Food for Agile Thought #251: Software Factory Syndrome, Product Discovery, Contemporary Product Leadership, Future Press Release 2.0

TL; DR: Software Factory Syndrome, Product Discovery — Food for Agile Thought #251

Welcome to the 251st edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 26,781 peers. This week, we analyze the software factory syndrome; we apply Jocko Willink’s leadership principles to writing software, and we point at the elephant in the #noestimates room.

We then follow a CEO’s take on the importance of empowerment of product teams; we check the approach of a cross-functional team’s real-world collaboration model, and we learn about the next version of the future press release concept for (product) risk mitigation.

Lastly, we thank Jeff Patton for providing another helpful free ebook on how to figure out what is worth building. Spoiler alert: 85-plus percent of all startups get this wrong.

Food for Agile Thought #251: Software Factory Syndrome, Product Discovery, Contemporary Product Leadership, Future Press Release 2.0 — Age-of-Product.com

Did you miss last week’s Food for Agile Thought’s issue #250?

🗞 Do you want to get this article in your inbox in the future? You can sign up here and join 29k other subscribers.

Scrum Guide 2020 — Download the new edition of the Scrum Guide Reordered — Age-of-Product.com

🏆 The Tip of the Week

Jeff Patton: 📖 Product Discovery Recipes

Jeff Patton shares a free 20-page PDF on how to figure out what is worth building.

Remote Agile Survey — Let’s Stop Guessing, Join the Study — Age-of-Product.com

Agile, Scrum & the Software Factory Syndrome

Gene Kim: Software Factory to Feature Factory

Douglas Squirrel and Jeffrey Fredrick delve into the Taylorist’s mindset and the resulting unfavorable outcome.

Inger Dickson (via ThoughtWorks): ‘No Estimates’ is not the (only) Answer or: Moving towards Predictability

Inger Dickson points at the obvious: there are stakeholders with questions that need answers.

Payne C. Miller (via The Startup): Extreme Ownership for Software Engineering

Payne C. Miller applies Jocko Willink’s leadership rules to software development.

📅 🖥 💯 🇩🇪 Professional Scrum Master Training PSM I — Online: August 25-28, 2020

This guaranteed Professional Scrum Master training is an official Scrum.org class that leads to and includes the industry-recognized PSM I certification. The training is designed as a live virtual class of 4 hours per day and will be offered in German.

📅 🖥 💯 🇩🇪 Professional Scrum Master Training PSM I — Online: August 25-28, 2020 — Berlin Product People GmbH

Learn more: 📅 🖥 💯 🇩🇪 Professional Scrum Master Live Virtual Class: August 25-28, 2020.

Product & Lean

Janna Bastow (via ProdPad): Product Leadership: Autonomy, Alignment, and Psychological Safety

Janna Bastow shares her take on contemporary product leadership by empowering teams.

John Cutler: Developer & Designer Collaboration (in the Real World)

John Cutler shares the approach of a real-world collaboration model of a cross-functional team.

Jeff Gothelf (via Medium): Working Backwards: A New Version Of Amazon’s “Press Release” Approach To Plan Customer-Centric Projects

Jeff Gothelf iterates on future press release approach to risk mitigation for product launches.

📯 Speaking Truth to Power 2.0 — Taking A Stand as an Agile Practitioner

Do you need an emergency fund as a change agent—whether you are acting as Scrum Master, Product Owner, or agile coach—because conflict is inevitable, but change is not? Speaking truth to power probably comes at a price.

In my experience, speaking truth to power, pointing at the emperor’s new clothes and the reality in the trenches, is necessary a trait for every change agent — including Scrum Masters and agile coaches — in organizations that lack strong leadership.

Learn more, how this form of professional honesty can backfire when the incumbents, privileged by the existing system, strike back.

Speaking Truth to Power — Taking A Stand as an Agile Practitioner When the System Strikes Back— Age-of-Product.com

Read more: Speaking Truth to Power 2.0 — Taking A Stand as an Agile Practitioner.

📅 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
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 April 2-30, 2024 GUARANTEED: Product Backlog Management Cohort Class (English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €499 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 April 9, 2024 GUARANTEED: Hands-on Agile #60: A Q&A on Dynamic Reteaming with Heidi Helfand (English) Live Virtual Meetup FREE
🖥 💯 🇩🇪 April 10-11, 2024 GUARANTEED: Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 April 23-24, 2024 GUARANTEED: Professional Scrum Master (Advanced) Training (PSM II; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 May 7, 2024 GUARANTEED: Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills Training (PSFS; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €749 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 May 7, 2024 GUARANTEED: Hands-on Agile #61: Toyota Kata Coaching for Agile Teams & Transformations with Fortune Buchholtz (English) Live Virtual Meetup FREE
🖥 🇩🇪 May 14-15, 2024 Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 🇬🇧 May 28-29, 2024 Professional Scrum Master (Advanced) Training (PSM II; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,189 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 June 6, 2024 GUARANTEED: Hands-on Agile #62: From Backlog Manager to Product Manager: From Outputs to Outcomes w/ David Pereira (English) Live Virtual Meetup FREE
🖥 🇩🇪 June 25-26, 2024 Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT

See all upcoming classes here. Professional Scrum Training by PST Stefan Wolpers, Berlin  Product People

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.

Download the Remote Agile Guide for Free — Age-of-Product.com

📺 Join 2,300-plus Agile Peers on Youtube

Now available on the Age-of-Product Youtube channel:

✋ Do Not Miss Out and Learn about Software Factory Syndrome: Join the 7,850-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.

Large scale agile: Join the Hands-on Agile Slack Group

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.

Download the ’Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide’ for Free — Age-of-Product.com

🗞️ Last Week’s Food for Agile Thought Edition

Read more: Food for Agile Thought #250: JTBD Guide, Good Retrospectives, Opportunity Mapping, Always Feature Teams, Right?.

Find this content useful? Share it with your friends!

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.