Food for Agile Thought #217: Agile Playbooks, Sprint Length, Working w/ Finance, Journey to Product Teams

Food for Agile Thought’s issue #217—shared with 24,172 peers—delves into agile playbooks and the optimal Sprint length; we learn how to convince the finance folks to embrace ‘agile,’ and we figure out how team contracts and alignment maps support to create psychological safety.

We also appreciate the visualization of the path from waterfall to a product team that deserves the name; we get more clarity on product reviews when using dual-track agile, and we are surprised by the range of MVP costs.

Lastly, we enjoy a 5-minute video clip, reminding us of all the madness in our industry.

Did you miss last week’s Food for Agile Thought’s issue #216?

Food for Agile Thought #217: Agile Playbooks, Sprint Length, Working w/ Finance, Journey to Product Teams

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Scrum Guide 2020 — Download the new edition of the Scrum Guide Reordered — Age-of-Product.com

🏆 The Essential Post: Agile Playbooks

Jonathan Smart (via #DOES19 Las Vegas): Playbook for Your [DevOps | Agile | Digital | Cloud] Transformation. (Including a certificate.)

Jonathan Smart manages to stuff practically all ‘agile’ buzzwords possible into a 5-minute video. Bonus: a certificate.

Agile & Scrum

Mark Levison: Choosing a Scrum Sprint Length – Shorter Beats Longer

Mark Levison analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of different Sprint lengths.

Patrick Tickle (via SD Times): Agile costing and capitalization – How to work with finance to scale Agile

Patrick Tickle points at agile development’s uncertain accounting impacts and unfamiliar capitalization rules and what it takes to convince the finance people to give ‘Agile’ a try.

Stefano Mastrogiacomo (via Strategyzer): Psychological Safety: A Prerequisite For High Performing Teams

Stefano Mastrogiacomo suggests a way to facilitate the creation of trust among team members supported by team contracts and a team alignment map.

📅 One Last Seat Available: Professional Scrum Master Training PSM I — Berlin, November 27-28, 2019

Join your peers for this hands-on Scrum Master training, including up to two attempts at the Professional Scrum Master® I certification by Scrum.org. Learn everything about empiricism, self-organization & the ‘Definition of Done’ in two energizing days in Berlin, Nov 27-28, 2019.

📅 Professional Scrum Master Training PSM I — Berlin, November 27-28, 2019

Learn more: 📅 Professional Scrum Master Training PSM I — Berlin, November 27-28, 2019.

Product & Lean

John Cutler (via Amplitude): Journey to Product Teams (Infographic)

John Cutler shares an infographic detailing the path from a team working in the waterfall model to a product team.

Jeff Patton: Dual-track Stakeholder Review

Jeff Patton shares his approach to the product review within dual-track Scrum or XP by separating the stakeholders from the team.

Kimberlee Meier (via CXL): How Much Do SaaS Companies Spend on Their MVPs?

Kimberlee Meier provides data on the costs of 14 different minimum viable products of SaaS companies—be surprised by the range.

📯 Agile Movers & Shakers (1): Viktor Cessan

Welcome to the Agile Movers & Shakers interview series. Today’s guest is Viktor Cessan. Viktor has dedicated his career to helping companies consciously design organizations that keep motivation, engagement, and performance levels high. In the 14 years since he started working with Agile methodologies, he has helped companies such as Spotify, H&M, King, Avanza Bank, Telenor, and Sony Ericsson work more effectively.

The Agile Movers & Shakers Interview with Viktor Cessan — Age-of-Product.com

Read more: Agile Movers & Shakers (1): Viktor Cessan.

📅 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:

Date Class and Language City Price
🖥 🇩🇪 January 28-31, 2025 Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Feburary 4-6, 2025 GUARANTEED: Hands-on Agile 2025: From Concept-Based to Context-Based Agility (English) Live Virtual Conference FREE
🖥 🇬🇧 February 12-13, 2025 Professional Scrum Master Advanced Training (PSM II; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 February 27, 2025 GUARANTEED: Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills Class (PSFS; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €749 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 March 6-April3, 2025 GUARANTEED: Align, Discover, Deliver: The Product Backlog Management Cohort Class (English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Cohort €499 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 🇩🇪 March 11-12, 2025 Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 🇬🇧 March 26-27, 2025 Professional Scrum Master Advanced Training (PSM II; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 🇩🇪 April 10, 2025 Professional Product Discovery and Validation Class (PPDV; German; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €749 incl. 19% VAT
Professional Scrum Training by PST Stefan Wolpers, Berlin  Product People

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.


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🗞️ Last Week’s Food for Agile Thought Edition

Read more: Food for Agile Thought #216: Product-Market Fit, Agile Contracts, Accelerating User Research, Daily Scrum Anti-Patterns.

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