TL; DR: Pro Frameworks, Ensuring Excellence — Food for Agile Thought #346
Welcome to the 346th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 35,394 peers. This week, we point to the benefits of frameworks, helping us learn, collaborate, and reduce cognitive load. Also, we explore the idea of starting an agile transformation by splitting off a part of an organization and helping that part become agile first; consequently, we take the stoic perspective on transformations.
Then, we follow Marty Cagan, who adds excellence in the form of a strong product leader to the success recipe of the individual empowered product teams tasked with solving customer problems. Moreover, we address the ‘create customer value’ obsession: Ian Miell claims that ‘many peoples’ work generates value by focussing on things that appear to have no measurable or apparently justifiable customer benefit.’ And we remind ourselves of Goodhart’s Law. (In other words: Why you do not want to become data-driven as a product mensch.)
Finally, we list typical mistakes when measuring success, from vanity metrics to worshipping data. We describe five models to better understand a team’s performance, from Google’s Team Effectiveness Model to the T7 Model of Team Effectiveness, and we share an extensive guide on how to embrace the new hybrid work reality as a facilitator. Lastly, we thank Shane Hastie and Sandy Mamoli for authoring the 2022 edition of the InfoQ Culture & Methods Trends Report.
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🏆 The Tip of the Week
: In Defense of Frameworks (and Process)
John Cutler advocates that ‘frameworks, models, and processes help us learn, collaborate, lighten cognitive load (when appropriate), and pay attention (when appropriate).’
➿ Agile & Scrum
(via InfoQ): Why You Might Need an Island of Agility
John Coleman points out the benefits of starting an agile transformation by splitting off a part of it and helping that part become agile first: ‘Start slowly. Expand carefully. Improve carefully.’
: How Would Stoics View Org Transformation?
Chris Murman takes the stoic perspective on transformations.
and (via InfoQ): InfoQ Culture & Methods Trends Report — March 2022
Better late than never: Shane Hastie and Sandy Mamoli authored the 2022 edition of the report.
🎓 🖥 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Master Training w/ PSM I Certificate — Live Virtual Class: June 20-23, 2022
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🎯 Product
(via Silicon Valley Product Group): Ensuring Excellence
Marty Cagan adds ‘excellence’ in the form of a strong product leader to the success recipe of the individual empowered product teams tasked with solving customer problems.
: Business Value, Soccer Canteens, Engineer Retention, and the Bricklayer Fallacy
Ian Miell addresses the ‘create customer value’ obsession, claiming that ‘many peoples’ work generates value by focussing on things that appear to have no measurable or apparently justifiable customer benefit.’
(via Medium): Why product managers should not be data driven
Jens-Fabian Goetzmann reminds us of Goodhart’s Law.
📖 36 Scrum Stakeholder Anti-Patterns
Learn how individual incentives and outdated organizational structures — fostering personal agendas and local optimization efforts — manifest themselves in Scrum stakeholder anti-patterns that easily impede any agile transformation to a product-led organization.
Read more: 36 Scrum Stakeholder Anti-Patterns.
🛠 Concepts, Tools & Measuring
: Six Common KPI Mistakes to Avoid
Roman Pichler list typical mistakes when measuring success, from vanity metrics to worshipping data.
(via Medium): 5 Models for Team Productivity
Scott Middleton describes five models to better understand a team’s performance, from Google’s Team Effectiveness Model to the T7 Model of Team Effectiveness.
✂️ Cutting Room Floor
(via SessionLab): An honest* guide to planning and facilitating successful hybrid events
Deborah Rim Moiso shares an extensive guide on how to embrace the new work reality as a facilitator.
📅 Scrum Training & Event Schedule
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📺 Join 3,900-plus Agile Peers on Youtube
Now available on the Age-of-Product Youtube channel to improve learning:
- 🆕 Hands-on Agile #40: The Best Team Ever with David Burkus.
- 🆕 Hands-on Agile #38: The Product Owner with Roman Pichler.
- Agile Camp Berlin 2021: The Power and Pains of Autonomy with Jimmy Janlén.
- Hands-on Agile #31: The Zones of Value Framework with Valerio Zanini & Zeina Zeitouni.
- 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.
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