooks

TL; DR: The Problem of AI Builders

Eric Ries’ new book ‘Incorruptible’ solves a problem most readers will not face for years: protecting a valuable organization from capture once it succeeds. The builders that AI is creating hit an earlier issue: Building software used to force the question of whether it was worth building. That gate has largely collapsed. Eric Ries asks how mission survives success; we, the normals, how judgment survives abundance.

Thesis: Ries’s Incorruptible solves a later problem, protecting a valuable organization from capture; cheap building created an earlier one, where judgment about what is worth building is the only gate left. That is the problem this article addresses.

Building in the Age of AI: What Eric Ries' New Book Incorruptible Will Not Tell AI Builders — Age-of-Product.com
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“Write As Little Code As Possible” Was Always the Point. AI Just Made It Urgent.

by Stefan Wolpers |  Agile and ScrumAgile Transition

TL;DR: Write As Little Code As Possible and Agentic Coding

Agentic coding tools have collapsed the friction of producing plausible software; output is no longer an issue. However, they have not collapsed the friction of knowing what is worth building, whether it fits the system, or whether users will change their behavior because of it, the much-desired outcome. When generating plausible code becomes cheap, every hour spent building the wrong thing becomes waste that can now be produced at scale. Discovery, validation, product judgment, and verification are what stand between your team and creating expensive waste at high-speed.

Thesis: AI made generating code cheap enough that weak product judgment can now scale. That is the problem this article addresses.

Write As Little Code As Possible Was Always the Point. AI Just Made It Urgent: Avoid Creating Waste at Scale — Age-of-Product.com
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Dear Micromanager: Your Distrust Has a Job; It’s Just Not the One You’re Doing

by Stefan Wolpers |  Agile and ScrumAgile Transition

TL;DR: Why A Former Micromanager Will Make AI Adoption Work

Twenty years of agile coaching failed to fix the micromanager who meddles with every draft, every meeting, every decision. This article shows where their distrust stops damaging teams and starts producing the verification work AI adoption actually needs. Welcome the Verification Architect!

Your Distrust Has a Job; It's Just Not the One You're Doing: Why A Former Micromanager Will Make AI Adoption Work - Age-of-Product.com
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The Scrum-to-POM Transition Is a Role Repositioning Event

by Stefan Wolpers |  Agile and ScrumAgile Transition

TL; DR: Scrum-to-POM Is Not About Frameworks

Two weeks ago, I asked my audience whether they wanted a short course on moving from Scrum to a Product Operating Model, and 22 answered. That was not the Scrum-to-POM dataset I hoped for, but it was valuable for the conversations. Interestingly, one pattern ran through more than a quarter of the responses: The people writing back were not asking about transformation practices or operating models. They were asking what was about to happen to their jobs.

Let me paraphrase some of their replies: One Agile Coach wrote that their role had already been made redundant, and the internal training their employer offered was not enough. Another asked a blunt question: “What will happen to my role?” A third described leadership, saying they wanted this shift, while their behavior remained inconsistent. A fourth reported confusion about what a product coach actually is. A fifth dismissed the whole discourse as high-level fluff, transformational buzzwords, zero accountability, and vague systems thinking with no teeth.

My takeaway: While the organizational design debate appears to be the surface, the ongoing role repositioning is what the people on the ground are living through.

The Scrum-to-POM Transition Is a Role Repositioning Event; Many Practitioners Haven’t Yet Noticed — Age-of-Product.com
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10 Scrum Master Interview Questions for the AI Era

by Stefan Wolpers |  Agile and ScrumAgile Transition

TL; DR: AI & Scrum Master Interview Questions

AI tools are reshaping how Scrum Teams work, and Scrum Masters who cannot coach their teams through this shift are not ready for 2026. This article presents ten Scrum Master interview questions that test whether a candidate can facilitate AI adoption without losing self-management. As usual, each question includes guidance on answers and red flags. The questions are drawn from the seventh edition of the 97 Scrum Master Interview Questions guide.

10 Scrum Master Interview Questions for the AI Era — Age-of-Product.com
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Stop Telling Professionals How to Do Their Job — Commander’s Intent at Work

by Stefan Wolpers |  Agile and ScrumAgile Transition

TL; DR: Commander’s Intent Skill

Most micromanagement is not a control problem; it is a clarity failure in disguise. This article introduces Commander’s Intent: a five-part briefing model that replaces prescriptive instructions with shared purpose, hard constraints, and room to adapt.

Bonus: As a Claude user, you can download the Commander’s Intent1 Skill.

Stop Telling Professionals How to Do Their Job — Commander’s Intent at Work: From agile Teams to AI Agent Skills — Age-of-Product.com
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