Age of Product’s Food for Thought of June 4th, 2017—shared with 9,041 peers—praises Scrum Alliance for the new edition of its “State of Scrum Report.” We also address the real goal of “agile,” and why running experiments is essential to get there. At an organizational level, we talk about the problem with Taylorism, and why people don’t care for what is imposed on them.
On the product side, Scott Sehlhorst defends the relevance of the product owner role, and we talk about analysis paralysis. We also appreciate the support of OK Go to help others understand why brainstorming sucks as an ideation tool.
Lastly: Mary Meeker published the “2017 Internet Trends Report”—355 pages of background information any agile practitioner should at least thoroughly browse.
The Essential Read
(via Kleiner Perkins): 2017 Internet Trends Report
Mary Meeker’s latest report: The 2017 Internet Trends. Download the report for free:
Agile & State of Scrum
: No, really! Agile really is the goal!
Tim Synder details why making a customer’s products better, faster, and cheaper is not the goal of agile, but system-optimizing.
: What Exactly Is My Product as an Agile Coach?
Chris Murman on how long “Agile” may be in demand, and how to sell the “agile” that you want to deliver.
(via Medium): Practical Experiments in an Agile World
Tanner Wortham shares the results of two practical experiments on work in progress (WIP), and sprint goal confidence. Read on to run them yourself.
(via Corporate Rebels): Want To Become Agile? Stop Planning And Start Experimenting
In today‘s unpredictable and complex world, organizations are wise to step away from their predict and planning mechanisms and operate with a continuous adaptation process instead.
(via Agile For All): Limit Engagement, Limit Success - Scientific Management Problems
Jake Calabrese analyses the historical origin of Taylorism, command & control-style siloed organizations, and why limiting the engagement from people will limit the success as well. People care for what they help create.
From the Blog: 14 Sprint Review Anti-Patterns
Are we still on the right track? Answering this question in a collaborative effort of the scrum team as well as internal (and external) stakeholders is the purpose of the sprint review. Given its importance, it is worthwhile to tackle the most common sprint review anti-patterns.
Read More: 14 Sprint Review Anti-Patterns.
Product & Lean
(via Leading Agile): Product Owners and Progressive Elaboration
Scott Sehlhorst defends the relevance of the product owner role. It all comes down to progressive elaboration.
(via Made Tech): Analysis Paralysis - Stop slowing down your enterprise!
Rory MacDonald describes organizations where a lack of trust, office politics, and siloing can cause over-analysis, leading to indecision.
(via Board of Innovation): 9 Sentences That Prove That Your Innovation Program Will Fail
Arne Van Balen points at nine indicators that something is wrong with your innovation program and suggests 13 clear actions.
(via TED Talks): OK Go: How to find a wonderful idea
Damian Kulash—the lead singer, and guitarist of OK Go—takes us inside the band's creative process, explaining why brainstorming does not deliver original ideas.