Food for Agile Thought’s issue #155—shared with 18,683 peers—focuses on effective team building, how agile data can support your storytelling during an agile transition, and why the change agent needs to be ahead of the game at any time.
We also have a look at the silent estimation technique and why it may replace planning poker, and why professional product backlogs have the shape of an iceberg.
Lastly, we ask ourselves: is ‘lean startups’ probably nothing more than a failed ideology, a useless tool if your organization is looking to improve its innovation game?
Have a great week!
🏆 The Essential Read
: Agile 2018: T-minus 10… 9… 8… We have Lift-off!
Angie Doyle and Talia Lancaster share their recipe to lift off (or forming) high-performance teams effectively from Agile 2018.
Agile Data & Scrum
(via Agile Alliance): What's the story about Agile Data
Troy Magennis’ Agile 2018 keynote is about helping people tell essential stories in Agile using data.
(via Medium): The Patient Change Agent
John Cutler urges change agents not to become a part of the problem—and even quit while you’re ahead.
(via Medium): Why I Stopped Using Planning Poker
Kiryl Baranoshnik prefers the silent estimation technique over planning poker—learn why.
🎫 Hands-on Agile 2019 Conference—The Survey Results Are in
We asked 4,500 European subscribers to the Food for Agile Thought newsletter to participate in the Hands-on Agile 2019 Conference survey, and about 350 answered the call:
- 65 percent of the respondents voted for Berlin over London.
- The Hands-on Agile 2019 Conference would be 2-days conference on a Thursday & Friday. (Including a workshop track on Tuesday and Wednesday.)
- The most wanted topics are business agility, “scaling agile,” and coaching techniques including games.
- The price range will likely be between € 250 and € 400 per ticket.
- The majority of respondents preferred a hybrid event with a preselected speaker track as well as a Barcamp-like track.
- Respondents expressed their willingness to support the conference: from spreading the news to volunteering at the venue.
Next step: The next step is the identification of a suitable venue. Once that task is accomplished, we can start talking to sponsors. I will keep you posted via the newsletter.
Read more: Hands-on Agile 2019 Conference — Survey Results Are in: It’s Berlin by 2:1.
Product & Lean
: Agile Product Backlogs Should Be Shaped Like Icebergs
Mike Cohn points at the typical shape of the product backlog if done right—you may want to check yours.
(via Quartz): “The Lean Startup” is an unproductive legend
Luis Perez-Breva believes that the ‘lean startup ideology’ is merely an expensive recipe for remaining an entrepreneur longer, not really for innovating.
: So You Think You're Customer-Driven?
Venkatesh Rao believes that being product-driven is superior to being customer-driven.
📺 Join 625-plus Agile Peers on Youtube
Now available on the Age of Product Youtube channel:
- 🆕 Hands-on Agile Webinar #4 on agile failure patterns 2.0.
- Hands-on Agile Webinar #6 on product owner anti-patterns.
- Hands-on Agile Webinar #5 on sprint planning anti-patterns.
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I invite you to join the “Hands-on Agile” Slack Community and enjoy the benefits of a fast-growing, vibrant community of agile practitioners from around the world.
If you like to join now all you have to do now is provide your credentials via this Google form, and I will sign you up. By the way, it’s free.
🗞️ Last Week’s Food for Agile Thought Edition
Read more: Food for Agile Thought #154: Agile’s Many Faces, BAI Report 2018, Product Discovery, User Testing Engineers.