Stop Snowplowing in Agile
This time of year in Chicago I can't help thinking about snow. We haven't had a real snowstorm yet but it is inevitable. What should not be inevitable is snowplowing.…
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An Agile team is a cross-functional group that has everything they need for end to end development of the solution. They are fully dedicated and self-organizing.
Top 10 Most Common Mistakes Made When Establishing New Agile Teams
I've had the opportunity to train or coach over 100 teams since 2008, which has been incredibly fun and interesting. In the process, I have learned a lot about what…
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The Messy Middle Ground of Agile Transformation
Many people think of transformation as a linear process. Whether it is a digital or agile transformation, or even a personal transformation, we like to think of it as a…
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How Technology Managers can Succeed as Agile Leaders
An interview with David Sohmer, Financial Services Technology and Agile Leader In this video interview, David Sohmer talks about how technology managers can embrace agile ways of working, support their…
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How to Succeed as an Agile Coach
Curious about what it takes to succeed as an Agile Coach? Do you aspire to become an Agile Coach or grow as a Scrum Master? Welcome! We've created this detailed…
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Agile Leader Role During an Agile Transformation
What is the Agile Leader Role during an Agile Transformation? Agile Transformations are a popular activity right now. If you are an agile leader, you may be wondering what is…
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Why Self-Organizing Teams are Better
Many people are confused about the concept of self-organizing teams. They either equate it with anarchy or confuse self-organizing with self-forming, self-directed or self-managing. What does self-organizing really mean and…
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Help Your Agile Team Overcome Learned Helplessness
Learned Helplessness There is a well-established process for domesticating young elephants that demonstrates the process of learned helplessness everywhere including organizations and agile teams. When elephants are young they are…
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How to Spot a Bad Agile Coach
I've written about agile coaching before including how to succeed as an agile coach, what makes an agile coach effective and the top 10 traits of an agile coach. This…
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Creating Reality-Based Forecasts in Agile Projects
Agile approaches for estimating and forecasting are better than traditional approaches because they deliver better and more predictable results. Agile project forecasts are also easy to understand and easy to…
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5 Vital Relationships That Agile Leaders Need
Most organizations today are using Scrum or Agile in some capacity. Learn how to leverage the key relationships that agile leaders need to be effective. Success as an Agile Leader…
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Don’t Use The Scrum Framework with Distributed Teams!
Recent studies show that 3 out of 4 Software Development Teams using the Scrum Framework are distributed, meaning that at least some of the team members are not in the…
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Don’t Overlook Safety for High-Performing Teams
Most leaders would claim that they want high-performing teams but many of them don't know what it takes to create them. In some cases, leaders actually behave in ways that…
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The Myth of the Agile Project Manager
Between Santa Claus, Big Foot and the Agile Project Manager, which exists? Few people argue for the existence of Big Foot or Santa Claus, though most believe that Agile Project…
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Best Agile Team Size for High Performance?
What is the Ideal Agile Team Size for High Performance? Are you wondering if your agile team is too big or too small, or what is the optimal team size…
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How to Develop Your Agile Training Plan
If you are planning an agile pilot or even a full-blown agile transformation, a critical consideration is your Agile Training Plan. After all, people need to understand Agile and Scrum in…
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Your How-To Guide For Success with an Agile Methodology
Looking for resources to help you succeed with Scrum or another Agile Methodology? You’ve come to the right place. Bookmark this guide and leverage it for all questions you have…
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High-Performing Teams – Deciding What to Measure
In my previous post, I talked about some of the ways that Agile leaders foster negative behaviors on agile teams by measuring the wrong things. The recent shenanigans at Wells Fargo serve…
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How to Successfully Transition from Waterfall to Scrum
One of the most common conversations I’ve had with clients over the last few years is how to move from waterfall to Scrum. They want to understand the agile transformation…
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Tips for an Effective Daily Scrum Meeting
The daily Scrum Meeting is the most frequent meeting in the Scrum Framework, making it important to be done well. There are some common patterns of problems with the daily…
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