TL; DR: Underperforming Dev Team, PO vs. PM Madness — Food for Agile Thought #317
Welcome to the 317th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 33,471 peers. This week, we share advice on how to support an underperforming dev team. Moreover, we listen to Richard Kasperowski and Woody Zuill talking about leadership, and we reflect on the agile mantra of failing fast. Could it be wrong?
We then delve into the Product Manager vs. Product Owner debate; we express concern about the rise of the third class beyond makers and managers in product teams: the process people, and we share Teresa Torres’ first version of her 2022 conference list.
Lastly, we explain three simple ways of getting a grip on splitting user stories, and we point out a surprising truth: the number of people needed for an interview study is often smaller than expected.
Did you miss the previous Food for Agile Thought’s issue #316?
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🏆 The Tip of the Week
: Dealing with an Underperforming Development Team
Roman Pichler shares his advice on how ‘product people can deal with an underperforming development team and help the group improve.’
➿ Agile & Scrum
and : 🎙 The Best Leader Is the One Who Leads Without Authority
In this second part of the interview, Richard Kasperowski and Woody Zuill talk about leadership.
: Failure Cultures Reward failure
Chris Matts has come to believe that the agile mantra about failing fast is wrong: the goal or focus of an agile team is not to fail but to create value for customers.
(via Corporate Rebels): Flat Organizations: Companies Do NOT Need Middle Managers
Joost Minnaar dives into the discussion of flat organizations without middle management.
🎓 🖥 💯 🇩🇪 Fortgeschrittenen Professional Scrum Master Online Schulung mit PSM II Zertifikat — 23. bis 26. November 2021
Entdecken Sie die vier Erfolgsprinzipien von Scrum mit dieser offiziellen Scrum.org Fortgeschrittenen Professional Scrum Master-Schulung, welche die branchenweit anerkannten PSM II-Zertifizierung beinhaltet.
Genießen Sie die Vorteile eines intensiven virtuellen Live-Kurses über vier Sessions mit gleichgesinnten agilen Peers in den Morgenstunden von 09:00 – 13:00 Uhr. Die Unterrichtssprache ist Deutsch.
Mehr erfahren: 🖥 🇩🇪 Fortgeschrittenen Professional Scrum Master Online Schulung mit PSM II Zertifikat — 23. bis 26. November 2021.
Kundenstimmen: “Very hands-on class with lots of concrete takeaways to help in real world scenarios. Reinforced practices and highlighted things that helped in passing the PSM II exam but that was merely a bonus as the content of the class is so useful – certifications or not. Stefan Wolpers is an excellent trainer with broad practical and theoretical knowledge on the subject and his classes seem to have very good working atmosphere (this was a second class by him that I have taken).” (Link.)
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🎯 Product
(via UX Collective): The PO vs. PM Madness
Afonso Franco delves into the Product Manager vs. Product Owner debate.
: Process People
Marty Cagan expresses concern about the rise of the third class beyond makers and managers in product teams: the process people.
: 2022 Product Conference List
Teresa Torres shares the first version of her 2022 conference list. Is your favorite conference missing? No worries, just help them extend the list for the benefit of the community.
📯 Maximizing Utilization, Ignoring Slack Time — Making Your Scrum Work #22
There are plenty of failure possibilities with Scrum. Since Scrum is an intentionally incomplete framework with a reasonable yet short “manual,” this effect should not surprise anyone. For example, what if the focus of the organization is on the maximizing utilization of the “workers” of the Scrum teams? What if the organization is still stuck deeply in industrial paradigm thinking, ignoring the benefits of slack time for the creation of value in the field of knowledge work?
Join me and delve into the effects of this outdated management principle in 60 seconds.
Learn more: Maximizing Utilization, Ignoring Slack Time — Making Your Scrum Work #22.
🛠 Tools & Measuring
(via Nielsen Norman Group): How Many Participants for a UX Interview?
Maria Rosala points out a surprising truth: the number of people needed for an interview study is often smaller than expected.
(via Medium): Splitting Stories – Three Easy Ways
Steve Bishop explains three simple ways of getting a grip on splitting user stories.
📅 Scrum Training Classes, Workshops, and Events
See all upcoming classes here.
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 3,000-plus Agile Peers on Youtube
Now available on the Age-of-Product Youtube channel:
- 🆕 Hands-on Agile #34: Core Protocols for Psychological Safety with Richard Kasperowski.
- 🆕 Agile Camp Berlin 2021: Adapt How You Lead for Agile Success with Johanna Rothman.
- Agile Camp Berlin 2021: Linking Strategy to Everyday Work with John Cutler.
- Agile Camp Berlin 2021: Sustainable Agility at the Enterprise Level with Jorgen Hesselberg.
- Agile Camp Berlin 2021: How to Win with Agile Resistant Teams – A Case Study with Scott Weiner.
- Agile Camp Berlin 2021: Increasing the Velocity of Value with Dave West.
- Agile Camp Berlin 2021: Evidence-based Interventions with Viktor Cessan.
- Agile Camp Berlin 2021: Real Cross-functional Teams for Creating real and better Products with Jutta Eckstein and Maryse Meinen.
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