Food for Agile Thought’s issue #170—shared with 20,108 peers—focuses on agile transformation lessons. We learn that becoming ‘agile’ is one but not the only answer, that agile teams are no causation for business agility, and that the 10,000-hour rule applies to agile practitioners, too.
We also remind ourselves that user research is always a team sport, that NPS detractors are not necessarily bad-mouthing your product, and why there is a difference between cooperation and collaboration.
Lastly, we go back to Scrum basics and revisit the idea of delivering a ‘done’ product increment every single Sprint—without making excuses.
Have a great week!
Did you miss last week’s Food for Agile Thought’s issue #169?
🏆 The Essential Read
and (via InfoQ): 🎙 Why Agile is Not Always the Answer
In this short podcast, Dom Price claims that ‘agile’ is an answer to teams working together effectively, but it is not the only answer. Foremost, leaders need to be the custodians of their people.
Agile Transformation Lessons & Scrum
(via Scrum.org): Why Scrum requires completely “Done” software every Sprint
Christiaan Verwijs reflects on Scrum’s essential rule: create “Done” software every Sprint.
(via InfoQ): Great Scrum Masters Are Grown, Not Born
Lyssa Adkins points at a simple truth: great Scrum Masters are grown, not born. Even people who have a “native wiring” for that job require skills development.
: curiosity, creativity, complexity, & chaos
Harold Jarche reflects in this article on the subtle differences between cooperation and collaboration.
📯 Speaking Truth to Power — When the System Strikes Back
Do you need an emergency fund as a change agent—whether you are acting as Scrum Master, Product Owner or agile coach—because conflict is inevitable, but change is not?
In my experience, speaking truth to power, pointing at the emperor’s new clothes and the reality in the trenches, is necessary a trait for every change agent — including Scrum Masters and agile coaches — in organizations that lack strong leadership.
Learn more, how this form of professional honesty can backfire when the incumbents, privileged by the existing system, strike back: Speaking Truth to Power.
Product & Lean
(via ACE! Conference): 📺 Why Agile Teams Have Nothing to Do With Business Agility
Klaus Leopold discusses an agile transformation where approximately 600 people were involved.
: User research is a team sport
Will Myddelton points at a no-brainer that nevertheless is regularly ignored by many product development teams.
(via Measuring Usability): Do Detractors Really Say Bad Things about a Company?
Jeff Sauro asks whether the NPS scoring—given its popularity as a success metric—is divorced from reality?
📺 Join 950-plus Agile Peers on Youtube
Now available on the Age-of-Product Youtube channel:
- 🛑 Scrum Master Anti-Patterns,
- Scrum Sprint Anti-Patterns,
- Agile Maturity and Agility Assessment: Is Agile a Fad or Trend?
✋ Do Not Miss Out: Join the 4,300-plus Strong ‘Hands-on Agile’ Slack Community
I invite you to join the “Hands-on Agile” Slack Community and enjoy the benefits of a fast-growing, vibrant community of agile practitioners from around the world.
If you like to join all you have to do now is provide your credentials via this Google form, and I will sign you up. By the way, it’s free.
🗞️ Last Week’s Food for Agile Thought Edition
Read more: Food for Agile Thought #169: Agile Trust, Alignment, Disagree and Commit, Customer Development.