Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
In this episode, Anna shares a scenario where a team grappled with a fear of conflict. She emphasizes the need to step back and listen attentively, advising against cornering teams during discussions on sensitive topics. Anna highlights how team members confided in her privately, often about cultural disparities. She offers practical tips, such as gauging comfort levels for public discussions and maintaining confidentiality. Anna advocates for transparency, suggesting collaboration with the Product Owner to demonstrate openness and acknowledge mistakes. Additional advice includes fostering trust, utilizing icebreakers to bridge diverse perspectives, and encouraging active leadership within the team.
In this episode, Anna delves into the influential book 'The Five Dysfunctions of a Team', emphasizing its role in recognizing and mitigating detrimental behavioral patterns within teams. She highlights the fear of conflict as a particularly crucial aspect. Anna stresses the importance of active listening and avoiding cornering teams during discussions on challenging topics. Additionally, she introduces 'Agile Coaching' by Rachel Davies as another valuable resource for enhancing team dynamics and performance in agile environments.
[IMAGE HERE] Do you wish you had decades of experience? Learn from the Best Scrum Masters In The World, Today! The Tips from the Trenches - Scrum Master edition audiobook includes hours of audio interviews with SM’s that have decades of experience: from Mike Cohn to Linda Rising, Christopher Avery, and many more. Super-experienced Scrum Masters share their hard-earned lessons with you. Learn those today, make your teams awesome!
About Anna Mbengam
Anna, an accomplished Scrum Master and SAFe Coach since 2018, thrives in diverse industries like Personal Investments, Healthcare, Food & beverage, and Banking. She's authored 5 self-published guides aiding aspiring Scrum Masters, and her mentoring has transformed 200+ professionals into highly effective individuals for any organization.
You can link with Anna Mbengam on LinkedIn and read Anna’s books.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
In this episode, Anna discusses a critical juncture at a startup where a key developer left, disrupting the team's dynamics. The team struggled to self-organize and lacked expertise after that senior developer left. Stakeholder expectations were high, making the situation even worse for the team. Anna implemented smaller group discussions, fostering a sense of ownership for specific development areas. This led to knowledge-sharing and a collaborative approach to improve performance. The team also sought stakeholder support in hiring. The episode highlights the importance of adaptability, stakeholder collaboration, and teamwork in agile development, especially in the face of unexpected departures.
[IMAGE HERE] Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story - How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company.
About Anna Mbengam
Anna, an accomplished Scrum Master and SAFe Coach since 2018, thrives in diverse industries like Personal Investments, Healthcare, Food & beverage, and Banking. She's authored 5 self-published guides aiding aspiring Scrum Masters, and her mentoring has transformed 200+ professionals into highly effective individuals for any organization.
You can link with Anna Mbengam on LinkedIn and read Anna’s books.
In this episode, we talk with Christopher Lee about his latest book, "The Art Of Crafting User Stories." Christopher shares the fascinating origin story of his book and how principles of product management were applied to its creation.
Christopher draws intriguing parallels between software development and book creation, highlighting two key concepts that apply to both realms. He introduces the concept of "debugging for books" and shares essential tips, like the importance of having multiple content reviewers and utilizing the technique of "Rubber Duck Debugging" for authors. The examples he uses also clarify how his approach to Product Management can help you with software products.
We discuss how understanding the user perspective is a critical skill for Product Owners and teams, and enables them to write better User Stories. Christopher emphasizes the development of perspective-taking and compassion for others, starting with self-reflection. He introduces tools like "The Feeling's Wheel" and explores the concept of uncovering the needs behind user needs, known as "Jobs to be Done."
In this segment, we also refer to User Story Mapping, Google Design Sprints, and the book Radical Candor.
Christopher shares some of the most effective tools to help teams truly empathize with their software users, fostering a deeper understanding that can greatly inform the user story process.
Delving into the actual act of writing user stories, Christopher provides invaluable advice on avoiding ambiguity. He advocates for collaborative efforts with engineering and design teams, using user stories as a foundation. Additionally, he introduces the "Given - When - Then" format for clarity and efficiency.
Christopher addresses common challenges in user story estimation and emphasizes the importance of adaptability in Agile and User Stories. He offers strategies to prevent downstream consequences and encourages direct engineer-user interaction for swift feedback.
Prioritization is a critical aspect of planning that Christopher dives into, providing a toolkit of models and methods. He emphasizes the importance of aligning product development with organizational mission and North Star metrics, ultimately honing in on the right end-users.
Christopher introduces a unique element in his book—expert interviews. These interviews offer diverse perspectives on Agile, user stories, and collaborative work, enriching the reader's experience and understanding.
In a final piece of advice, Christopher underscores that crafting user stories is a team effort, emphasizing that no one person can do it alone.
About Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee is a seasoned Product Management Coach, known for his expertise as a product manager and technology consultant. His insights into the industry are encapsulated in his book, 'The Art of Crafting User Stories', and advanced product management methodologies he created when at Ernst & Young.
You can link with Christopher Lee on LinkedIn and connect with Christopher Lee through the Product Coach Labs.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
In this episode, Michael shares an insightful story of a product manager turned Product Owner, faced with the challenges of a complex, high-tech product. Despite initial uncertainty, she learned to trust her team's expertise and leaned on them for guidance. This shift in approach earned her the respect and credibility of her team. Michael emphasizes the importance of seeking help from the team and highlights this as a key trait of a great Product Owner. This episode provides valuable insights into the qualities that define an exceptional Product Owner.
In this episode, Michael recounts an encounter with a Product Owner (PO) who was overconfident in their skills, while at the same time not providing enough information in user stories, forcing the team to guess what was asked. Despite attempts to offer help, the PO refused assistance, ultimately causing friction. When the situation escalated, the manager intervened, resulting in Michael's departure from the team. Michael stresses the importance of highlighting the impact on the team and offering constructive feedback on user stories. He introduces the "Michael test" for evaluating a PO’s ability to perform in that role.
[IMAGE HERE] Are you having trouble helping the team work well with their Product Owner? We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.
About Michael Schmidt
Michael a Berlin-based Agile Coach for teams, roles and organisations around software based product development. Michael invented "the taskboard" on his own, which ignited his working agile by conviction some 13 years ago.
You can link with Michael Schmidt on LinkedIn and connect with Michael Schmidt on Twitter.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
In this episode, Michael delves into the critical question of what success means for Scrum Masters. He stresses the need for individual reflection as a way to grow in that role. For him, achieving a sustainable pace for everyone involved is paramount. He emphasizes regularly assessing if the team is operating in the "green area" of sustainability. Additionally, Michael offers a valuable tip: clearly define the team's playground and set explicit rules for both team members and external stakeholders.
In this episode, Michael introduces the "Biergarten Retro," a conversation focused agile retrospective. He emphasizes how this format can adapt to different team dynamics and the importance of active participation. Michael encourages using familiar methods while providing guidance through 3-4 key areas. Choosing this type of environment can foster open conversations, allowing team members to address issues they might avoid in a conventional office setting. Stepping out of routine surroundings promotes fresh perspectives and strengthens team cohesion. Ultimately, the Biergarten Retro serves as a powerful tool in nurturing the well-being and dynamics of the team.
[IMAGE HERE] Retrospectives, planning sessions, vision workshops, we are continuously helping teams learn about how to collaborate in practice! In this Actionable Agile Tools book, Jeff Campbell shares some of the tools he’s learned over a decade of coaching Agile Teams. The pragmatic coaching book you need, right now! Buy Actionable Agile Tools on Amazon, or directly from the author, and supercharge your facilitation toolbox!
About Michael Schmidt
Michael a Berlin-based Agile Coach for teams, roles and organisations around software based product development. Michael invented "the taskboard" on his own, which ignited his working agile by conviction some 13 years ago.
You can link with Michael Schmidt on LinkedIn and connect with Michael Schmidt on Twitter.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
In this episode, Michael shares his experiences in leading change within a large corporation. Backed by strong executive support, the co-located team cultivated a positive attitude towards change. They stopped the day-to-day operations for some time, to be able adopt a fresh approach, focusing on efficiency and self-organization. Lively discussions and diverse approaches were encouraged, showcasing that Agile could benefit the entire organization. Trust and flexibility were key, allowing teams to find their own paths within the selected Agile framework. Value delivery was prioritized, and roles remained fluid, emphasizing adaptability in achieving success. Michael's story highlights the power of change leadership and collaborative, goal-oriented practices.
[IMAGE HERE] As Scrum Master we work with change continuously! Do you have your own change framework that provides the guidance, and queues you need when working with change? The Lean Change Management framework is a fully defined, lean-startup inspired change framework that can be used as the backbone of any change process! You can buy Lean Change Management the book at Amazon. Also available in French, Spanish, German and Portuguese.
About Michael Schmidt
Michael a Berlin-based Agile Coach for teams, roles and organisations around software based product development. Michael invented "the taskboard" on his own, which ignited his working agile by conviction some 13 years ago.
You can link with Michael Schmidt on LinkedIn and connect with Michael Schmidt on Twitter.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
In this episode, Michael recounts his experience in a company where he went against his instincts due to comfort. The software development environment prioritized being busy over progress. Goal setting and sprint planning were undervalued, and negative behaviors like gossiping prevailed. Michael's attempts to offer help were met with resistance, as the team downplayed any possible issues. This anti-pattern of avoiding talking about problems hindered growth. Through perseverance, Michael learned the importance of trusting his intuition and initiating small, positive changes to build trust and overcome the fear, or dislike to discuss obstacles and problems.
In this episode, Michael shares his favorite Agile book, Esther Derby’s and Diana Larsen’s “Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great". He emphasizes that every practice should have a purpose, instilling a profound sense of understanding. Michael highlights the true objective of retrospectives - not just for change, but for personal reflection. Establishing a routine for reflection minimizes change risks, providing a safe space for experimentation and learning from new approaches. The book's insights resonate with Michael, underlining the importance of intentionality in Agile practices.
[IMAGE HERE] Do you wish you had decades of experience? Learn from the Best Scrum Masters In The World, Today! The Tips from the Trenches - Scrum Master edition audiobook includes hours of audio interviews with SM’s that have decades of experience: from Mike Cohn to Linda Rising, Christopher Avery, and many more. Super-experienced Scrum Masters share their hard-earned lessons with you. Learn those today, make your teams awesome!
About Michael Schmidt
Michael a Berlin-based Agile Coach for teams, roles and organisations around software based product development. Michael invented "the taskboard" on his own, which ignited his working agile by conviction some 13 years ago.
You can link with Michael Schmidt on LinkedIn and connect with Michael Schmidt on Twitter.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
In this episode, Michael shares his experience with implementing Kanban in a software development team. Despite a functional team, the input quality was not good enough, and the team also had too many people taking on the product manager role. Michael collaborated with them, establishing a workflow and introducing a "Ready-kanban" system. Daily product standups were instituted, but progress halted when Michael went on vacation. Upon his return, he discovered no improvements, highlighting a trust deficit in the Kanban process. Michael emphasizes the need for collective ownership and sustainability of the practice, urging reflection on its benefits for lasting success.
[IMAGE HERE] Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story - How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company.
About Michael Schmidt
Michael a Berlin-based Agile Coach for teams, roles and organisations around software based product development. Michael invented "the taskboard" on his own, which ignited his working agile by conviction some 13 years ago.
You can link with Michael Schmidt on LinkedIn and connect with Michael Schmidt on Twitter.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
Konstantin describes for us a standout Product Owner with a strong business focus. This PO viewed work time as an investment, carefully considering the team's use of their time. They treated backlog items as hypotheses, emphasizing the need for validation with real customers. Seeking feedback on these hypotheses and involving the team in refinement and customer reviews were key practices. The team's active participation in feedback cycles played a crucial role in value creation. Konstantin also recommends organizing sprint reviews with customers for optimal product development.
Konstantin describes a micromanaging Product Owner who controlled backlog and daily tasks, pushing the team to learn to just be passive. Despite good intentions, the PO needed guidance. Konstantin, observing from a coaching standpoint, intervened by suggesting private feedback sessions and offering real-time behavior insights. The fact that the team worked remotely made the issue even worse. But, with Konstantin’s help, the PO's realization of their behavior marked a turning point. Konstantin advises using real-time feedback and creating a timeline of events to foster awareness and change within the team.
[IMAGE HERE] Are you having trouble helping the team work well with their Product Owner? We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.
About Konstantin Ribel
Konstantin drives organizational success through innovative thinking, simplifying processes, and building high-performing teams. With a strong track record in change management and process optimization, he leads agile transformations and applies systems thinking for adaptable, thriving businesses in dynamic industries.
You can link with Konstantin Ribel on LinkedIn.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
Konstantin outlines three tiers of success for Scrum Masters. Level 1 centers on fostering teamwork and trust within a single team. Level 2 emphasizes collaboration between multiple teams, avoiding silos, and ensuring equitable workloads. Level 3 delves into product-focused success, considering customer-driven value, delivery efficiency, and feedback loops. Konstantin advises bringing teams together through multi-team events and facilitating progress sharing among teams to enhance overall success in the Scrum Master role.
Konstantin advocates for adaptability in retrospectives, noting the importance of ditching a pre-planned format if it doesn't suit the team dynamics at the time of the retrospective. He emphasizes the need to prepare each retrospective, as it helps us to be secure if there’s a need to improvise. Konstantin shares the example of a team that received news of an impending change just before the retro, and that prompted Konstantin to focus on the team’s need for a conversation around closure, rather than future improvement. This highlights the value of addressing real-time team needs over rigid adherence to a set format.
[IMAGE HERE] Retrospectives, planning sessions, vision workshops, we are continuously helping teams learn about how to collaborate in practice! In this Actionable Agile Tools book, Jeff Campbell shares some of the tools he’s learned over a decade of coaching Agile Teams. The pragmatic coaching book you need, right now! Buy Actionable Agile Tools on Amazon, or directly from the author, and supercharge your facilitation toolbox!
About Konstantin Ribel
Konstantin drives organizational success through innovative thinking, simplifying processes, and building high-performing teams. With a strong track record in change management and process optimization, he leads agile transformations and applies systems thinking for adaptable, thriving businesses in dynamic industries.
You can link with Konstantin Ribel on LinkedIn.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
Konstantin shares a pivotal change initiative aimed at tackling a complex product in a major automotive company. Focusing solely on change, he collaborated with management and specialists to define the necessary changes. A workshop, led by Konstantin, served as a major catalyst, and triggered collaboration across the organization. Through four months of intensive collaboration, the direction of change was clarified, emphasizing a real organizational shift. The team iteratively simplified a consulting company's proposal, ultimately embracing the LeSS Framework for Scaled Agile. Konstantin highlights the importance of being open to challenges from the organizing, and working to get buy-in, and adopting a political mindset. He advises aligning management with development challenges and cautions against blind framework implementation.
[IMAGE HERE] As Scrum Master we work with change continuously! Do you have your own change framework that provides the guidance, and queues you need when working with change? The Lean Change Management framework is a fully defined, lean-startup inspired change framework that can be used as the backbone of any change process! You can buy Lean Change Management the book at Amazon. Also available in French, Spanish, German and Portuguese.
About Konstantin Ribel
Konstantin drives organizational success through innovative thinking, simplifying processes, and building high-performing teams. With a strong track record in change management and process optimization, he leads agile transformations and applies systems thinking for adaptable, thriving businesses in dynamic industries.
You can link with Konstantin Ribel on LinkedIn.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
Konstantin recounts a team's struggle rooted in prioritizing individual tasks over collective effort. Daily meetings centered on status updates fostered a fragmented and siloed work environment. The team working remote made the issue even worse, making it hard to have face-to-face interaction and pair-working. All of these patterns resulted in underperformance. Konstantin advises regular team gatherings, emphasizing the importance of on-site collaboration. He underscores the human element, urging teams to function cohesively as people.
In this segment, Konstantin delves into how his morning routine, inspired by "The Miracle Morning," by Hal Erold has profoundly influenced his role as a Scrum Master. He emphasizes the critical link between personal and professional development, crediting the book "Extreme Programming Explained" for its condensed wisdom. Konstantin highlights Kent Beck's mantra of "do more of what works" and expresses a preference for pair working, acknowledging its occasional impracticality. He consistently applies the insights gained from this book, advocating against the anti-pattern of delayed feedback in his work with teams.
[IMAGE HERE] Do you wish you had decades of experience? Learn from the Best Scrum Masters In The World, Today! The Tips from the Trenches - Scrum Master edition audiobook includes hours of audio interviews with SM’s that have decades of experience: from Mike Cohn to Linda Rising, Christopher Avery, and many more. Super-experienced Scrum Masters share their hard-earned lessons with you. Learn those today, make your teams awesome!
About Konstantin Ribel
Konstantin drives organizational success through innovative thinking, simplifying processes, and building high-performing teams. With a strong track record in change management and process optimization, he leads agile transformations and applies systems thinking for adaptable, thriving businesses in dynamic industries.
You can link with Konstantin Ribel on LinkedIn.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
This story starts when, during an Agile transformation, Konstantin had to terminate engagements with external consultants he had been working with. Even if this was painful, and hard for Konstantin, the big issue was still to come. Over time, after the consultants left, he realized that the teams were not ready to make decisions on their own. In this episode, Konstantin emphasizes that teams often waste time seeking unanimous agreement. Konstantin talks about the need to embrace the concept of "disagree and commit." Konstantin introduces the concept of resistance voting as a means to expedite decisions without excluding any team members’ perspectives.
In this episode, we refer to the scaling framework LeSS.
[IMAGE HERE] Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story - How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company.
About Konstantin Ribel
Konstantin drives organizational success through innovative thinking, simplifying processes, and building high-performing teams. With a strong track record in change management and process optimization, he leads agile transformations and applies systems thinking for adaptable, thriving businesses in dynamic industries.
You can link with Konstantin Ribel on LinkedIn.
In this episode, Thomas Curran, the author of the book The Perfection Trap, sheds light on the dangerous attempt to be perfect, and how it can lead to burnout and depression. He distinguishes perfectionism from healthy striving, emphasizing how perfectionists grapple with uncertainty and insecurity, constantly questioning their own adequacy. The fear of failure looms large, often causing them to withdraw from situations where evaluation is likely. The emotional toll of this relentless pursuit is substantial, leaving little room for self-compassion.
As an Associate Professor at the London School of Economics, Curran draws upon research to inform his writing. He highlights compelling studies that uncover the roots of perfectionism and its far-reaching impacts. He offers a glimpse into the scientific foundation underpinning the book's message.
Curran confronts the prevailing cultural norm of striving for unattainable perfection. He advocates for a shift in focus from unrelenting self-critique to a space of self-acceptance and pride in one's accomplishments. The episode encourages us to create environments where mistakes are not only tolerated but are seen as an essential element for growth and fulfillment.
For those skeptical about relinquishing the pursuit of perfection, Curran imparts a crucial message. He clarifies that the goal is not to abandon the pursuit of excellence but to redefine it. In this episode, he offers guidance on how to channel efforts towards meaningful progress rather than an elusive ideal.
Curran calls for a dual approach to escape the perfection trap: individual introspection and broader societal transformation. This segment explores how leaders can foster environments of psychological safety, where imperfection is accepted and mistakes are transformed into catalysts for growth.
Thomas shares some practical strategies to break free from the shackles of perfectionism, and provides insights into navigating the complexities of team dynamics and project management, emphasizing that success does not hinge on unattainable perfection.
Thomas shares personal strategies for navigating the perfectionism minefield while writing his own book about perfectionism. He offers valuable advice for authors and professionals alike, emphasizing the importance of re-energizing, seeing the bigger picture, and embracing constructive feedback.
In a parting message, Curran leaves the audience with empowering advice: done is better than perfect, progress trumps perfection, and recognizing when a job is good enough is a powerful skill. Embracing imperfection can lead to true fulfillment and growth, which is more valuable than perfection.
About Thomas Curran
Thomas Curran is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics. He is a leading expert on perfectionism, which is the topic of his recent book The Perfection Trap. He has written for the Harvard Business Review, was featured in the New Scientist, and his work has been covered by publications including the Guardian, Telegraph, Wall Street Journal, and Ariana Huffington's 'Thrive Global' campaign. In 2018, he gave a TEDMED talk entitled 'Our Dangerous Obsession with Perfectionism is Getting Worse'.
You can link with Thomas Curran on LinkedIn.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
In this episode, Aki shares insights on what makes a great product owner. He highlights the importance of close collaboration between the team and the product owner to ensure a clear understanding of the "why" behind each backlog item. Aki recounts a positive experience where the team and PM worked together every Monday to define objectives. He emphasizes the value of ensemble work or mob programming for effective communication. Aki advises building trust, maintaining a coherent product vision, and addressing any fears around transparency within the team.
[IMAGE HERE] Are you having trouble helping the team work well with their Product Owner? We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.
About Aki Salmi
Aki is a software crafter and shares the joy of coding and the value of empathy at work. That is, Aki works on ones and zeros (code) and everything else (humans).
You can link with Aki Salmi on LinkedIn.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
In this episode, Aki emphasizes the importance of growth within a team, regardless of whether the path forward is uncertain. He provides insightful tips, such as tracking the effectiveness of retrospectives and monitoring the nature of discussions. Aki prompts reflection on whether the team is delving into systemic issues or getting stuck in "but" statements. He encourages listeners to observe where the team's focus lies and whether they exhibit curiosity towards their work, asking exploratory "what if" questions.
In this segment, Aki shares his preferred retrospective format inspired by "Agile Retrospectives" by Larsen and Derby. He gives the tip that it’s a lot easier for Scrum Masters when we don’t run retrospectives for our own teams. Aki introduces the "Empty Table" retro, emphasizing the significance of a thorough check-in. Participants imagine an empty table to gather insights and events. He used to employ dot-voting extensively, but later decided there were better methods to select the topics for discussion. He suggests a different approach for topic selection to promote shared leadership. He stresses the importance of active listening and embraces silence as a valid contribution.
[IMAGE HERE] Retrospectives, planning sessions, vision workshops, we are continuously helping teams learn about how to collaborate in practice! In this Actionable Agile Tools book, Jeff Campbell shares some of the tools he’s learned over a decade of coaching Agile Teams. The pragmatic coaching book you need, right now! Buy Actionable Agile Tools on Amazon, or directly from the author, and supercharge your facilitation toolbox!
About Aki Salmi
Aki is a software crafter and shares the joy of coding and the value of empathy at work. That is, Aki works on ones and zeros (code) and everything else (humans).
You can link with Aki Salmi on LinkedIn.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
In this episode, Aki shares two impactful stories of change. Firstly, he recounts a scenario as a scrum master in a team with two-week sprints. Because the team was “ok” with letting a feature slip from one sprint to the other, that feature eventually took four weeks to deliver, after which the team found out that they implementation did not align with the business. Implementing Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) with tools like Specflow facilitated better communication with the business, ensuring subsequent deliveries met business needs. Aki's second story reflects his realization about strong opinions and conflicts. Aki learned the value of active listening and being open to others' perspectives. In this episode, we refer to Chris Argyris' "Knowledge for Action"
[IMAGE HERE] As Scrum Master we work with change continuously! Do you have your own change framework that provides the guidance, and queues you need when working with change? The Lean Change Management framework is a fully defined, lean-startup inspired change framework that can be used as the backbone of any change process! You can buy Lean Change Management the book at Amazon. Also available in French, Spanish, German and Portuguese.
About Aki Salmi
Aki is a software crafter and shares the joy of coding and the value of empathy at work. That is, Aki works on ones and zeros (code) and everything else (humans).
You can link with Aki Salmi on LinkedIn.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
In this episode, Aki reflects on a highly effective team, drawing inspiration from Google's Project Aristotle on high-performing teams. He recounts the story of a team that operated without a designated leader, relying on consensus-based decision-making. However, this approach often hindered progress and experimentation. Aki highlights the importance of bringing up such systemic issues in retrospectives. He advises teams to step back and critically evaluate their working methods and their implications. Aki also touches on concepts like "double loop learning" and emphasizes the significance of considering core tasks, emotional climate, and effective structures in the work environment.
In this segment, Aki talks about Brene Brown's book "Dare to Lead," emphasizing its transformative impact on authentic self-expression in the workplace. He highlights the value of embracing one's humanity, including emotions, and underscores the importance of vulnerability and visibility. Aki also references books like "Agile Retrospectives" by Larsen and Derby, and "Atlas of the Heart" by Brene Brown. He discusses trust-building, echoing the idea that trust is built in small moments. The episode encourages listeners to prioritize trust and genuine self-presentation in professional environments.
[IMAGE HERE] Do you wish you had decades of experience? Learn from the Best Scrum Masters In The World, Today! The Tips from the Trenches - Scrum Master edition audiobook includes hours of audio interviews with SM’s that have decades of experience: from Mike Cohn to Linda Rising, Christopher Avery, and many more. Super-experienced Scrum Masters share their hard-earned lessons with you. Learn those today, make your teams awesome!
About Aki Salmi
Aki is a software crafter and shares the joy of coding and the value of empathy at work. That is, Aki works on ones and zeros (code) and everything else (humans).
You can link with Aki Salmi on LinkedIn.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
In this episode with Aki Salmi, he emphasizes the importance of involving the most knowledgeable team members in design discussions. Aki recounts a pivotal moment when the Scrum Master introduced a coin toss method to answer design questions asked by the developers. This gave the developers a clear sign that they had the power to decide for themselves!
This episode highlights a scenario where the business set ambitious targets, leading to a massive estimation process. Despite initial setbacks, open communication with the business led to surpassing the 500 user story-point goal management had arbitrarily set. This story also emphasizes the need for Agile practices to extend beyond the team and serve the broader organizational objectives, or we risk failing to get value out of Agile.
[IMAGE HERE] Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story - How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company.
About Aki Salmi
Aki is a software crafter and shares the joy of coding and the value of empathy at work. That is, Aki works on ones and zeros (code) and everything else (humans).
You can link with Aki Salmi on LinkedIn.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
This Product Owner (PO) ensured every team member had a voice, fostering an environment for experimentation and ideation. They facilitated developer participation in hackathons and effectively communicated the vision and roadmap. The backlog was consistently well-organized and prioritized. The PO actively shared feedback, motivating the team. They sought opportunities for recognition and took pride in sprint reviews. This PO's commitment extended to continuous learning and self-improvement through training, events, and meetups, reflecting a growth-oriented mindset nurtured through Lorraine's coaching.
Lorraine recounts an experience with a PO that was often absent. The Product Owner was spread thin across multiple teams, leading to scheduling conflicts with scrum events. This resulted in a disorganized backlog and a lack of a clear vision. Open, candid conversations were crucial in highlighting the impact on the team. Together, Lorraine and the PO adjusted the calendar to prioritize the team's needs. With improved availability, the team thrived. Lorraine also collaborated with the PO to advocate for more dedicated time from management.
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About Lorraine Chambers
Lorraine's vision of excellence is summed up in the words of philosopher, Lao Tzu -- “A leader is best when people barely know he exists ... " She's held several roles in the Fintech industry, including Product Owner and Quality Assurance. She's a native New Yorker that loves travel, music and museums.
You can link with Lorraine Chambers on LinkedIn and connect with Lorraine Chambers on Instagram.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
In this episode, we explore what success means for Scrum Masters and Lorraine’s perspective. Lorraine suggests that success starts when both the team and customers are genuinely content and motivated. Key indicators include the team independently addressing anti-patterns, initiating discussions about their work, and requiring less assistance with basic tasks. Lorraine emphasizes the importance of a defined coaching plan (see the Agile Coaching Growth Wheel) and personal accountability. Conducting quarterly team health surveys provides concrete feedback for self-improvement, enabling Lorraine to track progress and address areas for growth effectively.
When it comes to retrospective formats, for mature teams, Lorraine favors the Lean Coffee approach, providing an informal setting where participants shape the agenda in real-time. This allows for open discussions on chosen topics within time constraints. Lorraine highlights how Lean Coffee often uncovers diverse team concerns. For less mature teams, she leans towards the Drop/Add/Keep/Improve framework (DAKI retrospective), emphasizing continuous improvement. She suggests that we use the "Improve" to inspire improvements that we keep an eye on during the Sprint. With remote teams, she utilizes MURAL's private mode for collaborative sticky-note sessions.
[IMAGE HERE] Retrospectives, planning sessions, vision workshops, we are continuously helping teams learn about how to collaborate in practice! In this Actionable Agile Tools book, Jeff Campbell shares some of the tools he’s learned over a decade of coaching Agile Teams. The pragmatic coaching book you need, right now! Buy Actionable Agile Tools on Amazon, or directly from the author, and supercharge your facilitation toolbox!
About Lorraine Chambers
Lorraine's vision of excellence is summed up in the words of philosopher, Lao Tzu -- “A leader is best when people barely know he exists ... " She's held several roles in the Fintech industry, including Product Owner and Quality Assurance. She's a native New Yorker that loves travel, music and museums.
You can link with Lorraine Chambers on LinkedIn and connect with Lorraine Chambers on Instagram.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
This story starts with an agile transformation featuring a shift-left initiative. The team faced challenges in implementing test automation due to unclear policies and time allocation. Recognizing the challenges faced by the teams, Lorraine engaged with managers and leaders, advocating to give teams the support they needed. Through that, it was possible to help the teams with guidance on Test-Driven Development and support in using an internal testing tool. When it comes to helping teams adopt new practices, Lorraine advises identifying policy and decision-makers, gathering relevant data, and proposing time-limited experiments for major changes, culminating in retrospective evaluations.
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About Lorraine Chambers
Lorraine's vision of excellence is summed up in the words of philosopher, Lao Tzu -- “A leader is best when people barely know he exists ... " She's held several roles in the Fintech industry, including Product Owner and Quality Assurance. She's a native New Yorker that loves travel, music and museums.
You can link with Lorraine Chambers on LinkedIn and connect with Lorraine Chambers on Instagram.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
In this episode, Lorraine explores the story of a midsized team within a larger organization. Operating in silos, the team members juggled disconnected tasks, leading to significant carryover between sprints, and an inability to fulfill sprint commitments. The silos led to limited collaboration which, in time, further hindered progress. Lorraine addressed concerns with the Product Owner and manager, but changes were deemed unfeasible at the time. This situation impeded the team's ability to self-organize. As reflection for Scrum Masters, Lorraine advises reflecting on the organizational team model and strategizing how to foster collective participation in sprint planning, shared goals, and self-organization within the team.
Lorraine discusses a pivotal book in her career: "Radical Candor" by Kim Scott, emphasizing its guidance on effective communication and feedback provision for coaches. The book advocates candidness in delivering both praise and criticism, underscoring the significance of nurturing relationships. Lorraine recounts an illustrative story from the book where a lack of candor led to performance issues. The lesson: timely, candid feedback is crucial.
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About Lorraine Chambers
Lorraine's vision of excellence is summed up in the words of philosopher, Lao Tzu -- “A leader is best when people barely know he exists ... " She's held several roles in the Fintech industry, including Product Owner and Quality Assurance. She's a native New Yorker that loves travel, music and museums.
You can link with Lorraine Chambers on LinkedIn and connect with Lorraine Chambers on Instagram.
Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
In this episode, Lorraine reflects on a pivotal early experience as a Scrum Master. Faced with communication breakdowns in her new team, exacerbated by disrespectful responses to a junior member, she initially hoped for resolution without intervention. However, tensions escalated. Seeking guidance from an agile coach, they conducted communication-focused sessions, delving into communication styles and sharing some active listening practices. Progress seemed slow, prompting Lorraine to shift her coaching approach. She designed a workshop on navigating disagreements, using role-playing exercises. Additionally, she emphasized creating a collaborative working agreement and proactive identification of anti-patterns. Ultimately, Lorraine emphasizes arming teams with tools for independent problem-solving.
[IMAGE HERE] Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story - How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company.
About Lorraine Chambers
Lorraine's vision of excellence is summed up in the words of philosopher, Lao Tzu -- “A leader is best when people barely know he exists ... " She's held several roles in the Fintech industry, including Product Owner and Quality Assurance. She's a native New Yorker that loves travel, music and museums.
You can link with Lorraine Chambers on LinkedIn and connect with Lorraine Chambers on Instagram.
Troy, in this Agile Uprising podcast episode, delves into his intriguing journey in the realm of forecasting and estimation for software development. Inspired by that episode, we discuss the concept of Gambler's Ruin, a mathematical problem turned into a game. Troy shares the main insights from Gambler’s Ruin and mentions Prateek Singh of ProKanban.org who has used this concept to demonstrate that even a slight skill advantage can lead to success when focusing product development on what Troy calls “Small Bets”
Small bets relate to the implications of spending money on a product idea. It's not just an expense; it's an investment with an anticipated return on investment (ROI). The crucial question arises: how do we strategically place these bets in product development? Here, Troy exposes the fallacy of assuming we can determine value upfront. We also discuss the concept of anti-fragility and highlight how many processes are inadvertently designed to be fragile. In this context, the size of the bet correlates with cycle time, and "time" itself becomes the bet's magnitude. As Annie Duke advocates in her book "Thinking in Bets," small bets bolster resilience, while large bets can lead to vulnerability.
How do we know we are making small bets? Troy sheds light on the pivotal flow metrics that software development teams should diligently track. He explains the relationship between Work In Progress (WIP) and cycle time, referring to Little's law formula. And he introduces work item age as a metric that can help predict WIP and Cycle time, which gives teams a tangible representation of their current investment. This metric aids in decision-making and fosters a more effective approach to forecasting.
In the podcast, Troy advocates for a paradigm shift in prioritization practices. He highlights that the more time spent prioritizing work, the larger the bet size (planning time directly affects bet size). Drawing from the wisdom of Don Reinertsen and the principles outlined in the book "Principles of Product Development Flow," he stresses the intrinsic cost associated with all work undertaken. Aligning individuals and teams on priorities is essential, yet the priority itself may hold uncertainty.
To aid teams in this endeavor, Troy discusses the Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) framework, and how it offers a pragmatic approach to prioritize tasks based on contributing factors. However, prioritization is directly affected by dependencies, which means that eliminating dependencies becomes a critical step towards making smaller, more manageable bets. For example, by segregating dependencies, teams can significantly reduce bet sizes and enhance predictability.
In this episode, Troy elucidates how conventional prioritization techniques can inadvertently hinder forecasting and predictability. He provides insights into alternative approaches that foster adaptability and more accurate forecasts.
For those eager to dive deeper into the world of Agile metrics and predictability, Troy recommends Dan Vacanti's book, "Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability," as an invaluable resource.
About Troy Lightfoot
Troy is a Lean Product Development Coach and trainer for ProKanban.Org. He coaches and trains Scrum, Kanban, and SAFe and other Agile Scaling approaches. Troy transitioned from computer science to full-time Agile coaching, specializing in Lean Portfolio and Program Management. He is also a co-founder of the Agile Uprising Podcast, and an active blogger. For further insights into Troy's work and methodologies, visit ProKanbanTraining.com and explore the Agile Uprising podcast. Additionally, you can delve deeper into Troy's teachings at ProKanban.org.