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Food for Agile Thought #201: Software Nature, Coaching Permission, Safe Spaces, ML Product Management

Food for Agile Thought’s issue #201—shared with 22,612 peers—delves into software nature, we correct some popular misconceptions about Scrum, and we revisit the idea that innovation always includes failure, and that teams should experience it safely.

We also address the conceptual difference of product management for machine learning compared to ‘normal’ product management; we embrace the importance of disrupting ourselves, and we appreciate the Product Backlog ordering quadrant.

Lastly, we learn how to help teams that do not want to be coached.

Did you miss last week’s Food for Agile Thought’s issue #200?

🗞 Do you want to get this article in your inbox in the future? You can sign up here for our weekly ‘Food of Agile Thought newsletter’ and join 29k other subscribers.

🏆 The Essential Read: Software Nature

Mary Poppendieck: Grown-Up Lean: The Nature of Software

Software nature: Mary Poppendieck shares work in progress; a chapter of the forthcoming ‘The International Handbook of Lean Organization,’ by Cambridge University Press.

Agile & Scrum

Viktor Cessan: 🎙 Coaching Teams That Do Not Want To Be Coached

Viktor Cessan shares his secret recipe on how to get an invitation to coach a team without imposing your coaching offer.

Zach Bonaker: Truth, Lies, and Scrum

Zach Bonaker shares ‘some truths of what Scrum is, what it isn’t, and how you can improve as a practitioner.’

Scott Weiner: Why Innovative Agile Teams Need a Safe Space to "Fail"​ and How to Create One

Scott Weiner points at the obvious: if failure speeds up learning so dramatically, how come that organizations are still struggling with embracing the idea that failure is not merely an option, but a necessity for innovation?

📅 Professional Scrum Master Training PSM I + Liberating Structures — Berlin, September 17-19, 2019

This extended PSM class adds a third day to the Professional Scrum Master training that focuses on the application of Liberating Structures to Scrum Events such as the Sprint Retrospective or the Sprint Review to apply the PSM training immediately to practical problems.

Learn more: 📅 Professional Scrum Master Training PSM I + Liberating Structures — Berlin, September 17-19, 2019.

Product & Lean

(via Data Science Blog by Domino): Machine Learning Product Management: Lessons Learned

Ann Spencer shares product management insights and lessons learned from Peter Skomoroch regarding machine learning.

Natasha Wahid (via WiderFunnel): Not running experiments? You're falling behind

Natasha Wahid points at the elephant in the room: how to avoid disruption from the outside when you’re not trying to disrupt yourself?

Willem Vermaak (via Scrum.org): PO Perspective: Team development for the Development Team

Willem Vermaak shares his Product Backlog ordering quadrant, including team development and experimentation.

📅 Scrum Training & Event Schedule

You can secure your seat for Scrum training classes, workshops, and meetups directly by following the corresponding link in the table below:

Date Class and Language City Price
🖥 🇩🇪 January 28-31, 2025 Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Feburary 4-6, 2025 GUARANTEED: Hands-on Agile 2025: From Concept-Based to Context-Based Agility (English) Live Virtual Conference FREE
🖥 🇬🇧 February 12-13, 2025 Professional Scrum Master Advanced Training (PSM II; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 February 27, 2025 GUARANTEED: Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills Class (PSFS; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €749 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 March 6-April3, 2025 GUARANTEED: Align, Discover, Deliver: The Product Backlog Management Cohort Class (English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Cohort €499 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 🇩🇪 March 11-12, 2025 Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 🇬🇧 March 26-27, 2025 Professional Scrum Master Advanced Training (PSM II; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 🇩🇪 April 10, 2025 Professional Product Discovery and Validation Class (PPDV; German; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €749 incl. 19% VAT

You can book your seat for the training directly by following the corresponding links to the ticket shop. If the procurement process of your organization requires a different purchasing process, please contact Berlin Product People GmbH directly.


📺 Join 1,525-plus Agile Peers on Youtube

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✋ Do Not Miss Out and Learn about Software Nature: Join the 5,700-plus Strong ‘Hands-on Agile’ Slack Community

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 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 #200: Fixed Agile, Scrum Master Qualification, What Is Your Product, Uncertainty & Product.

Categories: News
Stefan Wolpers: Stefan, based near Hamburg, Germany, has worked for 18-plus years as a Product Manager, Product Owner, Agile Coach, and Scrum Master. He is a Professional Scrum Trainer (PST) with Scrum.org and the author of Pearson’s “Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide.” He has developed B2C as well as B2B software, for startups as well as corporations, including a former Google subsidiary. Stefan curates the ‘Food for Agile Thought’ newsletter and organizes the Hands-on Agile Conference, a Barcamp for agile practitioners.
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