TL; DR: Self-Organization Does Not Work, Tools Don’t Matter—Food for Agile Thought #282
Welcome to the 282nd edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 30,507 peers. This week, we learn why self-organization does not work when your goal is creating a high-performance organization. We receive a free ebook on how to shift an organization’s focus from projects to products, and we ask: How much lean is in today’s “Agile?”
We then figure out how to breathe life into your Product (Development) Backlog by removing all ideas from it; we get advice on dealing with the executor, the manager, and the visionary among founders, and we address product managers’ obsession with tools.
Lastly, we discuss pragmatic, proven, and sometimes counter-intuitive approaches to develop faster.
Did you miss the previous Food for Agile Thought’s issue #281?
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🏆 The Tip of the Week
: Autonomous, Self-Organizing Teams Don’t Work
Michael Sahota believes that autonomous self-organizing teams are damaging for creating a high-performance organization.
➿ Agile & Scrum
: Project to Product Transformation
IT Revolution provides a free ebook on how to shift an organization’s focus from projects to products. The ebook requires creating a free account.
and (via Agile Alliance): How Much Lean is in Today’s “Agile”?
Johanna Rothman and Michael Mahlberg noticed very little lean thinking in many supposedly agile endeavors. What is behind this discovery?
(via InfoQ): Momentum > Urgency and Other Counter-intuitive Principles for Increasing Velocity
Elisabeth Hendrickson discusses pragmatic, proven, and sometimes counter-intuitive approaches to develop faster.
🎓 🖥 🇬🇧 Professional Agile Leadership Essentials Training w/ PAL-E Certificate — March 30-31, 2021
This Professional Agile Leadership ™ Essentials class is a 2-day official Scrum.org training, including up to two attempts to accomplish the industry-acknowledged PAL-E certification. The training is designed as a live virtual class from 9:00 am to 5:45 pm CET and will be offered in English.
Learn more: 📅 🖥 🇬🇧 Professional Agile Leadership Essentials Training w/ PAL-E Certificate — March 30-31, 2021.
🎯 Product
(via ProdPad): 3 Ways to Introduce an Agile Product Development Process
Liz Love details how to breathe life into your Product (Development) Backlog by removing all ideas from it—your Product Backlog is about delivering, not discovery or ideation.
: Practical Advice for Product Managers Working With Early Stage Startup Founders.
Shaw Li shares hands-on advice on dealing with the executor, the manager, and the visionary among founders. (The know-it-all is missing, though.)
: Requirements Tree: Focusing your efforts on the highest value work
Mario Moreira suggests visualizing various requirements with a tree-shape structure to create a shared understanding among team members.
🛠 Tools & Measuring
: The Tools Don't Matter
Ken Norton addresses product managers’ obsession with tools, noting that tools are overrated compared to other success factors.
📖 🔈 Download the Audiobook of the Scrum Guide 2020 for Free
👉 Learn more: 📖 🔈 Download the Audiobook of the Scrum Guide 2020 for Free.
📅 Scrum Training & Event Schedule
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📺 Join 2,700-plus Agile Peers on Youtube
Now available on the Age-of-Product Youtube channel:
- 🆕 Scrum Guide 2020: Eight Remarkable Changes — Hands-on Agile #28.
- Remote Agile (1) Replay: Practices and Tools for Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, and Product Owners.
- Scrum Sprint Retrospective Anti-Patterns.
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