Food for Agile Thought’s issue #214—shared with 23,916 peers—delves into Scrum agility; we follow a notion for time-based estimates, and we learn more about similarities and differences between Cynefin and the Stacey matrix.
We also consider the suggestion to skip standups as those are supposedly the worst breed of time-wasting status update meetings; we appreciate an infographic on output, outcome, and impact, and follow AirBnB to Cuba.
Lastly, we applaud an engineer for sharing his take on the role of the Product Owner.
Did you miss last week’s Food for Agile Thought’s issue #213?
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🏆 The Essential Read: Scrum Agility
: 📺 📖 Why ‘Scrum’ Isn’t Making Your Company Very Agile
Michael James shares his observations on how misconceptions about the Product Owner role harm your organization, and what to do about it in an outstanding animation.
Agile & Scrum
: Yes, You Should Estimate Software Projects
Gergely Orosz advocates for doing time-based estimates instead of estimating complexity with story points.
(via Cognitive Edge): Separated by a common language?
Dave Snowden elaborates on the similarities and differences between Cynefin and the Stacey matrix.
: Why Standups are Useless and How to Run Great Product Team Meetings
Andy Johns believes that the worst breed of time-wasting status update meetings is the standup popularized in ‘agile methodology.’
📅 Professional Scrum Master Training PSM I — Berlin, November 27-28, 2019
Join your peers for this hands-on Scrum Master training, including up to two attempts at the Professional Scrum Master® I certification by Scrum.org. Learn everything about empiricism, self-organization & the ‘Definition of Done’ in two energizing days in Berlin, Nov 27-28, 2019.
Learn more: 📅 Professional Scrum Master Training PSM I — Berlin, November 27-28, 2019.
Product & Lean
(via Crisp): Output vs Outcome vs Impact
Christophe Achouiantz shares a useful infographic defining the terms that product folks often use confusingly.
(via First Round Capital): The Power of the Elastic Product Team — Airbnb’s First PM on How to Build Your Own
Jonathan Golden shares his experience with a flexible, cross-functional team that paved AirBnB’s road to Cuba.
(via Medium): Advice to Product Owners from a Developer
Christopher Laine lists all the things that a PO is not supposed to be—from an engineer’s perspective.
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📅 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 February 3, 2026 | Guaranteed: Hands-on Agile #71: A3 Framework — Assist, Automate, Avoid — Let’s Build a Playbook! (English; Live Virtual Meetup) | Meetup | FREE |
| 🖥 💯 🇩🇪 February 10-11, 2026 | Guaranteed: Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) | Live Virtual Class | €1,299 incl. 19% VAT |
| 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 February 19, 2026 | Guaranteed: Hands-on Agile #72: Become Your Organization's AI Champion: A Crowdsourced Playbook (English; Live Virtual Meetup) | Meetup | FREE |
| 🖥 🇬🇧 March 10-11, 2026 | Professional Scrum Master—Advanced Training (PSM II; English; Live Virtual Class) | Live Virtual Class | €1,299 incl. 19% VAT |
| 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 March 19 to April 16, 2026 | Guaranteed: AI4Agile BootCamp #6 (English; Live Virtual Cohort) | Live Virtual Cohort | €499 incl. 19% VAT |
| 🖥 🇩🇪 March 24-25, 2026 | Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) | Live Virtual Class | €1,299 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 1,725-plus Agile Peers on Youtube
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