Agile and Project Management - DrunkenPM Radio

“Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.” ~From the 12 Principles of Agile Software https://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html It is one of the most basic responsibilities of the Product Owner and one almost every PO struggles with... saying "No" to people who ask for things. A Product Owner who can't say No is going to end up with a Product Backlog jammed full of things that can't be done. This puts the entire organization at risk. At the same time, a PO who is constantly telling Senior Management "No" to all their requests may find themselves "being offered the opportunity to enjoy working at another company." So, how do you go say "No" from a position of strength and safety? How do you know that saying "No" is really the right response? What kind of challenges do you need to be ready for? How can you prepare for those uncomfortable moments when you are waiting to see if you will be thanked for your honesty and candor, or told to leave your ID badge with HR on your way out? In this episode of the Reluctant Agilist, Tim Wise joins me to talk through various aspects of the challenge of saying "No." Links from the Podcast Agile Day Atlanta http://agiledayatlanta.com Books Mentioned Turn the Ship Around - L. David Marquet https://amzn.to/2QXOGWD Leadership is Language - L. David Marquet https://amzn.to/2w2mRFj Speed of Trust - Stephen Covey Jr. https://amzn.to/3439xgy 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey https://amzn.to/3bCsDMX Contacting Tim Twitter https://twitter.com/timswise LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/timwise/ Email: [email protected]

This podcast features an interview with Johanna Rothman and Mark Kilby about their new book "From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams: Collaborate to Deliver" (https://tinyurl.com/yyrbhcrz). Distributed Teams present challenges for any group of people trying to work together. This is true in a traditional approach to project work, but maybe even more so in an Agile approach, where many of the frameworks are based on the idea of co-location. The challenges distributed teams face are present regardless of whether you are separated by 12 time zones or by a single flight of stairs. It can absolutely work, and there can be many benefits to working distributed. The big question is how? In their new book “From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams: Collaborate to Deliver" (https://tinyurl.com/yyrbhcrz), Johanna Rothman and Mark Kilby deliver the practical answers we all need to help our distributed teams succeed. During the interview Mark and Johanna explain who they wrote the book for and how it can help. We also walk through a few of the most critical practices that help distributed teams work well together, and the authors share some tips that they did not include in the final version of the book. Now... I generally try to remain objective in this blog/podcast, but... GO BUY THIS BOOK! YOU NEED THIS BOOK! As someone who works with and on distributed teams, I have questions of my own with respect to steps that can be taken to foster a distributed team's success. This book had answers/strategies for all my questions and it is sure to be an invaluable resource for anyone working on or with distributed teams. Links mentioned in the podcast: "From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams: Collaborate to Deliver" can be purchased on: Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PRYM1TF/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0 LeanPub https://leanpub.com/geographicallydistributedagileteams Dave interviews Johanna and Mark about writing as a Distributed Team at Agile 2018 https://youtu.be/JMxEeeCtK2I Johanna and Mark will be speaking at Agile 2019 https://www.agilealliance.org/agile2019/ Mark will be speaking at Mile High Agile https://www.milehighagile.org Contacting Johanna Web: https://www.jrothman.com Create an Adaptable Life: http://www.createadaptablelife.com Johanna's Fiction: https://www.jrothman.com/johannas-fiction/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/johannarothman?lang=en LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannarothman/ Johanna on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/y244gf35 Contacting Mark Web: https://www.markkilby.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/mkilby LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkilby/

One of the great benefits I have had through volunteering for the Scrum Alliance has been the opportunity to work with a long list of inspiring and brilliant people. At the top of that list is Jukka Lindstrom. Jukka is someone who’s approach to exploring and solving problems is so different from my own that I felt like every time we collaborated on something, I got better at what I was doing just by working with him. A few years ago Jukka left his job as an Agile Coach and Trainer and started working full time with traditional organizations. At the start of 2016 he joined Cargotec to head up their Digital Transformation effort. If you think Agile Transition is hard, consider that it is only a small part of the transformation of digitizing a global organization with 11,000 people who are used to working in an analog world. In the first part of the interview Jukka and I talk about the work he’s been doing since leaving Reaktor and what it’s like trying to transform a company of 11,000 people to not just Agile, but a digitized way of working as well. Leaving the Agile Consulting world to go back into a traditional environment is a brave choice, but for Jukka, it presented an opportunity to test out what he had learned and see if he could help. While it has provided him with great learning experiences, it has also come with some tough moments. In the second part of the interview we focus on how what that career transition has been like and how he has avoided getting trapped in the doldrums when he is faced with working in a more traditional environment. Show Notes 00:09 Interview Begins 00:57 Jukka’s role at Cargotec and what the company does 02:37 The difference between Agile Transformation and Digital Transformation 07:36 The complexity of transformation at Cargotec 08:44 Why is this level of transformation so much harder than basic Agile transformation 10:10 The mindset shift 11:54 Placing a bet on technology when you don’t know exactly what you’ll be able to do with the result yet 13:00 transforming11,000 people ... “that’s like 1,200-1,500 teams of people” 15:00 Where do you learn faster? Working in software or more traditional (manufacturing) companies 17:15 Becoming an Agile Bodhisattva 17:52 When you walk back into the waterfall, doesn’t it kinda suck? And how do you stay inspired? 19:45 Realizing that the reason you feel stuck is because you aren’t being true to yourself 22:37 How to avoid playing the victim and taking ownership of your own learning and joy 24:30 “I’m not having fun... why am I doing this?” 25:27 If you can’t find fun in what you’re doing, you’re doing the wrong thing 25:55 Things Jukka does outside of work that helps him stay engaged and learning while he is at work 27:00 MIT’s ULab Links from the Interview Cargotec Website: http://www.cargotec.com Singapore Cargo Port Timelapse Video https://youtu.be/HrZg96L8yaY MIT’s ULab Course https://www.edx.org/course/u-lab-leading-emerging-future-mitx-15-671-1x Leading from the Emerging Future by Otto Scharmer http://amzn.to/2dJJ1TL Reaktor https://reaktor.com If you’d like to contact Jukka LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jukkalindstrom Twitter https://twitter.com/jukka_lindstrom

When I am teaching CSM and CSPO classes I frequently get questions from students who have trouble understanding how work flows from the release level down through product backlog items like User Stories on down to the task level. I do cover this in class but for some, it is not so easy to see. In hopes of resolving this, I asked Judy Neher, a fellow Certified Scrum Trainer, to help me work through a metaphor that I hope will provide clarity on how we take work from Releases to User Stories to Tasks, how they tie back to strategy and vision and how Epics and Themes fit in as well. If you'd like to reach out to Judy with follow up questions, here is her contact info: Judy Neher - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judy-neher-22ab614/ - - Twitter: https://twitter.com/judyneher

Finding a way to scale Agile within the Enterprise has been a very popular topic in Agile for the past several years. With options like SAFe, LeSS, DAD and many others, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that your organization may simply not be structured in a way that can truly support the introduction of Agile. In this interview, James Gifford took some time away from coaching and his work on the Agile Uprising to talk about why the conversation should really be about how “Descaling the Enterprise”. SHOW NOTES 00:10 Podcast Begins 00:44 The work James is doing now 01:45 Finding a job that provides you with a lab where you can run experiments 04:05 When you are coaching, how do you maintain the “child mind” when you walk in the door 06:10 Do you need to be technical to be a good Agile Coach? 07:41 What’s new at The Agile Uprising 12:50 Descaling the Enterprise 14:30 Making the argument for changing the dynamic of how we look at and structure companies 19:11 Have you ever seen anyone tasked with creating flow through the entire organization? 23:17 Making the case for descaling OVER simply buying a scaling solution 25:10 How long does it take to implement the cultural and organizational change a descaling approach requires? 27:27 How do you convince the “C” level to buy into the upheaval a descaling approach will involve (over just buying the promise of a scaling solution.) 29:51 Two leverage points: 1. Scaling didn’t work, but we want what it was supposed to give us, 2. your business is threatened and you need a better response 30:50 How do you measure progress while you are descaling? 36:36 If you want more on this topic, please let us know! 37:00 How to contact James 38:52 Podcast Ends LINKS FROM THE PODCAST Agile Uprising Links Coalition (The Message Board): https://coalition.agileuprising.com Manifesto Author Review Podcasts: http://podcast.agileuprising.com/manifesto-author-review/ Lean Agile Intelligence https://www.leanagileintelligence.com CONTACTING JAMES Email: [email protected] Twitter: https://twitter.com/scrummando Web: http://scrummando.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scrummando/