Troubleshooting Agile

We're joined once again by Jim Euchner, author of Lean Startup in Large Organizations. This week we discuss how the commandos/infantry/police model applies to large organisations and how to enlist all three types to ensure you combine product experimentation with financial stability and avoid cannibalising your existing business. SHOW LINKS: - Jim’s website: https://jimeuchner.com - Book url: https://leanstartup.biz - Commandos, Infantry, and Police: https://blog.codinghorror.com/commandos-infantry-and-police/ - Pioneers, Settlers, and Town Planners: https://wardleypedia.org/mediawiki/index.php/Pioneers_settlers_town_planners - Double Loop Learning: https://infed.org/mobi/chris-argyris-theories-of-action-double-loop-learning-and-organizational-learning/#_Single-loop_and_double-loop --- Our book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you hav

We're joined by Jim Euchner, author of Lean Startup in Large Organizations, and discuss how to overcome the "antibodies" that big companies have against experimentation (and why those antibodies are actually healthy). SHOW LINKS: - Jim’s website: https://jimeuchner.com - Book url: https://leanstartup.biz - Lean Startup by Eric Ries : http://theleanstartup.com - Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank : https://bookshop.org/books/the-four-steps-to-the-epiphany-successful-strategies-for-products-that-win/9781119690351 - Alex Osterwalder, creator of the Business Model Canvas: https://www.alexosterwalder.com - Clayton Christensen, Innovator's Dilemma: https://bookshop.org/books/the-innovator-s-dilemma-when-new-technologies-cause-great-firms-to-fail/9781633691780 --- Our book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. 
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We are once again joined by Matt Parker, author of the new book A Radical Enterprise, this time discussing specific examples of organisations operating as Matt describes (and discover along the way that everything is evolving toward the shape of a crab). SHOW LINKS: - Matt's website: http://mattkparker.com - A Radical Enterprise: https://itrevolution.com/a-radical-enterprise/ - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcinisation - Meme as unit of culture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

We are joined by Matt Parker, author of the new book A Radical Enterprise, and discuss how many organisations are achieving significant success with astonishing levels of autonomy and devolution. SHOW LINKS: - Matt's website: http://mattkparker.com - A Radical Enterprise: https://itrevolution.com/a-radical-enterprise/ - Deming pay system: https://deming.org/what-would-deserve-a-raise-within-the-deming-management-context/ - Meme as unit of culture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

Squirrel and Jeffrey continue discussing what to do with a giant backlog of work for your tech team, and suggest ways to think about paying off your tech debt and thin your features for faster feedback. SHOW LINKS: - Feature thinning: http://www.agilekiwi.com/other/agile/feature-thinning/ - Technical debt: http://wiki.c2.com/?WardExplainsDebtMetaphor --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

Squirrel and Jeffrey discuss how to help a listener whose team has a mountain of work growing beyond all proportion, and how to work with sponsors to tame (or even better, delete!) a 5-year backlog. SHOW LINKS: - Gold Owner / Goal Donor: https://wiki.c2.com/?GoalDonor - Mythical Man-Month: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month - Induced demand: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_demand --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

Squirrel describes an amazing Christmas present that captures perfectly why user empathy is vital for all types of agile teams — even in hardware. SHOW LINKS: - The Braille Cube: https://twitter.com/douglassquirrel/status/1476967045430398979 --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

Squirrel and Jeffrey trade stories about two types of organisations: ones that want to give developers perks and opportunities to learn, and those that actually want disruptive change and new ideas. Then they invite listeners to weigh in on what they're aiming to get from this podcast, on a Twitter or LinkedIn poll (see below). SHOW LINKS: - Twitter poll: https://twitter.com/TShootingAgile/status/1478640273991294983?s=20 - LinkedIn poll: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dsquirrel_activity-6884405619382657024-WOdG - Reg Revans on learning and action: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12842253-abc-of-action-learning --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. 
 Email us at info@agileconversations.com

Continued conversation with one of our favourite authors, James Shore, who joins us to discuss the new edition of his semnal book, The Art of Agile Development. SHOW LINKS: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamesshore - Website: https://www.jamesshore.com - AOD2: https://www.jamesshore.com/v2/books/aoad2 - Bookclub: https://www.jamesshore.com/v2/books/aoad2/book_club - Book: Accelerate: https://itrevolution.com/book/accelerate/ - Blog: Why I hate CruiseControl: https://www.jamesshore.com/v2/blog/2005/why-i-dont-like-cruisecontrol - Tilted Slider: https://agileconversations.com/blog/dont-add-more-metrics/ --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

One of our favourite authors, James Shore, joins us to discuss the new edition of his seminal book, The Art of Agile Development. SHOW LINKS: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamesshore - Website: https://www.jamesshore.com - AOD2: https://www.jamesshore.com/v2/books/aoad2 - Bookclub: https://www.jamesshore.com/v2/books/aoad2/book_club - Book: Accelerate: https://itrevolution.com/book/accelerate/ - Blog: Why I hate CruiseControl: https://www.jamesshore.com/v2/blog/2005/why-i-dont-like-cruisecontrol - Tilted Slider: https://agileconversations.com/blog/dont-add-more-metrics/ --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

Responding to a provocative Twitter thread, Squirrel and Jeffrey discuss why pull requests may be harmful to collaboration, and explore the seemingly mad world of mob programming (20 people and 1 keyboard?!). We discover how these "co-creation" techniques can help increase psychological safety and reduce errors. SHOW LINKS: - Dragan's Twitter thread: https://twitter.com/d_stepanovic/status/1470009166353907716 - Mob Programming: https://mobprogramming.org --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

This week, we bring you one of our most popular previous episodes to refresh your memory or listen to for the first time. The first chapter of Agile Conversations is all about people-centred development, and we tell the story of our own journey from over-determined software factory to today's feature factories, with similar Taylorist theories of management in both. In today's episode, we go into more depth on the causes of this tragic journey, touching on old and new topics like Theories X and Y, the Cynefin framework, and why there isn't a JIRA plugin for conversational quality. SHOW LINKS: - Taylorism: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_management - Theories X and Y: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_X_and_Theory_Y - 12 Signs You're Working in a Feature Factory by John Cutler: cutle.fish/blog/12-signs-youre…n-a-feature-factory - Cargo cults: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult and www.jamesshore.com/Blog/Cargo-Cult-Agile.html - Cockburn on people: web.archive.org/web/2014032920365…tware+development - Cynefin: en.wi

Jeffrey and Squirrel draw lessons from unlikely sources like Henry Ford and Eliezer Yudkowsky on creating a culture that favours innovation and inquiry. SHOW LINKS: - Henry Ford article: https://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/experts/ - Hero License: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/dhj9dhiwhq3DX6W8z/hero-licensing - Dan Luu on productivity: https://danluu.com/productivity-velocity/ - Chris Matts on experts: https://twitter.com/PapaChrisMatts/status/1462379387471511553 - Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. 
 Email us at info@agileconversations.com

When your team misses a sprint goal, or you let down a stakeholder, you or your team may feel guilty—but we make concrete recommendations, using Pixar movies and Adlerian psychology, for grief as a more effective alternative that leads to faster recovery and improvement. SHOW LINKS: - The Courage to be Disliked: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43306206-the-courage-to-be-disliked - Feeling Good podcast: https://feelinggood.com - Wisdom at Work meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Wisdom-at-Work-Online-MeetUp - Sadness and Joy from Inside Out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT6FdhKriB8 - Just Say No to Need: https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/just-say-no-to-need --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. 
 Email us at info@agileconversations.com

Continuing from last week's episode on Gemba Walks, we explore how leaders can use information they gather from the "coal face" to tell compelling stories and change culture and direction. SHOW LINKS: - Last week's episode: https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/gemba-walks-and-ride-alongs - Three Perspectives on Future Search: http://www.marvinweisbord.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Future%20Search%20Perspectives.pdf - Pixar Story Course: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/hass-storytelling/storytelling-pixar-in-a-box --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

Squirrel and Jeffrey tell two stories of leaders who "walked the floor" to see what work was being done, in two very different situations, and how the resulting stories helped transform their teams. SHOW LINKS: - Gemba Walk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemba - Container Stacking blog post: https://thezvi.wordpress.com/2021/10/28/an-unexpected-victory-container-stacking-at-the-port-of-los-angeles/ - Container Stacking twitter thread: https://twitter.com/typesfast/status/1451543776992845834 - Secrets of Consulting: http://geraldmweinberg.com/Site/Consulting_Secrets.html --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

Squirrel and Jeffrey consider the benefits and risks of building a feature for just one user. When is this advisable and when is it a product cul-de-sac? SHOW LINKS: - Alan Cooper on personas: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44098.The_Inmates_Are_Running_the_Asylum - Poppendiecks on lean software (waste of software development): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/194338.Lean_Software_Development --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

A listener asks about "de-silo-ifying" data science and how to match cadences between data teams and product teams. Data expert Ian Ozsvald tells stories of insurance forms and data horrors as he helps us explore ways to address this cadence mismatch. SHOW LINKS: - Ian Ozsvald: https://ianozsvald.com - PyData London: https://london.pydata.org/ - Gemba walk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemba#Gemba_Walk --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

Squirrel and Jeffrey explore their different reasons for recommending that you remove the word "need" from your vocabulary. SHOW LINKS: - “Need” tweet: https://twitter.com/douglassquirrel/status/1445683926983340037 - Correct vs useful episode: https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/correct-vs-useful --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

A listener asks about conditions where ringfencing might make sense, and we explore the differences among ringfencing, focus, and empowerment. SHOW LINKS: - Listener question: https://twitter.com/DeliverItCast/status/1443304167313915907 - Ringfencing episode: https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/the-ringfencing-trap - The Goal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goal_(novel) --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com