The problem with project managers and self-managing agile teams
I sometimes get involved in discussions about whether agile teams need project managers. I have a very strong view on this – NO, we do not need project managers, unless of course, we do, in which case YES. Project managers are nice people and we should let them hang out with the team if they want to…
Read more
Foundation of DevOps is PMI accredited
SoftEd has just announced that Foundation of DevOps is now accredited by the Project Management Institute (PMI). PMI is the world's leading professional membership association for project managers with over 500,000 global members. The DevOps movement is on the rise and becoming increasingly…
Read more
When is an agile coach not an agile coach?
I was talking to some experienced agile people and we started to discuss “agile coaching. ”We agreed that it was a great idea and that everyone should have an agile coach. But then we realised that we did not mean the same thing when we said “coach. ”We did agree on some things, like being able to…
Read more
Is 'Communication' really the problem?
Many leaders I work with seek feedback from staff on what they can improve. Often by anonymous surveys*. There will usually be a response along the lines of "Not enough communication" or "Poor communication. "*could the fact that the survey is anonymous tell us more about the culture than we'd like…
Read more
It's a catastrophe - how does an agile coach respond?
In this series of articles, I will provide suggestions for helping people tackle problems and “catastrophes. ”In each case, I either provide some open questions or “a couple of boxes on a wall. ”I have been working with some agile coaches recently and we discussed two related problems:When you do a…
Read more
Coaching when they will do the wrong thing
My last couple of articles have been about presenting ideas so that people listen to what you are saying. But what happens if you explain something to people and then they decide to do the wrong thing anyway? Of course, it is possible that you were wrong and that they are right. But what if you are…
Read more
What's needed with agile requirements documentation?
During agile training sessions, the most common question I get is, “Can you PLEASE just tell me what I need to document as an Agile BA?”So, let’s clear up this up once and for all!The answer is NOT simply user stories and acceptance criteria, or a traditional requirements document. Agile is just…
Read more
Is Agile too much bottom-up and not enough top-down?
Back in the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell said, “No man travels as far as he who knows where he is going. ” I think Oliver Cromwell was right. Unless one has a clear objective, one tends to wander fruitlessly, so before embarking on a software development effort, project by project or via continuou…
Read more
An Interview with entrepreneur, Pat Reed
Q: In what ways can we help the under-representation of women in STEM fields?
A: I think the good news is that this issue is getting a lot more attention than it has in the past. Role modelling and trying to embolden it through awareness. One of the areas I think that has a lot of…
Read more
8 reasons for an agile adoption
Companies adopt agile for any number of reasons, usually stemming from a dissatisfaction with how things are currently working and a desire to improve. Most are struggling with the reality of ever-changing environments, customer needs, technological advancements and competitor pressure. Here are…
Read more
To agility and beyond, the value of the BA
My keynote at the Melbourne BA development dayI went to the IIBA professional day in Melbourne and I gave the morning keynote for the day. There were about 270 business analysts there to learn about all things BA. I thought I would publish the talk because a couple of people asked me about the…
Read more
“What, why, how” coaching for skills
I recently wrote an article on coaching where I suggested building a toolkit of different approaches to use when coaching people and teams in different things. This is my (very basic) tool for teaching a skill – it is called “what why how”. I use it when I want to help someone develop a specific…
Read more