TL; DR: Development Culture, Levels of Autonomy—Food for Agile Thought #238
Welcome to the 238th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 26,169 peers. This week, we delve into the findings of the latest Software Development Culture and Methods Report—spoiler alert: Liberating Structures are becoming something big—; we differentiate between different development levels of distributed organizations, and we learn that Zoom is safe to use despite all of the fear-mongering.
We also explore the differences between Impact Mapping and various other product frameworks; we embrace the idea that product discovery does not require a product team to be co-located, and we revisit the shift of product planning to customer-centricity.
Lastly, we applaud Dave Dame for sharing with us how he navigates the struggles of Cerebral Palsy.
TL; DR: Work From Home Is Here to Stay, OKRs & COVID-19—Food for Agile Thought #237
Welcome to the 237th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 26,112 peers. This week, we are warming up to the idea that Work From Home is here to stay. Also, we appreciate plenty of resources on how to work as a distributed team, and we consider how to handle OKRs in a time of uncertainty.
We also dive into collaboration & conflict as a product leader; we learn how to discover customers without leaving the office, and we dare to see the crisis as an opportunity, inspecting proven innovation frameworks in the process.
Lastly, we are inspired by a set of questions true servant-leaders ask themselves every day.
TL; DR: Back to Agile Roots, Zoom’s Bad Rep—Food for Agile Thought #236
Welcome to the 236th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 26,031 peers. This week, we explore how the adoption of Agile outside the software industry may have cut the agile roots; we are pleased to learn that Zoom’s CEO got the memo, and we embrace Strategy Knotworking to inspect and adapt our plans in uncertain times.
We also reflect on how to best deal with difficult people; we oppose the idea that tech, design, and product are infighting factions, and we learn more about genuine innovation beyond mercenary engineers implementing stakeholder requirements.
Lastly, we applaud Shane Parrish for pointing at the obvious: that merely excelling at one thing might prove to be tricky in a VUCA world.
TL; DR: Future Remote Work, Cynefin 2020—Food for Agile Thought #235
Welcome to the 235th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 25,918 peers. This week, we delve into future remote work; we check the latest Cynefin iteration, and we go myth-busting regarding #NoEstimates.
We also learn how to improve our career opportunities as a product mensch; John Cutler shows us the way to escape from the fate of a feature factory worker, and we have a look at the dark side of the management consulting complex.
Lastly, we explore how to apply ‘Agile’ to homeschooling; guess what: You cannot turn your family into a Scrum team.
TL; DR: The Distributed Agile Team, Remote Agile—Food for Agile Thought #234
Welcome to the 234th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 25,852 peers. This week, we gain insight into what drives the performance of a distributed agile team; we address disagreement in the time of remote work, and we identify seven ways to improve the level of psychological safety.
We also dare to see an advantage in a downturn; we embrace the magic of conflict for the benefit of the customers, and we download a free, 100-page preview of Mr. Business Model Canvas’ latest book.
Lastly, we explore three key leadership disciplines for distributed agile organizations.
TL; DR: Organizational Silos, Staying Calm—Food for Agile Thought #233
Welcome to the 233rd edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 25,738 peers. This week, we delve into mental models that support decision making in heated situations; we examine how organizational silos emerge and how to take a shot at them, and we embrace a comprehensive analysis of the ‘right’ size of a Scrum team.
We then applaud an epic book-club facilitation guide covering Melissa Perri’s ‘Escaping The Build Trap’ book; we get a better understanding of how we can turn WFH time into quality time from a product management perspective, and we tackle six common product leadership challenges.
Lastly, we take another step towards organizational agility by understanding the importance of multi-functional learning for your team members.
