Measure and Improve Equal Turn-Taking to Drive Psychological Safety and Team Performance Google’s Aristotle Project studied hundreds of teams over several years. Researchers found that high-performing teams had several elements emphasizing trust, vulnerability, and inclusive communication in team dynamics. But psychological safety was dramatically more important than the others. Psychological safety is being able to…
DetailsThe financial benefits of hiring full-time Scrum Masters A Scrum Master has a manager-level position’s accountability, scope, and responsibilities. Here is a rundown: Removes impediments, minimizes distractions, enhances emergent planning and feedback loops, upholds quality standards, eliminates barriers to efficiency and effectiveness, and does whatever else is required to keep the team’s concentration on getting…
Details
Combine Scrum and Kanban, two Complementary Approaches to Getting Things Done Teams who wish to combine both frameworks may do so successfully with four adaptions and four data-driven elements to design improvements. Scrum is a good choice for teams working on incremental delivery of something. The team has enough information to start and reasonably forecast…
Details
3 Practices to Break out of Cruise Control & Drive Change If the outcome of an effective Scrum Master is to create a high-performing, self-managing team, the litmus test may be — what happens when you are not there? The Ultimate Litmus Test: Go on Vacation Mike Cohn describes a high-performing team as one that…
Details
Improve your decision-making and avoid three mental hazards for a year of great choices Have you ever been stuck at a decision point, trapped in uncertainty or paralysis analysis? Or have you had the experience of making a poor decision? It would be hard to find someone who doesn’t relate to one or the other.…
Details
How we chose one stellar Agile candidate out of 2,000 This is a true story. We were just 28 short of hitting 2,000 applications for one Sr. Scrum Master position. But I’m rounding up. One job, nearly 2,000 applicants–image by Author It was a good problem to have. You might wonder how we approached such a…
Details
by Julee Everett Agile transformations, in particular, Scrum, often tout “predictability” as a benefit. This concept is a critical component of success, and I find we don’t spend enough time at the beginning on how to achieve predictable delivery. It mostly comes through practice, but some organizations quit before they achieve success and then blame…
Details
Overview of Agile Estimating Absolute vs. Relative Sizing When more is known than unknown, use absolute estimating. A traditional or Waterfall software development lifecycle includes a long and detailed planning period to define requirements before beginning development. Absolute estimating is the practice of applying an hourly, finite estimate to each requirement. Absolute estimating may seem…
Details
Agile Product Consulting Toolkit 5 Key Areas to Excel as a Product Consultant or Product Coach There is a new acronym trending: VUCA. It stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. VUCA perfectly describes our world, accelerated by the pandemic and a low-touch digital economy. The good news is, there is an answer. The antidote…
DetailsWe had a great time presenting at Agile 2021! Unfortunately, the workshops at the conference are not recorded. So we decided to make them available via other channels. For the materials, the best is to visit the original Medium blog, which has links to the long negotiation recording, a worksheet to download to practice while…
Details