Agile Outside of IT
Why Agile Methodologies Miss The Mark For AI & ML Projects
Companies of all sizes are implementing AI, ML, and cognitive technology projects for a wide range of reasons in a disparate array of industries and customer sectors. Some AI efforts are focused on the development of intelligent devices and vehicles, which incorporate three simultaneous development streams of software, hardware, and constantly evolving machine learning models.
Business Agility
New Ways of Thinking for Managers in an Agile World
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how the mindset of a manager desperately needs to change in order for an organization to embrace agility. For too long, our managers have been rewarded for behaviors that run counter to the agile culture. But what specifically do they need to change? What stays the same?
Three lessons on how Singapore built an agile government
Organisational change is hard everywhere – even more so in governments. So when GovTech Singapore formed in 2016, promising a fresh, new way of working and sporting a catchy tagline – ‘agile, bold, and collaborative’ – it piqued curiosity across the country.
Technical Agility
Get it Done! Is this the Goal?
The hidden assumption we all make is that when things get done, progress is being made. When people are busy the mind tells us that motion, whatever that might be, is better than no motion at all.
Teams, Coaching & Facilitation
8 Different Ways to Organize Your Backlog to Make it More Impactful
Often we don’t question our product backlogs, they’re a list of stuff we hope, might and would like to do, but do they always have to be represented as a list?
Developers hack code. Scrum Masters hack people.
When I am teaching CSM classes, after we cover the Roles on the Scrum Team it seems like people are generally pretty well sorted out on what the Development Team members do all day and what the Product Owner does throughout the day.
Tips & Tricks
What is design thinking? An agile method for innovation
Design thinking is an agile, iterative process for approaching design and innovation that centers on users’ desires and needs, and enables your company to pivot as the industry changes and technology evolves. Design thinking acknowledges that there isn’t one way to solve a problem. As such, the design thinking methodology encourages questioning, experimenting, observing and innovating in an environment that embraces diverse opinions and ideas.
Agile at Scale
Digital Transformation - Lessons Learned
Digital Transformation is a term like cloud computing, big data, and innovation, that have come to be used so broadly, they could be used to mean just about anything. I also know people who have digital transformation on their LinkedIn profiles, but it’s not clear what they mean by that or what specific experiences they have had.
In Case You Missed It
How to Make Sure Agile Teams Can Work Together
Increasing volatility, uncertainty, growing complexity, and ambiguous information (VUCA) has created a business environment in which agile collaboration is more critical than ever. Organizations need to be continually on the lookout for new market developments and competitive threats, identifying essential experts and nimbly forming and disbanding teams to help tackle those issues quickly. However, these cross-functional groups often bump up against misaligned incentives, hierarchical decision-making, and cultural rigidities, causing progress to stall or action to not be taken at all.
Why Isn’t Agile Working?
I was visiting a relative a couple years ago. My poor cousin (the CEO of an insurance company) had been sold the Agile Silver Bullet ™ and was pissed. He said something like: "It’s a sham! We changed the way we do everything. We brought in consultants. We hired these master project managers. And nothing worked! It made no difference. There’s no accountability. All I get is excuses."