TL; DR: Useful Agile Metrics — Food for Agile Thought #361
Welcome to the 361st edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 35,942 peers. This week, we enjoy an Agile 2022 workshop, where Doc Norton deep-dives into the tricky issue of useful agile metrics, from the problematic ones, like velocity, to gaming metrics to selecting metrics that support your team. Also, we dissect contributing factors to successful agile transformations while pointing at what to avoid, from cargo-cultism to HyperScrum-dementalism to agile scapegoatism, and delve into the rationale of higher purpose goals, from motivating people to driving autonomy. Finally, did you know that the fourth element of Scrum’s empiricism—beyond transparency, inspection, and adaptation—is hiding in plain sight in a sentence on Scrum Values?
Then, we learn from Lenny Rachitsky how to best proceed in becoming the stakeholder whisperer, while Jon Moore and Marty Cagan sketch necessary changes in how you build products when transforming to become a strong, product-led company. Moreover, John Cutler reflects on the “tension between your go-to-market (GTM) and product teams as you scale,” resulting in more complexity, for example, product debt. By the way, there is also an interview with John by Jason Knight.
Finally, we listen to John Drogosz pitching the advantages of value stream mapping for cross-functional teams to improve their way of working and suggest ten steps to gain any basic industry understanding, from diagrams to glossaries to thought leaders and conferences. Moreover, Rita McGrath elaborates on Kodak’s demise and what the halo effect has to do with it. Think printers from the company that invented digital photography.
Did you miss the previous Food for Agile Thought’s issue 360?
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🏆 The Tip of the Week: Useful Agile Metrics
(via Agile Alliance): 📺 Useful Metrics for Agile Teams
In this recording from an Agile 2022 workshop, Doc Norton deep-dives into the tricky issue of metrics, from the problematic ones, like velocity, to gaming metrics to selecting valuable metrics to help your team understand whether it is progressing toward the desired outcome. (Membership required.)
➿ Agile & Scrum
(via 280 Group): How to Achieve a Successful Agile Transformation
Dean Peters dissects contributing factors to successful agile transformations while pointing at what to avoid, from cargo-cultism to HyperScrum-dementalism to agile scapegoatism. (You gotta love the coinings.)
: Level 1 Goals, Purpose and Meaning
Allan Kelly delves into the rationale of higher purpose goals, from motivating people to driving autonomy.
(via Dropbox): Leading Complexity: Some Thoughts about the Spotify Model
“I tried a new format for today's Leading Complexity keynote. Did the remote talk on a live Miro board with participants posting questions and insights on the fly. Had a rough structure and pics prepared, but could hop around rather than being railroaded by predefined slides. Worked really well!”
🎓 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Master Training w/ PSM I Certificate — Live Virtual Class: October 4-5, 2022
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Learn more: 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Master Training w/ PSM I Certificate — Live Virtual Class: October 4-5, 2022.
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🎯 Product
: How to get better at influence
Lenny Rachitsky suggests how to best proceed as a product manager in becoming the stakeholder whisperer.
(via Silicon Valley Product Group): Changing How You Build
In this first article of a series, Jon Moore and Marty Cagan sketch necessary changes in how you build products when transforming to become a strong, product-led company.
: Product GTM Fitness
John Cutler reflects on the “tension between your go-to-market (GTM) and product teams as you scale,” resulting in more complexity, for example, product debt.
and : 🎙 Survive the Feature Factory by Applying Product Thinking to Product Thinking (with John Cutler, Product Evangelist & Coach @ Amplitude)
In this podcast, Jason Knight interviews John Cutler, a “systems overthinker” and “on second thoughts” leader.
📯 The Three — Wait: Four — Elements of Empiricism
In its theory section, the Scrum Guide refers to the three elements of empiricism: transparency, inspection, and adaptation. However, a fourth element, foundational to enable empiricism, is hidden in a sentence on Scrum Values. Read on and learn more about the complete picture of Scrum’s empiricism.
Read now: The Three — Wait: Four — Elements of Empiricism.
🛠 Concepts, Tools & Measuring
(via Lean Enterprise Institute): Value Stream Mapping in Product Development
John Drogosz pitches the advantages of value stream mapping for cross-functional teams to improve their way of working.
: Mapping the Unknown – The Ten Steps to Map Any Industry
Steve Blank suggests ten steps to gain any basic industry understanding, from diagrams to glossaries to thought leaders and conferences.
🎶 Encore
: When Business Cases Teach the Wrong Lessons
Rita McGrath elaborates on Kodak’s demise and what the halo effect has to do with it. Think printers.
📅 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:
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📺 Join 4,000-plus Agile Peers on Youtube
Now available on the Age-of-Product Youtube channel to improve learning, for example, about UX & Engineering:
- 🆕 Hands-on Agile 43: Outcome-Based Product Planning with Jeff Gothelf.
- Hands-on Agile 42: Lean Roadmapping and OKRs with Janna Bastow.
- 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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