Best Agile Podcasts for 2023

Podcasts are a great way to learn and stay on top of topics of interest. They provide a wealth of information that is free, and it makes continuous learning a snap.

Those of us who are fans of agile ways of working are lucky to have 52 great podcasts to choose from. That is a lot of learning!

This post provides by far the most comprehensive analysis of agile podcasts anywhere. Plus, it contains my recommendations for the best agile podcasts for different audiences.

My intent in creating this was to do the heavy listening so you wouldn’t have to. You’ll save time when looking for a valuable podcast. And I hope that you learn about some additional podcast that will be interesting and impactful to you.

The list below includes only the podcasts that are currently active. I know that maintaining a podcast is tough work and some podcasts have launched with fanfare and then quietly fizzled. (I had a similar experience with video casting and Fresh Agile Voices). I’ve listed those podcasts that I found were inactive in my list of Excluded Podcasts below, so check there if you don’t see your favorite podcast in my analysis.

Recommendations for Best Agile Podcasts in 2023

I should start by saying that all 52 of the podcasts that I reviewed are absolutely fantastic. Full stop. I am in awe when I see what people have created and contributed (for free!) to the agile community. I could not do it.

My recommendations for specific audiences below are based on what I think will be most impactful and valuable to each audience. Feel free to review my short overviews of each below and then sample any that sound interesting to you.

Best Agile Podcasts For Scrum Masters

• Agile for Humans
• The Agile Wire
• Women in Agile
• Agile FM
• Agile Mentors
• Scrum Masters Toolbox

Best Podcasts For Agile Coaches

• Meta-Cast
• Women in Agile
• Agile Coaching Network
• Agile Bites
• Agile Coaches Corner
• Agile FM
• Agility Island
• Badass Agile
• Agile Amped
• Agile Mentors
• Agile Book Club
• Here’s This Agile Thing

Best Podcasts For Product Owners and Product Managers

• Roman’s Product Management Podcast
• Product Thinking
• Agile Mentors
• Agile for Humans

Best Podcast for Leaders

• Organization Transformation Kung Fu
• Sustainable Xagility
• Meta-Cast
• (re)Learning Leadership
• Agile in Action
• Virtually Agile
• Software Process and Measurement Cast (SPaMcast)

Best Podcasts For Those Interested in Scaling

• Large Scale Scrum (LeSS) Matters
• No Nonsense Agile Podcast

Best Podcasts for Developers

• No Nonsense Agile Podcast
• Agile Embedded

Best Podcasts for Those Interested in Kanban

• Drunk Agile
• Gemba Academy

Best Agile Podcasts For Beginners

• Agile for Humans
• Agile Dad
• 5am Mester Scrum

Best Podcast for Project Managers

• Agile and Project Management – Drunken PM
• Agile Ideas

My Approach to Finding the Best Agile Podcasts

I started by creating a backlog of all the podcasts I could find related to Agile. That amounted to about 45. As with any backlog, I found and added additional ones as I went and then excluded some that are not currently creating new content or had been discontinued.

For the remaining 50 podcasts, I listened to at least three episodes or one hour of each podcast. I chose episodes based on specific topics I wanted to learn about, people I wanted to get to know, or under-represented voices. As I listened, I paid attention to what was interesting, what I learned, and technical factors like sound quality.

I also noted and reduced my score for those that included commercials and how annoying those commercials were and whether the commercials were sandwiched in the middle or tastefully at the end. (I don’t need to hear more about the value of Stamps.com, Athletic Greens or SimpliSafe.)

As I said above, all the podcasts are great. My ratings for the best agile podcast above are based on what I like. Your mileage may vary as they say and I welcome you to review my short overview of each that is below. Whether you agree or disagree, please leave a comment below.

Please show these hard-working podcasters some love. Check them out and if you find them useful, “like” their podcast and leave them a review on Apple Podcast. They are paying it forward with their generous gift of wisdom so why not give them some recognition?

Active Agile Podcasts (as of February 2023)

Here is my list of all the agile-related podcasts in alphabetical order. I’ve included the Apple Podcast rating (1 to 5 stars) where it exists, as well as my own “Anthony” rating (scale of 1 to 10). I also included the number of episodes and the average episode length in minutes.

Further down, you will find a short writeup on each podcast. If you don’t see an agile podcast, please leave me a comment.

	Podcast Title	Host	Date Launched	Anthony Rating	Apple Rating	# Episodes	Ave Length
1	#AgileWay Podcast	Zuzana (Zuzi) Sochova	2021	8	NA	43	20
2	(Re)Learning Leadership	Pete Behrens	2021	8	5	39	12
3	5am Mester Scrum	Greg Mester	2019	7	5	952	10
4	Agile Amped	Various	2015	9	4.8	463	45
5	Agile and Project Management – DrunkenPM Radio	Dave Prior	2016	9	4.1	190	40
6	Agile Bites Podcast	Phil Ledgerwood	2022	9	5	26	15
7	Agile Book Club Podcast	Justyna Pindel and Paul Klipp	2019	8	4.2	72	65
8	Agile Coaches’ Corner	Dan Neumann	2018	9	4.5	135	30
9	Agile Coaching Network	Ray Arell	2016	10	4.7	65	50
10	The Agile Daily Standup – AgileDad	AgileDad	2020	9	5	728	7
11	Agile Embedded	Lucia Inianni and Jeff Gable	2021	8	4.9	46	45
12	Agile for Humans	Ryan Ripley and Todd Miller	2015	10	4.8	100	8
13	Agile Ideas	Fatimah Abbouchi	2018	7	NA	108	30
14	Agile in Action with Bill Raymond	Bill Raymond	2020	7	5	86	30
15	Agile Leaders Conversations	Chuen Chuen Yeo	2022	7	NA	20	15
16	Agile Mentors Podcast	Brian Milner	2022	9	5	34	33
17	The Agile Pubcast	Geoff Watts and Paul Goddard	2016	7	3.7	165	40
18	Agile State of Mind with Maria Chec	Maria Chec	2022	8	NA	16	45
19	Agile Toolkit Podcast	Bob Payne	2005	8	4	199	25
20	Agile Uprising	AgileUprising	2016	7	4.4	100	55
21	The Agile Wire	Jeff Bubolz and Jeff Maleski	2019	10	5	95	50
22	The Agile Within	Greg Miller & Mark Metze	2020	8	NA	32	45
23	Agile.FM	Jochen (Joe) Krebs	2017	10	5	130	30
24	Agility Island	John Coleman	2021	10	NA	48	10
25	Arguing Agile	Brian Orlando and Om Patel	2021	8	5	98	60
26	Badass Agile	Fuse Chamber, Inc	2017	10	5	168	10
27	Becoming a True Agile Leader	Rikki Schwartz	2019
28	Change by Attraction	Esther Derby	2020
29	Deliver It Cast	Cory Bryan	2015	8	4.7	100	20
30	Drunk Agile	Dan Vacanti & Prateek Singh	2021	10	5	56	20
31	Engineering Culture by InfoQ	InfoQ	2016	9	4.8	281	25
32	Gemba Academy Podcast	Ron Pereira	2014	9	4.7	460	30
33	Here’s This Agile Thing	Matt Beam, Mike Marchi and Jeff Singleton	2022	9	NA	14	55
34	Ignite Agility	Collaborative Leadership Team	2019
35	Inspect and Adapt	Construx	2019
36	LeadingAgile Soundnotes	Dave Prior	2015	9	4.9	300	45
37	Lean on Agile	Shahin Sheidaei	2019
38	LeSS (Large Scale Scrum) Matters Podcast	Ben Maynard	2022	8	NA	87	45
39	The Liberators Network	Christiaan Verwijs and Barry Overeem	2019
40	Mastering Agility	Sander Dur	2021	9	NA	59	45
41	Meta-Cast	Bob & Josh	2010	10	4.6	200	40
42	No Nonsense Agile Podcast	Murray Robinson & Shane Gibson	2021	10	NA	72	50
43	Organization Transformation Kung Fu	Sandi Verrecchia and Jennifer T Long	2018	10	5	32	35
44	Perspectives of Change	Sarika Kharbanda	2015	7	4.3	40	45
45	Product Thinking	Melissa Perri	2021	9	4.8	106	35
46	Roman’s Product Management Podcast	Roman Pichler	2020	10	5	10	15
47	Scrum Master Toolbox	Vasco Duarte	2015	10	4.7	200	15
48	SPaMCast (Software Process and Measurement) Cast	Thomas Cagley	2007	10	4.7	760	30
49	Sustainable Xagility	John Coleman	2021	9	NA	20	35
50	Troubleshooting Agile	Jeffrey Frederick and Douglas Squirrel	2017	9	4.4	267	15
51	Virtually Agile	Chris Stone	2022	9	NA	27	40
52	Women in Agile Podcast	Women in Agile Org sponsored by Scrum.org	2019	10	5	80	45

Excluded Podcasts

I excluded the following because they are either not current or the content doesn’t pertain to agile-related topics.

• The Agile Advocate – Last episode was December 2020
• Agile Best Self – Last episode was April 2021
• Agile Boss – Last episode was September 2020
• Agile Chicago Style – Sadly the last episode was May 2021 though it was recently resurrected as Here’s this Agile Thing
• Agile Clips Podcast – Last episode was February 2022
• Agile Coffee – Last episode was October 2022 (Host Vic Bonacci says they are taking a break)
• Agile Digital Business – Last episode was October 2022
• Agile Engineering Podcast – Last episode was January 2022
• The Agile Entrepreneurship Podcast – Last episode was October 2022
• Agile Games Podcast – Last episode was August 2017
• Agile Hartford – Last episode was November 2020
• Agile in 3 minutes – Last episode was May 2018
• The Agile Leader – Last episode was June 2020
• Agile Leadership – Last episode was July 2020
• Agile Leadership Lessons – Last episode was September 2022
• Agile Lemonade – Last episode was December 2021
• OXYGY Agile Leadership Podcast Series – Last episode July 2020
• Agile on the Edge – Last episode June 2020
• The Agile Path – Last episode was April 2017
• The Agile Revolution – Last episode was April 2021
• Agile Unplugged – Last episode was August 2021
• AgileNext – Last episode was April, 2017
• Agility Mindset Podcast – Last episode was March 2020
• Bridging Agile and Professional Coaching Worlds Podcast – Last episode December 2021
• The Changelog – Content not specific enough to Agile
• The Coaching Conversation with Salah Elleithy – Last Episode was February, 2022
• Couple of Coaches – Last episode was October 2022
• A day in the life of an Agility Enabler – Last episode was November 2020
• Lean and Mean Agile Podcast – Last Episode was August 2018
• The Modern Agile Show – Last episode was June 2020
• New Norms New Ways of Working – Last episode was August 2020
• Reflection as a Service – Last episode was April, 2017
• This Agile Life – Last episode was September, 2019
• Trundl Talks | Dialogue with Industry Experts – Last episode August 2021
• Upward Talk podcast – Last episode November 2021
• Wemanity } A day in the life of an agile Coach – Last episode April 2020
• The Working Genius Podcast – Not specific enough to Agile

Reviews and Recommendations on the Best Agile Podcasts

#1 – #AgileWay Podcast with Zuzana

Summary:

The #AgileWay Podcast is exploring challenges organizations face on their agile journey. Hosted by Zuzana Sochova, the podcast features Zuzana’s interviews with guests. Sochova does a good job of interacting with her guests and asking relevant questions, rather than simply following her prescripted questions or injecting her own stories in an intrusive way. The episodes are relatively short which helps keep things moving though that also means that she doesn’t go too deep on any particular topic.

Details:

• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – As noted, the episodes are relatively short and I didn’t have any trouble staying awake. I was fascinated by the episode with Esther Derby but then again, Esther is a rock star of the agile world.
• Technical/Product Quality – The production quality left me wanting. It wans’t horrible but I noticed that the volume of the intro and outtro was not well regulated. I usually listen to podcasts while doing other things and I found myself fumbling with my phone to adjust the volume. I also noticed that it was challenging for me to understand Zuzana when I listened on 1.5X speed. I had to slow it down to understand her. I also noticed that the voices of her guests sometimes have that wavy sound you get on Zoom when bandwidth is low. I was grateful that it did not interrupt midway through the podcasts for commercials.
• Learning –  This podcast was great for learning. I found the podcasts very interesting. It made me want to learn more. Excellent – not run of the mill. There is definitely a focus on agile coaching. Zuzana invites a variety of agile thought leaders and tends to focus on those outside the US which might provide some good exposure to other perspectives.
• Frequency – Monthly though sometimes she skips a month or does two in one month.

Best Audience for the #AgileWay podcasts:

• Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches
• Agile and Scrum enthusiasts

Episodes Sampled:

The episodes that I reviewed were interviews Zuzana conducted of speakers for an upcoming conference in Prague in 2022.

• June 15, 2022 – Interview with John Barratt, Do You Need an Agile Coach? Agile coach John Barrat talked about agile transformations and how to view progress. He also mentioned some of the key indicators he uses as success measures for agile transformations.
• July 27, 2022- Interview with Serge Martin, Less about Agile, Less about Coaching, More Focus on Team Design.  Serge Martin provided some great insights about agile coaching. Mentioned a tool he uses from Harvard University called Constellation Model. Create an environment for people to do great work.
• June 15, 2022 – Interview with Bert Fabry, Psychology of Change. Zuzana and Bert explore how we as humans handle change.
• January 26, 2022 – Interview with Esther Derby. Esther Derby talked about using micro shifts to enable change in organizations. That is, small things we can do to make change that are not overwhelming or likely to trigger a negative reaction. That is a puzzle in itself. How will we tell when we have gotten a little bit better. She also shared some tips for making incremental changes that don’t threaten people, how to create an environment for people to do great work and Esther’s book.
• Frequency – Bi-weekly. Though not consistent.

#2 – (re)Learning Leadership

Summary:

Technically this isn’t an agile podcast, though leadership at all levels is an important aspect of agility. Plus, the podcast is hosted by Pete Behrens and sponsored by the Agile Leadership Journey.

Details:

• Podcast Description – The current ways of leading are failing to meet the challenges of our disrupted workforces. Today’s leaders have a choice between adaptation or atrophy: are you ready to evolve your mindset and accelerate change within your organization? Join ALJ founder Pete Behrens and other leading experts as they speak freely and deeply about their journeys to grow and improve as leaders. It’s time to pivot: plug-in to relearn leadership. The official podcast from Agile Leadership Journey. For leaders, by leaders.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I did not find this podcast very entertaining and perhaps that is by design. I did manage to stay awake but I would say it emphasized learning over entertainment value. The episode with an interview held my attention more than those episodes of Pete teaching.
• Technical – The production quality is great with great sound quality. There are some commercials for the Agile Leaders Journey at the end but you can easily skip them.
• Learning – The podcast is very educational in nature. Pete leverages his own experience as an agilist and leader and brings in other frameworks (OKRs and VROMS) as well as occasionally inviting other voices.
• Frequency – Weekly. Mostly.

Best Audience for the (re)Learning Leadership Podcast:

• Leaders of all types, including agile leaders
• Agile Coaches
• Those interested in self-improvement

Episodes Sampled:

• February 1, 2023 – Lead Yourself First with Nick Jonsson – Pete speaks to Nick Jonsson about self-awareness, self-discipline and self-care for leaders. Best takeaway from Nick is to recognize when you have a challenge and to ask, “Who can I ask for help?” Asking for help is a sign of strength more than one of weakness IMHO.
• January 11, 2023 – What does a Leader Do? Part I: From Clueless to Clarity – Understanding the
• January 11, 2023 – What Does a Leader Do? Part II: Letting Go and Grabbing Hold – Pete explains that letting go is one approach but blending your focus is even better.
• December 7, 2022 – Setting and Achieving Personal Goals – Pete looks at some statistical research on setting and achieving goals, the popular OKR approach, and the approach he recommends V2MOM. V2MOM stands for Vision, Values, Methods, Obstacles and Measures. V2MOM was popularized at Salesforce by Marc Benioff. 

#3 – 5am MesterScrum

Summary:

This was one of the quirkier agile podcasts I found. Greg Mester livestreams this with video at 5am (seriously) nearly every day. It is mostly Greg and his thoughts but occasionally he will bring in a guest. Greg “delivers frequently” as they say in the business with daily, bite-sized, podcasts. He has delivered nearly a thousand of these podcasts. They are not all deep and thought-provoking, in fact, they seem to be mostly Greg riffing. His stream-of-consciousness delivery seems fresh and not rehearsed. Good for listening while exercising where you don’t need to worry about pausing to take notes or look something up. Still, we should pin a medal on his chest for his commitment to delivering.

Details:

• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – As noted, Greg is an energetic person. I guess you have to be to get up and be on camera at 5am. That said, the content itself was interesting but not highly entertaining to me. Perhaps that is because most of the episodes only feature Greg.
• Technical – On technical aspects, I would rate this podcast very high. It is well-produced and both the audio and video are good.
• Learning – Greg covers an odd collection of agile topics as well as his Weekly News and Jobs Report. He does manage to tie the work back to Agile Business Analysts, Product Owners, Scrum Masters, Agile Project Manager and even Enterprise Coaches. If you are looking for a job in an agile-related job then I recommend that you tune in to this. Greg dedicates time each week to review hiring trends based on what he gleans from LinkedIn. He also reviews stock prices of agile tool vendors like Atlassian, Broadcom (Rally) and others. They are not topics I am personally that interested in.
• Frequency – Nearly every day. Damn that is amazing.

Best Audience for the 5am Mester Scrum Podcast:

• Job seekers
• Those new to agile ways of working or entry-level Scrum Masters

Episodes Sampled:

• October 11, 2022 – Weekly Job Report
• October 9, 2022 – This a recap of a May 20 Interview with Krishna Ajjampur Sr.
• October 13, 2022 – Parent Syndrome (Greg Solo)
• October 12, 2022 – Review Rescue

#4 – Agile Amped

Summary:

Agile Amped is sponsored by Accenture and as you might imagine, the hosts are all from Accenture. The hosts seem to rotate with recent episodes hosted by William Rowden, Allia DeAngelis, Ryan Keawekane,  Alalia Lundy, Leslie Morse, and Emilia Breton-Lake.

This is a pretty good podcast if you don’t mind being interrupted to be reminded that Accenture is in the agile consulting business “Agile Amped – dedicated to building an agile world”. This podcast is professionally produced by Accenture. The episodes tend to be a little longer than average (30 to 45 mins) and that allows them to go deeper. The hosts and all guests on the episodes that I sampled were Accenture coaches though it looks like they feature other guests occasionally.

Personally, I don’t like commercials and I felt like it was unnecessary to have periodic interruptions mid-way through the podcast to announce that it was Agile Amped from Accenture. And though the content is great, the podcast seems designed to promote Accenture and Solutions IQ.

Details:

• Description – The Agile Amped podcast is the shared voice of the Agile community, driven by compelling stories, passionate people, and innovative ideas. Together, we are advancing the impact of business agility.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I found this to be a pretty interesting podcast. I listened to several from a variety of different topics. Most of the episodes I listened to only included voices from Accenture so I think that is something they could expand on to provide more variety and insights.
• Technical – The production quality is excellent. I did notice that sometimes the guests sounded a bit muffled and did not have the same audio quality as the interviewers. The other big negative from a technical perspective is the frequent commercials.
• Learning – This is good for learning. The episodes are a bit longer and that allows them to go deeper. Plus, they pull from a wide variety of topics including thing like mental health, elevating black and brown voices, overall business agility trends, and Pride at Accenture.
• Frequency – Monthly.

Best Audience for the Agile Amped Podcast:

• Agile Coaches
• Accenture employees who don’t mind being reminded what Agile Amped is all about

Episodes Sampled:

• August 22, 2022 – Winning Business Strategies are Adaptive
• July 10, 2022 – Identify your passions to change the world
• May 15, 2022 – Business agility – where we are and where we are going
• June 21, 2022 – Pride at Accenture

#5 – Agile and Project Management – DrunkenPM Radio

Summary:

This podcast is hosted by Dave Prior, a Certified Scrum Trainer with Leading Agile. I am not sure why he calls it the DrunkenPm. No one was drunk during the podcasts I sampled (unlike the Agile Pubcast). And I am not sure Dave is really a PM since he is a CST and those don’t co-exist well. Maybe Prior still considers himself a project manager even though his recent experience and his podcasts focus on agile topics.

Prior hosts a lot of the agile thought leaders and authors that you will see on other podcasts like Tricia Broderick, Ryan Ripley, and Christine Li. He does an excellent job of engaging with his guests and shows that he has prepared well or is knowledgeable about a variety of topics.

Details:

• Podcast Description – A podcast about Agile and Project Management.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I found the discussions to be interesting and they held my attention.
• Technical – Great rock intro, well produced with good sound quality.
• Learning – This is a great podcast for learning. The longer episode length and interview format lend themselves to going deep on a particular topic and keeping it interesting.
• Frequency – Twice a month.

Best Audience for the Agile and Project Management – DrunkenPM Radio:

• Project Managers
• Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches
• Agile Practitioners of all types

Episodes Sampled:

• January 17, 2023 – In Defense of Frederick Taylor w Christine Li. Christine Li is the COO of Sparkplug Agility. Frederick Taylor was a golf champ and Olympian! But was he an agilist? Christine makes a pretty good argument though I would need more than a few beers to see him as an early agile thinker. Christine credits Taylor with the desire to improve conditions for workers and the relationship with management. She recommends Taylor’s book, the Principles of Scientific Management (free on Kindle).
• July 13, 2022 – Managing Multiple Projects with Elizabeth Harrin. I am a long-time fan of Elizabeth Harrin having collaborated with her when I was practicing as a project manager. Elizabeth has written 7 books and talks about her most recent, Managing Multiple Projects.

#6 – Agile Bites Podcast

Summary:

The Agile Bites podcasts is hosted by Phil Ledgerwood and he doesn’t have guests. Ledgerwood calls himself a software delivery coach and does a good job of carry the podcasts using his sense of humor deep expertise in agile ways of working. His topics tend to be some of the more advanced topics I have found.

Episodes are short and easy to consume.

Details:

• Podcast Description – There is a lot of material on how a team should operate in an agile manner. There is also a lot of material for leadership as to the benefits of agility, the mindset, etc. But there is not a lot of material directed towards those folks who sit in between. Agile Bites breaks down key Lean and Agile concepts and practices for the people who are often tasked with supporting these things. People who may have to be redefining their roles in a world of incremental delivery. Or maybe they’ve been put in the middle of an “agile transformation” and things are not going as well as promised.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – Ledgerwood has a great voice and a equally great sense of humor. Combined with the relatively short episode length, it makes for an entertaining podcast that won’t put you to sleep.
• Technical – Good sound and product quality without commercials. There is a brief blurb about being brought to you by Integrity Inspired Solutions which is fine though I was a little surprised that Ledgerwood did not introduce himself as the host. I had to do some digging to find out who he was.
• Learning – This is a great podcast for learning. I picked an episode on sizing and rightsizing in order to learn more about that and I appreciated Ledgerwood’s explanation which I found unique.
• Frequency – Weekly.

Best Audience for the Agile Bites Podcast:

• Scrum Masters
• Agile Coaches

Episodes Sampled:

• March 6, 2023, Why Agile Coaches Are Being Fired – Phil reflects on the recent and dramatic cuts of 1,100 agile-related roles at Capital One and why he thinks coaches may not be perceived as valuable.
• February 27, 2023, The 3 Obstacles. Phil explores three different types of obstacles, what we can learn from them and what actions we should take.
• February 6, 2023, Relative Sizing, Right-Sizing, No Sizing

#7 – Agile Book Club Podcast

Summary:

If you are a fan of agile books and like to not only read a book but take it deeper with others, this is your podcast. Cohosts Paul Klipp and Justyna Pindel have good on-air energy and banter back and forth. The format they use is a monthly discussion between Klipp and Pindel about the book itself and then a followup in the next month with a discussion with the author of the book.

The hosts spend a fair amount of time at the start of the podcast small talk about unrelated topics. If that doesn’t interest you, you can skip ahead to get to the book discussion.

Details:

• Description – A podcast about books. Agile books. Every month, Justyna and Paul review a different agile book, sharing our thoughts, elevator pitches for the books, favorite quotations, and key takeaways.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I found the actual reviews and the discussions with the authors to be interesting, particularly for the books I had read or had considered reading. They don’t pull punches in their reviews of the book, even to the point where Paul can come across as condescending toward the authors.
• Technical – The production quality is great.
• Learning – This is a great podcast for learning. If you love books and have a long list of agile books that you don’t seem to be able to complete, you will find this helpful. I’d recommend checking their podcast for books that interest you before you buy them.
• Frequency – Monthly.

Best Audience for the Agile Book Club Podcast:

• Book lovers
• Agile Enthusiasts
• Busy people who love to learn

Episodes Sampled:

I chose to listen to one review of a book I had read and one I hadn’t read but was interested in. This was helpful because I realized that the book I was interested in was good but I did not need to buy and read it.

1. May 1, 2022 – Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching (Bob Galen) – I was interested in this episode because I am a big fan of Bob Galen and I liked his book (see my review here). I was immediately annoyed by Paul who said Bob was judgmental. (I think this was a projection). Paul pointed out grammatical errors and typos in the book and said he thought the book was self-published which did not sound like a compliment. Also, he pointed out some inconsistencies in the lists of meta skills and coaching stances throughout book that did not match. I felt defensive for my friend Bob.
2. June 1, 2022 – Interview with Bob Galen. Paul was less critical of Bob in the live discussion. I was immediately on guard when Paul said to Bob, “I loved your book, but…”. Bob was a really good sport about it and I suppose that shows character when you can take feedback with grace and humility.
3. September 1, 2021 – Discussion of the Josh Seiden book, Outcomes over Output. This was very helpful to me as I felt like I learned enough about the book not to have to read it myself. Paul came across as superior and condescending to Josh which was a bit of a turn-off for me.
4. October 1, 2021 – Interview with Josh Seiden

#8 –Agile Coaches’ Corner

Summary:

This podcast is hosted by Dan Neumann that I have listened to off and on for a few years. Dan does a good job of exploring some of the more advanced topics in agile coaching and he explains things in a stratightforward way. Most of the episodes are discussions with other experts and you will recognize some of the names like Diana Larsen, James Shore and Eric Landes.

Details:

• Description – Agile Coaches’ Corner shares practical concepts in an approachable way. It is for agile practitioners and business leaders seeking expert advice on improving the way they work to achieve their desired outcomes.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I never found myself falling asleep while listening to this podcast.
• Technical – The production quality of this podcast is great and it helps that Dan has a voice for radio! I would give it full marks but there were commercials in the middle promoting the sponsor, Agile Thought.
• Learning – This is a great podcast for learning. Dan covers a wide range of topics of interest to agile coaches. He also features agile trainers answering questions that come up in training classes.
• Frequency – Weekly.

Best Audience for the Agile Coaches’ Corner Podcast:

• Great for Agile Coaches
• Scrum Masters
• Leaders and other Agile Practitioners

Episodes Sampled:

• February 1, 2023 – Consider the Definition of Done when forecasting your releases with Eric Landes.
• September 30, 2022 – Agile Coaching vs Professional Coaching with Justin Thatil and Erica Menendez. Excellent teasing apart of those roles
• October 14, 2022 – Dan discussed Waterfall vs agile and agile Project Management. Dan was flying solo on this one but explored some of the ways waterfall has been used as a weapon. I found it interesting that he brought in Elements of Scrum, lean and Cynefin.

#9 – Agile Coaching Network

Summary:

The Agile Coaching Network is produced by a group of coaches from the Agile Alliance. The format is to have a topic question, and the host, Ray Arrel, starts the discussion and then hands it off to one of the other coaches. This keeps it fresh. Episodes are a little longer than average, and that allows them to go a little deeper.

The regulars on the Agile Coaching Network include Shawna Cullinan, Hendrik Esser, Diana Larsen, and Jorg Pietruszka.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Do you need help with your Agile adoption? Or would you like to share what worked or didn’t as you were doing an adoption in your own company? If so, we invite you to participate in the Agile Coaching Network. The ACN is recorded monthly at our live event. If you want to join that event, please visit acnpodcast.org. Also, support our outstanding sponsor Agile Alliance! This nonprofit helps to make the ACN possible. Help support the show by becoming an Agile Alliance member today!
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – The format for this podcast helps to keep it interesting. Ray Arrel has a small team of 4-5 people from Agile Alliance. Ray did not introduce them all but I was delighted to hear the dynamic Diana Larsen chime in.
• Technical – The production quality is great with smooth intro music and quality. There is a mini commercial for the Agile Alliance at the beginning but it is pretty easy to skip past the introduction and get to the question of the day.
• Learning – This is a great podcast for learning. The longer format and the inclusion of multiple hosts results in a deep dive that includes different perspectives.
• Frequency – Monthly.

Best Audience for the Agile Coaching Network Podcast:

• Agile Coaches
• Agile Practitioners
• Agile Leaders of all types

Episodes Sampled:

• October 7, 2022 – Transformation. Ray led with an 8-minute lead in question and then tossed it to the co-hosts Shauna, Hendrick, Diana. Good banter and smooth handoffs between guests. I was delighted to hear Diana Larsen as I was not expecting to hear her. She piqued my interest when she mentioned the Fearless Change Campfire with Linda Rising as well as the James Shore Book club.
• October 30, 2022 – When Coaching is no Longer Coaching – Talked about the various roles that an Agile Coach will often play, which goes beyond simply coaching.
• May 21, 2022 – The Manager in Agile – Enabling and Empowering. Manage the boundaries. The manager is a liaison to the broader org. Diana Larsen shared her thoughts on this as did several others. I did not connect it until I listened to the podcast that Ray was one of the facilitators at the Agile2002 Conference where they had the business agility lab – I attended a few sessions there.
• Sept 10, 2022 – Teal Organization and its fit inside Agile. Plus, Agile metrics – I’ve been interested in Teal since reading the book by Frederick Laloux, Reinventing Organizations. Good exploration of the topic.

#10 – The Agile Daily Standup – AgileDad

Summary:

This is another quick daily podcast with short, focused episodes. The episodes tend to focus on the Scrum Framework and related topics. It is hosted by V. Lee Henson who I have not heard of before but is a Certified Scrum Trainer. I found the podcast to be interesting and easy to listen to. I was skipping around at first to find topics or people I might be interested in learning more about, but I think it is simplest to just let the short episodes play in order.

Details:

• Podcast Description – In 15 Minutes or LESS every weekday, AgileDad presents The Agile Daily Standup! AgileDad has been recognized worldwide for its Inclusive, Pragmatic, Humanized, Psychology based approach used to help organizations achieve true business agility. What the book advises is no longer enough to help Agile teams and leaders get the proven tools they need to establish and scale their business in what many are calling the new normal. This podcast will review articles, present tips and tricks, tell war stories, and spend time with industry leading experts!
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – The short episodes are focused on the host provides good energy so I didn’t find myself bored. I didn’t notice any episodes
• Technical – Good sound and production quality with no background noise and no commercials.
• Learning – Good learning and insights.
• Frequency – Daily (weekdays)

Best Audience for the Agile Daily Standup – AgileDad Podcast:

• Scrum Masters and Scrum Teams
• Agile Beginners

Episodes Sampled:

• February 2, 2023 – 7 Tips to Help You Become a Better Learner.
• February 13, 2023- Is Velocity Evil? I think NOT…Velocity is better than time-based measures and can be helpful if used properly.
• February 14, 2023 – The Top 3 Things I LOVE About Agile…
• February 15, 2023 – 6 Ideas To Be a Great Product Owner For Your Teams and ScrumMaster – Mike Cohn. Lee explores a blog post from Mike Cohn on the Product Owner role.
• February 16, 2023 – 9 Sprint Goal Principles to Support Your Scrum Team in Finding It’s Groove. Lee leverages an article from Stefan Wolpers at Age of Product.
• February 17, 2023 – Where Do you Find The Courage To Continue? Great breakdown of a Winston Churchill quote about success and courage.

#11 – Agile Embedded

Summary:

Great new podcast on a niche topic – applying agile techniques in embedded device development. This is going to appeal to technical people working in this context though perhaps less so to those working outside that environment. Some of the topics like TDD, DevOps, Cyber Security, and the Agile Manifesto will apply to everyone interested in agile ways of working. Even the focus on modern software development within embedded systems will be useful to developers looking to up their game and develop secondary skills. I loved hearing from James Grenning, one of the 17 authors of the Agile Manifesto.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Learn how to get your embedded device to market faster AND with higher quality. Join Luca Ingianni and Jeff Gable as they discuss how agile methodologies apply to embedded systems development, with a particular focus on safety-critical industries such as medical devices.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – The discussions are good, and hosts Jeff and Luca and their guests bring the energy. I found it a lot of work to follow the discussions because of my lack of expertise in the subject matter. If I had a need to apply these concepts, I think I would find them a lot more interesting.
• Technical – Great production – good sound quality.
• Learning – Great educational value for those developers who are involved in or interested in embedded systems development.
• Frequency – Twice per month.

Best Audience for the Agile Embedded Podcast:

• Developers, particularly those working with embedded software
• Agile Practitioners who have a technical bent
• Application Development Managers

Episodes Sampled:

• December 21, 2022 – Internal Developer Platforms with Joe Schneider. Luca and Jeff discuss the concept of the internal developer platform, a relatively new concept that supports developers for embedded systems. The content was interesting to me but well outside my interest and ability to fully appreciate what the three of them were discussing.
• August 23, 2022 – James Grenning on TDD. I’ve not come across James before – Agile Manifesto signatory – and was delighted to learn more about him and how he got started in development. He mentions his work with other luminaries – Kent Beck and Bob Martin as well as Watts Humphrey and his focus on process (I have that book as well!). He also speaks about learning Test Driven Development (TDD) and how it hasn’t really changed much, besides the tooling. He talked about teaching TDD and helping people apply it in his training courses. He talked about the Zombie zone – link to his blog. He spoke about using TDD with a recent IoT project which is extremely interesting a probably quite applicable to a lot of people. He also talked about TDD and XP in preference to Agile (a tip from Jeff Gable is to use the word Nimble instead of Agile!).
• September 29, 2022 – We’re not paying You to Have Fun. Exploring why you might not be happy in your work. Timely with all the quiet (and not quiet) quitting. They spoke about what makes work enjoyable and Dan Pink’s book Drive. In Drive, Pink discussed the three factors that contribute to intrinsic motivation: autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose. Then, they look at aspects of the developer’s job and how they relate to autonomy, mastery and purpose.

#12 – Agile for Humans

Summary:

Ryan Ripley and Todd Miller provide a highly entertaining podcast focused on Scrum and helping Scrum teams deliver. Both are Professional Trainers with Scrum.org and they come into the discussion from the perspective of trainers though both have experience in agile and leadership roles. Ryan and Todd are very knowledgable and they get right to the point. Occasionally they come across as over-confident but then they’ll revert and laugh at themselves. The topics are mostly Scrum related though they do get into adjacent topics like SAFe and Story Points (which are trash, BTW).

This podcast has been around a long time and while Apple says they have 100 episodes, I think that Ryan produced many more on his own before partnering with Todd Miller and branding it as Your Daily Scrum (YDS) which was probably an outcome of them writing a book together, Fixing Your Scrum. The YDS approach is brief and refreshing and they tackle a different bite-size chunk in each episode. Note that the podcasts are recorded as videos and posted to their YouTube channel.

Details:

• Podcast Description – A Podcast Devoted to Agile Product Delivery.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I find the episodes highly entertaining. Ripley and Miller play well together and compliment each other. I know Ripley well and have taken training from him and he has a great, dry sense of humor.
• Technical – The production quality is great and that is both for the video and the audio. They do include occasional plugs for merchandise but that is usually at the end and I don’t find it intrusive.
• Learning – This is a great podcast for learning, particularly the bite-sized episodes. Many of the episodes are named “How to…” and that makes it easy to dig deep on a topic that you are currently facing as a coach or Scrum Master. While they come into the discussion from the Scrum perspective, they also bring in related topics like SAFe, Flow Metrics, Kanban and other topics.
• Frequency – Daily

Best Audience for the Agile for Humans Podcast:

• Best suited to those using Scrum, particularly Scrum Masters
• Product Owners
• Agile coaches.

Episodes Sampled:

• October 6, 2022 – How does a team write awesome goals
• October 6, 2022 – How does facilitation work in Scrum
• October 6, 2022 – Should the PO own the Budget in Scrum
• October 6, 2022 – Story Points are Trash! This is a must-listen episode if you are using or a fan of story points for estimation. It made me want to learn more about flow metrics and Daniel Vacanti’s work (see podcast #24 on this list).
• October 6, 2022 – Does Your Team Track Work Item Age?

#13 – Agile Ideas Podcast

Summary:

Agile Ideas is a podcast hosted by Fatimah Abbouchi of Agile Management office, which is a play on Project Management Office or PMO. She sometimes has a guest though most of the time, she is flying solo.

The podcast is definitely project management oriented. Even the definition of agile that Abbouchi provides focuses on projects:

“Agile is an iterative approach to project management and software development that helps teams to deliver faster while focusing on continuous delivery and customer feedback.”

Topics are what you might expect from a PM and PMO-oriented podcast. I think the podcast provides an interesting perspective that may be helpful to those coming from a project management role but not so much for those who were never in that role. I imagine that this is what the Project Management Institute would come up with if they produced an agile podcast.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Agile Ideas. Agility in thought. Agility in action. Where amazing things happen. Helping you think outside the box.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I found Abbouchi easy to listen to and she comes across as confident and knowledgeable. When she is by herself, the episodes are shorter and more focused. Her episode with Jeff Wood was interesting to me as I gained some insights into how a modern PMO might work with agility. 
• Technical – There were a few episodes with some volume change between the intro, body, and outro but otherwise well produced with good sound quality. There is a plug for Agile Management Office at the beginning and end, but those are easily skipped.
• Learning – I sampled a few different episodes, and while I was learning, I don’t think I share the same view of agility as host Abbouchi. I don’t use the term resources to refer to people and I don’t equate the SM role with a project coordinator, a project manager with an iteration manager or a program manager with a product owner. At all.
• Frequency – Twice per month.

Best Audience for the Agile Ideas Podcast:

• Project Managers
• PMO Leaders

Episodes Sampled:

• March 13, 2023, #107 | You’re more Agile than you think.
• February 7, 2023, #104 | Jeff Wood – Transforming outdated PMO Practices
• January 22, 2023 – #103 | Top 4 PMO Trends in 2023
• August 5, 2022, #093 | What is Agile and why does everyone keep talking about it?
• April 25, 2022, #086 | What you need to know if you are not a project manager, but work with them

#14 – Agile in Action

Summary:

This is a great podcast for leaders who are interested in learning how to improve their business agility. Bill interviews different business leaders and sometimes agile experts with a focus on delivering business results and gaining a competitive edge.

Details:

• Podcast Description – The Agile in Action podcast is hosted by Bill Raymond and features top industry leaders who share how they are adopting agile techniques to gain a competitive edge. The show features authors, agile practitioners, and teams working in the trenches that are eager to share how they are delivering a high level of value to their customers. Bill is an award-winning speaker, agile transformation leader, consultant, author, and trainer. Bill runs two popular podcasts, the Agile in Action Podcast with Bill Raymond and the T-Suite Podcast. Bill is the CEO of Cambermast, a strategic business consulting firm that helps clients deliver their most critical projects.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I didn’t really find the podcast to be entertaining though it was interesting. I was a little surprised with Bill Raymond’s description of what constituted agile.
• Technical – The production quality is great with great sound quality and production effects. However, it does contain commercials and that lowered my score.
• Learning – This is a great podcast for leaders and executives who are not interested in the mechanics of the Scrum Framework but may be very interested in improving business agility. As an example, one of the episodes featured an interview with Scrum Trainer Fred Fowler who provided an excellent overview of Scrum that was new and refreshing to me. Also, I got the sense that some of the guests view of agile was not consistent with my own. It is more focused on overall business agility than the agile I expect to see or that would be featured at the Agile Alliance conference. That said, he did interview Lyssa Adkins who is one of my all time favorite agile experts and author of Coaching Agile Teams.
• Frequency – Monthly.

Best Audience for the Agile in Action Podcast:

• Great for agile practitioners
• Great for leaders and executives who want to improve their business agility
• Scrum practitioners who want to expand their horizons

Episodes Sampled:

• August 30, 2022 – Dealing with change. Interview with Nate Greenberg, Director of Information Technology.
• October 18, 2022 – What makes Scrum Work When Done Correctly. This is an interview with Fred Fowler, CEO of Silicon Valley Scrum. Fred definitely takes Executive perspective in Scrum. More leader focused.
• August 23, 2022 – The 2-Year Anniversary of the Agile in Action Podcast. Bill speak with Reama Dagasan, his executive Producer about what they have learned and what makes the podcast successful.
• August 9, 2022 – How executive leaders create the space for agile to flourish. This was a discussion with the famous Lyssa Adkins. Lyssa spoke Agile Leadership and her book, Coaching Agile Teams.

#15 – Agile Leaders Conversations

Summary:

This podcast is hosted by Chuen Chuen Yeo and features her discussions with various agile leaders. Oddly, those discussions all start with a review of Yeo’s book, The 8 Paradoxes of Agile Leadership. In this sense, it seems like the podcast is focused more on promoting the book rather than sharing ideas about agile.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Join these conversations with agile leaders – executives, business leaders and experts from all sectors come together and share practical leadership insights around leading in today’s workplaces after reading ‘8 Paradoxes of Leadership Agility.’ They will be sharing some strategic advice on you can pivot and use the agile mindset to develop a leadership style that’s more future-proof, make sense of the complexities and lead with authenticity and ease.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I was interested to hear more from voices outside the US and this podcast delivers on that. 
• Technical – Good production quality and no commercials. I did notice that sometimes the voice of the guests was wavy. I also noticed that sometimes sentences tended to run together, which made me think there is some automated audio processing to remove spaces or perhaps manual editing which is not done well. I found that I had to work hard to understand the conversation, even at 1X speed.
• Learning – If you want to learn more about Yeo’s book, this is a great podcast. If you have read it and want to learn more, the podcast will help with that. I have the book, and it is a pretty easy read.
• Frequency – 2-3 times per month.

Best Audience for the Agile Leaders Conversations Podcast:

• Leaders
• People that want to discuss Yeo’s book, The 8 Paradoxes of Agile Leadership.

Episodes Sampled:

• December 28, 2022 – #18: HR Director Earn Meng Chan on Leading in Crisis with Empathy
• January 20, 2023 – #20: Co-Founder of Sinofy Group, Kema Bae on Leading with Vulnerability and Openness
• November 23, 2022- #13: Enterprise Agile Coach, Fadly Rasyad on Why Most Transformations Fail
• November 22, 2022 – #11: Agility Consultant and Author, Sunil Mundra on Enterprise Agility

#16 – Agile Mentors Podcast

Summary:

This podcast is provided by Mountain Goat Software, Mike Cohn’s company. Brian Milner is the host and guests come from around the globe, including experts you would probably recognize. Episodes are about 30 minutes which allows the discussion to go deep.

One bonus of this podcast is that they have a forum for discussion after the podcast. That can be a helpful way for listeners to go deeper by asking questions or simply joining in discussions with others. The episodes are great, and the only reason I did not rate this as a 10 is because of the commercial interruptions.

Details:

• Podcast Description – The Agile Mentors podcast is for agilists of all levels. Whether you’re new to agile and Scrum or have years of experience, listen in to find answers to your questions and new ways to succeed with agile.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I think that generally podcasts that include interviews tend to be more entertaining than those with just one person.
• Technical – The production quality is great with great sound quality. There are commercial interruptions mid-way through. They are short plugs for Mountain Goat software but still an unwelcome intrusion. Also, I was surprised to hear Brian refer to people as resources – that is a term that most agile enthusiasts try to avoid.
• Learning – The podcast is very educational in nature. The content is good and I felt like I learned a lot. I did notice that all the speakers were either members of Mountain Goat software or Certified Scrum Trainers from Scrum Alliance. I don’t know if that was just convenience or a conscious editorial decision. I do like that the participants are from around the globe improving the diversity.
• Frequency – Weekly. Mostly.

Best Audience for the Agile Mentors Podcast:

• Scrum Masters
• Agile Practitioners

Episodes Sampled:

• February 1, 2023 – Mob Programming with Woody Zuill. I’ve been intrigued by the concept and have enjoyed Woody Zuills videos on #NoEstimates. I really appreciate Woody’s humble approach of sharing his experiments and trying things instead of prescribing things that others should do. I also like his contention that we should be asking what proof do we have that working individually is more productive than working in teams.
• September 14, 2022 – Getting There From Here: Agile Transformations with David Hawks.
• September 28, 2022 – How does project management work in Agile? with Julie Chickering. The discussion with Julie provided an interesting perspective on what is often an adversarial relationship between agile people and project managers. She blew her credibility though when she mentioned the 2008 book The Software Project Managers Bridge to Agility which I own but don’t see as valuable.
• October 26, 2022 – How to Create Helpful Product Roadmaps with Roman Pichler. (BTW, Roman Pichler’s podcast is #36 on this list). I found it helpful to hear Roman talk about benefits, outcomes and even metrics on the roadmap rather than simply laying out the features. I also like that he emphasized the involvement of the development team in creating the roadmap, making it a joint effort with Product Owners or product management. Plugged Roman’s book Strategize.

#17 – The Agile Pubcast

Summary:

Perhaps one of the more interesting approaches to podcasting, the hosts record the podcast, er pubcast, from pubs. Hosts Geoff Watts & Paul Goddard are sometimes in the same pub and sometimes in separate places. Both Watts and Goddard are Certified Scrum Trainers and that brings a definite bias toward Scrum, though their discussions range pretty widely. This podcast is best enjoyed in a pub while sipping a point; it’s more enjoyable than simply listening to others enjoying a pint.

Details:

• Podcast Description – An agile podcast…in a pub…it’s an agile PUBCAST!! Agile Coaches Geoff Watts and Paul Goddard share their musings over an informal drink. There will be no agenda, no script and no idea where it would go… a truly freeform agile podcast.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I found it interesting to listen to these two brits riffing in a pub. I found it pretty entertaining though I found myself struggling in some places to follow the hosts due to the background noise and their alternative usage of the English language.
• Technical – The first episode I listened to was #130 and the hosts in two different places. The sound quality was poor – quite a bit of background noise, and some waviness like you get with a poor Zoom call. The other episodes had varying degrees of background noise varying from loud talking and crashing to a rock soundtrack.
• Learning – If you want to learn more about pubs, drinks and UK history, this is the podcast for you. Occasionally they discuss agile-related topics. I found it easy to listen to in the background while doing other things.
• Frequency – Monthly

Best Audience for the Agile Pubcast:

• Agile Practitioners of all types
• Scrum Practioners
• Pub lovers

Episodes Sampled:

• May 11, 2022 – Episode 130 – The Scrum Civil War. One host was in Hull, a pub in East Yorkshire. The other was at home in his office, drinking a bottle of cider. I don’t know why I chose this episode except that the idea of Scrum wars caused me to click on it. Spent the first 10 minutes making small talk about UK history, Henry the first, and pubs. Then got into fractures and infighting in the Scrum community including when Ken Schwaber left the Scrum Alliance to found Scrum.org. They go on to explore warring factions between agile and waterfall, certification wars, and the potential for future consolidation rather than more competition.
• February 6, 2023 – S7 EP2: Guinness For Strength. With both hosts in the same place, the sound quality was better. This pubcast was recorded in The George in south Cerney, a pub that used to be called the Walter Mitty. This episode is part of a new series. They mention Landlord logic and the Pub Notice Board and it took me a minute figure out what they were talking about. Guinness for Strength and how strength plays into agile ways of working. They talked about strength in leadership, leaders going first, and the necessity of being able to say “I don’t know.” They also talked about games and mentioned the strong suits card game and actually played it on the podcast pubcast. They also played Agile pub quiz which involved matching up quotes with the person who said them. That at was one of the more entertaining and educational moments that I heard in any of their episodes.
• October 14, 2022 – Episode 136 – Empathy & Emotions. I am a fan of emotional intelligence and this episode caught my eye. The hosts were in Cardiff in Wales at the Blue Bell Pub for an early morning pint. They discuss the importance of assuming positive intent in others as well as listening and empathy. Empathy starts with self-awareness and developing a language for emotions. They mentioned one of my favorite responses you get from brits – when asked how they are doing they will often say “not bad”.  They also referenced the emotional periodic table which was new to me even though I have a background in emotional intelligence.

#18 – Agile State of Mind with Maria Chec

Summary:

Agile State of Mind is an interview-style podcast hosted by Maria Chec. Chec is the Head of Agile Practice at Fyllo which is a marketing company based in Chicago. She is also an editor of Serious Scrum which is a Medium and Slack Community.

Chec’s guests are generally Scrum Practitioners in different roles though many of them seem to be people she works with at Fyllo. The conversations are a little longer, and that allows for more in-depth conversations.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Ever wondered what a day-to-day of Managers in Technology look like? I did. I’m Maria Chec and I decided to interview Agile Leaders on their daily work. I’ll start with Engineering Managers to learn about their role and their journey from a Developer to a Leader. Agile State of Mind is a podcast about everything Agile. Agile Leadership, Agile Product Management, Agile Processes, etc.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I found the podcasts pretty interesting. 
• Technical – No commercial interruptions. The intro is an interesting trailer of statements made by the guest. Sometimes the guest’s voice was a little quiet and I struggled to hear even at 1X speed.
• Learning – I felt like I learned a fair amount with this podcast. Having a medium article to accompany the podcast is helpful. The guests came from a variety of roles though it seems like many of them worked for the same company. I did notice that the guests tended to use acronyms without explaining them, and that was distracting. This included CPO, RFC, PM and DoD. CPO was Chief Product Owner. I never learned what RFC meant. PM meant product manager, not a project manager. And the way they used DoD at the backlog item level made me think that they conflated it with acceptance criteria.
• Frequency – a couple of times a month but not consistent.

Best Audience for the Agile State of Mind with Maria Chec Podcast:

• Scrum practitioners

Episodes Sampled:

• March 14, 2023, S2E6 Product Manager Needs To Be Like Rocky Balboa | Conversation With David Pereira
• February 27, 2023, S2E4 Does Anyone Still Care About Scrum Certificates?  With Sjoerd Nijland
• January 31, 2023, S2E2 Roadmaps & Avoiding Product Fiction With Pawel Huryn
• September 6, 2022, #7 You Gotta Slow Down To Speed Up | On Mentoring, Avoiding Burnout, RFCs by Brandon Parrott @Fyllo

#19 – Agile Toolkit Podcast

Summary:

Bob Payne is the host of the Agile Toolkit Podcast, one of the longest running podcasts on this list. Upfront I would point out it isn’t about tools, thankfully. It is an interview-style podcast and Bob speaks to a wide list of agile experts. It is a long-running podcast and if my records are correct, it was the first agile podcast that is still running today.

You can scroll through Payne’s list of participants and see many of the well known experts from around the globe including Esther Derby, Evan Leybourn, Jurgen Appello, Scott Ambler, Johanna Rothman, and Jeff Sutherland.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Broadcasting conversations about Agile Software Development, Agile Methodologies, techniques and tools since 2005. One of the earliest podcasts focusing on Lean & Agile methods.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I was pleasantly surprised to find that though it is named the Agile Toolkit podcast, it wasn’t about Jira and ADO. Rather, it is a long-running podcast that covers the spectrum of agile, lean and other topics.
• Technical – Most podcasts have great sound quality with fresh intro and closing music. One of the podcasts was recorded in a noisy environment which was a turnoff. No commercials though which is a plus.
• Learning – This is a great podcast for learning. For me, the topics are so varied that I would want to curate my listening and select podcasts based on topics.
• Frequency – On average monthly – though varies widely.

Best Audience for the Agile Toolkit Podcast:

• Agile Practitioners
• Agile Coaches
• Agile Transformation Coaches.

Episodes Sampled:

• December 7, 2022 – Ron Schmelzer and Kathleen Walch – Hosts of the AI Today Podcasts. I was interested in learning about AI but the focus was mostly on data and big data projects.
• December 12, 2022 – Ulrich and Marie Lages – Radical Reorganization in the Automotive Industry using Teams of Teams. I was interested going in but intrigued by what Ulrich and Marie described as a “big bang” reorganization at IBO. It was interesting because it described a self-selection process for the organization which is relatively uncommon. They talked how this unique reorganization to a networked organization was handled including the disbelief, surprise and chaos that followed. I was bummed about the sound quality – it may have been recorded at a conference but it sounded like a crowded Starbucks.
• December 1, 2022 – Evan Leybourn – The Behaviors of Agile Organizations and the BAI Conference – BAI 2022. Evan talks about the hybrid approach to the BAI conference. Evan also talks about measuring business agility and the 86 behaviors that are measured as part of that.

#20 – Agile Uprising Podcast

Summary:

Troy Lightfoot is frequently the host of this podcast (though not the only one), and there is usually a guest or two. Agile Uprising is more than just a podcast – it is a Global Practitioner Network. They have a board though none of the names were familiar to me: Jason Cusak, Andy Cleff, James Gifford, Jay Hrscko, Andrew Leff, Troy Lightfoot, Chris Murman, Brad Stokes, and Janee McConnell). It looks like they also host an annual conference with the next one being in Dallas in the fall of 2023.

The podcast includes a variety of guests from around the globe. Some names I recognized from other podcasts like Joe Krebs from podcast #19 below and Ryan Ripley from podcast #12 above) though many I had never heard of before. I like the mix of both. My only negative for the podcast was the choice of commercials at the start and the mismatched sound volume of those commercials to the podcast content.

Details:

• Podcast Description – This is the Agile Uprising Podcast. Agile Uprising is a purpose-built network that focuses on the advancement of the agile mindset and global professional networking between leading agilists. We will remain agnostic of certifying bodies and focus purely on the advancement of the agile craft. Our network will evolve over time, and at the core our online community will remain free to join – forever. We will leverage both traditional and emerging communication and collaboration channels to explore various topics of interest with a direct focus on removing external influences from sponsors, partners and other organizations.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor –
• Technical – Sound volume was up and down. Jay seemed to be screaming in his episode when he had 4 guests. While I like that he brings some energy and keeps things moving it was uneven. Worse, I get turned off by commercials. One was for Amazon Podcasts and another for Draft Kings gambling. The sound volume was high for the commercials and then low for the intro to the podcast.
• Learning – I found this podcast to be great for learning. Even the reflection on the agile manifesto – something I know pretty well – provided a fresh look. Another way that they boost learning and engagement is with a separate discussion group on Discord that provides an opportunity to go deeper and for guests to interact.
• Frequency – Monthly on average – though it looks like it varies widely.

Best Audience for the Agile Uprising Podcast:

• Agile Practitioners
• Agile Coaches
• Agile Transformation Coaches.

Episodes Sampled:

• January 29, 2023 – Should I Take This? – Okaloa Flowlab. Great concept for a podcast – check out a training class before attending. I love the idea since there are SOOO many possible training courses available and most of us have limits on our time and money. I’ve never heard of Okaloa Flowlab and didn’t even know what this meant. It sounds like an immersive training game that teaches people about Kanban, without actually mentioning Kanban! Jay seemed to really like it.
• November 13, 2022 – HELP I’m running an “agile transformation” WTF do I do? Guests Janee McConnell, Andrew Leff, Chris Murman, and Jay Hrcsko discuss the challenges they face leading agile transformations and some of the lessons learned. I found that a few comments stuck with me. One was that in transformation the “burndown chart becomes a beatdown chart”. Another that I liked about the possibility of agile transformations failing was, “No one helps an elephant fall down. They just get out of the way.” It was a very spirited discussion.
• February 5, 2023 – Agile is Awesome: Rethinking Agile Ep 2 with Chris Li. Sparkplug Agility. Commercial at the beginning for betting on NBA games. Host Troy Lightfoot chose the topic in response to all the negative or critical reports about agile in the news. Which he has found to be depressing. This was not so much an interview as a back-and-forth discussion.

#21 – The Agile Wire

Summary:

Jeff Bulboz and Jeff Maleski are both Professional Scrum Trainers with Scrum.org and they are both personal and engaging. Their podcast format is guest interviews and their guests run the gamut from other Scrum Trainers, Kanban enthusiasts, product people and other related topics. I found them respectful to their guests and they showed up prepared and asked good questions.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Show hosts discuss adventures and misadventures on their continuing journey towards Agility. From working directly with the teams to organizational leaders, novice to masters, we’ve got a little something for everyone.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – Jeff and Jeff are engaging on their own and their discussions with the guests are energetic and entertaining.
• Technical – Great sound quality with no weird background noises and no commercials (beyond the guests plugging their services or books).
• Learning – I found myself interested and learning a lot. The episode with Dan Vacanti and Prateek Singh made me want to read the Actionable Agile Metrics book to go deeper on some of the ideas they discussed.
• Frequency – Monthly

Best Audience for the Agile Wire Podcast:

• Scrum Masters
• Agile Practitioners

Episodes Sampled:

• January 8, 2023 – Psychological Safety with Stephan Wiedner. Great discussion on the topic of team safety and the work of Amy Edmondson. I was grateful to learn that there is a short assessment that teams can use to gauge psychological safety. Stephan talks about how to engage the teams in ways that are safe including how to work with introverts differently than extroverts. They also discussed similarities and differences between Radical Candor and psychological safety.
• December 18, 2022 – The Right Conversation with Drunk Agile. Wow, I really appreciated the spirited discussion between the hosts and their guests who are also podcasters, Dan Vacanti and Prateek Singh (see podcast #24 on this list). As a Scrum fan, I found myself intrigued by the pushback from Dan and Prateek on some of the elements of Scrum that I take for granted, like planning and rank-ordered backlogs. Also covered in the discussion were story points that are quickly falling out of fashion, and the definition of ready which many people in the Scrum community oppose. Key takeaways for me were around flow, small batches, reviews and learning, and taking the next right step. I was left wondering what Dan meant by right-sizing since it sounded a lot like estimating.

#22 – The Agile Within

Summary:

This is an interview-style podcast hosted by Greg Miller and Mark Metze. Prior to the end of 2022, the podcast was hosted by Miller flying solo. In January 2023 the podcast was rebooted, and Metze joined as a co-host. They also changed the frequency from weekly to monthly and plan to alternate between having guests and discussions between the two hosts.

Miller and Metze play well off each other and did a great job interviewing their guest in the episode that I caught. It leaned more toward entertainment than learning and was easy to listen to while doing other things like hiking in the woods.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Admit it… Agile is difficult. Some of the processes (e.g., Scrum, XP, Kanban, etc.) may seem simple, and they are at first blush. Most of us can understand, and even get quite good at the process of Agile (DOING Agile). But what about BEING Agile? This is the other aspect of Agile, which is likely even more difficult to master. In each episode, we’ll dive deep into how to BE Agile (through behavior modification, and mindset shifts). We’ll help you improve through conversations and shared stories with those currently in the Agile space from a wide array of industries. If you are in an Agile environment, or want to be, you’ll need to understand this softer side of agile in order to be successful. If you are simply following a process, you are not truly being Agile. You are going through the motions. Frankly, this side of agile is extremely difficult to grasp. Fortunately, we are here to get you through it. It takes time. Sometimes lots of it! But you’ll get there. And we’ll be here supporting you all the way. Note: Below is a vision statement for the podcast that Mark and I came up with for the re-start. We think it adds focus for the podcast, and the reason why we are doing this. We really hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoy bringing it to you! Cheers!Vision statement: Providing agile insights into human values and behaviors through genuine connections.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I found the podcast interesting and easy to stay awake. It leans more to entertainment than learning and I didn’t find myself wanting to pause the playback to take notes. Instead, I just let it roll. Episodes are a bit longer and the discussion with a guest seem to be unscripted and wandered a bit.
• Technical – Well produced with good sound quality. There is an unusually long musical intro to the podcast, followed by an announcement that doesn’t include the co-host, “and now, here’s your host, Greg Miller”. There was a plug for a podcast editing tool Alitu in the middle of one episode but otherwise no commercials.
• Learning – There were some interesting points made in the discussion but I didn’t find that I was learning a lot.
• Frequency – Monthly.

Best Audience for The Agile Within Podcast:

• Scrum Masters
• Agile Coaches

Episodes Sampled:

• March 24, 2023, Perceptions of Failure with Patty Aluskewicz. Loose discussion with Patty Aluskewicz about learning, failure, and dealing with unreasonable deadlines.
• February 24, 2023 – The Huddle – Learning from Layoffs. This was a somewhat rambly discussion of the recent tech layoff announcements. There were some valuable tips about dealing with layoffs, diversifying, and interviewing.
• January 14, 2023 – Welcome Back!

#23 – Agile FM

Summary:

Joe Krebs is a Professional Scrum Trainer with Scrum.org and his podcast features guest interviews with the “whos who” of agility.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Radio for the Agile Community.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I found myself really interested in the podcast, probably because it is an interview with an agile expert.
• Technical – The production quality is great with great sound quality. There are no commercials, thank you very much.
• Learning – This is a great podcast for learning. Krebs is a great interviewer. He asks good, well thought out questions and he let’s his guests speak. As noted, his guests are some of the best known agile experts out there today.
• Frequency – Monthly.

Best Audience for the Agile FM Podcast:

• Agile Practitioners
• Scrum Masters
• Agile Coaches

Episodes Sampled:

• June 23, 2022 – Joe Justice. I attended a Meetup that Joe Krebs organized with Joe Justice and I really enjoyed it so I tuned in to this episode. Joe Justice was great and shared some detailed insights into agilty at Tesla and SpaceX. No matter how you feel about Elon Musk, they’ve pushed the boundaries of agile ways of working well beyond what most organizations are comfortable doing.
• March 22, 2021 – Mark Kilby. I’ve partnered with Mark Kilby in a panel discussion and was interested in learning more about his book about distributed teams. I wasn’t disappointed!
• September 2, 2022 – Traci Fenton. I’d never heard of Traci Fenton before, so I was delighted to learn more about her and her book, Freedom at Work, which shines a light on democracy in the workplace. She references the work of Richard Sheridan at Menlo in Ann Arbor, which used to be something of a mecca for agile enthusiasts.

#24 – Agility Island

Summary:

This podcast is delivered by John Coleman who describes himself as an “agility chef, executive agility guide, product manager, FLC, PKT, PST, LSFT, creator of Kanplexity™ & Xagility™, and co-author of Kanban Guide.” Which is a lot. His delivery is a steady stream of great information but one you may find difficult to listen to at double speed. He is clearly knowledgeable and he helps tease complex concepts apart and look at the pros and cons of various agile concepts. He is smart enough to carry the podcast without a wingman wingperson or cohost. I really appreciate his ability to describe complex ideas in a straightforward way using simple language.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Hi, I’m John and I’m passionate about the world of agility, scrum, and kanban. So much so, that I dedicated the last decade and a half of my career to helping organizations and individuals with implementing agility. Listen to regular nuggets from an active globally recognized practitioner, trainer, and coach in tech and non-tech at the home of authentic agility. I am a Thinkers360 top 10 agility thought leader, Scrum.org Professional Scrum Trainer and course steward, co-author of Kanban Guide, Prokanban.org Professional Kanban Trainer and LeSS Friendly Scrum Trainer.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I would say that this podcast leans more to the learning side at the expense of entertainment. I wasn’t bored at all, though I found that I frequently wanted to pause to write things down.
• Technical – Great sound quality and production, no commercials.
• Learning – Heavy on learning, and there are a variety of topics to choose from.
• Frequency – Monthly

Best Audience for the Agile Island Podcast:

• Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches
• Agile Practitioners and Enthusiasts of all types

Episodes Sampled:

• March 29, 2022 – Sizing and Forecasting. I found this discussion very helpful – John looked at some of the pros and cons of various ways of estimating from time, cost, story points, function points, wall estimates, #no estimates, historical time reference, 3-point analysis, and throughput. He highlighted right-sizing, which I just heard Vacant talking about so that was helpful context.
• March 29, 2022 – Daily Flow – a story about story points and an alternative, throughput. John shares a personal story about a team that wanted to get “credit” for partially done work at the end of the sprint. My favorite quote is – “Story points are next to useless.” John recommends throughput instead.
• March 30, 2022 – Daily Flow – dealing with complexity in a Kanban footprint. John explores the Kanban approach and how that can help teams deal with complexity. He provides some guidance around Kanban usage.
• April 29, 2022 – What do the developers do in the last week of the sprint? Great question, and unfortunately, a question I have heard quite a bit. It reflects both waterfall and specialist thinking. I liked John’s response which was that the developer raises their hand when they finish something so that someone can take it off their hands, or better yet, sit with them to test it.

#25 – Arguing Agile

Summary:

This podcast is hosted by Brian Orlando and Om Patel and they occasionally feature guests. They dig into agile-related topics, and often focus on the Product Owner role because Orlando is a Product Owner. I didn’t hear too much arguing. The longer episodes allow them to go deep into topics which fosters learning.

Details:

• Podcast Description – We’re arguing about agile software development so that you don’t have to! — The Arguing Agile Podcast is where a Product Manager (Brian Orlando) and an Enterprise Agile Coach (Om Patel) sit down with other professionals in and around the agile software development space to have real, unscripted, and authentic conversations.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – The main focus of this podcast is on learning, though it held my attention as well.
• Technical – Good sound quality and no commercials. Unlike most podcasts, the hosts just jump into the discussion with no introduction and no walk-up music.
• Learning – This is a great podcast for learning. The longer episodes allow them to go deep on any particular topic. I liked how much time the group spent diving into Dweck’s mindset book
• Frequency – Monthly

Best Audience for the Arguing Agile Podcast:

• Product Owners and Product Managers
• Agile Practitioners
• Agile Coaches

Episodes Sampled:

• February 17, 2023 – AA100 – Mindset by Carol Dweck, Ph.D. (with Ed Martin). The group walks through Carol Dweck’s mindset book from front to back and shares leadership lessons for leaders of all stripes.
• December 16, 2022 – AA91 – Going from Product Owner to Product Manager. I was interested in learning more about the Product Owner role though I did not get exactly what I was looking for

#26 – Badass Agile

Summary:

Chris Williams is the host of the Badass Agile podcast. I found this to be a bit different (and better) than the run-of-the-mill agile podcast. Chris focuses on leadership and particularly self-leadership. It’s less about Agile and the mechanics of Scrum though they do get mentioned occasionally. The focus here is on how to grow, expand and master your craft.

Episodes are short and focused – like a small dose of inspiration. In fact, Chris comes across as the Tony Robbins of Agile – Just get out there and do it!

Details:

• Podcast Description – A place for elite leaders and teams. This podcast is about WHO YOU NEED TO BECOME in order to lead Agile teams.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I found myself really interested in the podcast which is unusual because I usually get bored with just one person talking. Is it his voice? Is it his strategic focus on agility? His confidence. I don’t know why, but it works.
• Technical – Excellent production quality. Chris has the voice for radio, as they say, and he delivers with a cadence that keeps the podcast interesting. Add a great rock music soundtrack and you have a winning combination.
• Learning – This is a great podcast for learning. Even more so for prompting introspection and insights. The episodes are somewhat short but focused on a specific topic. It is like a great shot in the arm.
• Frequency – Weekly-ish.

Best Audience for the Badass Agile Podcast:

• Leaders of all types
• Agile Practitioners
• Agile Coaches

Episodes Sampled:

• February 2, 2023 – Badd Unfitered – Strength and Ambition – Chris talks about setting big goals and committing to them.
• January 29, 2023 – Agile has lost the Script. Chris talks about the divisiveness that is prevalent in social media in general and has spilled over into agile. He talks about the need to rise above the fray, get rid of the religious commitment to frameworks like Scrum, and be open to learning and growing.
• September 27, 2022 – Time to Act. Chris talks about doing the work that is valuable and points out that sometimes we use planning as a way to avoid doing that valuable work. We need to be building, testing, and shipping. Focus on outcomes.
• November 24, 2022 – Agile as Artistry – Chris talks about Agile artistry, which is in contrast to big bank or big box agile. Don’t be cookie-cutter! Focus on adding value. I get the sense that early in his career he worked for a big bureaucratic bank and was burned out trying to introduce agility.

#27 – Becoming a True Agile Leader

TBD

 

#28 – Change by Attraction

TBD

#29 – Deliver It Cast

Summary:

If you are a product owner or product manager, I think you should be listening to Deliver It. Cory Bryan does a good job with this Product-focused podcast. Sometimes he has a guest and some of those guests are hosts of other podcasts. Most of the time he is on his own.

There has not been a new posting since episode 150 in September 2023. I reached out to Cory to see if he is taking a break.

I heard Cory mention that the podcast is part of the agile podcast network. If you dig a little you will find the following listed as podcasts included in that network:

• Agile Coffee
• Agile For Humans
• Deliver It
• The Meta-Cast
• Reflection as a Service

Details:

• Podcast Description – Deliver It is a podcast for agile Product Owners. Hosted by Cory Bryan and guests bring their experience and ideas on how to improve the role and techniques they use to deliver value within an agile framework. The show brings together relevant news, and discussion, around a central topic and your feedback in a fun and supportive way.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – For me, this podcast was more about learning than necessarily entertainment. It kept me awake but barely.
• Technical – Good sound quality, particularly on Cory. He also has a solid rock intro and outro. His guest sound was not as strong and had a bit of an echo.
• Learning – Great podcast for learning, particularly if you want to go deep into product related topics.
• Frequency – Twice a month.

Best Audience for the Deliver it Cast:

• Product Owners and Product Managers
• Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches

Episodes Sampled:

• September 28, 2022 – Back to Basics Part 3 [150]. Cory mentioned a number of books for product folks including some that I have on my best agile books blog post like Bob Galen’s Scrum Product Ownership and Jeff Patton’s User Story Mapping. I made a note of a few not on my list including Geoff Watts’s book Product Mastery and Marty Cagan’s Empowered and Inspired.
• June 22, 2022 – Boardroom Metrics with Stephanie Tanzar [143]. Though I don’t have much expertise in the product management space, I found the discussion on product engagement and other metrics fascinating. Cory and Stephanie emphasized adoption, stickiness and growth over velocity and roadmaps. The topic of outcomes over outputs came up again.
• August 17, 2022 – Uncomfortable [147]. I was intrigued by the title and enjoyed listening to Cory describe the various ways he pushes himself to learn which includes feeling uncomfortable, particularly in areas we have not yet mastered. It reminds me of another podcast I listened to which encourages coaches to push themselves out of their comfort zone in order to have more empathy for those teams and individuals we are training and coaching.

#30 – Drunk Agile

Summary:

Not to be confused with the Drunken PM, this is the Drunk Agile podcast. It is co-hosted by Daniel Vacanti and Prateek Singh. I’ve been hearing a lot about Flow Metrics and Throughput Accounting and links to Daniel Vacanti so I was very curious to learn more. I just recently bought Vacanti’s Book, Actionable Agile Metrics. I was not disappointed.

If you are striving to move away from story points and velocity and move toward flow and throughput, this is the podcast for you. Plus a lot of related topics like Kanban and Monte Carlo Simulation.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Dan Vacanti and Prateek Singh drink whisk(e)y and…
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – Dan and Prateek bring great energy and have a good back-and-forth without stepping on each other. They are both quite knowledgeable and interesting.
• Technical – Good production quality, good sound quality. One episode discussed their own Kanban training course. It was not a commercial per se, and I didn’t notice commercials in the other episodes.
• Learning – Excellent from my point of view. Perhaps it is because Flow Metrics and Throughput Accounting are hot topics right now.
• Frequency – Monthly-ish.

Best Audience for the Drunk Agile Podcast:

• Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches
• Product Owners

Episodes Sampled:

• January 17, 2022 – Episode 55 – When Will a New Feature Be Done. Kicked off with a discussion of what they were drinking. Whiskey I think. They discussed the value of using Monte Carlo simulation to predict the future and answer the question of “When Will A New Feature Be Done”. Prateek mentioned the complication of having items in WIP and having a mix of items in that WIP.  The hosts explore some of the pitfalls of using Monte Carlo simulation.
• January 17, 2023 – Episode 54 – Applying Scaled Portfolio Kanban. Shameless plug for their ProKanban.org training. How to introduce flow at different levels of the organization. Mentioned flight levels and turtle stack, terms I had not heard before.
• October 17, 2022 – Episode 53 – Prescriptive Approach To Implementing Agile. No drinking in this episode but no noticeable change in quality, better or worse. Discussed the downsides of maturity models (just say no) and prescriptive approaches and instead emphasized speed of learning and measuring customer satisfaction.
• August 12, 2022 – Episode 51 – Backlog Vs Ready Column. Drinking whiskey. They mentioned they were just back from the Agile 2023 conference which as they pointed out was a super-spreader event. Responding to a listener’s question about the ready vs. backlog column. They mentioned the Kanban Guide which is something I didn’t know existed. Dan mentions that the ready column might help you to manage WIP – it is better though to simply the next priority item when the team has capacity. That latter approach avoids creating more WIP and queues.

#31 – Engineering Culture by InfoQ

Summary:

This is a weekly interview-style podcast hosted by Shane Hastie. Guests include many known experts in agile as well as other lesser known voices. Hastie comes across as knowledgeable and engaging and he keeps the conversation going smoothly. Topics range widely and since it is a weekly podcast with a backlog of 280 episodes, there should be something for everyone.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Software engineers, architects and team leads have found inspiration to build better, high performing teams by listening to the weekly InfoQ Podcast. We have achieved that by interviewing some of the top CTOs, engineers and technology directors from companies like Uber, Netflix and more. Over 500,000 downloads in the last 3 years.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I found it easy to pay attention to this podcast and part of that was I chose episodes with topics that interested me.
• Technical – Well produced with excellent sound quality. The only negative was the inclusion of a brief commercial at the beginning which was not difficult to skip past.
• Learning – This is a great podcast for learning. There is a wide range of topics.
• Frequency – Weekly.

Best Audience for the Engineering Culture by InfoQ podcast:

• All agile practitioners seeking broad exposure to people and ideas.
• Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches

Episodes Sampled:

• February 17, 2023 – Being Opinionated About the Engineering Culture you want to Build. Viraj Modi is co-founder and CTO of the Common Room startup. Modi insists that being opinionated is a culture worth seeking.
• January 20, 2023 – Empowering Women in STEM. Included a brief commercial foe Qcon London at the start. Otherwise a great interview with Food Scientist Kimberly Fox. Fox specializes in food based team building activities that are inclusive.
• December 18, 2023 – Stop Having Meetings that Suck – Patricia Kong on Why Facilitation Should be a Core Competency. Patricia Kong is a Product Owner at Scrum.org. Kong talks about stances and the difficulty of effective facilitation. She plugged the new facilitation course from Scrum.org.

#32 – Gemba Academy Podcast

Summary:

This podcast is hosted by Ron Pereira and has an interview-style format. Gemba is a Lean term that means “the real place,” or the location where value is created in your business. The podcast focuses on Lean and Lean Six Sigma. Though not directly tied to Agile ways of working, I consider Lean Six Sigma to be a first cousin to agile ways of working.

I was not familiar with any of Pereira’s guests on the show.

Details:

• Podcast Description – New episodes released every Thursday focused on Lean Thinking, Lean Manufacturing, Toyota Kata, Leadership, & Productivity. All episodes available at GembaPodcast.com
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – Episodes are about 30 minutes which provides enough time to get into a topic yet not so long to get bored. I found the interview approach interesting. Stories from the guests tend to hold my attention.
• Technical – Great production and sound quality. There was a commercial at the end for Gemba academy but it is easily skipped.
• Learning – Great podcast for learning about Lean approaches. With over 450 episodes in the can, it should be easy to find some new lean concepts to learn about. The episode with Roland Guerrero was a great refresher on Lean improvements. Agile coaches would be well served to understand some of these foundational techniques. I also was struck by reference to the Good video from Jocko Willink. That was really impactful to me – the idea that no matter what happens, there is a good side of it, usually an opportunity to learn and grown.
• Frequency – Weekly.

Best Audience for the Gemba Academy podcast:

• Agile Coaches
• Agile Practitioners of all types
• Lean 6 Sigma Practitioners

Episodes Sampled:

• February 9, 2023- GA 462 | Fort Collins’ Lean Journey with Roland Guerrero. Kicked off with a favorite quote..what interests your leader should interest you. Roland created a Lean course for employees – Problem-Solve-Fix, root cause analysis and related topics.
• February 16, 2023 – GA 463 | Academics vs. Application with Phil Ranck. Ranck founded Lean Alaska, a Lean Consulting company.
• August 18, 2022 – GA 437 | Virtual Training with Steve Kane. Kane is a trainer with Gemba Academy. Great reference to the “Good” video from Jocko  Willink.

#33 – Here’s This Agile Thing Podcast

Summary:

The ‘Here’s This Agile Thing’ podcast is the creation of Mike Marchi and Matt Beam, two Chicago-based agile coaches that I know well and respect. I guess you could consider it a spin-off from the now-defunct Agile Chicago-style Podcast created by Rick Waters and frequently co-hosted with Matt Beam.

Beam and Marchi have good chemistry, and the conversations with them are interesting and engaging. Recently they added another Chicago coach Jeff Singleton to the mix and the three of them work well together. (Singleton and Marchi are two of the six co-hosts of the Agile Professional Learning Network).

The topics tend to be a little more advanced than the average podcast, and they certainly stray well outside the confines of Scrum.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Let’s figure this thing out, more or less. It’s about complexity. And process control. Except for the part that’s about feelings and stuff.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – Mike and Matt (and Jeff) are all savvy agile coaches and they’ve been together for a while. They play off each other well. 
• Technical – Good sound quality and production quality. The podcast is less than a year old and its quality has improved since the beginning. Early on I noticed that there were frequent computer noises in the background (email notifications?) and it seems like they cleaned that up in the more recent ones. Plus they’ve gotten better at staying on script and knowing when they should end the episode.
• Learning – This is great for learning. The hosts are very knowledgeable and it is clear that they do their homework (like reading the book) before showing up to discuss the topics. I found them easy to listen to and interesting.
• Frequency – Couple times per month.

Best Audience for the Here’s This Agile Thing Podcast:

• Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters

Episodes Sampled:

• February 20, 2023 – Flow metrics – Probabilistic vs deterministic. Stress over estimates. Guesses vs Promises vs commitments. Relax about estimation. Seemed like they had a hard time ending the episode.
• September 22, 2022 – Project to Product Flow Topics. This is based on the book by the same name from Nik Kersten.
• February 27, 2023 – The 6 Types of Working Genius. This was based on the 2022 Working Genius book from Patrick Lencioni.

#34 – Ignite Agility

TBD

#35 – Inspect and Adapt

#36 – LeadingAgile SoundNotes- an Agile Podcast

Summary:

This is the second Agile podcast hosted by Dave Prior, the other being DrunkenPM. This is an interview format podcast. Mike Cottmeyer is the founder of LeadingAgile and a frequent guest on the LeadingAgile show. There is good banter between the two of them though I did notice that Dave occasionally steps on Mike when interjecting his questions.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Dave Prior hosts a weekly Agile podcast that covers all sorts of topics including Scrum, Agile Transformation, Project Management, and Leadership. No matter if you’re new to Agile development or an Agile veteran, Dave and his guest are sure to make you think about Agile in a whole new way. Alexa knows us as Leading Agile Sound Notes.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I found the podcasts covered topics that I was interested in as a coach. Plus, the discussions with Cottmeyer mostly focused on agile transformation so that was also pretty interesting.  
• Technical – Good quality production with good sound quality. I did notice a slight difference in the sound volume between Prior and his guests. There are no commercials.
• Learning – The longer episode length and the combination of Prior and Cottmeyer with their deep expertise makes this a great podcast for learning.
• Frequency – Weekly.

Best Audience for the LeadingAgile Soundnotes podcast:

• Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches
• Those involved in Agile Transformation

Episodes Sampled:

• October 6, 2022 – An Executive walks into a Daily Scrum. Great discussion with fellow Certified Scrum Trainer Vic Bonacci about a situation that is fairly common in agile. I like the statement that trust is earned in drops and lost in buckets.
• June 2, 2022 – Knowing the Answer is Not Enough with Mike Cottmeyer. Cottmeyer is a pretty well-known name in agile circles and is the founder of LeadingAgile, the producer of this podcast. Great exploration of how to engage with clients as a coach and why you might not want to provide an answer to a question. Ended with chit chat between Prior and Cottmeyer.
• November 9, 2022 – Maximizing the Value of Agile Metrics. The topic caught my eye because of the recent discussions about story points being trash, no estimates and flow metrics.

#37 – Lean on Agile

TBD

#38 – LeSS (Large Scale Scrum) Matters Podcast

Summary:

This is an interview-style podcast hosted by Ben Maynard. Maynard interviews a variety of guests and early on in 2021 the guests were all recognized thought leaders in Large Scale Scrum (LeSS) like Bas Vodde and Ahmad Fahmy. I was really interested in checking out this podcast because I have been a fan of LeSS since taking training from Craig Larman back in 2013.

I was a little disappointed to see that the most recent guests are not LeSS Practitioners, and instead focused on other agile-related topics. I prefer the LeSS focused session and think the focus on LeSS would have made this a more sought out podcast. Other topics can be found in other agile podcasts.

The episodes are long and they go deep, and guests are often invited back or episodes are split into multiple parts.

The host and guests are based in Europe which provides opportunities to hear potentially diverse thoughts and ideas for those of us based in the US.

They don’t spend much time on basics like the Scrum Framework so it is best for advanced practitioners who are ready to move beyond the basics.

Details:

• Podcast Description – The world of Product Discovery and Creation is becoming increasingly challenging due to mistakes and missed opportunities that are prevalent in agile teams, large-scale Scrum and all other agile frameworks. History has shown that when organisations try and scale their product development to more than one cross-functional team, mistakes are made that cut short many chances of getting all possible benefits. The route of this for many is the lack of attention paid to the great advancements in Product Management driven by hordes of professional Product People who are proving that making their customers happier is not a pipe dream but a hard and fast reality. This podcast exists to explore all topics related to Product, Agility and Coaching. Are you wondering how to marry the agile principles with Product discovery? Curious if it is really possible to have 100’s of cross-functional teams (or Product Teams)  all working from an effectively prioritised single Product Backlog and a dedicated Product Owner? How you can embrace continuous improvement and empirical process control for your product, people and processes? Ever wondered how to overcome the problems people face when trying to scale the Product Owner role and how it relates to Product Management and Product Teams? Baffled by how to define a product in such a way that enables Feature Teams (aka Product Teams) and why doing wrong means you will only ever be stuck with technical teams? Don’t think that Scrum Teams are compatible with modern product management techniques? Want to know what Product Focus means and how the right focus makes creating a shippable product less painful?Need to get your head around how to blend modern product management techniques with Sprint Planning and Sprint Reviews to achieve Product Increments that cover the entire productThis podcast’s original focus was on Scaling Scrum vs Single-Team Scrum and how organisations can reap the benefits of Scrum when working on a larger product but still keeping a single product backlog. We found that an increasing number of Product People liked what we were saying, and then the penny dropped. This isn’t a podcast about scaling Scrum or the limitations of single-team Scrum. This is a podcast for Product People & agile advocates alike who coach or get their hands dirty with Product creation. So whether you are a Scrum Master or someone who is struggling with enterprise agile and its relationship to modern product management, then we promise there is no Taboo topic that we will not explore on your behalf.  Our aim is to transcend the conversations about a single team, Daily Scrums, Scrum Masters and the double-diamond and bring everyone together into responsible teams dedicated to working on the entire product to make their customers happier and their own lives more fulfilling. Come and join us on our improvement towards perfection, and give us your feedback (we have a strong customer focus, too), and who knows, perhaps we will discover the magic wand that we can wave over all the broken agile and sudo-products to create a more resilient and adaptable future by bringing the world or Product, Agility and coaching together. This podcast has the conversations and insights you need.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – This podcast leans toward learning. Having guests on the podcast is helpful to keep it interesting and those guests that share real-world experiences tended to hold my interest better than those focused on theory. Host Ben Maynard is knowledgeable and asks good questions.
• Technical – There was some occasional background noise which was slightly distracting but overall good sound quality with an upbeat music intro and outro.
• Learning – This is a great podcast for learning, particularly on more advanced topics. The host and guests are not US-based and that provides some diversity. Host Maynard does a quick recap at the end of each episode which is helpful for retention.
• Frequency – Weekly.

Best Audience for the LeSS Matters podcast:

• LeSS Fans
• Agile Coaches
• Scaling fans

Episodes Sampled:

• February 16, 2023 – Scaling Product Excellence @ PandaDoc Insider Secrets for Scrum Masters & Agile Coaches
• February 23, 2023 – Product Agility with the Kanban Maturity Model with Teodora Bozheva. Not specific to LeSS or scaling even.
• October 20, 2022 – Ravi Jay – Incentives, Performance and Annual Employee Reviews in LeSS

#39 – The Liberators Network

TBD

#40 – Mastering Agility Podcast

Summary:

Mastering Agility is an interview-style podcast hosted by Professional Scrum Trainer Sander Dur. Guests include a number of familiar names like Mike Cohn, Tricia Broderick, Jurgen Appelo, and Lyssa Adkins. I also noted a number of hosts from other agile podcasts. Topics vary quite widely from estimation to psychological safety and everything in between.

Episodes are on the longer side allowing the host and guest to get into some details.

Details:

• Podcast Description – The only constant in life is change. Organizations are dealing with constantly changing competition, new insights, innovation and even culture. The term “business agility” has taken a huge surge, in order to mitigate risk and focus more on delivering value. Frameworks like Scrum, SAFe, LeSS, and a whole lot more were created to provide ways to deliver this value. To inspire you, Mastering Agility discusses everything related to business agility with the biggest names in the industry.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I found myself engaged with this podcast primarily because of the expertise of the guests but also the wide variety of interesting topics in the history of 60 episodes.
• Technical – Good sound quality and production quality.
• Learning – This is a great podcast for learning because of the variety of topics and deep expertise of the guests. A bonus for learning is that they provide a discord server with discussion groups, events, and a book club.
• Frequency – Weekly.

Best Audience for the Mastering Agility podcast:

• Scrum Practitioners
• Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches

Episodes Sampled:

• August 15, 2022 – S04 E02 Flow Metrics for Scrum Teams with Will Seele. Seele is the co-author of Flow Metrics for Scrum Teams which is a free download from the ProKanban site.
• August 26, 2022 – DocDur Agile #4 Demonstrating Performance as a Scrum Master. In this episode, plays the role of Doctor Agile to answer listener questions.

#41 – Meta-Cast

Summary:

Metacast is hosted by Bob Galen and Josh Anderson. Galen is an experienced Agile Coach, Trainer, and Author. Anderson is an Agile coach specializing in products and leadership. Galen and Anderson are hilarious together and that makes it an excellent podcast for easy listening. Plus you will learn a lot. For this reason, it is one of my favorite podcasts. (Note that I am also a friend and fan of Bob Galen!).

Episodes are on the longer side and that allows Galen and Anderson to go deeper and really exhaust a topic.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Bob Galen and Josh Anderson use their decades of coaching experience to power your organization’s need for agility and scale. If our 200+ episodes don’t have what you need, ask us a question, and we’ll help you out!
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – This podcast is high on entertainment AND high on learning. Co-hosts Galen and Anderson pass the conversation back and forth between themselves in a smooth way. They usually agree on various topics, and when they don’t the debate is interesting. I find this a great podcast to listen to while I do other things. 
• Technical – Good sound quality and production quality. I heard some dog barking (Josh?) in one episode but otherwise, the sound was clear and balanced between the two of them. No commercials!
• Learning – Great learning across a variety of topics. I would say they mostly focus on leadership and agile coaching but Scrum and other agile-related topics come up. They have over 200 episodes in the can, so you can search to find topics of interest to you. I like that they also have a discord server to get listener input and keep the discussion going after the show.
• Frequency – Weekly.

Best Audience for the Meta-Cast podcast:

• Agile Coaches
• Leaders
• Product Owners and Product Managers

Episodes Sampled:

• December 27, 2022 – 233 – Project Driven to Product Led Organizations. Great discussion about the downsides of seeing the world through the project paradigm.
• January 2, 2023 – 234 – No Shit Sandwiches. Discussion on the downsides of the popular approach to sandwiching critical feedback between positive feedback in a “shit sandwich”.
• February 1, 2021 – Episode 187 – Enabling All Voices

#42 – No Nonsense Agile Podcast

Summary:

This is an interview-style podcast hosted by Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson. Guests include a number of recognized agile experts like Tom Gilb and Al Shalloway. This podcast is both entertaining and educational. The hosts explore a lot of different approaches and frameworks, outside the well-worn topic of Scrum.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Non Nonsense chats on what agile is and what it isn’t, without any bullshit.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor –  The episodes I chose were interesting to me but then again, I wanted to hear from some of the early agile experts like Shalloway and Gilb. 
• Technical – Great sound quality and production quality. No commercials!
• Learning – I selected episodes based on my interest. That included learning about Amplio, a new approach from Al Shalloway. I like how the hosts did a recap with key takeaways at the end of the episode, which helped to reinforce the learning for me.
• Frequency – Weekly.

Best Audience for the No Nonsense Agile podcast:

• Software Developers
• Agile Coaches
• Agile Practitioners

Episodes Sampled:

• July 28, 2022 – #049 – Tom Gilb – software metrics. Gilb is an agile and software development legend, who is probably best known for developing EVO, one of the earliest agile approaches. Gilb brought a lot of energy and showed his deep expertise though I found myself scratching my head about his preference for requirements or value rather than focusing on features. I was also intrigued by design to cost used at IBM FSD. Recommended studying Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
• February 2, 2023 – #0070 – Al Shalloway – Pattern Libraries for knowledge work. Shalloway is another early agile thought leader and author. Shalloway talks about pattern libraries and Amplio, scaled approach to provide business agility. Best quote, “Patterns are the future of agile”.

#43 – Organization Transformation Kung Fu

Summary:

This is a discussion podcasts with co-hosts and executive coaches Sandi Verrecchia and Jennifer T Long. Most episodes are just the two of them though they have an occasional guest. The topics are timely and varied – stress, retention, accountability, strategy and self-directed teams.

Details:

• Podcast Description – OT Kung Fu: Sandi and Jen created this podcast with agile leaders like yourself in mind, as a platform to share our best business development practices, self improvement tips, and share in our knowledge of what it means to be a high performing leader. We invite you to listen in as we chat with guests and provide our insight on various industry related topics, as two seasoned executive coaches.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor –  I found this a great podcast that held my attention. Co-hosts Verrecchia and Long have a good chemistry and rapport. 
• Technical – Great sound quality and production quality. No commercials beyond a brief mention of the co-hosts respective websites at the end.
• Learning – I liked that the hosts discussed challenges and then followed through with practical action steps that could be taken. For example, I liked the reminder about using breathing to reduce stress and get present with others.
• Frequency – Every few months.

Best Audience for the Organization Transformation Kung Fu podcast:

• Leaders
• Agile Coaches

Episodes Sampled:

• February 23, 2023 – 33 – Leading in Stressful Times. The hosts discussed some of the driving factors for stress in organizations and how leaders can deal with it.
• December 11, 2021 – Episode025 Self-Directed Teams. Self-directed teams are flat teams without a designated manager or leader. The hosts explored some of the aspects, difficulties and tips for success with self-directed teams.

#44 – Perspectives of Change

Summary:

Sarika Kharbanda hosts this podcast focusing on change. Kharbanda is a Global Lean Change agent and self-proclaimed “Change Hacker”. While this podcast is not directly related to agile, it is a common thread in most of the episodes. Leadership is also a key topic, at the team level and at the organizational level.

This podcast is a bit unusual in that it is live-streamed which allows listeners to ask questions. That may add more value by helping the host and guest focus on what is most interesting to the listeners.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Sometimes we forget that our perspective as change agents is just one of many. Perspectives of Change show is dedicated to exploring how to nudge change forward by understanding and valuing multiple perspectives. This show is hosted by Sarika Kharbanda and co-sponsored by Lean Change Management Association. We explore lean, agile, and change management topics from a variety of perspectives.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – This podcast was just OK. I picked episodes based on interesting topics and they were mostly related to agile though Ralph van Roosmalen, author of Art of Teams, did not seem familiar with agile experts when answering questions about his book. 
• Technical – The commercials stuck in the middle are a major turnoff. Also, I noticed that they are playing background music throughout the podcast. This is a little distracting especially when the sound quality of the speakers is less than optimal. I found myself struggling to hear on a few occasions.
• Learning – Great podcast for learning, particularly if you are focused on organizational change. Episodes are a little longer and the inclusion of listener questions helps. The host and most guests are based outside the U.S. which is helpful in broadening the perspectives of US-based listeners.
• Frequency – Irregular.

Best Audience for the Perspectives of Change podcast:

• Change agents
• Agile Coaches

Episodes Sampled:

• February 7, 2023 – #39 “The Art of Teams” with Ralph van Roosmalen. The sound quality was a little shakey for the guests and the background soundtrack did not help. Ralph van Roosmalen spoke about his book, The Art of Teams.
• February 19, 2023 – #40 “Authenticity – the courage to be yourself as a leader” with Tze Chin Tang.
• October 26, 2021 – #32 – “Resistance is the #1 Challenge” with Evan Leybourn. Leybourn spoke of aspects of change and resistance.

#45 – Product Thinking

Summary:

Product specialist Melissa Perri is probably best known for her book, Escaping The Build Trap. The format of the podcast is either answering listener questions or interviewing experts in Product Management. It makes for an interesting podcast driven by real world challenges. Perri’s guests on the show include some well-known names in Product Management like Marty Cagan, John Cutler and Josh Seiden and many others you may not have heard of (yet).

Details:

• Podcast Description – Successful product management isn’t just about training the product managers who work side by side with developers everyday to build better products. It’s about taking a step back, approaching the systems within organizations as a whole, and leveling up product leadership to improve these systems. This is the Product Thinking Podcast, where Melissa Perri will connect with industry-leading experts in the product management space, AND answer your most pressing questions about everything product. Join us each week to level up your skillset and invest in yourself as a product leader.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor –  Perri is engaging and holds the space well when flying solo, and is equally adept at engaging with her guests. 
• Technical – Pretty good sound and production quality. There was a small but noticeable quality issue (volume clipping) in Perri’s voice when interviewing others. There was a brief commercial in the middle for Perri’s training course – Product Institute / Product Management Foundations – ugh.
• Learning – I found this podcast great for learning more about Product thinking and the roles of the Product Owner and Product Manager. These are both areas of weakness for me. Melissa leverages the questions she gets to explore overall themes in Product Management, which was interesting to me.
• Frequency – Weekly.

Best Audience for the Product Thinking podcast:

• Product Owners and Product Managers
• Agile Coaches

Episodes Sampled:

• January 4, 2023 – Answering Your Most Asked Questions of 2022
• July 14, 2021 – Getting Leadership Up to Speed with Marty Cagan. Sharing the lessons in great product leaders in organizations and Cagan’s books, Empowered and Inspired.

#46 – Roman’s Product Management Podcast

Summary:

This relatively new podcast is focused on those in Product Owner or Product Manager roles. Roman Pichler is the host and if you haven’t heard from him, he is a specialist in this area. Pichler has written several books including Agile Product Management with Scrum and his most recent, Strategize.

The podcast is relatively new and Pichler has only recorded 10 episodes. He does not have guests (so far) and relies on his own considerable expertise to provide valuable insights and help people address common challenges. Episodes are relatively short and Pichler frequently points you to resources to take you deeper including free downloads, books, and training courses.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Expert Training & Management | Agile Product Management and Scrum
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor –  This podcast leans toward the educational side and is not necessarily entertaining. That said, Pichler has a smooth delivery that held my attention. I am not a product person and I found episodes and topics that were of interest to me to deepen my knowledge in this area. It also helped me to have a specific “product” of my own in mind as I listened, like a new training course. That prompted me to head over to his website and download some of Pichler’s (free) templates.
• Technical – Great sound and production quality. Since it is just Pichler, there is no quality or volume difference that you might find with a guest. Roman does plug his books and training courses during episodes though they are not full-fledged commercials.
• Learning – This is a great podcast for learning. Pichler provides excellent step-by-step guidance for creating product strategy, developing product roadmaps, working with Scrum Teams and managing product backlogs.
• Frequency – Monthly

Best Audience for Roman’s Product Management Podcast:

• Product Owners and Product Managers
• Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches

Episodes Sampled:

• February 14, 2023 – Succeeding with Product Delivery and Scrum: 10 Tips for Product People
• September 13, 2022 – My Product Strategy Model
• August 16, 2022 – Empathy in Product Management
• June 7, 2022- Six Common KPI Mistakes to Avoid

#47 – Scrum Master Toolbox: Agile storytelling from the trenches

Summary:

This is a short, interview-based podcast hosted by Vasco Duarte. I know Duarte from his work in the NoEstimates movement and his book on NoEstimates though that is not the focus of this podcast at all.

I was initially confused by the term “toolbox” in the podcast title. This is not about tools, thankfully. Rather is entirely focused on the Scrum Master role and the types of challenges that Scrum Masters face. Duarte and his guests provide lots of great tips and tricks for Scrum Masters. Episodes are short and focused. With over 200 episodes in the can, I think you will find topics and people that interest you.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Every week day, Certified Scrum Master, Agile Coach and business consultant Vasco Duarte interviews Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches from all over the world to get you actionable advice, new tips and tricks, improve your craft as a Scrum Master with daily doses of inspiring conversations with Scrum Masters from the all over the world. Stay tuned for BONUS episodes when we interview Agile gurus and other thought leaders in the business space to bring you the Agile Business perspective you need to succeed as a Scrum Master.
  Some of the topics we discuss include: Agile Business, Agile Strategy, Retrospectives, Team motivation, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Backlog Refinement, Scaling Scrum, Lean Startup, Test Driven Development (TDD), Behavior Driven Development (BDD), Paper Prototyping, QA in Scrum, the role of agile managers, servant leadership, agile coaching, and more!
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor –  This is an interview-style podcast and the episodes are short – typically the length of the daily Scrum -and that helps keep things interesting. Duarte asks good questions and frequently prompts his guests by saying, “can you provide a specific example?”
• Technical – The podcast features great sound and production quality. There are no commercials though Duarte did include some plugs for an upcoming Product Owner summit he was hosting at the beginning and end of some episodes.
• Learning – Duarte has deep expertise and engages well with his guests. Guests are based outside the U.S., which I liked because of the diversity. And with over 200 episodes already recorded, I suspect you will find topics and people that interest you.
• Frequency – Every Weekday

Best Audience for the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast:

• Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches

Episodes Sampled:

• February 23, 2023 – Maximizing Impact of Agile Coaching at Moo, Feedback and Measurement Strategies | Gemma Murray
• February 13, 2023 – Mastering Agile as a Non-Technical Scrum Master – Insights and Tips for Success | Tinatin Tabidze
• February 2, 2023 – Why do Scrum teams cancel Scrum meetings, and other reflections on success for Scrum Masters | Pino Decandia
• February 17, 2023 – The key to an awesome Agile team, the hands-on and insightful Product Owner | Tinatin Tabidze

#48 – SPaMCast (Software Process and Measurement) Cast

Summary:

This is an interview-style podcast hosted by my friend and colleague, Tom Cagley. Cagley gets the longevity award for agile podcasts. He has compiled nearly 800 episodes over the last 17 years which is remarkable. Tom was podcasting long before it was cool and I am sure he will be around long after some of the pandemic podcasts are gone.

The topic of the podcast is software process improvement which tends to focus heavily on agile ways of working.  Most episodes are interviews with agile and software development thought leaders, including legends like Gerald Weinberg, Capers Jones and Johanna Rothman. He also interviews lesser-known practitioners like me (I’ve been on his podcast 4 times). Cagley does a good job of asking questions and steering the conversations.

Cagley also has a weekly segment on books. In addition, he has a QA Corner segment featuring Jeremy Berriault, To Tell a Story with Tony Timbol, Alpha and Omega of Product Development with Jon M Quigley, and Not a Scrumdamentalist with Susan Parente.

Details:

• Podcast Description – SPaMCAST explores the varied world of software process improvement and measurement. The cast covers topics that deal with the challenges found in information technology organizations as they grow and evolve.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor –  The interviews are interesting and I tend to select those people that interest me. There are so many to choose from! I often listen to this podcast when out walking around or doing other things.
• Technical – Good sound and production quality with no commercials. I did notice the voice of one of the recent guests was a muffled but that has generally not been the case.
• Learning – This is a great podcast for learning. The episodes are on the longer side which lends to deeper learning. Also, with nearly 800 recorded episodes in the can, pretty much any topic that interests you has been covered. Finally, Cagley’s weekly book episodes features one chapter of a book per week and fosters learning and engaging with others.
• Frequency – Weekly

Best Audience for the Software Process and Measurement Cast:

• Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches
• Software Development Professionals
• Agile Practitioners

Episodes Sampled:

• February 19, 2023 – SPaMCAST 743 – Diversity, Communication, Essays and Conversations
• February 12, 2023 – SPaMCAST 742 – Efficacy of Assessments. A Conversation With Jorgen Hesselberg
• Many others

#49 – Sustainable Xagility

Summary:

Sustainable Xagility is an interview-style podcast hosted by John Coleman. Coleman also hosts the Agility Island podcast that is on the list above. The focus of this podcast is leadership lessons and applications of agile at the enterprise level. The term Xagility was foreign to me. It is an abbreviation for Executive Agility.

John has a number of interesting guests focusing on different aspects of agility and leadership. I really enjoyed the session with Joe Justice where I learned more about agility at SpaceX and Tesla. Justice describes the agile approaches at the Musk companies that seem to have gone beyond Scrum.

Details:

• Podcast Description – John interviews leading executives and top folks from agility. The truth is that agility can’t be bought in a box. Take the hard road, be the best, not the rest. Try “re-wilded” Product Management, DevOps, Lean/Agile for the c-suite.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor –  I was super interested in the episode with Joe Justice and learning more about agility at SpaceX and Tesla. That episode provides a window into how these leading-edge companies are using agile ways of working across the enterprise and not just in a limited way in application development. 
• Technical – Good sound and production quality with no commercials.
• Learning – This podcast is both entertaining and educational. Guests include not only Joe Justice and Professor Rao, but other well known agilists like Tobias Mayer, Gene Gendel and Marty Cagan.
• Frequency – Monthly but not consistent.

Best Audience for the Sustaining Xagility Podcast:

• Leaders and Executives
• Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches

Episodes Sampled:

• February 20, 2023 – Professor Rao “The Father of Soft Leadership” on his journey and his book “See the light in you”
• July 20, 2022 – Joe Justice on his career, Tesla, Space X and agility
• July 20, 2022 – John Carter – chief engineer of BOSE noise cancelling headphones on the BOSE culture, marketing a new invention and agility

#50 – Troubleshooting Agile

Summary:

Jeffrey Fredrick and Douglas Squirrel, authors of the 2020 book Agile Conversations, co-host this podcast. The podcast features discussions between Fredrick and Squirrel, with the occasional interview with various agile experts like Elizabeth Hendrickson and Jonathan Smart.

This is an easy-listening podcast you can have on in the background while doing something else. It is easy to imagine the hosts sitting at a table having a beer somewhere though I don’t think that is how they record their episodes.

Details:

• Podcast Description – Troubleshooting Agile is a problem-solving session for agile teams. Jeffrey Fredrick and Douglas Squirrel look at common problems agile teams face and provide practical, immediately useful advice for getting back on track.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – The short and focused episodes and the two co-hosts help keep things interesting. I found the episodes with guests more interesting than the discussions with the two hosts. 
• Technical – Good sound and production quality with no commercials.
• Learning – This is a good podcast for learning. The hosts foster conversations after the episode by inviting feedback on AgileConversations.com where you can also get transcripts of each episode. I was pleasantly surprised to hear the name Alan Weiss – apparently, he inspired the episode on playing emotional rugby, not intellectual chess. The idea was to focus on emotions when trying to move people in a different direction.
• Frequency – Weekly

Best Audience for the Troubleshooting Agile Podcast:

• Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches
• Agile Practitioners

Episodes Sampled:

• February 15, 2023 – Office Politics and Toxic Behaviors with Elizabeth Hendrickson of Test Obsessed fame (now CuriousDuck.io).
• February 8, 2023 – Play Rugby Not Chess
• November 30, 2022 – Guest Jon Smart: Organizing for Outcomes

#51 – Virtually Agile

Summary:

Chris Stone, the self-proclaimed Virtual Agile Coach, hosts this interview-style podcast. The podcast says it strives for the amplification of voices seldom heard though I noticed that most of the guests are well-known agile experts like Lyssa Adkins, Mike Cohn, Diana Larsen and Johanna Rothman. I liked the focus on diversity in his guest list, particularly women.

I really enjoyed the discussion with Johanna Rothman about context switching and her comment about finding a “reinforcing feedback loop that gives me the results that I want”. The discussion with Maarten Dalmijn about the certification circus also amused me. Dalmijn also mentioned Sjoerd Nijland and his work with road to mastery.

Toward the close of the discussion, Stone asks his guests about contributions to his extensive collection of free retrospective templates.

Details:

• Podcast Description – The Virtually Agile Podcast, the podcast that hears from established thought leaders as well as amplifying newer voices, on all things agile, virtually agile and everything in between.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – The podcast boasts the amplification of voices seldom heard along with established experts.Most guests were experts like Johanna Rothman who is known as the pragmatic manager.
• Technical – The sound quality was good though not quite as clear as other podcasts on this list. I had to back up a few times to catch something one of the guests said. No commercials though Stone plugs his website featuring free templates.
• Learning – This is a good podcast for learning. This is partly because of the expertise that the guests bring. The episodes are medium/long in length and that helps them get into a little more detail.
• Frequency – Monthly. Though it looks like it ebbs and flows.

Best Audience for the Virtually Agile Podcast:

• Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches
• Agile Practitioners
• Managers and Leaders

Episodes Sampled:

• May 13, 2022 – S3 – E6 – Johanna Rothman – Modern management myths
• April 27, 2022 – S3 – E4 – Rebecca Dainton – Scaling Scrum with LeSS & The benefits of Dyslexia
• May 20, 2022 – S3 – E7 – Maarten Dalmijn – Product Management Pitfalls & The certification circus

#52 – Women in Agile Podcast

Summary:

This is an interview-style podcast that features and celebrates women. Episodes are hosted by either Women in Agile Champion Leslie Morse or Business Agility Coach Emily Lint.

Older episodes mention Accenture. After digging a bit I learned that series was originally sponsored by Agile Amped from Solutions IQ/Accenture. In 2021 Scrum.org took over as co-sponsor with the Women In Agile non-profit organization.

The podcast provides a great opportunity to expand your viewpoint and tap into the collective wisdom of women, whose voices may not be as front and center as men’s. It is easy to see that women are under-represented in IT and agile and this podcast (and the broader Women in Agile non-profit organization) strive to provide more representation. The podcast provides an easy way to diversify the voices you hear and your perspective.

Details:

• Podcast Description – The Women in Agile podcast is a platform to champion new voices in the business world, because we believe everyone is better off when more, diverse ideas are shared.
• Entertainment / The stay awake factor – I found the podcast interesting and engaging. With 200 episodes, it is easy to find topics of interest or women I want to get to know. It was great to hear from so many women. It was a good reminder that I should care about the voices I tune into.
• Technical – Sound quality was generally good, though in some cases, the voice quality for the host was not as good as that for the guests. There was a brief commercial for Scrum.org and the womeninagile.org non-profit organization at the end though that was easily skipped.
• Learning – Episodes are long, and that provides opportunities to go deeper. I was very interested in the Dojo episode with Jess Brock. Dojo’s have always been fascinating to me though I’ve not had the opportunity to participate in one. Jess Brock from St. Louis is an expert on Dojo coding in both virtual and in-person settings. I made note of Brock’s upcoming book on the topic. Samantha Laing talked about self-care for coaches and mentioned a Linda Rising quote – “be kind to yourself applies” – that is applicable to all of us. Kathy Marshak talked about a number of topics though the simple application of Kata sparked my interest.
• Frequency – Monthly. Though it ebbs and flows.

Best Audience for the Women in Agile Podcast:

• Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches
• Agile Practitioners
• Managers and Leaders

Episodes Sampled:

• February 22, 2023 – Helping Middle Managers Thrive in Agile Transformations – Kathy Marshak | 2302. Kathy is a SAFe Fellow which recognizes her contribution to the Scaled Agile Framework.
• October 19, 2022 – Maximizing Immersive Learning for Agile Teams using Dojos – Jess Brock | 2209
• March 18, 2020 – Agile Coaches are Bad at Being Coached – Samantha Laing

Bottom Line – Agile Podcast Roundup

Podcasts are a great and flexible way to learn. Agile enthusiasts have a plethora of choices when it comes to podcasts with more than 45 podcasts covering numerous agile-related topics.

Leverage the research we have done to explore some of the podcasts on this list and expand your playlist. Find episodes and topics that interest you and put yourself on autopilot to continually learn, grow and become more effective in your role. Learn, grow, and add more value in your role.

If there is a podcast that you like that is not on the Active Podcasts or Excluded Podcasts lists above, PLEASE let me know. Thanks in advance for your help!

Anthony