Leading-edge executives are no longer thinking that they are a healthcare company, a bank, or a retailer that happens to use software to support the operations of their business. Today, those forward-thinking executives recognize that they are actually software companies that happen to provide healthcare, banking, retail, etc. They are moving from an operating mindset […]
Maximizing Capacity Stifles Innovation Read More »
Your organization likely tracks a number of metrics. Have you ever stopped to think about why you track what you track? As your organization moved from traditional “waterfall” projects to Agile, the metrics you collect probably changed, but did the why behind them change? One of my mantras is, “what you do matters; why you
3 Common “Agile Metrics” Mistakes Read More »
The following is excerpted from the book, Pursuing Timeless Agility: the Path to Lasting Agile Transformation. Fit For Purpose If your organization does software development and delivers software products of any kind, it seems obvious in 2019 that you should be “doing Agile.” It is obvious to me that software teams will benefit from following genuine
How to Know When You Should Not Pursue Agile Read More »
Agile is misunderstood. The question I wrestle with — is Agile misunderstood because it has been distorted, or has Agile been distorted because it is misunderstood? As I make the case in my book, Pursuing Timeless Agility, what many organizations are doing, what is often taught, does not align with the intent of Agile. The
Motivating people to develop and grow professionally while advancing organizational objectives is the age-old challenge of management, or leadership. If you are struggling to get your people to achieve what you hope for, this blog is for you. “Management” and “manager” are evil words today. Instead, the paradigm shift is toward leaders and leadership. If
The 4 Keys to Coaching PeopleHow to get the best from your team
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A best practice is something that industry professionals deem, through experience, to be the best way to do a thing. Since a lot of smart people have come to this conclusion, following these best practices is often desired by others in the profession or across industry. It makes sense that you want to do things
The “Best Practice” Fallacy Read More »
Have you ever considered that “requirements” are bad? I am not talking about poorly written, or bad requirements, but rather the concept of requirements altogether. I am asserting that working from “requirements” leads to the wrong product and a focus on outputs – both of which are ineffective, old-school thinking, and are NOT Agile. The
If there is one thing that those who work with me get tired of hearing me say, it is the constant question, “what problem are we trying to solve?” I am a firm believer that before solutions and great ideas are discussed, much less pursued and implemented, the problem or opportunity needs to be well
What Problem Are You Trying to Solve by Going Agile? Read More »
I like to say that Timeless Agility is the outcome of a mindset that transcends methodology. In other words, the how will come and go but the why – what your organization is trying to achieve – remains much more constant. The martial arts provide us with a great parallel to this idea. Why do
A Martial Arts Perspective on “Mindset Transcends Methodology” Read More »
Have you ever thought about how making and maintaining a television series, or how the production of a movie, relates to software product development from an Agile and Lean perspective? Not to worry because I have. Movies and Projects = Big Bang (no learning) TV Series and Products = Just-in-Time (learning) Pitching a new television
