TL; DR: Reimagining Agile — Food for Agile Thought #424
Welcome to the 424th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 49,131 peers. This week, Jim Highsmith, Jon Kern, Heidi Musser, and Sanjiv Augustine introduced the Reimagining Agile Initiative to modernize Agile practices, while our Lemon seeks advice on a ‘Junior Agile Coach summer internship.’ Jakub Svoboda discusses the implementation of Dual Track Agile in his team, and David Rodenas critiques common Agile misconceptions, advocating for a holistic approach. Lastly, Henry Stewart highlights the importance of coaching in self-managing organizations and its role in employee empowerment and growth.
Then, Marty Cagan discusses critical 2024 trends, including the impact of generative AI. Eira Hayward predicts a transformative year for product managers focusing on AI and profitability, and John Cutler explores decision-making frameworks in product roadmapping in a great essay. Moreover, Lenny Rachitsky and Judd Antin discuss evolving user research strategies. Also, Steve Portigal, in a podcast with Jason Knight, highlights the importance and methods of effective user research.
Lastly, Maarten Dalmijn reflects on improving user story creation in agile processes and Shai Yallin’s critique of reliance on estimates in software development. Also, Benjamin Huser-Berta compares Monte Carlo simulations with average-based estimates in agile forecasting and Shane Hastie’s interview with Tim Ottinger on mob programming and AI in software development.
📖 Preorder the Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide book now for delivery in January 2024!
The most popular discussion on LinkedIn last week was: #Agile Isn’t Supposed to Be the Quick Fix; It Is Freaky #Hard!
Did you miss the previous Food for Agile Thought’s issue 423?
🎓 Join Stefan in one of his upcoming Professional Scrum training classes!
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Join the masterclass of February 1-2, 2024, and SAVE 15 % with the code AGE-DISC-COTP: Certified Org Topologies Practitioner Workshop in Munich, February 1-2, 2024!
🏆 The Tip of the Week: Reimagining Agile
: Reimagining Agile Initiative Launch Group-Announcement
The launch group, comprising Jim Highsmith, Jon Kern, Heidi Musser, and Sanjiv Augustine, initiates the Reimagining Agile Initiative to update, extend, and enhance the accessibility of Agile principles to meet modern technological and industry-wide challenges.
🍋 Lemon of the Week
(via Reddit): Advice for an Incoming Agile Coach Intern?
This Week’s Lemon is about Plenty_Relief6684’s inquiry on preparing for a summer ‘Junior Agile Coach’ Internship, underscoring the misapprehension of the role’s depth and needed expertise on both sides, student and organization.
➿ Agile & Scrum
(via gitconnected): Lessons Learned in Dual Track Agile
Jakub Svoboda delves into the implementation and results of Dual Track Agile in his team, highlighting its impact on Sprint velocity, challenges faced, and the lessons learned for optimizing team effectiveness and innovation.
(via Medium): This Is Not Agile. I’ll show you what is really Agile
David Rodenas challenges common misconceptions about Agile, advocating for a holistic, adaptable approach that includes all teams in a continuous, collaborative loop to embody Agile principles truly.
(via Corporate Rebels): The Power of Coaching in Self-Managing Organizations
Henry Stewart underscores the significance of coaching in self-managing organizations, illustrating its role in empowering employees, fostering personal and professional growth, and creating a supportive, goal-oriented environment.
🎓 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Product Backlog Management Cohort Class of Jan 23 to Feb 20, 2024
Discover the Product Owner success principles in this engaging Product Backlog Management cohort class and accelerate your professional growth and career perspective with tried & tested, hands-on practices:
- Excel at delivering value regularly — your #1 career success factor.
- Learn to distinguish between valuable and useless ideas.
- Abandon the feature factory. Instead, learn to contribute to customer and organizational success.
- Gain actionable insights, learn supportive tools, and practice everything in a safe community of like-minded peers.
- Learn to say no and build trust and rapport with stakeholders while focusing on creating value.
- Create engaging feedback loops.
The class will be offered in English.
Enjoy the benefits of an immersive cohort class with like-minded agile peers on the following dates:
- Tuesday, January 23, 2024, from 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm o’clock CET.
- Tuesday, February 6, 2024, from 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm o’clock CET.
- Tuesday, February 20, 2024, from 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm o’clock CET.
Learn more: 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Product Backlog Management Cohort Class of Jan 23 to Feb 20, 2024.
👉 From time to time, we can offer last-minute seats for training classes at cost to individuals who do not have access to a corporate training budget. If you like to be notified about these opportunities, please register here.
🎯 Product
(via Silicon Valley Product Group): Product Predictions 2024
Marty Cagan explores ten critical topics for the product community in 2024, from the evolving roles of product managers and leaders to the impact of generative AI on product decision-making.
(via Mind The Product): What does 2024 hold for product managers?
Eira Hayward anticipates 2024 to be a transformative year for product managers, focusing on AI integration, role evolution, profitability, and critical discussions on the discipline’s future.
: 📖 How to think about Bets, Success Metrics, and Roadmapping
In his essay, John Cutler delves into the intricacies of bets, success metrics, and product roadmaps, offering insights on risk assessment, decision-making frameworks, and the strategic importance of metrics.
and : 🎙 The UX Research reckoning is here
Lenny Rachitsky interviews Judd Antin on his perspective on user research evolution, emphasizing business alignment, effective integration in product development, and the shift from NPS to CSAT for better feedback.
and : 🎙 Making Sure You Make an Impact through User Research
In this pod with Jason Knight, Steve Portigal emphasizes the enduring importance of user research, exploring themes like continuous discovery, cognitive biases, impactful research strategies, and the parallels between good research practices and improv.
📯 New in 2024: Assessments, Practices, Exercises, and Tools to Help You Excel
Having just completed the Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide book, I will turn my focus to 2024 with new projects that build on the foundation laid by the book. I plan to dedicate the upcoming year to empowering agile practitioners through various new tools, workshops, and community events. The tools to help you excel will enhance your skill sets and equip you to thrive amidst professional challenges.
Join your peers for a journey of interactive learning and community engagement in 2024!
Learn more: New in 2024: Assessments, Practices, Exercises, and Tools to Help You Excel.
🛠 Concepts, Tools & Measuring
: 11 Common Mistakes When Creating User Stories
Maarten Dalmijn highlights common mistakes in creating user stories, emphasizing their misuse in agile processes and advocating for a deeper understanding and better application of this tool in product development.
: SomeEstimates
Shai Yallin critically examines the role of estimates in software development, addressing their challenges and proposing alternatives for adequate progress without reliance on detailed planning.
(via Medium): The Flaw of Averages — Comparing Monte Carlo Simulations with Estimates based on Averages
Benjamin Huser-Berta compares Monte Carlo simulations with average-based estimates in agile forecasting, demonstrating the former’s superiority in accounting for variability and risk.
🎶 Encore
and (via InfoQ): Technical Excellence from the Ground Up
Shane Hastie interviews Tim Ottinger on mob programming and integrating AI tools in software development, focusing on code readability and balancing automation with human creativity.
📅 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:
See all upcoming classes here.
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.
📺 Join 5,000-plus Agile Peers on Youtube
Now available on the Age-of-Product Youtube channel to improve learning, for example, about Human Misjudgment:
- Hands-on Agile 54: Overcoming Common Product Backlog Management Traps with David Pereira.
- Hands-on Agile 53: An Agile Coaches Guide to Storytelling with Bob Galen.
- 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 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.
✋ Do Not Miss Out and Learn More About Reimagining Agile — Join the 19,000-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.
Help your team to learn about ditching Reimagining Agile by pointing them to the free Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide: