One of the most common challenges I face when coaching teams is getting their work unstuck and flowing. When I start working with teams, they always seem to be dealing with the same problems: It's difficult for them to get anything done They have cards over a year old on their Jira board. They spend … Continue reading Why Work Waits
Running, Falling, and the Core of Agile
How do you run? Years ago, when I worked as CrossFit Coach, I frequently attended workshops to improve in particular areas, including Olympic weightlifting and Strongman. One workshop I attended was called CrossFit Endurance, which taught the Pose Method of running. I've been thinking about how the lesson I learned from that workshop relates to how Agile teams … Continue reading Running, Falling, and the Core of Agile
How I Use Scrum to Teach Agility
As part of my job doing Agile Coaching, I occasionally have to give training to groups of people, and part of that training sometimes requires that I cover the Scrum framework. But because I like coaching people and teams on agility and not frameworks, teaching Scrum is something I'm always conflicted about. But the last time … Continue reading How I Use Scrum to Teach Agility
My Agile Sketching Experiment
Between September and October of 2022, because the COVID pandemic put my contracts on hold for a few months, I set a personal challenge to create and share 100 agile-related sketches on Twitter. In October 2020, after posting an average of four drawings a day, I completed that challenge. Because I no longer use Twitter, … Continue reading My Agile Sketching Experiment
Revisiting the Guidance on Cross-functional Teams
Like most things with Agile, the idea that teams should be "cross-functional" gets shared almost like an eternal truth, but it's an old idea that deserves a deeper look. I will explore different perspectives on cross-functional teams and the Three Amigos model, what benefits they're supposed to provide, and their gaps. I will also review … Continue reading Revisiting the Guidance on Cross-functional Teams