TL; DR: Product Sprawl, Premature Convergence — Food for Agile Thought #321
Welcome to the 321st edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 33,718 peers. This week, we look under the hood of many presumably well-planned products only to discover product sprawl. Also, we point to the fact that the term ‘Agile Coach’ covers a whole family of roles, and we share results of a study that sheds new light on team autonomy: Teams should choose either teammates or ideas but not both.
We then explain what happens when a team decides on a direction or tactic too early, and we compare the two different concepts of product-led and engineering-led organizations to create value. Moreover, we listen to Melissa Perri talking to David Bland, covering how to identify experiment-worthy assumptions, deal with slow feedback, and generally walk the (experiments) walk. Finally, we provide a practical introduction to the preferred discovery and alignment tool to help people get on the same page.
Lastly, we share lessons learned from Redgate Software’s deliberate reteaming process and the results from a survey of ‘100 industry participants on their perception of the benefits and challenges of adopting the SAFe framework.’
Did you miss the previous Food for Agile Thought’s issue #320?
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🏆 The Tip of the Week
: Product Sprawl
Rich Mironov reflects on the contrast between the shiny well-planning appearance of many products that — under the hood — somewhat resemble a ‘jumble of mismatched pieces and arcane product history and incomplete testing and randomness.’
➿ Agile & Scrum
(via InfoQ): Agile Coaches, Agile Guides and Other Family Members
Allan Kelly urges us to accept that the term ‘Agile Coach’ covers a whole family of roles. Recognizing the differences would serve teams and organizations better.
(via Harvard Business Review): When Autonomy Helps Team Performance — and When It Doesn’t
Viktoria Boss, Linus Dahlander, Christoph Ihl, and Rajshri Jayaraman share results of a study that sheds new light on team autonomy: Teams should choose either teammates or ideas but not both.
(via InfoQ): Lessons Learned from Self-Selection Reteaming at Redgate
Chris Smith shares lessons learned from Redgate Software’s deliberate reteaming process.
(via Agile Alliance): Benefits and Challenges of Adopting SAFe – An Empirical Survey
Putta Abheeshta and colleagues share results from a survey of ‘100 industry participants on their perception of the benefits and challenges of adopting the SAFe framework.’
🎓 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Advanced Professional Scrum Master Online Training w/ PSM II Certificate — January 25-28, 2022
Discover Scrum’s four success principles in this guaranteed official Scrum.org Professional Scrum Master training class, leading to and including the industry-recognized PSM II certification. The training is designed as a live virtual class and will be offered in English.
Enjoy the benefits of an immersive class of four sessions with like-minded agile peers from 09:00 – 13:00 o’clock CET. I also host pre- and post-class sessions to maximize your learning experience and prepare for the PSM II certification.
Learn more: 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Advanced Professional Scrum Master Online Training w/ PSM II Certificate — January 25-28, 2022.
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🎯 Product
: Premature Convergence
John Cutler explains what happens when a team decides on a direction or tactic too early.
(via Aha! Blog): The Product-Led Organization vs. the Engineering-Led Organization
Brian de Haaff compares the two different concepts of product-led and engineering-led organizations to create value.
and (via Produx Labs): Episode 44: Testing Your Ideas with David Bland
Melissa Perri talks to David Bland, covering how to identify experiment-worthy assumptions, deal with slow feedback, and generally walk the (experiments) walk.📺 Daniel Stillman: Designing Powerful Questions — Hands-on Agile 35
Powerful Conversations are the environment that drives change. Learn from Daniel Stillman how designing powerful questions helps you coach, create, connect, and lead from the 35th Hands-on Agile meetup of October 5, 2021.
Learn more: 📺 Daniel Stillman: Designing Powerful Questions to help you Coach, Create, Connect and Lead — Hands-on Agile 35.
🛠 Tools & Measuring
: OKRs at Scale
Jeff Gothelf shares his thoughts on moving OKR from the team to a higher level, thus aligning teams to achieve a common goal.
(via XPLANE): The Empathy Map: A Human-Centered Tool for Understanding How Your Audience Thinks
Tim May provides a practical introduction to the preferred discovery and alignment tool to help people get on the same page.
📅 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 #35: Designing Powerful Questions to help you Coach & Create with Daniel Stillman.
- 🆕 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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