TL; DR: From Tech Debt to Tech Health — Food for Agile Thought #397
Welcome to the 397th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 47,417 peers.This week, we demystify technical debt, offering a tangible way to achieve tech health instead. Moreover, according to Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk’s actions at Twitter prompted industry reflection on the potential benefits of “firing hordes of middle managers,” reports Yahoo Finance. Also, Ken Norton describes Stephen Karpman’s model from the 1960s, identifying three roles people tend to assume when reacting to their environment, and we learn about fixing agile transformations in an interview with Peter Lam.
Then, Peter Yang discusses effective experimentation with Eric Metelka from Eppo, and we delve into how to build in public without revealing too much. In an epic article, Marty Cagan explores how generative AI could reshape product development, stressing the importance of embracing disruptive technologies. Also, we explore inviting users to participate directly in UX workshops and analyze into the “free to paid” conversion, often considered an indicator of business opportunities and product appeal.
Finally, Eric Chima and John Nevins Most advocate that most teams can benefit from eliminating estimations, supposedly an easy win in Agile. Moreover, we address that concerns rise over AI training on AI-created content instead of human-generated content and examine why some content engrosses us and others fail to pique our interest. We are closing this week’s edition with a simple question: How do you know your team’s Scrum Master is successful?
🏅 The most popular discussion on LinkedIn this week was: Introducing: The #MinimumViableLibrary — #ProductOwner edition!
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🏆 The Tip of the Week: Tech Health
(via Medium): From Technical Debt to Technical Health with HealthCheck
In this piece, Mikael Vesavuori demystifies technical debt, offering a tangible way to manage it. Readers will grasp the importance of repaying this debt, understanding its risks and costs, and will be equipped with a 6-step strategy to tackle it effectively.
🍋 The Lemon of the Week
We are lemon-free this week.
➿ Agile & Scrum
(via Yahoo Finance): Mark Zuckerberg credits Elon Musk with kicking off the tech trend of firing middle managers when other CEOs were ‘a little shy’
According to Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk’s actions at Twitter prompted industry reflection on the potential benefits of “firing hordes of middle managers,” Steve Mollman reports. While many considered these changes beneficial, some may have hesitated to implement them due to shyness or apprehension.
: The Drama Triangle
Continuing his leadership series, Ken Norton describes Stephen Karpman’s model from the 1960s, identifying three roles—termed ‘The Drama Triangle’—that people tend to assume when reacting to their environment.
: 🎙 Working with executives
Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson discuss with Peter Lam about fixing agile transformations, the debate on centralized agile approaches, the disconnection between executives and workers, and issues related to bureaucracy and functional silos.
🎓 🖥 💯 🇩🇪 Professional Scrum Master Schulung mit PSM I Zertifikat — 21. und 22. Juni 2023
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🎯 Product
: How to Run Experiments That Don't Suck
Peter Yang discusses effective experimentation with Eric Metelka from Eppo, exploring optimal times for experiments, strategies for success, and introducing a culture of experimentation into your organization.
: How to Build in Public Without Revealing Too Much
Arvid Kahl believes that fear of oversharing hinders entrepreneurs from ‘Building in Public.’ However, sharing your journey without divulging your business secrets is possible, thereby gaining traction without benefiting competitors.
(via Silicon Valley Product Group): Preparing For The Future
Marty Cagan explores how generative AI could reshape product development, stressing the importance of embracing disruptive technologies. It highlights how the Internet revolutionized product creation methods, leading to Agile and Lean Startup techniques, and asks how generative AI might further impact this field.
📯 Scrum Master Success Indicators — How Do You Compare?
How do you know your team’s Scrum Master is successful? I identified ten Scrum Master success indicators from a team perspective, from self-sufficiency to delivering valuable Increments to embracing self-management. How Do You Compare?
Learn more: Scrum Master Success Indicators — How Do You Compare?
🛠 Concepts, Tools & Measuring
(via NYT Open): Estimation Isn’t for Everyone
Eric Chima and John Nevins advocate that most teams can benefit from eliminating estimations—an easy win in Agile: Try it, adjust as needed, and observe the likely relief from your engineers when the meeting doesn't reappear on the calendar.
(via Nielsen Norman Group): How and Why to Include Users in UX Workshops
Matt Brown explores inviting users to participate directly in UX workshops, which can vastly improve the workshop output, and explains how to do so.
: Good "Free to Paid" Metrics for B2C / B2B / Enterprise
Leah Tharin delves into the "free to paid" conversion, often considered an indicator of business opportunities and product appeal. However, the reality of their objectivity is more complex.
🎶 Encore
: You Will Find This Interesting
David Pinsof examines why some content engrosses us, and others fail to pique our interest. He probes the allure that makes one read, the strange anticipation of finding value in words, even when it's not evident. So, he asks, what is it that makes content truly compelling?
(via Venturebeat): The AI feedback loop: Researchers warn of ‘model collapse’ as AI trains on AI-generated content
As generative AI like OpenAI's ChatGPT proliferates, concerns rise over AI training on AI-created content instead of human-generated content. Researchers warn this could cause irreversible defects in AI models, posing a potential risk to the future of generative AI.
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📺 Join 5,000-plus Agile Peers on Youtube
Now available on the Age-of-Product Youtube channel to improve learning, for example, about how to give constructive feedback:
- Hands-on Agile EXTRA: How Elon Musk Would Run YOUR Business with Joe Justice.
- Hands-on Agile 50: The Product Community of Practice with Petra Wille.
- Hands-on Agile 46: The Agile Fluency Model ® with Diana Larsen.
- 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 38: The Product Owner with Roman Pichler.
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Help your team to explore tech health by pointing them to the free Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide: