Podcasts about agile practices

Jessica Zwaan, COO at Talentful and author of Built for People,  joined us on The Modern People Leader.We talked about “human ops” versus “people ops”, the sprint planning process for her people team, and how nobody gets people ops as a product 100% right (and that's ok).---- Sponsor Links:

BONUS: Keeping Backlogs Lean With The Now-Next-Later-Never Roadmap Framework with Kent McDonald In this BONUS episode, we explore the art of backlog management with product management expert Kent McDonald. As someone with decades of experience in software product development, Kent shares practical strategies for keeping backlogs lean, meaningful, and focused on outcomes that truly matter. Learn how to escape the trap of bloated backlogs and implement a Now-Next-Later-Never approach that will transform your product management practice. The Problem with Bloated Backlogs "Some teams use backlogs as 'long term storage' devices." Product backlogs often become unwieldy and difficult to manage because teams view them as a permanent repository for every idea that comes along. Kent explains that this "storage mentality" is one of the primary reasons backlogs grow out of control. Another common mistake is diving in too early and splitting items before they're actually ready to be worked on, which multiplies the backlog size unnecessarily. These practices lead to confusion, lost focus, and ultimately decrease a team's ability to deliver value efficiently. The Now-Next-Later-Never Roadmap Framework "You want to group things together on roughly categories of when you will attack it." Kent walks us through the practical implementation of a Now-Next-Later-Never roadmap approach that keeps things manageable. This framework provides a simple but powerful way to organize initiatives based on their priority and timing. Instead of maintaining an endless list of requirements, teams can group work into these four buckets, making it easier to communicate priorities both internally and with stakeholders. Kent emphasizes that these roadmap items should be described in terms of outcomes rather than features, helping everyone stay focused on the value being delivered rather than specific implementations. For more on the origin of the Now-Next-Later roadmap practice, see this article by Janna Bastow. Making "Now" Work in Practice "We only split items in the 'now' column." When implementing the Now-Next-Later-Never approach, the "Now" column is where the magic happens. Kent advises: Only split items that are in the "Now" column into actionable tasks Express roadmap items in terms of outcomes or customer problems to solve Limit the number of items in the "Now" column to maintain focus List outcomes rather than detailed features to avoid having a large number of items Kent explains that the "Later" and "Never" columns serve an important purpose in setting expectations with stakeholders about what won't be worked on immediately or at all. Managing the Movement Between Roadmap Categories "Items can move back and forth, to facilitate expectation setting." The Now-Next-Later-Never roadmap isn't static. Kent provides practical advice on how to manage the flow of items between categories: Revisit the roadmap regularly, ideally monthly Consider reviewing the roadmap during sprint review sessions Use this format when communicating with stakeholders for clearer expectation setting Hold strong on the "Now" items to maintain focus and avoid constant reprioritization This approach creates a dynamic but controlled environment where priorities can evolve without creating chaos or confusion. Dealing with Backlog Bloat "Create a 'museum', a set of items you can look at, but don't look at every day." For teams struggling with already-bloated backlogs, Kent offers bold but effective advice: Create a "museum" for items you want to preserve but don't need to see daily Consider deleting your old backlog and starting fresh Begin by asking: "What are the main outcomes we're trying to achieve?" Focus on getting to a smaller set of bigger items, then sequence them appropriately These approaches help teams overcome the fear of "losing" work while refocusing on what truly matters. Maintaining a Lean Backlog "Backlog items don't age well." Kent's team maintains an impressively lean backlog of just 23 items across three brand websites. He shares the routines and guardrails that prevent backlog bloat from creeping back in: Create a filter to control what gets into the backlog in the first place Keep the Product Owner just slightly ahead of the development team Avoid the anti-pattern of trying to keep all developers busy all the time Remember that backlog items don't age well and lose relevance over time These practices ensure the team stays focused on delivering current value rather than managing an ever-growing list of aging requirements. About Kent McDonald With decades in software product development, Kent is a go-to expert in product management, and agile strategy. He is a seasoned consultant and author of three books on agility, he helps teams cut through clutter to focus on what truly matters. When not optimizing workflows, he's exploring National Parks (52/63) or grooving to some jazz tunes. You can link with Kent McDonald on LinkedIn, or follow Kent McDonaldn on Substack.

Global Agile Summit Preview: Implementing Agile Practices for Data and Analytics Teams with Henrik Reich In this BONUS Global Agile Summit preview episode, we dive into the world of Agile methodologies specifically tailored for data and analytics teams. Henrik Reich, Principal Architect at twoday Data & AI Denmark, shares his expertise on how data teams can adapt Agile principles to their unique needs, the challenges they face, and practical tips for successful implementation. The Evolution of Data Teams "Data and analytics work is moving more and more to be like software development." The landscape of data work is rapidly changing. Henrik explains how data teams are increasingly adopting software development practices, yet there remains a significant knowledge gap in effectively using certain tools. This transition creates both opportunities and challenges for organizations looking to implement Agile methodologies in their data teams. Henrik emphasizes that as data projects become more complex, the need for structured yet flexible approaches becomes critical. Dynamic Teams in the Data and Analytics World "When we do sprint planning, we have to assess who is available. Not always the same people are available." Henrik introduces the concept of "dynamic teams," particularly relevant in consulting environments. Unlike traditional Agile teams with consistent membership, data teams often work with fluctuating resources. This requires a unique approach to sprint planning and task assignment. Henrik describes how this dynamic structure affects team coordination, knowledge sharing, and project continuity, offering practical strategies for maintaining momentum despite changing team composition. Customizing Agile for Data and Analytics Teams "In data and analytics, tools have ignored agile practices for a long time." Henrik emphasizes that Agile isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, especially for data teams. He outlines the unique challenges these teams face: Team members have varying expectations based on their backgrounds Experienced data professionals sometimes skip quality practices Traditional data tools weren't designed with Agile methodologies in mind When adapting Agile for data teams, Henrik recommends focusing on three key areas: People and their expertise Technology selection Architecture decisions The overarching goal remains consistent: "How can we deliver as quickly as possible, and keep the good mood of the team?" Implementing CI/CD in Data Projects "Our first approach is to make CI/CD available in the teams." Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) practices are essential but often challenging to implement in data teams. Henrik shares how his organization creates "Accelerators" - tools and practices that enable teams to adopt CI/CD effectively. These accelerators address both technological requirements and new ways of working. Through practical examples, he demonstrates how teams can overcome common obstacles, such as version control challenges specific to data projects. In this segment, we refer to the book How to Succeed with Agile Business Intelligence by Raphael Branger. Practical Tips for Agile Adoption "Start small. Don't ditch scrum, take it as an inspiration." For data teams looking to adopt Agile practices, Henrik offers pragmatic advice: Begin with small, manageable changes Use established frameworks like Scrum as inspiration rather than rigid rules Practice new methodologies together as a team to build collective understanding Adapt processes based on team feedback and project requirements This approach allows data teams to embrace Agile principles while accounting for their unique characteristics and constraints. The Product Owner Challenge "CxOs are the biggest users of these systems." A common challenge in data teams is the emergence of "accidental product owners" - individuals who find themselves in product ownership roles without clear preparation. Henrik explains why this happens and offers solutions: Clearly identify who owns the project from the outset Consider implementing a "Proxy PO" role between executives and Agile data teams Recognize the importance of having the right stakeholder engagement for requirements gathering and feedback Henrik also highlights the diversity within data teams, noting there are typically "people who code for living, and people who live for coding." This diversity presents both challenges and opportunities for Agile implementation. Fostering Creativity in Structured Environments "Use sprint goals to motivate a team, and help everyone contribute." Data work often requires creative problem-solving - something that can seem at odds with structured Agile frameworks. Henrik discusses how to balance these seemingly conflicting needs by: Recognizing individual strengths within the team Organizing work to leverage these diverse abilities Using sprint goals to provide direction while allowing flexibility in approach This balanced approach helps maintain the benefits of Agile structure while creating space for the creative work essential to solving complex data problems. About Henrik Reich Henrik is a Principal Architect and developer in the R&D Department at twoday Data & AI Denmark. With deep expertise in OLTP and OLAP, he is a strong advocate of Agile development, automation, and continuous learning. He enjoys biking, music, technical blogging, and speaking at events on data and AI topics. You can link with Henrik Reich on LinkedIn and follow Henrik Reich's blog.

3 big ideas discussed in this episode: BIG IDEA #1: Agile practices are essential in today's AI-driven world, providing the flexibility and adaptability needed to manage the complexities of AI development while ensuring faster delivery and higher-quality outcomes. BIG IDEA #2: The ABC Conscious Leadership framework empowers leaders to foster collaboration, build trust, and guide teams effectively in navigating uncertainty and driving organizational success. BIG IDEA #3: Simplifying Agile through visual storytelling makes it accessible and actionable for leaders and teams, as outlined in my forthcoming book, Agility by Visuals. Get the show notes for this episode here: https://AskJeremyJones.com/podcast

CTO Series: How Open Strategy and Agile Practices Drive Success at NorthCode With Ismo Aro   In this BONUS episode, we sit down with Ismo Aro, CTO and partner at NorthCode, to delve into the transformative power of Open Strategy in the tech world. Ismo shares his journey from corporate roles at Nokia and Ericsson to becoming a full-time entrepreneur, and he unpacks how his approach to leadership evolved with the rise of agile methodologies, test automation, and cloud transformation. This episode is packed with actionable insights for anyone looking to modernize their company's strategy and foster a culture of transparency and co-ownership. Pivotal Career Moments: From Waterfall to Agile Mindset   “When I joined the agile pilot team, it felt like discovering the way software development should always be done—release early, get feedback fast, and improve continuously.”   Ismo reflects on his early days at Nokia, where he began as a test engineer in a traditional waterfall environment. He describes how the shift to agile methodologies transformed the way teams communicated and collaborated. When he joined a pilot project for Scrum, he realized the value of fast feedback loops and early releases. This experience laid the foundation for his future focus on continuous integration and test automation.   Key Takeaway: Adopting agile frameworks can improve workflows by shortening feedback loops and promoting direct communication. The Essence of Open Strategy “Open Strategy means involving everyone in shaping the direction of the company—not just receiving updates but truly co-creating the future.”   At NorthCode, Open Strategy is a cornerstone of their operations. Ismo explains how they empower employees by making strategy-building a transparent and collaborative process. The company's structure includes a parent company and subsidiaries where employees are also co-owners. Revenue-sharing ensures that when the business succeeds, everyone benefits directly.   Key Elements of Open Strategy: Transparency: Strategy is made visible through a kanban board and KPIs accessible to all. Ownership: Subsidiary team members can own up to 80% of their company. Profit-sharing: 80% of client revenue goes to the subsidiary, and dividends are shared annually.   “By aligning incentives and opening up the strategy process, you create a culture where employees don't just work for you—they work with you.” How Open Strategy Unfolds Annually “We make ideas visible and let them evolve until they're ready for execution.”   Ismo outlines the company's approach to strategy using a high-level roadmap and clear metrics to track progress. The focus is on organic growth through subsidiaries, with a benchmark of starting a new subsidiary once a team reaches 20 people. The company also uses “business spikes”—short, low-cost experiments to test new ideas.   Practical Tip: A business spike allows you to explore an idea quickly without committing significant resources, making it easier to pivot when necessary. Navigating Challenges in Open Strategy “Some people want to co-create, while others prefer to focus on their work—and both are valid.”   Ismo acknowledges that not everyone in the organization is equally interested in strategic discussions, and that's okay. Open Strategy doesn't require everyone to participate equally—it provides opportunities for involvement at different levels. The key is fostering an environment where insights and information flow freely from the ground up, rather than top-down mandates.   Key Insight: Open Strategy thrives when participation is voluntary and inclusive, rather than forced. Measuring Success: KPIs and Transparency “We believe in showing our utilization rates openly because our people have a stake in the results.”   To measure success, NorthCode tracks KPIs such as revenue, profit, and utilization rates. Unlike traditional consulting companies that keep these metrics private, NorthCode shares them openly to build trust and foster a sense of ownership. Monthly meetings focus on tactical updates, while strategic sessions aim to inspire employees to contribute ideas for the company's future.   Fun Practice: The “nightmare competitor” exercise encourages the team to imagine an ideal competitor and then adopt some of their hypothetical best practices into NorthCode's strategy.   “When people can see the metrics that matter, they're more motivated to take ownership of their impact.” Inspiration from Open Strategy and Business Agility “We take concepts from corporate books and tailor them to fit our context as a growing, agile company.” Ismo cites two key books that shaped his thinking: Open Strategy and The 6 Enablers of Business Agility. However, he emphasizes the importance of adapting corporate-level concepts to suit smaller, more agile organizations. He believes that while agile is mainstream in software development, many companies remain rigid in their overall strategy.   Recommended Reads: Open Strategy: Mastering Disruption from Outside the C-Suite by Stadler et al. The 6 Enablers of Business Agility by Harbott   Key Reflection: Ismo's approach underscores the importance of agility not just in software but in company operations and strategy-making.   Final Tip: Embrace modern tools like Large Language Models (LLMs) to streamline workflows—but remember, they enhance your work, not replace it.   About Ismo Aro Ismo Aro is the CTO and partner at NorthCode, specializing in software development and workflow modernization. With experience at Nokia and Ericsson, he has held various roles, from test engineer to entrepreneur. Ismo co-founded NorthCode after selling a previous company and also served as Chairman of the Robot Framework Foundation, contributing to the growth of the widely used open-source test automation framework.   You can link with Ismo Aro on LinkedIn.

CTO Series: Navigating Growth, A Playbook for Scaling Engineering Teams With Toni Ala-Piirto   In this BONUS episode, we dive into the journey of Toni Ala-Piirto, a seasoned software leader with 15 years of experience designing and implementing distributed systems. Toni opens up about pivotal lessons from his leadership career, balancing tech strategy with business goals, and the nuances of scaling engineering teams during rapid growth. Whether you're a CTO, a team lead, or a tech enthusiast, this conversation is packed with practical insights.   The Evolution of a Leader: A Journey, Not a Single Moment   “Leadership isn't built in a single defining moment but shaped by many experiences.”   Toni recounts a key challenge early in his career involving a major performance issue for a customer. This experience taught him the importance of viewing systems holistically rather than focusing solely on individual contributions. His “boring” leadership style—marked by forward-thinking and crisis prevention—emphasizes preparation and identifying risks without over-engineering solutions.   Aligning Tech and Business: The Power of Collaboration   “Technology vision and business strategy should speak the same language.”   Toni highlights the importance of close collaboration with product managers, sales, and finance to ensure tech strategy aligns with broader business goals. Regular cross-department discussions foster trust and ensure that the product roadmap is both innovative and achievable.   Key Practice: Build relationships with key stakeholders through daily touchpoints to create alignment.   The Roadmap to Success: Vision vs. Execution   “Short-term details drive long-term visions.”   Toni explains their approach to roadmapping, with detailed 6-month plans that address “how” to achieve goals and a broader vision for the longer term. This allows the team to stay agile while keeping future innovations in view.   Pro Tip: Avoid spending excessive time on estimations; use past experience to guide epic-level planning.   “The first six months are about execution—the rest is about imagining what's possible.”   Scaling Teams During Rapid Growth   “The true challenge of scaling is transferring knowledge while preserving team culture.”   Toni reflects on the growth journey from a small team to a larger organization. As the team grew, onboarding and knowledge transfer became crucial. His solution? Pair testing and collaborative learning to help developers understand the product deeply, not just the code.   Tactical Tips: Implement a “test buddy” system for collaborative testing and learning. Encourage developers to test the product to build domain knowledge and foster cross-functional understanding.   “Your people need to understand the product—not just the code—to scale effectively.”   Maintaining Culture Amid Growth   “Growth changes culture—how you hire and lead defines the next chapter.”   Toni shares how adding new team members can shift team dynamics. The key to sustaining a positive culture is hiring individuals who take ownership and serve as role models. Leaders should seek out those who aim to improve the team, not just perform their tasks.   “The best hires don't just do their job—they make the whole team better.”   Cross-Functional Insights and Learning the CTO Role   “CTOs operate at the intersection of tech and business—a shift from pure development.”   Toni admits that stepping into the CTO role required him to expand his understanding of business operations, strategic planning, and cross-functional collaboration. He emphasizes that this broadened perspective is essential for impactful decision-making.   “The biggest shift for me was seeing the business as a whole—not just the tech stack.”   Key Influences: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team   “Understanding team dynamics is as crucial as technical expertise.”   Toni cites Patrick Lencioni's The Five Dysfunctions of a Team as a pivotal read. The book shaped his approach to fostering accountability and ensuring team commitment. Toni underscores that accountability isn't about blame—it's about ownership and follow-through.   Scaling with a Talent Strategy in Mind   “Growth requires not just more people but the right investments.”   Toni discusses integrating talent strategy into roadmaps by aligning with business goals, including company size and revenue targets. Strategic hiring and investment in growth ensure that the team remains equipped to deliver on future plans.   About Toni Ala-Piirto   Toni Ala-Piirto is a seasoned software professional with 15 years of experience leading architecture and design for projects of all sizes. He excels in creating practical, fit-for-purpose distributed systems and is known for his hands-on approach and commitment to continuous improvement. Toni consistently delivers solutions that meet specific project needs while aligning with broader business objectives. You can link with Toni Ala-Piirto on LinkedIn.a

Conrad Gottfredson joins host, Bob Mosher, in this episode to explore the advanced principles of instructional design that go beyond the foundational methodologies of the 5 Moments of Need. This episode is a must listen if you're looking to dig deeper into agile instructional practices, the power of iterative design, and the critical role of minimum viable products in performance-focused learning. Bob and Con's discussion includes practical insights on targeted training, the distinction between learning something new versus learning more, and strategies to effectively manage change in the workplace Download or listen now and get ready to enhance your instructional strategies with cutting-edge practices and thought leadership from the best in the field!   Have questions about this content or another resource on the site? Let us know! Use this form to let us know you're interested in scheduling a call with a member of the team. We're always happy to discuss your current, future, or aspirational initiatives in real-time. For more 5 Moments of Need resources, visit our website, join the conversation, download our ebook, and subscribe to this podcast so as not to miss a single episode. Copyright © 2025 by APPLY Synergies, LLC | All Rights Reserved. 

Xmas Special: Breaking Down the Wall Between Product and Engineering With Vasco Duarte In the second episode of the “5 Wishes for 2025” series, Vasco Duarte tackles one of the most persistent and damaging divides in software development: the wall between Product and Engineering teams. Through stories, metaphors, and real-world examples, Vasco challenges the status quo and paints a vision for seamless collaboration that drives innovation and value. The Invisible Walls Holding Us Back “It's like having the ingredients and the recipe in separate rooms – how are you supposed to cook something amazing?” Vasco begins by highlighting the invisible barriers that still exist between Product and Engineering teams in many organizations. These divisions stifle innovation and slow progress. Drawing parallels to outdated structures, Vasco recounts the struggle to integrate Product Owners into Scrum teams and how that barely scratched the surface of the larger issue. He calls for a broader perspective: aligning the creative potential of engineering with the customer insights of product management to unlock real innovation. Lessons From the Field: Breaking Down Barriers 1. The Experiments-Only Team “Not the mad scientist kind, but real, product-focused experiments that bring technical innovation and product leadership together.” Vasco shares the success story of a client who created a dedicated experiments team. By combining technical expertise with clear product direction, they delivered rapid, value-driven results. This approach demonstrates the power of collaboration in turning ideas into impactful solutions. 2. Bottom-Up Product Planning “For the first time, Product and Engineering co-created a plan that aligned with strategic goals – no more top-down directives or forced OKRs!” Another client reimagined their product planning process after attending a workshop. Instead of cascading initiatives from the top, they worked collaboratively from the ground up. This innovative approach allowed them to align with company goals while fostering ownership and creativity across teams. The CTPO: A Glimpse Into the Future “It's like they turned the wall between Product and Engineering into a large living room where everyone works together.” Vasco highlights an inspiring case from Berlin, where a company merged technical and product leadership into a single CTPO (Chief Technical and Product Officer) role. This structure bridges the gap, ensuring that both technical possibilities and customer needs are seamlessly aligned. Catch Vasco's interview with this trailblazing CTPO in the show notes to explore how this innovative approach is reshaping their organization. A Wish for 2025: Common Rooms, Not Walls “Product and Engineering are like coffee and milk – different, but together they make something special.” Vasco's vision for 2025 is a world where Product and Engineering work side-by-side in shared spaces of collaboration and value creation. He calls for a shift from siloed teams to integrated partnerships where both groups speak the same language – the language of value and impact. The companies that embrace this shift will be the leaders of tomorrow, delivering innovation at the speed of market change. Join the Conversation at the Global Agile Summit 2025 “Innovation flows as freely as coffee at a developer conference when Product and Engineering collaborate.” Vasco invites listeners to experience this transformation firsthand at the Global Agile Summit 2025 in Tallinn, Estonia. The summit will showcase real-world examples of organizations successfully adopting flow-based software delivery. For holiday listeners, Vasco has a special gift: a Super Early Bird ticket with a 75% discount. Visit GlobalAgileSummit.com to grab your ticket and see what the future of software development looks like. About Vasco Duarte Vasco Duarte is a thought leader in the Agile space, co-founder of Agile Finland, and host of the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast, which has over 10 million downloads. Author of NoEstimates: How To Measure Project Progress Without Estimating, Vasco is a sought-after speaker and consultant helping organizations embrace Agile practices to achieve business success. You can link with Vasco Duarte on LinkedIn.

Martin Cooperwaite, co-founder of Kiandra, takes us from his early days of coding adventure games as a kid to leading one of Australia's top software companies. Inspired by his dad's source code books, Martin's passion for tech evolved from childhood tinkering to co-founding Kiandra with a friend in 1995, starting with local projects and growing into a global digital transformation leader with offices across Melbourne, Perth, and Toronto.Martin shares how simple beginnings led to high-impact projects in health, finance, and government, with an emphasis on client care and innovative solutions that have earned Kiandra over 18 awards. We discuss Agile practices, responsible AI, and low-code platforms, while Martin reflects on the role of perseverance, collaboration, and a human-centered approach to tech-driven success. Join us for insights into building a legacy in software while staying hands-on and true to mission. In this episode we cover: 0:00 Software Development Journey and Business Success9:49 Early Days of Business Growth21:14 Evolution of Agile Practices and Governance28:53 Tech Evolution and Responsible AI Use35:59 Navigating AI use in Software Development 45:41 Innovative Projects and Financial Insights53:38 Leveraging AI for Business Growth and more To connect with Martin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martincooperwaite/https://www.kiandra.com.au/ Support the showThank you for listening to Agile Ideas! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone who might benefit from our discussions. Remember to rate us on your preferred podcast platform and follow us on social media for updates and more insightful content.Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd really appreciate it if you could share it with your friends and rate us. Let's spread the #AgileIdeas together! We'd like to hear any feedback. www.agilemanagementoffice.com/contact Don't miss out on exclusive access to special events, checklists, and blogs that are not available everywhere. Subscribe to our newsletter now at www.agilemanagementoffice.com/subscribe. You can also find us on most social media channels by searching 'Agile Ideas'. Follow me, your host, on LinkedIn - go to Fatimah Abbouchi - www.linkedin.com/in/fatimahabbouchi/ For all things Agile Ideas and to stay connected, visit our website below. It's your one-stop destination for all our episodes, blogs, and more. We hope you found today's episode enlightening. Until next time, keep innovating and exploring new Agile Ideas!Learn more about podcast host Fatimah Abbouchi...

This is the Engineering Culture Podcast, from the people behind InfoQ.com and the QCon conferences. In this podcast Shane Hastie, Lead Editor for Culture & Methods spoke to Declan Whelan about technical health, useful metrics, modern technical practices, code stewardship and cultural aspects of good engineering teams. Read a transcript of this interview: https://bit.ly/3ZAsA0z Subscribe to the Software Architects' Newsletter for your monthly guide to the essential news and experience from industry peers on emerging patterns and technologies: www.infoq.com/software-architects-newsletter Upcoming Events: InfoQ Dev Summit Munich (Sept 26-27, 2024) Practical learnings from senior software practitioners navigating Generative AI, security, modern web applications, and more. devsummit.infoq.com/conference/munich2024 QCon San Francisco (November 18-22, 2024) Get practical inspiration and best practices on emerging software trends directly from senior software developers at early adopter companies. qconsf.com/ QCon London (April 7-9, 2025) Discover new ideas and insights from senior practitioners driving change and innovation in software development. qconlondon.com/ The InfoQ Podcasts: Weekly inspiration to drive innovation and build great teams from senior software leaders. Listen to all our podcasts and read interview transcripts: - The InfoQ Podcast www.infoq.com/podcasts/ - Engineering Culture Podcast by InfoQ www.infoq.com/podcasts/#engineering_culture - Generally AI Follow InfoQ: - Mastodon: techhub.social/@infoq - Twitter: twitter.com/InfoQ - LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/infoq - Facebook: bit.ly/2jmlyG8 - Instagram: @infoqdotcom - Youtube: www.youtube.com/infoq Write for InfoQ: Learn and share the changes and innovations in professional software development. - Join a community of experts. - Increase your visibility. - Grow your career. www.infoq.com/write-for-infoq

In this episode, Bob and Josh discuss common agile practices that teams often overdo. They dive into the complexities and unnecessary implementations in architecture, excessive focus on overdone backlogs, and the pitfalls of over-customizing tools like JIRA. They also critique the abundance of agile certifications, the mismanagement of change, and the detrimental leadership habits in the agile space. Emphasizing the importance of simplicity and thoughtful decision-making, Bob and Josh provide insights on how teams can avoid common traps and enhance their agile practices.Sign up for "The Ultimate Guide to Project Planning:https://maven.com/kazi/product-planning Stay Connected and Informed with Our NewslettersJosh Anderson's "Leadership Lighthouse"Dive deeper into the world of Agile leadership and management with Josh Anderson's "Leadership Lighthouse." This bi-weekly newsletter offers insights, tips, and personal stories to help you navigate the complexities of leadership in today's fast-paced tech environment. Whether you're a new manager or a seasoned leader, you'll find valuable guidance and practical advice to enhance your leadership skills. Subscribe to "Leadership Lighthouse" for the latest articles and exclusive content right to your inbox.Subscribe hereBob Galen's "Agile Moose"Bob Galen's "Agile Moose" is a must-read for anyone interested in Agile practices, team dynamics, and personal growth within the tech industry. The newsletter features in-depth analysis, case studies, and actionable tips to help you excel in your Agile journey. Bob brings his extensive experience and thoughtful perspectives directly to you, covering everything from foundational Agile concepts to advanced techniques. Join a community of Agile enthusiasts and practitioners by subscribing to "Agile Moose."Subscribe hereDo More Than Listen:We publish video versions of every episode and post them on our YouTube page.Help Us Spread The Word: Love our content? Help us out by sharing on social media, rating our podcast/episodes on iTunes, or by giving to our Patreon campaign. Every time you give, in any way, you empower our mission of helping as many agilists as possible. Thanks for sharing! This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

In Episode 9 of Elixir Wizards Office Hours, we dive into task writing and backlog grooming, transforming ideas from the discovery phase into actionable tickets. Join SmartLogic Developer Camber Griffin and hosts Dan Ivovich and Owen Bickford as they explore the intricacies of task writing, ticket grooming, estimation, and backlog management in the software development lifecycle. They emphasize crafting clear, detailed tickets that act as comprehensive guides for development teams. A well-written ticket does more than outline what needs to be built—it facilitates collaboration by including entry points, linking to essential documentation, defining acceptance criteria, detailing QA steps, and identifying potential risks and future hurdles. Key topics discussed in this episode: Crafting actionable development tickets from inspiration Achieving the optimal level of detail in tickets Tailoring ticket content for developers, QA, and stakeholders Standardizing ticket format with templates Structurally breaking down tasks into manageable sections Ensuring flexibility in implementation while maintaining clear specifications Proactively discussing architectural and design approaches Incorporating related documentation within tickets Clarifying acceptance criteria and QA procedures Accurately estimating task effort and complexity Collaboratively grooming tasks with cross-functional teams Adjusting tickets to evolving requirements Strategically planning for uncertainties and out-of-scope concerns Managing and versioning ongoing documentation Keeping the backlog clean, prioritized, and relevant Mapping dependencies among interconnected tasks Links mentioned: Jira Work Management https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira ClickUp Project Management Platform https://clickup.com/teams/project-management GitHub Projects https://docs.github.com/en/issues/planning-and-tracking-with-projects Zube Agile Project Management https://zube.io/ Pivotal Tracker Agile Project Management Tool https://www.pivotaltracker.com/ Trak Portfolio Management System https://pd-trak.com/ ClearCase Software Configuration Mgmt www.ibm.com/products/devops-code-clearcase Oban Job Processing in Elixir https://github.com/sorentwo/oban Special Guest: Camber Griffin.

SummaryIn this episode, Goiko shares his experiences and insights on visualizing specifications, writing Specification by Example, and solving communication problems in software development. He discusses the challenges and patterns in the adoption of Spec by Example and the importance of identifying bottlenecks and visualizing problems. Goiko also talks about causing organizational change and the evolution of software development solutions. He concludes by discussing the promise and reality of no-code tools and sharing his recent work and projects. The conversation explores various themes related to software development and its impact on organizations and society. It discusses the power of expressing human knowledge in software and the role of visualization tools in increasing shared understanding. The shift from specialists to generalists in the software industry is examined, as well as the potential for smaller organizations and general-purpose work. The conversation also delves into the role of AI in minimizing political games in organizations and the responsibility of software professionals in creating good software. The need for spending more time on edge cases and negative use cases is highlighted, along with the societal impact of bad software and the potential for IT to become a profession. The conservation and shifting of complexity in software development is explored, and the conversation concludes with a discussion on the impact of shoddy software on people's lives.TakeawaysVisualizing specifications can help improve understanding and reduce rework in software development.The adoption of Spec by Example and other agile practices can be hindered by organizational politics and resistance to change.Identifying bottlenecks and visualizing problems can lead to effective solutions and improvements in software development processes.No-code tools have the potential to democratize software development and empower non-technical users to create automation. Visualization tools like FigJam and Zeppelin increase shared understanding in organizations.The software industry is shifting towards smaller organizations and general-purpose work.AI cannot eliminate political games in organizations, as they are driven by cultural factors.There is a need for more focus on edge cases and negative use cases in software development.The responsibility of software professionals is to create good software and address the societal impact of bad software.Gojko's booksCheck out our sponsors:www.xebia.comwww.wiserbees.comwww.scrummatch.comwww.masteringagility.orgSound BitesChapters00:00Introduction01:21Visualizing Specifications03:04Early Experiences with Software Quality04:09Solving Communication Problems05:31Validating Real-World Usage of Spec by Example06:29Getting Permission from Companies for Case Studies08:28Persistent Challenges and Positive Patterns09:49Adoption of Given-When-Then and Consolidation of Tools11:42Identifying Bottlenecks and Visualizing Problems13:01Causing Organizational Change14:09The Challenge of Change Resistance16:30The Evolution of Software Development Solutions26:48Goiko's Recent Work and Projects35:26The Power of Expressing Human Knowledge in Software36:03Visualization Tools and Increased Shared Understanding37:27Specialists vs. Generalists in the Software Industry38:49The Shift Towards Smaller Organizations and General Purpose Work41:49The Role of AI in Minimizing Political Games in Organizations42:54The Responsibility of Software Professionals in Creating Good Software51:01The Need for Spending More Time on Edge Cases and Negative Use Cases53:31The Societal Impact of Bad Software and the Role of Governments57:41The Potential for IT to Become a Profession01:01:29The Conservation and Shifting of Complexity in Software Development01:04:43The Impact of Shoddy Software on People's Lives

In this episode of the Scrum.org Community podcast, host Dave West is joined by Kirsty McCarthy - CEO of M:M Bio, Andrea Nisbet - Head of People at M:M Bio and Yuval Yeret - Professional Scrum Trainer. They talked about how M:M Bio uses Agile in drug discovery and R&D in the oncology and immuno-oncology spaces. They discuss how Agile principles were applied in a bio-manufacturing context, while combining Scrum and Kanban practices. They also talk about their transition to an agile approach and the necessary mindset shift to be agile.About Our GuestsKirsty McCarthy founded M:M Bio, along with her husband Tom, in 2016 with a vision to build an ecosystem of biotech companies that could learn from each other, leverage resources and be a great place to work. Before M:M, Kirsty spent about fifteen years working in the commercialization space building and growing companies focused on new technologies. Kirsty has an MBA from Melbourne Business School.Andrea Nisbet has worked at M:M Bio Limited for 4 years and has supported the wider ecosystem growth from 3 companies to 4 and from 8 core team members to over 70.   Andrea is passionate about building and supporting a culture where everyone is able to perform to their full potential and where they feel a sense of inclusion and belonging.  Yuval Yeret is a Professional Scrum Trainer and an agility coach working with startups, scaleups and enterprises such as Gillette, Dyno Therapeutics, MightyBuildings, Siemens, Intel, and CyberArk. Yuval is passionate about leveraging the Scrum principles of Empiricism, Self-Management and Continuous Improvement to tackle a variety of Products ranging from classic software products, through IT systems, all the way to cyber-physical systems and Business Processes such as Marketing and Sales/Revenue.

In this episode, I'm speaking about how scaling up Agile practices across multiple teams, departments will help to meet the needs of changing and dynamic market conditions and help in turn shaping up the future of Agile and businesses using these practices.

In this episode, Amir Bormand introduces two guests, Ajax Trueblood and Chris Ieva, who discuss the book "Bastards and Brothers" written by Ajax. The book focuses on the Marines and their fight for al-Qaim in Iraq. Ajax, a retired Air Force intel officer, shares his motivations for writing the book, while Chris, a Marine who served in Iraq, provides his unique perspective. The conversation delves into the book's significance and connections to everyday experiences, including agile practices.  Highlights [00:03:53] Dark times in Iraq. [00:07:36] Marine battalion's fascinating story. [00:14:48] John Boyd and the OODA Loop [00:16:27] The OODA Loop concept. [00:20:23] Thinking in cycles [00:25:51] Rules for winning firefights. [00:29:19] The courage it takes. [00:34:26] Coordinated strike on enemy. [00:36:14] Marines rushing headlong into combat. [00:39:10] Tying explosives on a rope. [00:47:20] Communication techniques and gratitude. [00:50:27] Building trust through honest communication. [00:54:18] Risk and decision-making. [00:59:02] Fighting with a small footprint. [01:02:32] Outreach to local tribes. [01:07:46] The ripple of wartime experience. --- Thank you so much for checking out this episode of The Tech Trek, and we would appreciate it if you would take a minute to rate and review us on your favorite podcast player. Want to learn more about us? Head over at https://www.elevano.com Have questions or want to cover specific topics with our future guests? Please message me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirbormand (Amir Bormand)

This is the fourth series of Agile Framework Fight night. This fight night was hosted in Seattle by Beyond Agile. Like the first Agile Framework Fight Night, we brought together another winning panel of experts to represent the frameworks of DA, Fast Agile, LeSS, and SaFE. Agile Framework Fight Night, the THIRD series happened at Beyond Agile, transmitted from Seattle. You can find Beyond Agile at Meetup.com here: https://www.meetup.com/BeyondAgile/ The expert panelists are: Ricardo “Dad of Doom” Garcia stomping toes for Team DA This “Dad of Doom” has over 30 years of industry experience and has implemented and managed numerous software projects using Agile Practices for Fortune 500 companies. His work has been featured in white papers, cover stories in magazines, and is a frequent speaker at conferences and Agile expert panels. He is the organizer behind Seattle Disciplined Agile Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Seattle-Disciplined-Agile-Meetup/ Page "Paginator" Watson knocks heads for team FAST Agile This technical coach works for Industrial Logic. Page worked with Ron Quartel at Premier Blue Cross that used FAST Agile. https://www.linkedin.com/in/paige-is-xp/ Richard Hundhauson is Scrum Hausen vilifying the opponent for team Nexus Richard works is a Scrum devops trainer and is a co-creator of Nexus. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhundhausen/ Barry Smith, aka Barry the Blizzard wrestles for team SAFE Is a member of Unify's Lean-Agile practice, and committed to helping product teams to enjoy a better way of working and delivering exceptional value to their customers. His over 25+ years of working in technology has shown him that innovation can be fostered anywhere, from startups to Fortune 500 firms. Lancer “Unkind” Kind, moderating a lucha libre lifestyle “Unkind” lives in Kirkland, and loves nothing more than writing micro tested software. For the last five years he has delivered consulting services in China, India, as well as the USA. He's a publishing author of science fiction and Agile Noir, a project management business novel. He's podcasting at Agile Thoughts, 敏捷理念 (the Chinese edition of Agile Thoughts), and SciFi Thoughts. His Agile at scale business novel is “continuously delivered” via Lean Pub at: https://leanpub.com/AgileGrande Here is a link to this Beyond Agile event in Meetup which contains comments about the fight night: https://www.meetup.com/beyondagile/events/286465281/ Other Agile Framework Fight Night Bouts You can listen to the first, second, and third Bouts of Agile Framework Fight Night series here: https://agilenoir.biz/en/agilethoughts/agile-framework-fight-night/ Interested in learning Agile? Kartar Petal starts a new job as a project manager of a waterfall project that's failing. But the biggest problem is that his LIFE is on the line if he doesn't deliver on time. His best chance of survival is to listen to a hindu godman who has decided to coach Kartar in becoming Agile. But will it be enough to save Kartar from being killed? Agile Noir teaches the following through dramatic story telling: Agile Manifesto and it's meaningUser StoriesPoker Planningservant leadershipScrum roles: Scrum Master, PO, and team.negotiating a win-win with stakeholdersScrum of Scrums Available in India, USA, and China from the following sellers: ACM (Association of Computing Machines): ACM BookstoreUSA: Amazon.comIndia: Pothi.comChina (Mandarin edition): WeChat store

This is the fourth series of Agile Framework Fight night. This fight night was hosted in Seattle by Beyond Agile. Like the first Agile Framework Fight Night, we brought together another winning panel of experts to represent the frameworks of DA, Fast Agile, LeSS, and SaFE. Agile Framework Fight Night, the THIRD series happened at Beyond Agile, transmitted from Seattle. You can find Beyond Agile at Meetup.com here: https://www.meetup.com/BeyondAgile/ The expert panelists are: Ricardo “Dad of Doom” Garcia stomping toes for Team DA This “Dad of Doom” has over 30 years of industry experience and has implemented and managed numerous software projects using Agile Practices for Fortune 500 companies. His work has been featured in white papers, cover stories in magazines, and is a frequent speaker at conferences and Agile expert panels. He is the organizer behind Seattle Disciplined Agile Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Seattle-Disciplined-Agile-Meetup/ Page "Paginator" Watson knocks heads for team FAST Agile This technical coach works for Industrial Logic. Page worked with Ron Quartel at Premier Blue Cross that used FAST Agile. https://www.linkedin.com/in/paige-is-xp/ Richard Hundhauson is Scrum Hausen vilifying the opponent for team Nexus Richard works is a Scrum devops trainer and is a co-creator of Nexus. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhundhausen/ Barry Smith, aka Barry the Blizzard wrestles for team SAFE Is a member of Unify's Lean-Agile practice, and committed to helping product teams to enjoy a better way of working and delivering exceptional value to their customers. His over 25+ years of working in technology has shown him that innovation can be fostered anywhere, from startups to Fortune 500 firms. Lancer “Unkind” Kind, moderating a lucha libre lifestyle “Unkind” lives in Kirkland, and loves nothing more than writing micro tested software. For the last five years he has delivered consulting services in China, India, as well as the USA. He's a publishing author of science fiction and Agile Noir, a project management business novel. He's podcasting at Agile Thoughts, 敏捷理念 (the Chinese edition of Agile Thoughts), and SciFi Thoughts. His Agile at scale business novel is “continuously delivered” via Lean Pub at: https://leanpub.com/AgileGrande Here is a link to this Beyond Agile event in Meetup which contains comments about the fight night: https://www.meetup.com/beyondagile/events/286465281/ Other Agile Framework Fight Night Bouts You can listen to the first, second, and third Bouts of Agile Framework Fight Night series here: https://agilenoir.biz/en/agilethoughts/agile-framework-fight-night/ Interested in learning Agile? Kartar Petal starts a new job as a project manager of a waterfall project that's failing. But the biggest problem is that his LIFE is on the line if he doesn't deliver on time. His best chance of survival is to listen to a hindu godman who has decided to coach Kartar in becoming Agile. But will it be enough to save Kartar from being killed? Agile Noir teaches the following through dramatic story telling: Agile Manifesto and it's meaningUser StoriesPoker Planningservant leadershipScrum roles: Scrum Master, PO, and team.negotiating a win-win with stakeholdersScrum of Scrums Available in India, USA, and China from the following sellers: ACM (Association of Computing Machines): ACM BookstoreUSA: Amazon.comIndia: Pothi.comChina (Mandarin edition): WeChat store

There are few things worse than getting to the end of a project and realizing that things just aren't working the way you anticipated. That's where SAFe® Principle 5 comes in. Hear from Natalia Kuzmina, Head of Agile Practices at S&P Global, about how using a system demo is a better way to evaluate a project.

This is the fourth series of Agile Framework Fight night. This fight night was hosted in Seattle by Beyond Agile. Like the first Agile Framework Fight Night, we brought together another winning panel of experts to represent the frameworks of DA, Fast Agile, LeSS, and SaFE. Agile Framework Fight Night, the THIRD series happened at Beyond Agile, transmitted from Seattle. You can find Beyond Agile at Meetup.com here: https://www.meetup.com/BeyondAgile/ The expert panelists are: Ricardo “Dad of Doom” Garcia stomping toes for Team DA This “Dad of Doom” has over 30 years of industry experience and has implemented and managed numerous software projects using Agile Practices for Fortune 500 companies. His work has been featured in white papers, cover stories in magazines, and is a frequent speaker at conferences and Agile expert panels. He is the organizer behind Seattle Disciplined Agile Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Seattle-Disciplined-Agile-Meetup/ Page "Paginator" Watson knocks heads for team FAST Agile This technical coach works for Industrial Logic. Page worked with Ron Quartel at Premier Blue Cross that used FAST Agile. https://www.linkedin.com/in/paige-is-xp/ Richard Hundhauson is Scrum Hausen vilifying the opponent for team Nexus Richard works is a Scrum devops trainer and is a co-creator of Nexus. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhundhausen/ Barry Smith, aka Barry the Blizzard wrestles for team SAFE Is a member of Unify's Lean-Agile practice, and committed to helping product teams to enjoy a better way of working and delivering exceptional value to their customers. His over 25+ years of working in technology has shown him that innovation can be fostered anywhere, from startups to Fortune 500 firms. Lancer “Unkind” Kind, moderating a lucha libre lifestyle “Unkind” lives in Kirkland, and loves nothing more than writing micro tested software. For the last five years he has delivered consulting services in China, India, as well as the USA. He's a publishing author of science fiction and Agile Noir, a project management business novel. He's podcasting at Agile Thoughts, 敏捷理念 (the Chinese edition of Agile Thoughts), and SciFi Thoughts. His Agile at scale business novel is “continuously delivered” via Lean Pub at: https://leanpub.com/AgileGrande Here is a link to this Beyond Agile event in Meetup which contains comments about the fight night: https://www.meetup.com/beyondagile/events/286465281/ Other Agile Framework Fight Night Bouts You can listen to the first, second, and third Bouts of Agile Framework Fight Night series here: https://agilenoir.biz/en/agilethoughts/agile-framework-fight-night/

This is the fourth series of Agile Framework Fight night.  This fight night was hosted in Seattle by Beyond Agile.  Like the first Agile Framework Fight Night, we brought together another winning panel of experts to represent the frameworks of DA, Fast Agile, LeSS, and SaFE.  Agile Framework Fight Night, the THIRD series happened at Beyond Agile, transmitted from Seattle.  You can find Beyond Agile at Meetup.com here: https://www.meetup.com/BeyondAgile/ The expert panelists are: Ricardo “Dad of Doom” Garcia stomping toes for Team DA This “Dad of Doom” has over 30 years of industry experience and has implemented and managed numerous software projects using Agile Practices for Fortune 500 companies. His work has been featured in white papers, cover stories in magazines, and is a frequent speaker at conferences and Agile expert panels. He is the organizer behind Seattle Disciplined Agile Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Seattle-Disciplined-Agile-Meetup/ Page "Paginator" Watson knocks heads for team FAST Agile This technical coach works for Industrial Logic. Page worked with Ron Quartel at Premier Blue Cross that used FAST Agile. https://www.linkedin.com/in/paige-is-xp/ Richard Hundhauson is Scrum Hausen vilifying the opponent for team Nexus Richard works is a Scrum devops trainer and is a co-creator of Nexus. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhundhausen/ Barry Smith, aka Barry the Blizzard wrestles for team SAFE Is a member of Unify's Lean-Agile practice, and committed to helping product teams to enjoy a better way of working and delivering exceptional value to their customers. His over 25+ years of working in technology has shown him that innovation can be fostered anywhere, from startups to Fortune 500 firms. Lancer “Unkind” Kind, moderating a lucha libre lifestyle “Unkind” lives in Kirkland, and loves nothing more than writing micro tested software. For the last five years he has delivered consulting services in China, India, as well as the USA. He's a publishing author of science fiction and Agile Noir, a project management business novel. He's podcasting at Agile Thoughts, 敏捷理念 (the Chinese edition of Agile Thoughts), and SciFi Thoughts. His Agile at scale business novel is “continuously delivered” via Lean Pub at: https://leanpub.com/AgileGrande Here is a link to this Beyond Agile event in Meetup which contains comments about the fight night: https://www.meetup.com/beyondagile/events/286465281/ Other Agile Framework Fight Night Bouts You can listen to the first, second, and third Bouts of Agile Framework Fight Night series here: https://agilenoir.biz/en/agilethoughts/agile-framework-fight-night/

This is the fourth series of Agile Framework Fight night. This fight night was hosted in Seattle by Beyond Agile. Like the first Agile Framework Fight Night, we brought together another winning panel of experts to represent the frameworks of DA, Fast Agile, LeSS, and SaFE. Agile Framework Fight Night, the THIRD series happened at Beyond Agile, transmitted from Seattle. You can find Beyond Agile at Meetup.com here: https://www.meetup.com/BeyondAgile/ The expert panelists are: Ricardo “Dad of Doom” Garcia stomping toes for Team DA This “Dad of Doom” has over 30 years of industry experience and has implemented and managed numerous software projects using Agile Practices for Fortune 500 companies. His work has been featured in white papers, cover stories in magazines, and is a frequent speaker at conferences and Agile expert panels. He is the organizer behind Seattle Disciplined Agile Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Seattle-Disciplined-Agile-Meetup/ Page "Paginator" Watson knocks heads for team FAST Agile This technical coach works for Industrial Logic. Page worked with Ron Quartel at Premier Blue Cross that used FAST Agile. https://www.linkedin.com/in/paige-is-xp/ Richard Hundhauson is Scrum Hausen vilifying the opponent for team Nexus Richard works is a Scrum devops trainer and is a co-creator of Nexus. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhundhausen/ Barry Smith, aka Barry the Blizzard wrestles for team SAFE Is a member of Unify's Lean-Agile practice, and committed to helping product teams to enjoy a better way of working and delivering exceptional value to their customers. His over 25+ years of working in technology has shown him that innovation can be fostered anywhere, from startups to Fortune 500 firms. Lancer “Unkind” Kind, moderating a lucha libre lifestyle “Unkind” lives in Kirkland, and loves nothing more than writing micro tested software. For the last five years he has delivered consulting services in China, India, as well as the USA. He's a publishing author of science fiction and Agile Noir, a project management business novel. He's podcasting at Agile Thoughts, 敏捷理念 (the Chinese edition of Agile Thoughts), and SciFi Thoughts. His Agile at scale business novel is “continuously delivered” via Lean Pub at: https://leanpub.com/AgileGrande Here is a link to this Beyond Agile event in Meetup which contains comments about the fight night: https://www.meetup.com/beyondagile/events/286465281/ Other Agile Framework Fight Night Bouts You can listen to the first, second, and third Bouts of Agile Framework Fight Night series here: https://agilenoir.biz/en/agilethoughts/agile-framework-fight-night/

In this episode of The Agile Coach, host Vivek is joined back again by Adam Miner, an experienced Agile Coach with a background as a Scrum Master. He has worked in various roles in the Agile space, including coaching and mentoring teams in Agile practices. Adam has a deep understanding of the Agile mindset and values and is skilled in facilitating change and driving organizational agility.Adam shares his experience transitioning from a Scrum Master role to an Agile Coach role. He emphasizes the importance of developing the skill of influencing people through organic trust and respect. Adam believes that the ability to influence is crucial for both Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches. He also highlights the value of understanding the Agile mindset and principles, rather than focusing solely on specific frameworks or certifications. Adam discusses the challenges of working with leadership and management teams, particularly in overcoming resistance to change. He emphasizes the need for Agile Coaches to balance their knowledge of Agile practices with strong interpersonal and leadership skills. Adam encourages new Agilists to be opportunistic and step out of their comfort zones to gain experience. He also advises seeking guidance from experienced professionals in the desired role.HIGHLIGHT QUOTES"The most effective skill in an Agile environment is the ability to influence people through organic trust and respect.""If you understand the mindset of agility and take the values and principles to heart, you can apply them to any process or situation.""It's difficult to convince leadership that changing the way they think is necessary to achieve different results.""The best coaches have a delicate balance of training and coaching, combining Agile knowledge with strong interpersonal skills.""The goal for any coach should be to scale Agile leadership and create self-organizing teams."Get to know Adam and what he's up to:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-miner-77793129/Connect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:Vivek's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekkhattri/Pabitra's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pabitrakhanal/The Agile Coach LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc/Agile Coach Website: https://theagilecoach.com/If you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at our website https://theagilecoach.com/

What is project success? On time and under budget? Really? Here in this episode we explore the possibility of more. Of Value that a project can drive and we use the analogy of a software development project. We talk Agility and we talk EA. The book mentioned in the project is the Art of Agile by James Shore.   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nilotpaldas/ Twitter: @EntArchRadio Email: nilotpaldas@hotmail.com Telegram Group: https://t.me/EnterpriseArchitectureRadio Music: Music by tobylane from Pixabay

This is the third series of Agile Framework Fight night.  This fight night was hosted in Seattle by Beyond Agile.  Like the first Agile Framework Fight Night, we brought together another winning panel of experts to represent the frameworks of DA, Fast Agile, LeSS, and SaFE.  Agile Framework Fight Night, the SECOND SERIES happened at Beyond Agile, transmitted from Seattle.  You can find Beyond Agile at Meetup.com here: https://www.meetup.com/BeyondAgile/The expert panelists are: Ricardo “Dad of Doom” Garcia from Team DAThis “Dad of Doom” has over 30 years of industry experience and has implemented and managed numerous software projects using Agile Practices for Fortune 500 companies. His work has been featured in white papers, cover stories in magazines, and is a frequent speaker at conferences and Agile expert panels.  He is the organizer behind Seattle Disciplined Agile Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Seattle-Disciplined-Agile-Meetup/Ron Quartel AKA "Crocodile Ron-dee"Software Crafter, Disruptor, Pioneer and Intrapreneuer. On a mission to unleash the human spirit in the workplace. Founder of FAST Agile. https://www.fastagile.ioViktor "the Simplifier" GrgicViktor is an Agile Coach, software developer and Certified LeSS trainer with 17 years of experience in delivering enterprise systems and Agile adoptions. He worked first 15 years in The Netherlands, and since 2013 in Hong Kong. https://less.works/profiles/viktor-grgicBarry Smith, the Nexus KnightIs a member of Unify's Lean-Agile practice, and committed to helping product teams to enjoy a better way of working and delivering exceptional value to their customers.   His over 25+ years of working in technology has shown him that innovation can be fostered anywhere, from startups to Fortune 500 firms.https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrylsmith/Lancer “Unkind” Kind, moderating“Unkind” lives in Kirkland, and loves nothing more than writing micro tested software. For the last five years he has delivered consulting services in China, India, as well as the USA. He's a publishing author of science fiction and Agile Noir, a project management business novel. He's podcasting at Agile Thoughts, 敏捷理念 (the Chinese edition of Agile Thoughts), and SciFi Thoughts. His Agile at scale business novel is “continuously delivered” via Lean Pub at: https://leanpub.com/AgileGrandeHere is a link to this Beyond Agile event in Meetup which contains comments about the fight night:  https://www.meetup.com/beyondagile/events/286465281/Other Agile Framework Fight Night BoutsYou can listen to the first and second Bouts of Agile Framework Fight Night series here: https://agilenoir.biz/en/agilethoughts/agile-framework-fight-night/Resources about the TopicHOW TO USE PRODUCT EXTRACTION TO BREAK TECHNICAL DEPENDENCIES: https://www.leadingagile.com/2022/02/how-to-use-product-extraction-to-break-technical-dependencies/Putting the Enterprise Back in Enterprise Architecture w/ Ross BeurmannLeSS on Architecture & Design: https://less.works/less/technical-excellence/architecture-designNexus Dispelling the Myth that Scrum Teams Don't Think About Architecture: https://www.scrum.org/resources/dispelling-myth-scrum-teams-dont-think-about-architectureNexus Why architecture should emerge?: https://www.scrum.org/resources/blog/why-architecture-should-emergeNexus Whitepaper: You Can't Scale Enterprise Agility Without Architecture https://www.scrum.org/resources/whitepaper-you-cant-scale-enterprise-agility-without-architectureDA Enterprise Architecture: https://www.pmi.org/disciplined-agile/process/enterprise-architectureThe Disciplined Agile Enterprise (DAE) Layer: https://www.projectmanagement.com/blog/blogPostingView.cfm?blogPostingID=66383&thisPageURL=/blog-post/66383/The-Disciplined-Agile-Enterprise--DAE--Layer#_=_ 

This is the third series of Agile Framework Fight night. This fight night was hosted in Seattle by Beyond Agile. Like the first Agile Framework Fight Night, we brought together another winning panel of experts to represent the frameworks of DA, Fast Agile, LeSS, and SaFE. Agile Framework Fight Night, the SECOND SERIES happened at Beyond Agile, transmitted from Seattle. You can find Beyond Agile at Meetup.com here: https://www.meetup.com/BeyondAgile/ The expert panelists are: Ricardo “Dad of Doom” Garcia from Team DA This “Dad of Doom” has over 30 years of industry experience and has implemented and managed numerous software projects using Agile Practices for Fortune 500 companies. His work has been featured in white papers, cover stories in magazines, and is a frequent speaker at conferences and Agile expert panels. He is the organizer behind Seattle Disciplined Agile Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Seattle-Disciplined-Agile-Meetup/ Ron Quartel AKA "Crocodile Ron-dee" Software Crafter, Disruptor, Pioneer and Intrapreneuer. On a mission to unleash the human spirit in the workplace. Founder of FAST Agile. https://www.fastagile.io Viktor "the Simplifier" Grgic Viktor is an Agile Coach, software developer and Certified LeSS trainer with 17 years of experience in delivering enterprise systems and Agile adoptions. He worked first 15 years in The Netherlands, and since 2013 in Hong Kong. https://less.works/profiles/viktor-grgic Barry Smith, the Nexus Knight Is a member of Unify's Lean-Agile practice, and committed to helping product teams to enjoy a better way of working and delivering exceptional value to their customers. His over 25+ years of working in technology has shown him that innovation can be fostered anywhere, from startups to Fortune 500 firms. Lancer “Unkind” Kind, moderating “Unkind” lives in Kirkland, and loves nothing more than writing micro tested software. For the last five years he has delivered consulting services in China, India, as well as the USA. He's a publishing author of science fiction and Agile Noir, a project management business novel. He's podcasting at Agile Thoughts, 敏捷理念 (the Chinese edition of Agile Thoughts), and SciFi Thoughts. His Agile at scale business novel is “continuously delivered” via Lean Pub at: https://leanpub.com/AgileGrande Here is a link to this Beyond Agile event in Meetup which contains comments about the fight night: https://www.meetup.com/beyondagile/events/286465281/ Other Agile Framework Fight Night You can listen to the first and second Bouts of Agile Framework Fight Night series here: https://agilenoir.biz/en/agilethoughts/agile-framework-fight-night/ Mentioned in this episode Dynamic Reteaming: https://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Reteaming-Wisdom-Changing-Teams-ebook/dp/B08B48ZTJ5/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=dynamic+reteaming&qid=1681092242&sprefix=dynamic+reteaming%2Caps%2C151&sr=8-1 Creating Great Teams: How Self-Selection Lets People Excel: https://www.amazon.com/Creating-Great-Teams-Self-Selection-People-ebook/dp/B019EKWG6M/ref=sr_1_1?crid=20WLOY01G4ED3&keywords=self+selection&qid=1681092286&sprefix=self+selection%2Caps%2C100&sr=8-1

This is the third series of Agile Framework Fight night. This fight night was hosted in Seattle by Beyond Agile. Like the first Agile Framework Fight Night, we brought together another winning panel of experts to represent the frameworks of DA, Fast Agile, LeSS, and SaFE. Agile Framework Fight Night, the SECOND SERIES happened at Beyond Agile, transmitted from Seattle. You can find Beyond Agile at Meetup.com here: https://www.meetup.com/BeyondAgile/ The expert panelists are: Ricardo “Dad of Doom” Garcia from Team DA This “Dad of Doom” has over 30 years of industry experience and has implemented and managed numerous software projects using Agile Practices for Fortune 500 companies. His work has been featured in white papers, cover stories in magazines, and is a frequent speaker at conferences and Agile expert panels. He is the organizer behind Seattle Disciplined Agile Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Seattle-Disciplined-Agile-Meetup/ Ron Quartel AKA "Crocodile Ron-dee" Software Crafter, Disruptor, Pioneer and Intrapreneuer. On a mission to unleash the human spirit in the workplace. Founder of FAST Agile. https://www.fastagile.io Viktor "the Simplifier" Grgic Viktor is an Agile Coach, software developer and Certified LeSS trainer with 17 years of experience in delivering enterprise systems and Agile adoptions. He worked first 15 years in The Netherlands, and since 2013 in Hong Kong. https://less.works/profiles/viktor-grgic Barry Smith, the Nexus Knight Is a member of Unify's Lean-Agile practice, and committed to helping product teams to enjoy a better way of working and delivering exceptional value to their customers. His over 25+ years of working in technology has shown him that innovation can be fostered anywhere, from startups to Fortune 500 firms. Lancer “Unkind” Kind, moderating “Unkind” lives in Kirkland, and loves nothing more than writing micro tested software. For the last five years he has delivered consulting services in China, India, as well as the USA. He's a publishing author of science fiction and Agile Noir, a project management business novel. He's podcasting at Agile Thoughts, 敏捷理念 (the Chinese edition of Agile Thoughts), and SciFi Thoughts. His Agile at scale business novel is “continuously delivered” via Lean Pub at: https://leanpub.com/AgileGrande Here is a link to this Beyond Agile event in Meetup which contains comments about the fight night: https://www.meetup.com/beyondagile/events/286465281/ You can listen to the first and second Bouts of Agile Framework Fight Night series here: https://agilenoir.biz/en/agilethoughts/agile-framework-fight-night/ The following resources are related to what was discussed in this episode ACM paper about metrics https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3454124 Goal Question Metric (GQM) https://www.leadingagile.com/2017/05/agile-metrics-gqm-approach/ LeSS Experience Reports (referred to as case studies, some of which have metrics): https://less.works/case-studies

This is the third series of Agile Framework Fight night. This fight night was hosted in Seattle by Beyond Agile. Like the first Agile Framework Fight Night, we brought together another winning panel of experts to represent the frameworks of DA, Fast Agile, LeSS, and SaFE. Agile Framework Fight Night, the SECOND SERIES happened at Beyond Agile, transmitted from Seattle. You can find Beyond Agile at Meetup.com here: https://www.meetup.com/BeyondAgile/ The expert panelists are: Ricardo “Dad of Doom” Garcia from Team DA This “Dad of Doom” has over 30 years of industry experience and has implemented and managed numerous software projects using Agile Practices for Fortune 500 companies. His work has been featured in white papers, cover stories in magazines, and is a frequent speaker at conferences and Agile expert panels. He is the organizer behind Seattle Disciplined Agile Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Seattle-Disciplined-Agile-Meetup/ Ron Quartel AKA "Crocodile Ron-dee" Software Crafter, Disruptor, Pioneer and Intrapreneuer. On a mission to unleash the human spirit in the workplace. Founder of FAST Agile. https://www.fastagile.io Viktor "the Simplifier" Grgic Viktor is an Agile Coach, software developer and Certified LeSS trainer with 17 years of experience in delivering enterprise systems and Agile adoptions. He worked first 15 years in The Netherlands, and since 2013 in Hong Kong. https://less.works/profiles/viktor-grgic Barry Smith, the Nexus Knight Is a member of Unify's Lean-Agile practice, and committed to helping product teams to enjoy a better way of working and delivering exceptional value to their customers. His over 25+ years of working in technology has shown him that innovation can be fostered anywhere, from startups to Fortune 500 firms. Lancer “Unkind” Kind, moderating “Unkind” lives in Kirkland, and loves nothing more than writing micro tested software. For the last five years he has delivered consulting services in China, India, as well as the USA. He's a publishing author of science fiction and Agile Noir, a project management business novel. He's podcasting at Agile Thoughts, 敏捷理念 (the Chinese edition of Agile Thoughts), and SciFi Thoughts. His Agile at scale business novel is “continuously delivered” via Lean Pub at: https://leanpub.com/AgileGrande Here is a link to this Beyond Agile event in Meetup which contains comments about the fight night: https://www.meetup.com/beyondagile/events/286465281/ You can listen to the first and second Bouts of Agile Framework Fight Night series here: https://agilenoir.biz/en/agilethoughts/agile-framework-fight-night/

This is the third series of Agile Framework Fight night. This fight night was hosted in Seattle by Beyond Agile. Like the first Agile Framework Fight Night, we brought together another winning panel of experts to represent the frameworks of DA, Fast Agile, LeSS, and SaFE. Agile Framework Fight Night, the SECOND SERIES happened at Beyond Agile, transmitted from Seattle. You can find Beyond Agile at Meetup.com here: https://www.meetup.com/BeyondAgile/ The expert panelists are: Ricardo “Dad of Doom” Garcia from Team DA This “Dad of Doom” has over 30 years of industry experience and has implemented and managed numerous software projects using Agile Practices for Fortune 500 companies. His work has been featured in white papers, cover stories in magazines, and is a frequent speaker at conferences and Agile expert panels. He is the organizer behind Seattle Disciplined Agile Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Seattle-Disciplined-Agile-Meetup/ Ron Quartel AKA "Crocodile Ron-dee" Software Crafter, Disruptor, Pioneer and Intrapreneuer. On a mission to unleash the human spirit in the workplace. Founder of FAST Agile. https://www.fastagile.io Viktor "the Simplifier" Grgic Viktor is an Agile Coach, software developer and Certified LeSS trainer with 17 years of experience in delivering enterprise systems and Agile adoptions. He worked first 15 years in The Netherlands, and since 2013 in Hong Kong. https://less.works/profiles/viktor-grgic Barry Smith, the Nexus Knight Is a member of Unify's Lean-Agile practice, and committed to helping product teams to enjoy a better way of working and delivering exceptional value to their customers. His over 25+ years of working in technology has shown him that innovation can be fostered anywhere, from startups to Fortune 500 firms. Lancer “Unkind” Kind, moderating “Unkind” lives in Kirkland, and loves nothing more than writing micro tested software. For the last five years he has delivered consulting services in China, India, as well as the USA. He's a publishing author of science fiction and Agile Noir, a project management business novel. He's podcasting at Agile Thoughts, 敏捷理念 (the Chinese edition of Agile Thoughts), and SciFi Thoughts. His Agile at scale business novel is “continuously delivered” via Lean Pub at: https://leanpub.com/AgileGrande Here is a link to this Beyond Agile event in Meetup which contains comments about the fight night: https://www.meetup.com/beyondagile/events/286465281/ You can listen to the first and second Bouts of Agile Framework Fight Night series here: https://agilenoir.biz/en/agilethoughts/agile-framework-fight-night/ Chat record from Bout 3 of Agile Framework Fight Night Jon Jorgensen to Everyone (10:04 PM) I know Niels Pflaeging. Would you like me to ask him if he'd like to speak to this group? Aki Namioka to Everyone (10:05 PM) Where is Niels Pflaeging located? Jon Jorgensen to Everyone (10:06 PM) Germany Ricardo to Everyone (10:08 PM) For Jobs at Costco pls send me an email at ricardo.garcia@costco.com shama to Everyone (10:08 PM) Ron Lichty to Everyone (10:10 PM) Enterprise Agile Global Community: Dennis Stevens: Agile for Execs: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89071064881?pwd=a1NoY2ptN3BudGd1OGNINXNtQ0ZYQT09 Josh Novajosky to Everyone (10:11 PM) Amazing shirt Ron Barry L Smith to Everyone (10:18 PM) “LeSS”, of course, refers to “Lightweight Similarity to Scrum" - really, they copied all their good ideas from Nexus. Ron Lichty to Everyone (10:24 PM) I thought I heard Paige Watson describe the FAST meeting as five PdMs bringing in the five priorities for the cycle? Is a “nexus” essentially what others are calling a "tribe”? Barry L Smith to Everyone (10:27 PM) Yes, similar to tribe or ART (Agile Release Train) - the group of teams that are collaborating in developing & delivering a Product Backlog. Jon Jorgensen to Everyone (10:29 PM) Seems like HUGE enterprises would have HUGE concerns (problems) to resolve for the people of the world and inside the organization. Silpa to Everyone (10:31 PM) Our scrum team is of 16 members. We formed mini scrum teams of 4 in each team with 1 PO, 1 SM, making sure we have a process expert supporting each mini scrum team. Jon Jorgensen to Everyone (10:31 PM) The crafting of experiments to see if hardware/software or other kinds of “works” is what runs through an organization. Which of the Frameworks are predicated on the assumption that software products are the resolution of these concerns? Barry L Smith to Everyone (10:32 PM) Jon, are you essentially asking, “Is experimentation a core element of your framework”? Jon Jorgensen to Everyone (10:32 PM) yes Me to Aki Namioka (Direct Message) (10:33 PM) What is our "finish" time? One hour or? Jon Jorgensen to Everyone (10:33 PM) And “What kind of professionals are involved in the experiment?” Barry L Smith to Everyone (10:34 PM)

Despite the fact that Agile practices have been applied to just about every type of work you can imagine, there is still a pervasive assumption that it is just for software. In the CSM and CSPO classes I teach, people often ask for “real life examples” of how people not working directly on software teams are able to use agile and to what end. This week, Lee Lis, Chief of Staff at OnPay, joins me to talk about exactly that. During the conversation, we discuss ways she has applied agile practices in her role at OnPay to create an environment that fosters an agile mindset and self-managing teams that are empowered to take ownership of their work. We also explore different ways in which Lee has been able to take an empirical approach as a parent of small humans who may not fully grok the idea of self-managing yet. If you are someone who has been struggling to find ways to begin using agile and you don't have a software project to work on, you should get some great ideas by listening to this episode. Contacting Lee LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lee-lis-2181942b

Agile methodologies have been adopted by a majority of teams for building software applications. Applying those same practices to data can prove challenging due to the number of systems that need to be included to implement a complete feature. In this episode Shane Gibson shares practical advice and insights from his years of experience as a consultant and engineer working in data about how to adopt agile principles in your data work so that you can move faster and provide more value to the business, while building systems that are maintainable and adaptable.

Many people who are new to an agile way of working struggle to understand how practices like Scrum can be used if you are doing Research and Development. It can also be difficult to see how an agile approach can be applied if you are developing hardware. If you fall into either of those categories, this podcast should help get you sorted on how agile can be used in both R&D and the development of hardware. Michael Grill plays a dual role at Knorr-Bremse in Austria where he serves as both the Product Owner of Agile Practices and as a Product Owner for the research and development of brake magnets. In this interview, Michael shares what led his team to want to try agile, some of the experiences they have had, and things they learned in adopting agile practices for their work developing brake magnets. If you are trying to find your way with implementing Scrum on a team that focuses on hardware, this is an episode you'll definitely want to check out Links: Scrum Field Book by J.J. Sutherland: https://amzn.to/3pASEoU eXtreme Manufacturing: https://bit.ly/3ClNwMT Wikispeed: https://bit.ly/3pG0iOV Contacting Michael LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-grill Twitter: https://twitter.com/actualMG

Agile has become the mainstream in software engineering, and agile principles should feel natural to legacy code menders.  Today we talk with Michael Toppa, the Senior Engineering manager at FastRuby.io. Michael has been a developer, product owner, and engineering director for over 25 years. He had worked for many organizations, including E-TRADE, Ask.com, the University of Pennsylvania, ActBlue, and many others. He is a passionate advocate of agile and lean practices, and today he tells us how to apply them when working with legacy code.  When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Michael on Twitter or contact him via FastRuby.io. 

Daniel is a 20-year software industry veteran who got his start as a Java Developer/Architect. He has spent most of the last 15 years focusing on Lean and Agile Practices. In 2007, he helped develop the Kanban Method for knowledge work. He even managed the world's first project implementation of Kanban that year and, ever since, has been conducting Kanban training, coaching, and consulting. As the co-founder and CEO of ActionableAgile, Daniel provides industry-leading predictive analytics tools and services for any Lean-Agile process.   Topics of Discussion: [4:19] Daniel explains why he feels as though the right curriculum is not yet taught in college. [8:00] It's important to bridge your conversations both in terms of the risk and your ability to deliver on a date in terms of risk. Then, you can have a conversation about what you want to do as a business to mitigate the risks and also accept that they are there in the first place. [10:14] Daniel explains his more data-informed approach when asked how long something is going to take. Jeffrey asks, but how do we find the data that helps us make informed decisions in the first place? [14:43] What are those numbers that give the right visibility? [16;03] The four aspects every manager of a software team should have at their disposal and be monitoring: Work in progress Throughput Cycle Time The age of items that they are working on right now [19:00] Our ability to come up with ideas is always going to outstrip our ability to execute them. That's why backlogs grow over time. [21:49] Daniel explains the method to go from using Azure DevOps to having numbers at your disposal, and what are the two important pieces of data that you need? [24:41] How does the ActionableAgile tool help when every team board is totally different? [28:44] If your engineering practices are continuous, your process should be continuous as well.   Mentioned in this Episode: Architect Tips — New video podcast! Azure DevOps Clear Measure (Sponsor) .NET DevOps for Azure: A Developer's Guide to DevOps Architecture the Right Way, by Jeffrey Palermo — Available on Amazon! Jeffrey Palermo's YouTube Jeffrey Palermo's Twitter — Follow to stay informed about future events! Daniel's previous interview: “Daniel Vacanti On ActionableAgile” Daniel's latest book: When Will It Be Done? LinkedIn: danielvacanti Twitter: @danvacanti Email: Daniel@ActionableAgile.com ActionableAgile   Want to Learn More? Visit AzureDevOps.Show for show notes and additional episodes.

How Nectar Digital Group Uses Agile Practices to Increase Client Revenue 30%-55% Year over Year

HIGHLIGHTSA lifetime of learning What is Kanban? The Kanban Iceberg: it's not just about sign cards Explaining FlowWhat does a flow manager do? Measuring Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD)The Agile ManifestoHow to coach a team on XP (Extreme Programming) On Service Delivery Review Measuring outcome vs outputQUOTESMatt: "It's been really nice to see how different people are doing things and learning from other people and different places and pick up bits and pieces. For me, an agile mindset is one of learning and so picking up bits and pieces where people are doing some interesting things, trying interesting things, and that's what I've just done. Very little of what I've done is my own novel idea. It's really just incorporating other people's ideas and making it work."   Matt: "Kanban helps us to see how our work works. It's really making visible the work systems that we work in." Matt: In knowledge work, where we are in, intangible goods, it's harder to see the work. It's stuff that lives in our computers and in the cloud, and so it's not quite as transparent and visible as in a physical goods environment. Matt: "It's a way of, I talk about humanizing work. For me, seeing how actual people were doing work can be overburdened and stressed out by having too much work to work on, or not having a visibility into how things are working. And so it's about the work's sake, but also the worker's sake that I really find Kanban to be a helpful way of thinking really about our work."Matt: "The Kanban Iceberg metaphor that I've used in the past is, that which is seen at the top of the iceberg, which is the sign cards or the cork boards. But there's so much of the Kanban method that's below the surface. Not quite as easily seen. I think about the other practices, the principles, and the values."Matt: "In my experience, I've experienced lots of different places that say Agile and do Agile. My very first experience was doing XP extreme programming orientation. My main experience is initially doing Agile stuff from an XP standpoint. For me that's really valuable because I understood the importance of engineering excellence and technical excellence as opposed to just the organizing principles of some methods that are useful but don't necessarily speak to what code looks like and what deliverable work should look like." Matt: "Make it okay to fail. We talk a lot about psychological safety. Making it clear that it's okay that you're not gonna get it right the first time. And being resilient in that experience and to learn from those things." Matt: "If doing something fast is important, there's tradeoffs obviously, maybe the quality suffers but sometimes the customer's okay with that. It takes a very important conversation to make them aware of the implications of taking some shortcuts with code. But one of the things that I find useful, for example, is predictability. Being able to be predictable in delivery, to the extent that we have control over some of these sources of variation and impact." Learn more about Matt in the link below:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewphilip/Website: http://mattphilip.wordpress.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattphilip

For all the incredible innovation in the field of data and analytics, one practice unfortunately remains stuck in neutral. Data governance, when applied with an agile approach that aligns with business objectives and focuses people first, can be a boon for data-driven organizations. However, most companies today still think about governance in terms of tools, workflows, or privacy and compliance. If data governance had a help line, it would likely be staffed by this week's guest. Join Tim, Juan and Laura Madsen, author of “Disrupting Data Governance,” for a discussion on how we can all be better ambassadors for data. This episode will feature: How to talk to your execs about agile data governance How to measure the effectiveness of your governance program What's your favorite story of data governance malpractice?

This week, Dan Neumann is joined by Andrea Floyd, colleague and principal consultant at AgileThought, to discuss different ways of helping Agile Practices to take root and thrive within organizations.   In this episode, you will find an opportunity to reflect on your Agile Journey, identify the aspects where adjustments can be made, and reinforce the Agile Mindset for it to really take root, become sustainable, and have all the positive impacts possible.   Key Takeaways ● An Agile Journey needs tune-ups. ○ Taking care of things is action-oriented. ○ Taking a moment to reflect is part of practicing awareness. ● What can impede an Agile Journey to thrive? ○ Not paying attention to accountabilities across the teams. It is important to take a moment to agree on accountabilities. ● How can we create accountabilities when a gap is spotted? ○ Create a space where people can contribute. ○ Our words are important, make sure the words you choose to use are understood. Create a glossary of terms to help with that alignment. ○ Listen and observe the ways people are working together. ● Find the whys behind what is being done. ○ Forecast rather than plan. ● Tune-ups are about inspecting and adapting (and that needs to be visible). ● We don't succeed without our people. ○ Care for your people and do no harm. ○ Focus on empathy and safety. ○ People are not hired to be a widget in a machine, a safe environment should encourage people to share their experiences and thoughts. ○ Are we incentivizing the right behaviors and the mindsets that support them? ● Business Agility is linked to Influential Leaders. ○ Agile Journeys have more opportunities to succeed if we have engaged leaders. ○ Andrea and Dan talk about the difference between engagement and support. ○ An inspiring leader creates communities to promote Agility.   Mentioned in this Episode: Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential and How You Can Achieve Yours, Shirzard Chamine   Want to Learn More or Get in Touch? Visit the website and catch up with all the episodes on AgileThought.com! Email your thoughts or suggestions to Podcast@AgileThought.com or Tweet @AgileThought using #AgileThoughtPodcast!   Share These Tweets! “Taking care of things is action-oriented “ — Andrea Floyd   “Our words are impactful, make sure the words you choose to use are understood.” — Andrea Floyd   “Create safety for people to bring their past experiences to grow from them, people are not hired to be a widget in a machine.” — Dan Neumann  

In this episode of the Agile Expert Series we Join Kellie Tyler, Head of Agile Practices at Bitt and Part of the Organizing Board of Utah Agile. Today we discuss Psychological safety and what impact is has on establishing culture and on the Agile community as a whole.

On today's episode, we have the conclusion of Jean's conversation with the author of Agendashift, Mike Burrows. Mike reveals the secrets behind making agile concepts and tools work for internal and external stakeholders. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Title: Skillfully #Facilitating the #AgilePractices In this Lesson, We enable a #greater #understanding of how to #facilitate #Agilepractices, working to get you deeper within the #Agilemindset and #facilitate it properly. Firstly, you will learn how to first #design- then f#acilitate- an #AgileMeeting, through activities that allow you to #practice what you have #learned so far, and allow other #learners to provide #feedback, to enable diverse #discussion on what you can do to #improve. You will be #facilitating a mock #Agilemeeting so that you know where your #weaknesses and #strengths are, and #adjust accordingly. You'll learn last how to adjust your #facilitation approach depending on the maturity of the team. No one team is the same as all the others, so you'll have to change up how you #facilitate #meetings, #communication, and more. You will be given examples of different teams, their #maturity levels, and tasked to #design sessions for them, such as #meetings and stand-ups. This will help #prepare you for what you may #encounter in the future. #Aleph Technologies is a premier IT #training and staffing group with state-of-the-art #facilities based in Dallas, Texas. #Aleph Technologies specializes in providing hands-on classroom-based and onsite IT #certification #training courses taught by expert instructors with practical industry experience. Classes span focuses on #Business Analysis, Health Insurance & Systems Domain, IT Project Management, and IT Services with emphasis on #Certified #SCRUMMaster, #ScaledAgile #Certifications in Dallas, and leadership roles in #Agile development. Since 2000, over 3000-course participants from more than 100 organizations across the globe have enhanced their skills through intensive, applicable exercises and education. https://www.aleph-technologies.com/ https://www.aleph-technologies.com/events https://www.aleph-technologies.com/courses https://www.aleph-technologies.com/trainers We guide you through your #Agile Transformation. Reap the benefits of #Aleph Technologies' expertise applying #Agile methods and solutions. We will be your guide and mentor through your business's #Agile transformation and align you with a trajectory of growth that maintains strategic priorities. The benefits of an #Agile transformation include dramatic improvements to delivery effectiveness, shortened time cycles, and heightened responsiveness to change. Work in tandem with #Aleph Technologies to develop a practical plan of action, #implement necessary changes, and move your company to new heights with a culture of learning, innovation, and growth throughout your organization. #scrumorg #agile #scrummaster #scrum #productowner #scrumalliance #productmanagement #psm #agilecoach #scaledagileframework #devops #scrumtraining #productmanager #itbusinessanalyst #businessanalyst #agileproblems #itbusinessowner #developmentteam #scrumteam #agileprocess #scrummasters #scrumdotorg #agil #certificacaoscrum #retrospectivas #teambuilding #agiledevelopment --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/aleph-global-scrum-team/message

On today's episode, Jean is joined by Mike Burrows, the Author of Agendashift: Outcome-oriented change and continuous transformation; and also a Co-founder of Agendashift Academy, Mike talked with Jean about how businesses can use Agile and related methodologies to achieve meaningful outcomes from their digital initiatives. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Game Production Discord hosted a panel on Scrum and agile practices in game development, featuring four panelists with varying backgrounds from in- and outside the industry!Huge thanks to Maurice Kroes from Abstraction Games who housed a session with panellists Jeff Lindsey from Bossa Studios, Kimberly Rodatos from Digital Owl, Barry Anderson from Sainsbury's, Diversive and Selfull. They tackled topics like the backlog, user stories and estimations, discussing their practical implementations, limitations encountered and accompanying solutions.Made possible  by Juney Dijkstra MSc. - Producer, Game & Player Analyst, Game (Dev) Event Organiser. Thank you Juney. We would love feedback - leave it anywhere we can reach it! For more articles and interviews with producers and others in the games industry, check out:http://www.game-production.comABOUT GAME-PRODUCTION.COMOur Vision is to enable games industry professionals to plan better, lead better and stop the crunch culture, through building a community of support, knowledge and training.Please visit the website, which exists as a place to gather and chat, swap ideas and learn from each other, accumulate expertise and even accreditation. We are gradually building a library of podcasts, videos, training, articles and guides. Please join us.http://www.game-production.comFOLLOW US:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gameproductioncommunityWebsite: https://www.game-production.comDiscord (most active): https://discord.gg/NBamcKYsP6

In our second PRINCE2 Agile episode, AXELOS' Allan Thomson and Duncan Wade, Director of the Human Interface Consultancy Ltd, talk about the synergy that is achieved by blending PRINCE2 and Agile and the strengths of both – direction and management within PRINCE2 and a focus on delivery within Agile.Visit www.AXELOS.com to find out more about our best practice guidance.Follow us on Social Media:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/4999764Facebook: www.facebook.com/AXELOSGBPTwitter: twitter.com/axelos_gbpYouTube: www.youtube.com/user/AXELOSBestPractice

Reflection at the end of a sprint makes the next one better. Let's discover how to celebrate wins, discuss the losses and create momentum for the next sprint.

Getting people together is a good idea on an agile project. But 'when' and 'how' are the key factors that determine if you can keep the entire group aligned. Learn the distinction between scrums, demo, showcases and brain trust.

A sprint in agile is a two or four-week development dash. This time-boxing is a healthy constraint that keeps the project on track. Discover the three things you need to do in a sprint: plan, sprint, review.

A backlog is a foundational tool for any agile team. The backlog helps us know what is a priority and what work we should be doing now. Let's discuss how to add the right details into the backlog and ensure you're one step ahead.

E77: Social Injustice, Agile Practices, and The Workplace Author: Dave Cornelius, DM We are living in a time of great societal change. Every aspect of everyday life is under scrutiny, from our consumer habits to the way we treat each other. As society becomes more diverse (and as more progressive generations like Gen Z approach… The post E77: Social Injustice, Agile Practices, and The Workplace appeared first on Leaders share how-to practices - KnolShare with Dr. Dave Podcast on GrokShare.com.

The digital economy demands a new way of working, not just for software teams, but for all parts of the business. In this episode Melissa Reeve, VP Marketing for Scaled Agile, will share her story of practicing marketing in a SAFe environment. What are some real-life examples of Agile marketing? With our host Philipp von Bentivegni they share the learnings in working with enterprises, partners and individuals. What are patterns and antipatterns around adopting Agile marketing practices?

From transparency and trust between teams, to how we experience and resolve conflict, different cultures tend to organise, operate, and open up in very different ways. Are you part of a multi-cultural team? Listen in to Agile Coach Sophie Pagé and host Ivy Chan investigate the cultural challenges that accompany Agile transformation.

In today’s episode, Jeffrey Palermo sits down virtually with Daniel Vacanti, the co-founder and CEO of ActionableAgile.    Daniel is a 20-year software industry veteran who got his start as a Java Developer/Architect. He has spent most of the last 15 years focusing on Lean and Agile Practices. In 2007, he helped develop the Kanban Method for knowledge work. He even managed the world’s first project implementation of Kanban that year and, ever since, has been conducting Kanban training, coaching, and consulting. As the co-founder and CEO of ActionableAgile, Daniel provides industry-leading predictive analytics tools and services for any Lean-Agile process.   Daniel Vacanti shares all about how teams can optimize their software process through better forecasting and predictability. He highlights some of the major recurring lessons that he advises teams about, his recommendations for getting started with the forecasting and predicting, and tips for managers struggling to get the right results with the software process. He also shares some general advice for management and teams starting from scratch on how to get more stuff done, mitigate risk, and more!   Topics of Discussion: [:38] Be sure to visit AzureDevOps.Show for past episodes and show notes. [:46] About The Azure DevOps Podcast and Jeffrey’s offer to speak at virtual user groups. [1:42] About today’s episode with Brady Gaster! [1:55] Jeffrey welcomes Brady to the podcast. [2:07] Daniel shares some of the backstory of how Kanban began. [3:29] How Daniel views DevOps and why Kanban is a great fit for it. [4:17] Daniel highlights some of the major recurring lessons that he advises teams about the software process, specifically forecastability, and predictability. [8:02] For new project teams being put together, Daniel gives some recommendations with regards to getting started with the forecastability and predictability in the software process. [13:02] Daniel’s tips for managers struggling to get the right results with the software process. [15:15] A word from Azure DevOps Podcast’s sponsor: Clear Measure. [15:46] The fundamental problem with every software organization being that they have more work to do than the capacity will ever be on their team, does that mean that unless there is an intentional governor, that it’s almost guaranteed to be development gridlock? Daniel provides some recommendations on how to tackle many items/tasks through the software process. [18:57] Lessons from Kanban (especially for development managers). [21:32] Daniel’s advice for management, getting more stuff done, and mitigating risk. [25:03] Tips from wise managers. [26:48] Daniel shares his favorite start-up tips and key strategies for teams starting from scratch. [31:24] What does Daniel do to quickly determine the age of items (i.e. how long they have been in progress)? Are there tools that monitor aging for you? [33:53] Daniel speaks about how he likes to get teams started (prior to coding) with Kanban. [35:49] Jeffrey thanks Daniel for joining the podcast. [36:26] Where to find Daniel online.   Mentioned in this Episode: Azure DevOps Clear Measure (Sponsor) .NET DevOps for Azure: A Developer's Guide to DevOps Architecture the Right Way, by Jeffrey Palermo — Available on Amazon! bit.ly/dotnetdevopsebook — Click here to download the .NET DevOps for Azure ebook! Jeffrey Palermo’s Youtube Jeffrey Palermo’s Twitter — Follow to stay informed about future events! The Azure DevOps Podcast’s Twitter: @AzureDevOpsShow Daniel Vacanti @DanVacanti on Twitter Email: Daniel@ActionableAgile.com  ActionableAgile Kanban Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts, by Annie Duke The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses, by Eric Ries   Want to Learn More? Visit AzureDevOps.Show for show notes and additional episodes.

Digital Enterprise Society is the authority on the transformation to a digital enterprise, impacting all areas of an organization. Tune in for discussions among industry leaders about operations and action needed to drive digitization principles forward for the future of product development and life cycles.    In today’s episode, Craig Brown and Thom Singer welcome Alena Keck, the Lean-Agile Enterprise Transformation Leader.  Alena has joined the podcast to discuss the benefits of utilizing agile software and explain how to maximize the value that you are delivering to your customers.  She offers suggestions on ways to overcome adaptation limitations or resistance and highlights the four pillars of overcoming challenges in the automotive industry.  The conversation concludes with an honest look at the ways that the pandemic has forced a change on all of us that just might result in more effective teams and creative results than ever before.   On today’s podcast, you will learn:   Bringing the benefits of agile software practices to the automotive industry What are the main differences between waterfall and agile systems? Complex and empirical systems benefit from agile systems  Agile can better support the changes that are made based on consumer preferences. Benefits include decreased time to market, which is expected from the best companies. Quality in continuous testing is best achieved with agile software. Increased customer focus and satisfaction as well as employee happiness.    Overcoming the limitations of agile adaptation Companies need to properly set their own expectations — the goal should always be to deliver quality and value to the customer at a sustainable pace.  Some infrastructure transformations are harder to make than others and will need to be given extra attention and time.  Management needs to make agile values clear and tangible to leadership and teams. Teams need to clearly communicate the successes of the agile transformation.    Four pillars of overcoming challenges in the automotive industry Change management and organizational structure need to be addressed first to achieve a successful transformation.  Embedded systems and regulatory environment are industry-specific and  Integrated continuous compliance    Thriving in a time of pandemic Self-organizing teams that believe in their purpose will thrive in spite of a pandemic, remote working or any other distractions. Many companies have proved that they can think outside of the box in these unprecedented times. Remote work can produce effective results with the right employees and the right management. Remove yourself from your comfort zone by actively seeking feedback from others.   Do you have an example of extraordinary efforts or innovation during these unprecedented times? We would love to hear your story and possibly interview you for an upcoming episode. Please reach out to us at www.DigitalEnterpriseSociety.org

--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/doagilebeagile/support

Construx Senior Fellow John Clifford—our Agile Practices lead—joins host Mark Griffin to discuss a repeated theme of multiple recent engagements: how to get Agile teams unstuck.Many teams are struggling with “Scrum adoptions,” they think, but this characterization is inaccurate because the teams aren’t really running Scrum. Instead, they’re doing an approximation based on faulty assumptions—namely, that the teams can take a bit of this and a bit of that and make it work. But Agile frameworks are systems that are more than the sum of their parts. When you leave out parts of Scrum, you start having problems. Furthermore, organizations often do what works in the short term even if it’s not best for the organization in the long term. John describes multiple ways to help teams overcome the pain of change and fix their adoptions.The Agile and Lean approaches don’t solve your problems—they expose them. Once the problems are exposed, what will you do? This is the Agile Test. John describes healthy and unhealthy approaches to the Agile Test. Will you try a solution and, even if it fails, learn from that failure? Or will you stubbornly persist in your ways, not solving the problems, and therefore fail the test? John also describes leadership’s role in this moment of challenge. To pass the Agile Test, teams must inspect and adapt their processes and then start the inspect-and-adapt approach again.In the final segment of this episode, John and Mark discuss the failure mode of missing your sprint goal. The sprint goal is the measure that we evaluate ourselves by, but missing the sprint goal is common. John describes a solution that has worked in multiple engagements: helping teams learn how to properly size their backlog items. He shares simple rules of thumb to help ensure properly sized items. Stretching the length of your sprint to achieve your goals is not addressing the problem; it’s working around the problem. Varying team velocity across sprints is another sign of improperly sized items. In fact, irregularly sized items is a form of waste because it makes flow vary. Don’t make your sprints longer if you can’t accomplish your goal—commit to less, and make sure your items are properly sized.Bonus topic: delivery versus deployment. Our goal is to always deliver value, but there must be value to a customer before deployment.

his Spring at Agile Australia 2018, Martin Fowler, Chief Scientist at Thoughtworks and Agile Manifesto co-author gave a Keynote titled "The State of Agile Software in 2018". He recently published the text of his talk here. (If you refer video, you can find it on InfoQ.) His Keynote centered around 3 specific concerns with the current state of Agile, the first of which was The Agile Industrial Complex and imposing process on teams. In this episode of SoundNotes, LeadingAgile CEO, Mike Cottmeyer shares his thoughts on the Agile Industrial Complex and some of the problems it can create. During the interview we dig into why the challenges come into play and what we can do to try and resolve them.   Contacting Mike If you’d like to contact Mike you can reach him at: LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/mike-cottmeyer/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcottmeyer Email: mike@leadingagile.com Contacting Dave If you’d like to contact Dave you can reach him at: LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrsungo Email: dave.prior@leadingagile.com If you have a question you’d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to dave.prior@leadingagile.com And if you're interested in taking one of our upcoming Certified ScrumMaster or Certified Scrum Product Owner classes, you can find all the details at https://www.leadingagile.com/our-gear/training/

An interview with Adam Wathan, co-creator of the Tailwind CSS library and author and video producer. Adamwathan.me Test-Driven Laravel Refactoring to Collections Advanced Vue Component Design Tailwind CSS Alberta Oil Sands Reaper Conestoga College Vehikl Desire2Learn Tighten Nitpick CI Adam Wathan's $100k product launch Full-Stack Radio Mark Rippetoe - Starting Strength 5/3/1 Video of Adam lifting tons of weight 5/3/1 calculator Matt's WeightXReps Training Journal Agile Principles, Patterns, and Practices in C# Adam on Twitter Refactoring UI Editing sponsored by Larajobs Transcription sponsored by Tighten Matt Stauffer: Welcome back to the Laravel podcast, season three. Today we're talking to Adam Wathan; author, video maker, teacher of the things, power lifter. Stay tuned. Matt Stauffer: All right, welcome back to the Laravel podcast, season three. This is the version of the Laravel podcast where we get to know less about tech and more about the people behind the tech, and today my guest is none other than Adam Wathan who has taught us all about testing, collections, view, components and many other things. One of things I love about Adam is that he's never satisfied with what's happening around him and he's always taking in stuff from other places, and we'll talk about this more probably later in the podcast, but when I describe Adam to other people, I say he's the guy who basically finds what's good everywhere else and brings it to us in the Laravel world. So if you haven't heard of Adam, my mind is blown. You should go consume everything he's ever made; it's all gold. I will say to some of y'all that his name is pronounced Wa-than, right? That's right? Adam Wathan: Yeah, you got it. Matt Stauffer: Wa-than. Not Way-thin, not Way-than. I'm trying to think about other things I've heard, but Adam Wathan. So Adam, say hi to the people, and the first question I always ask everybody is when you meet somebody in the grocery store how do you introduce yourself? How do you tell them what you do? Adam Wathan: Cool. Yeah, so thanks for having me on. I'm Adam. I usually explain ... It depends on what people ask, because some people ask like what do you do? I say I'm a software developer, although I don't actually get paid to write code, I get paid to teach people about code. So I either describe myself as a software developer who creates courses and e-books and training products for other software developers who are looking to kind of level up. So that's kind of the shortest version that I try and give to people that usually is enough that they kind of either are interested in it and ask me more questions or aren't interested and don't want to hear anymore. Matt Stauffer: Yeah, so I'm already going to cheat a little because I want to ask one little thing about your motivation that I've been curious about for a while and hopefully they'll still come out when we talk about your background but, you know, you're really smart guy, you learn a lot of stuff, but you're also a teacher and you also have like marketing kind of like sensibility, and you just gave an elevator pitch that would make someone who doesn't even understand programming want to go sign up for your product and I don't think that that's really common for a lot of us to know how to talk about it that well, so ... And if this is going to come out later that's cool, but do you have a sense for where your ability to kind of understand how to market something and how to ... And you talk a lot about how to do it in a non-skeezy way, but where did that come from? Is that something you had to work on, or do you feel like you've got some experience that's kind of taught you that? Adam Wathan: That's a good question and I don't think I have a great answer for it. I think I've always just really liked creating things that I was proud of and putting them out into the world with enthusiasm and I think that's been kind of like the simplest version of how I have always tried to share what I've been working on and then I think with the marketing stuff too, I guess I just care just as much about the quality of that as I do about everything I do. I just really like to make everything I do as good as I possibly can and that comes down to even things like, you know, landing pages and how things look on stuff like that. To me, the marketing is a product too and I want it to be good and I want to be proud of it, so it's just something that I just put a lot of effort into I guess the same way I would with something else. Matt Stauffer: Yeah, I mean, I tell this story to people all the time, but when you first joined Tighten, one of the things we were talking about was working on some open source projects together, and we immediately found a conflict in our ways of working where I was like, so what I do with this thing Symposium is I figure out a feature and I spit out the feature as fast as possible and then I move on to the next feature, and you're like what I do is I try to figure out exactly the best way to do this feature and I ponder on it and I make plans and I make diagrams and I get it exactly right so people will really get their needs met and then and only then do I actually build out a feature. Matt Stauffer: And we kind of had this like little head butt moment, and I think that I've kind of ... I would say I've shifted to your way of thinking, but I've been influenced by it a lot. Do you have a sense for where your kind of desire for excellence ... I think you were just talking about like where that comes from, is that just a personality trait? Is that something from your family, and what's that ... Where does that come from? Adam Wathan: I think it's just a personality trait. I've been like that with basically everything that I've ever been interested in my entire life. Like I would sit and play guitar and play the exact same seven notes for four hours straight until I played them perfectly, you know what I mean? So I think I just get a little bit obsessive over the sorts of things that I get interested in. Matt Stauffer: Yeah, I just want to get really good at it. All right, well, I'm sure we'll dip into the stuff a little bit more, but I do want to make sure that I actually have the space for your back story. So the second question I always ask everybody is, where was it that you ... Or what was the context in which you first had interactions with a computer? How old were you and kind of what was your interaction like at that point? Adam Wathan: Yeah, so I have sort of conflicting memories for a lot of some of the stuff. Not necessarily conflicting, but sometimes I have a hard time figuring out like what the timeline was, but some of my earliest memories of working with computers, probably the earliest one that I can think of. is when I was in grade ... It must have been probably grade two, maybe grade three, but I had this librarian at my school who worked with like some of the gifted kids to do little projects and stuff and me and him were working on the super old Mac that we had at the ... It was new at the time I'm sure, right, but like my memory of it's like the old school Mac where everything's black and white and stuff like that. Using hypercard to make this little project we went around and it was actually pretty cool. Adam Wathan: We got to like drive around the neighborhood and I got to like ask questions like different business owners about things and we put together this like little presentation in hypercard, and that's probably like my earliest memory of working with a computer and we got a computer in my family when I was pretty young too, probably grade four or grade five. It was just like kind of your standard ... It was like an Acer or Compaq PC or something with four megs of RAM and, you know, I can't even think, a 500 megabyte hard drive, and we got- Matt Stauffer: Yeah, a 486 or something like that. Adam Wathan: Like our internet a couple years later. Yeah, it was a 486 and I used to dick around on that, you know, looking up game tutorials for my Sega Genesis at GameFacts.com and stuff like that and- Matt Stauffer: What's the best game on the Genesis? What's your favorite, do you remember? Adam Wathan: Favorite Genesis game. I used to play the hockey games a lot. That was probably what I got- Matt Stauffer: You're so Canadian. Adam Wathan: The most fun out of. The funny thing is like I'm not super into hockey, but those were just the most fun like multiplayer games that you could play. That and like Mortal Combat and Street Fighter. Matt Stauffer: Yeah, of course. Adam Wathan: And all the classics. I didn't do much of the single player stuff, just mostly hanging out with friends and playing. Matt Stauffer: No Sonic and Knuckles and things like that? Adam Wathan: I did play Sonic, but I wouldn't say like I have, you know, nostalgic memories about how much I loved that game or whatever. It was a fun game but, yeah. Matt Stauffer: Yeah, I feel like not a lot of people have the same level of memories of Sonic as they did at Mario. I just never quite connected in the same way. Adam Wathan: No, Mario definitely has a more special place in people's hearts, I think. Matt Stauffer: Yeah, you actually got into this a little bit, but my next question is going to be kind of what was your first exposure to the internet? So was that primarily it at least at the start? Adam Wathan: I'm not sure if it would have been at school or at home, but yeah, it would have been most of the time that I spent on the internet would have been at my home desktop computer on our 14.4 connections we used to use. Matt Stauffer: Yeah. So when you were in middle school and high school, what do you think you wanted to do with your life? Did you know? Adam Wathan: I had some conflicting thoughts, so at one point when I was a kid I wanted to be a cartoonist, that was my dream actually. Matt Stauffer: I had no idea. Adam Wathan: I used to draw all the time and I used to like ... You know how you'd have like the book fairs at school, I don't know if you had those in the States. Matt Stauffer: Yeah yeah, Scholastic. We had them here. Adam Wathan: The Scholastic Book Fairs. Matt Stauffer: Yeah. Adam Wathan: I'd always be ordering like the how to draw this or the how to draw that books and I never got really good at it, but it was fun and then eventually I got into like playing guitar and stuff like that and I wanted to be like an audio engineer, but I also wanted to be a programmer and I really liked my programming classes in high school, so I ended up going to university for computer science, but I also considered going to college for music industry arts, which is a program that actually Steve Schoger, who some people might know actually did go to at the college that I used to go to. Matt Stauffer: Oh, he did? Adam Wathan: But I decided against it because it just didn't seem like a profitable career path, so I eventually chose computer science. Matt Stauffer: So you had programming classes in high school. Was this Java or C++ or what kind of stuff were you guys doing there? Adam Wathan: Let me think. So I think we ... I don't think we had computer programming classes 'till like grade 10 and we did a lot of like Pascal and we did C, and we did Java and then we have a web one which was later, which was kind of weird because the Java stuff was ... Even the Java stuff isn't ... When I think back to the fact that we did Java in high school, I don't remember doing any of the stuff that I know about Java now. Like I didn't know what object oriented programming was when I came out of high school, even though Java is an object oriented language. We just would write procedural code in like our main- Matt Stauffer: Good job, yeah. Adam Wathan: Java file or whatever, right? Matt Stauffer: Yeah. Adam Wathan: And stuff like that, but yeah. Matt Stauffer: What made you choose those classes? Adam Wathan: I think I just thought it was really fun to be able to make the computer do stuff. Matt Stauffer: Yeah. Adam Wathan: So I remember like one of my earliest memories of programming actually is when I was a kid I was like super obsessed with pro wrestling, that was like my thing. And I used to download all these like wrestling simulators so you could like ... It's so funny because they weren't ... they're not like games, right? They're like you create characters, you choose their move sets, you give them the statistics and stuff and then you like run simulations and it would spit out like texts, like this guy punched this guy, then this guy powerbombs this guy- Matt Stauffer: Right, and you're not actually controlling what they did, right? Adam Wathan: No, no, no. It's just a computer simulation based on random events- Matt Stauffer: That's fascinating. Adam Wathan: As well as like, you know, the statistics and attributes of the different wrestlers. There's a couple different programs that you could use to do that and I was always looking for different ones to test them out, and then one day I stumbled upon a tutorial online that was like make your own wrestling simulator in QBasic. Matt Stauffer: Oh, nice. QBasic, yes. Adam Wathan: And I was like, okay. And that was my first exposure to QBasic. I followed the tutorial and got everything set up and I didn't know how to like do random stuff or anything like that, so I never got very far with it. It was all just very like ... It was not like conditional logic or anything, you would just do this, this, this. Matt Stauffer: It just takes input- Adam Wathan: I couldn't figure out how to make it do exactly what the other things are doing, but I could make the computer do stuff, and that kind of got me interested in the whole QBasic programming stuff and then I just started looking into more like QBasic tutorials and finding out stuff that you could do, and I remember getting really into ... I don't think I'll ever remember the actual name of it. I found a site that I think might have been it, which is Pete's QBasic tutorials, which I don't know if that was the site for sure, but some of the content looked really familiar, but it had lots of tutorials on like making like tile scrolling RPG engines in QBasic and stuff and- Matt Stauffer: What? Adam Wathan: Where you could create like little sprite characters and you'd make these like 20 pixel by 20 pixel squares and lay them all out and make it scroll as you use the keyboard and stuff like that. So one summer I had this dream of making an RPG, which of course never even remotely happened, but I had a lot of fun just hacking around on the computer getting it to render this stuff and do stuff like that. So I think that's where I really got excited about programming because I don't know if I have a specific passion for programming more than anything else, but it was just like a really perfect kind of platform for just doing creative things, you know what I mean, and making stuff. It's the most like powerful tool for just like making interesting things that I know of so far, right? Matt Stauffer: Yeah. Adam Wathan: So I think that's what kind of got me into that. So I did a bunch of QBasic stuff messing around with that and eventually I started making my own little websites on Geocities an Angelfire and stuff like that and yeah, I've kind of been doing that ever since, so. Matt Stauffer: Yeah, I was thinking about how creation was definitely a trend for you. I mean between music creation, you know, as a guitarist and music production, you know, and the art and everything like this is it's wanting to make things happen and figure out what the tools are, so it's interesting hearing you say, you know, it's the most powerful tool that you can use for that. Adam Wathan: Yeah. Matt Stauffer: Do you ever draw still? Adam Wathan: No, not at all. Matt Stauffer: Do you have any of your old drawings anywhere? Adam Wathan: I might. My parents just sold their house and gave me a big box of like crap lying around that was mine. Matt Stauffer: You got to find something, man. Adam Wathan: I think there's a couple sketchbooks in there so I should maybe- Matt Stauffer: That would be amazing. Adam Wathan: Dig through those. Matt Stauffer: Please. Okay, so you went off to school for computer science and did you have a sense ... Did you have any shifts during school with what kind of aspect of CS that you were interested in or if ... And yes or no, what did you think you were going to do afterwards? Adam Wathan: Yeah, so I actually only went to the university for a single semester, so I did the first semester a bunch of the classes I did find fun like the ones that were direct programming, so we had like a C class where we'd basically get these weekly kind of projects that we have to work on where just have to go through a bunch of problems to get the computer to do that stuff, and that was the stuff that I was really interested in and really excited about, but then we also had classes that weren't as interesting, like digital fundamentals and stuff related to more like computer engineering sides of stuff which is interesting, but it didn't get me excited and want to work on it. Adam Wathan: That stuff was like a chore, and at the time I was also playing in a band and we ... That was all I wanted to do. Like we were playing shows and recording demos and stuff like that, so the computer stuff was not really a big focus for me at the time and I was commuting to school which was about a 45 minute drive away and living at home, so I didn't really get like embedded into the sort of university community that was there. Adam Wathan: So I didn't really like make any friends or meet anyone, I was only there for classes and that was it. So it was really hard for me to sort of, you know, become a university student. That was like this thing on the side I felt like for rest of my life, where my friends were and my hobbies were and stuff like that, so I only stuck with that for a single semester and then dropped out to just basically work full time while I reconsidered what I wanted to do, because it just ... I just wasn't enjoying university and I don't think it was the programming that I wasn't enjoying, it was just the educational side of it and having to get pulled away from the things that I was actually excited about to work on that. So I don't remember what the original question was, but that's kind of that story. Matt Stauffer: Well, no, and that's actually perfect and before I move on from that, I want to ask one question which is, was the distinction between doing versus learning abstract theory, was it about how concrete something was that was the difference between what you did and didn't like, or did I kind of miss that a little bit? Adam Wathan: No, I think that's true. I think the other thing is there's just a lot of classes that you have to take in university that aren't as ... they're not all really like cohesive, you know what I mean? I don't know what the system is like in the U.S., but in Canada we have university and college, which I think is kind of like college and community college in the U.S. Matt Stauffer: I think so, yeah. Adam Wathan: But the way that you pick your classes and stuff a lot of it is you have to go into the school and you have to go and sign up for different classes and you have different requirements, and you have to get credits and different things, but a lot of it is kind of up to you and they don't really put together like a cohesive curriculum. So I had to have X Math credits, X Elective credits, so I took like this history of music class, which is the only class I've ever failed in school in my entire life. Matt Stauffer: Oh, my God. Adam Wathan: And you would think that I ... Just because it's so damn boring, right? Matt Stauffer: Yeah. Adam Wathan: And I just like couldn't get into it at all. But everything was just kind of disconnected. There was like some math over here, some physics over here, and because at the early stages of things it's kind of like when you're in like first year of high school or something, they're just trying to teach you all these fundamental concepts- Matt Stauffer: Basics, yeah. Adam Wathan: Without kind of tying them back to the goal they you're trying to get into and I ended up going back to college years later which we can talk about maybe a little bit later, where the curriculum was much more cohesive and everything is sort of designed to teach you to be a programmer, and I really liked that experience. So yeah, I think it is just the fact that there was only one class that I actually liked, which was the programming class and everything else just felt like high school all over again, you know. Matt Stauffer: Yeah, yeah. No, I totally hear that. I mean there's a lot of conversations happening these days and I'll wait to go into them until we talk more about your later school experience, but around trade school versus university, versus whatever else and what are the pros and cons of each and I think a lot of it ... You know, one of the things I've come down to recently is that I've always been a pro university person with lots of caveats, and one of them is just like the school you're at really makes a big difference, and the classes you take and the professors you have. You know, there's a lot of factors that can give you a very, very, very, varied experience, even in the same type of program in the same type of school. So where did you go from there? You said you kind of were reconsidering your working full time, you were recording with your band and were you doing any touring at that point, too? Adam Wathan: No, we never got successful enough to do anything interesting like that. I was local shows and stuff, but yeah, so I was just working like crappy factory jobs basically. I'm trying to think what was the first job that I got after I left university. I have to try and reconstruct a time line, but the one I remember most specifically was working for a company where I was basically just in a factory building really high-end like antique looking stoves. Adam Wathan: So I did that for like a year while I still played in bands and did stuff like that and then eventually a friend of mine was working up in the Alberta oil sands like way up north and I would have all these construction projects to extract all the oil out of the sand and sell it of all over the world, and his dad actually ran the site up there so he had a lot of pull and one day he just called me and he was like, "Hey, do you want a job up here?" And I was like, "Sure." He's like, "Someone's going to call you tomorrow and offer you a job." And I didn't know- Matt Stauffer: That's awesome. Adam Wathan: What it's going to be. Like I had never seen the job description or anything, but this is just this guy's kind of style and so ... Yeah, I ended up working up there for two years doing like basically data entry stuff for the materials team, so I worked in an office in the frigid cold in Fort McMurray where it's like minus 50 degrees Celsius in the winters. Matt Stauffer: Holy crap! Adam Wathan: Our offices are these little portable trailers on the construction site and I was just there basically in Excel reconciling like purchase orders and invoices and making sure that, you know, we received the materials that we had paid for and that all this ... Just a bunch of really kind of monotonous data entry stuff, but for being like a 20 year old kid it paid really well and I did that for like two years until kind of that whole industry and economy started to suffer a little bit more because gas prices and oil prices dropped and they did a bunch of big layoffs which was ... So I got laid off, which was like a blessing in disguise really because I know a lot of people that basically just stayed up there forever because you can never get paid the same thing to come home. And I would work up there for 14 days straight, 10 hours a day and then they would fly you back to where you lived for seven days off. So I was constantly flying back and forth. which just made it really hard to have like a normal life, right? Matt Stauffer: Yeah. Adam Wathan: So yeah, I got laid off from that, came home, decided I would use that chance to try and get into like the recording stuff, because I was getting into recording a lot when I was up there and doing it when I was coming home just as kind of a hobby, but I thought why don't I try and like find some bands and record and like mix EPs for them and stuff. So I did that for like a year, which is a dumb industry to get into because bands don't have money, especially local bands, so you can't make a lot of money doing that, but what I found is while I was doing that I was using this tool called Reaper, which I still use out of my podcast and stuff like that, and I found that there was a bunch of features that I wished it had that it didn't have, and it was created by the guy who created Winamp originally, and it's like a very hacker friendly tool, so it lets you like extend it with Python or C++ or Lua now as well, so you can write all these sorts of like plugins and extensions for it and the API that they give you to do that stuff is like very powerful, you can access basically everything in the tool and write your own menu options and dialog boxes and all sorts of features and stuff. Adam Wathan: So I started getting into like hacking around with that doing really simple things and then one of the guys in the IRC chat for the software, kind of like this elite group of people who are like hacking on stuff there. I made this thing using Python and he was like, "You should port this to C++ so we can include it in this big extension that they maintain." and I was like, "I'd love to do that, I just don't have any idea how." and he's like "Well, okay, I'll help you." So for the next little while he would kind of like ... He kind of put together like a playground in this extension source code for me to like write my features in and help me figure out how to get XCode compiling it and all this different stuff, and that's when I kind of really like reignited my excitement and passion for programming because I was just having so much fun adding features to this tool and making it easier for me to do my work to the point where I was having way more fun adding features to the tool than I was actually using the tool to record bands. Adam Wathan: And I didn't even get back into web development or anything at that point. I hadn't made a website since like high school. So that's when I decided you know what, I think I'm going to go back to college and do this programming thing again, but I decided to do college and study university specifically because I knew like what I didn't like about university and I wanted to do something that was a lot more practical and focused on making you into a programmer than it was, you know, educating you about computer science. Matt Stauffer: So I had been meaning to ask and that's helpful. Are you familiar with the concept of a trade school? Adam Wathan: Yeah, like where you would go to learn to become like an electrician or something like that? Matt Stauffer: Yeah, that's not the same thing, right? You're more talking about it's a school, but it's more like single focus sort of like our community colleges, but I was wondering whether colleges like a little bit different than communities or if it's just- Adam Wathan: Yeah, I'm not sure. So the college I went to is Conestoga College. I'm going to pull up the website now, but basically here college programs are usually two-year programs and you get a diploma, and university are four years and you get a degree, that's kind of the fundamental difference. So I'm going to try and pull up like the actual program that I did here so I can kind of talk a little bit about the actual curriculum because I think it's kind of interesting. Matt Stauffer: While you do that, this is definitely similar to community college. It literally even in the Google preview says your community ... Ontario Community College and this is definitely not trade school, definitely community college, if that makes sense. Adam Wathan: Yeah, so I did the software engineering program there, and not the computer programmer course, which I got kind of turned on to that by asking around to friends who had gone to the school to kind of figure out like, you know, what are you supposed to do, but if you look at the actual program courses here we can maybe like link to this and then show it to people that are interested, but like in the first year we had classes like software engineering fundamentals, operating system fundamentals, C, C++ programming, computer security, object oriented programming, some of this has changed, but then year two we did like web design and development, relational databases, Windows and mobile programming, microprocessors and embedded systems, software quality, so like in school we learned about automated testing, which is pretty cool. Matt Stauffer: Nice. Adam Wathan: You never learn that in university. Advanced computer security, mobile application and development. Yeah, so it was just like all programming. Every class was programming, but it was just focused around some different kind of element of it using different technologies and stuff like that. So the nice thing about that is that college is really close to my house and unlike university where the schedule it's like really weird, sometimes I'd go to a three-hour lecture and then have seven hours off then have to go back in the night for a one-hour class. Like this is structured so much similar to high school, you know what I mean? Adam Wathan: Like you'd get there in the morning, you'd leave in the afternoon, so you're there for a long period of time, you get to like meet people, you get put on projects with people, and I really got into what I was doing there in terms of like I made a lot of friends, you know, that kind of became like my focus which was I think what made me not stick it out in university. It was just like such a side project, whereas I was able to really sort of like embed myself into what we're doing in this program, so- Matt Stauffer: That's really interesting. Adam Wathan: Yeah, that went really for me. So I did that for two years. It's a three-year program, but the way they do it is kind of weird. They have like three years with co-op, I don't know if people use that term in the U.S. It's kind of an internship- Matt Stauffer: I don't think so. Adam Wathan: Like paid internship. Matt Stauffer: Oh, yeah. Adam Wathan: So if they do like two years of schooling and then for 18 months you go out into the workforce. There was like four work terms across those 18 months I think, something like that. And some people do them all the same company, some people do four different ones, some people split up however, but you get paid to do that, which is pretty cool like 18 bucks an hour or more depending on who the employer is, and then once you're done that kind of co-op internship stuff, you go back and do your third year of schooling and then you get your diploma and then you're done. Matt Stauffer: Oh, cool. Adam Wathan: So I just did the first two years, and then I did my co-op at Vehikl who were called Chrome Media at the time, and I think I was like the only person to apply for that job because everyone else was trying to get a job at Desire2Learn which is a company that makes like education student management software, and it's all C# and Windows stuff and that's what they teach us in school so that's what everyone was excited about and they were kind of like the cool, hip company in the area, but I was like the only kid in my class that used a Mac, so doing the Windows stuff was painful for me. I had to like boot up a VM and do stuff like that, so even with all our projects I would do in school I was always trying to find technologies that I could work with easier on my Mac. Adam Wathan: Because we had a lot of like web based projects, even though we didn't have a lot of web specific courses, but in the later years we'd have like a project that was a two-month project and you could choose the technology, which is cool, so some people did C#, some people did, whatever. I chose PHP because that was the only programming language I knew of that you could do dynamic stuff on the server. Like at the time I didn't know that oh, you can use Ruby to do that or Java or any of these other languages, I just knew from like trying to create PHP scripts I could accept form submissions when I was 16 years old that like PHP was the language that you do ... I used to do stuff on the server, so I started looking into, you know, tools for PHP that could compare with like ASP or C#. Matt Stauffer: Like MVC. Yeah. Adam Wathan: That like framework and I found my code igniter and stuff like that and so we started messing around with those sorts of things, and I was lucky enough to find a handful of people that wanted to work on those technologies with me instead of doing the C# stuff and they were all pretty bright people, so we did a bunch of projects using that stuff and then when it came time to look for co-op opportunities I applied to Desire To Learn and they never got back to me, which is great because if they had and I had gotten a job there I'd probably still be a C# developer now. Adam Wathan: Instead I saw this tiny, little company that was only three people at the time that was doing like Magento sites and some custom app development in PHP, and I was like you know what, I'll apply for that and I ended up being like the only person in my class who applied there and that ended up being like the best way it could have ever possibly worked out because I met some really cool, talented people there that really helped me get my career to where it is now and encouraged me to speak at user groups and get involved in open source and stuff like that. Matt Stauffer: That's awesome. Adam Wathan: So after I went and worked there I did my whole kind of internship co-op stuff there and I just never went back to school because I had a mortgage and stuff like that. I was like 26 at the time or 25, 26, and I couldn't really afford to like not get paid for another year or going back to school and the whole point of going to school was to be able to get a job. and now I had a job and even if I wanted to leave there, well, I had a job doing programming for a living on my resume now so it didn't really matter, you know what I mean? Matt Stauffer: Yeah. Adam Wathan: So I got what I needed out of it and then kind of got into the workforce doing PHP stuff and actually like even when I started there, that's when I really got seriously into Laravel stuff. We actually started using Laravel 4 on a client project before it was officially released when it was still like in a beta, which is cool, so I was getting paid to write Laravel code on my very first programming job. Matt Stauffer: Which is amazing. Adam Wathan: Pretty neat. Matt Stauffer: That's very cool. And who are the three? It was Chris and Grant and who was the third person, do you remember? Adam Wathan: Chris, Grant and Caryn, who is like a ... She's a product designer. Matt Stauffer: Product designer, yeah. Adam Wathan: A UX person there. Matt Stauffer: I didn't know she was employee number one. Adam Wathan: I don't think she was employee number one. They kind of went through a couple different iterations of the company doing different stuff- Matt Stauffer: Got it. Okay. Adam Wathan: Over time, but when I got there it was the three of them and they kind of had their thing figured out. Matt Stauffer: Very cool. All right, so the story from there you did at Vehikl ... So when did you start speaking? Was it the Laracon EU testing talk? Was that your first kind of big conference, or what was your speaking journey like? Adam Wathan: So the first talk that I ever gave was like an intro to Laravel talk at a Meetup that we created so that I could give that talk basically like the vehicle we created like the Kitchener-Waterloo Laravel Meetup which only survived like a few Meetups because we also had this like Guelph PHP user group which half the time we were doing Kitchener anyways and that eventually just became like oh, we'll just do everything there because we'd meet up once a month there. But yeah, so I gave a talk at that user group to about like 30 people or something, which was my first time doing any speaking like that, and I may have done another talk after that to like a local Meetup, but yeah, the first conference talk I think was the community day at Laracon EU 2015 or maybe '14, yeah, and I did the talk- Matt Stauffer: I remember it, but I don't remember the year so, yeah. Adam Wathan: Yeah, I can't remember what the talk was called, TDD the good parts, I think, and then after that I think I gave a talk at True North PHP in Toronto at Chris Hartjes and Peter Meth's conference and from there I just kind of got into it more and more. Once you kind of have one conference under your belt, it's a lot easier to get into the other ones, especially if you make the effort to get them filmed and post them online and be able to use that stuff to help show people hey, I can actually do this and it'll be fun. I'm a grown up I can do a good job. Matt Stauffer: Cool. So at some point you were using Laravel, and you became more aware of some of the world's around there. You were looking into things in Rails, you were talking about Ruby some. What was that journey like from Laravel being the thing that you were spending all your time in, to kind of expanding your exposure to the rest of the web world, I guess. Adam Wathan: I can't say ... I can't think of a specific ... I can't remember exactly how I heard about some of these other things, because like I said, I only remember being in college and being like well, PHP is what I use on a server. I didn't even know Rails existed. Like in some ways, in a lot of ways I wish I had known, because I probably would have never become a Laravel programmer. Not because I don't have ... I have anything against Laravel, but throughout the years it's become pretty clear that philosophically I'm much more aligned with the way people think in kind of the Ruby world, right? Adam Wathan: So I was already kind of like deep into Laravel stuff and feeling like pretty fast and productive with it and I'm sure all I was doing was poking around the internet looking for tutorials, reading things about how to do this and that and somewhere in there someone said similar to how this works in Rails blah, blah, you know what I mean? Like eventually you just kind of like start hearing about these things. Matt Stauffer: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Start hearing it, yeah. Adam Wathan: And the Laravel community was a lot less mature than it is now at that point, so a lot of the really good content that was out there was focused on Rails. Like Rails had a big head start on a lot of what we're doing in the Laravel world. Rails came out in like 2004 I think originally. And there's blog posts written in like 2008, 2009 that are still really useful blog posts for people writing Laravel stuff now, so it was actually really interesting for me to discover that kind of whole world because at the time this was like 2013, 2014 when I was learning Laravel originally. Maybe ... Yeah, probably 2013, there was like eight years worth of high quality Rails content out there. So if I could just figure out- Matt Stauffer: Yeah, sitting out there already. Adam Wathan: How to translate the syntax from Ruby to PHP, you know, there was all this content out there that could make me a better Laravel developer, basically. So I got really, really deep into all that stuff and that's when I discovered companies like Thoughtbot that had done tons of blogging and written books and put together video tutorials or Gary Bernhardt's Destroy All Software, which is all Rails stuff. There was just so much good stuff out there and that's where I basically focused all my learning at that point was taking everything that people had already ... Like I make this joke a lot of the time that any time like someone runs into a problem with Laravel, like a design decision where you're like okay, well, what's the best way to do this in Laravel, take the current year subtract four years, include that in your search query and look for how to do that in Rails and there will be like 100 quality blog posts out there. Adam Wathan: So yeah, I got really into just kind of researching what people were doing in these other ecosystems and finding out what made sense to try to port back and apply to what we were doing in PHP stuff and yeah, that's kind of been like my shtick, I guess. I'm always looking outside my existing community to see if ... I think of myself as like Christopher Columbus like going across the sea to the foreign lands and bringing back treasures for people. Matt Stauffer: Nice. Yeah, so let's see. So you worked at Vehikl for a while and do you know how big Vehikl was when you left? Adam Wathan: So it was still actually just the four of us- Matt Stauffer: Oh, yeah? Okay. Adam Wathan: When I left, which was kind of like my motivation for leaving. I still was really enjoying the work that I was doing there, but I had this like nagging feeling that I was missing out on the ability to grow faster by not being part of a bigger team where there was more ... Not more experienced developers like developers with more experience, but just more developers- Matt Stauffer: More people, yeah, yeah. Adam Wathan: That were experienced- Matt Stauffer: With different experiences, yeah. Adam Wathan: To learn from, right? Matt Stauffer: Yeah. Adam Wathan: And that was kind of stressing me out at the time, so I ended up leaving to go work for a company that did Rails consulting, but when I got there I got dumped onto a project doing C# and Angular, so I only stayed there for like three months because I want to blow my brains out ,and I soon ... Like within the first week of working I was like I can't believe I left my other job, this sucks so bad. And then after being there for a couple months Tighten, this company out of Chicago that does some Laravel stuff, I don't know, people might have heard of them, posted a job posting on the old Laravel job site and I applied for that and ended up going to work there for a while. Matt Stauffer: It's so weird because I've been trying to figure out how to ask you questions about that time, and it's really tough. I don't know how, but maybe I'll just try and throw a broad one at you and see if that goes somewhere. What was the area you grew in the most while you're working at Tighten? I think that may be a question to start with. Adam Wathan: That's a hard one. I can't think exactly what ... I think the biggest changes for me are the things that I had to figure out the most was like the remote working thing. That was like a new thing for me and figuring out how to ask for help with things and get stuff done and get help from people in a way where like I'm just so used to ... I was just so used to working in an office where if you're frustrated with a problem, like the people sitting around you can tell, you know what I mean? Matt Stauffer: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Adam Wathan: And that's not as easy in a remote company, so you have to figure out ways to manage that sort of thing, especially when people are not always like available at the same time because everyone's kind of working ... Like even though you have kind of standard-ish hours, there's still a lot of a synchronicity to it, right? Matt Stauffer: Yeah, yeah. Adam Wathan: Everyone has different calendars with different things going on, which is very different than being in an office. Yeah, people have stuff scheduled and calls and stuff, but you can like see when someone is available. So figuring that out was probably ... That was probably the biggest change and area for me to kind of figure out how to work that way, and yeah, it was good though. I think the remote working set up is the way to do it, as long as you can make sure people are able to communicate when they need to communicate and feel ... You have to be more deliberate about asking for help, which can be hard, you know what I mean? Matt Stauffer: Yeah. Adam Wathan: If you can just be frustrated and people can tell and people offer to help, that's one thing, but sometimes it's like you feel like you have to ask for help every 15 minutes with something, especially when you're starting, right? Matt Stauffer: Yeah. Adam Wathan: And that could be like ... It's like a degree of shame or something like associated with that. That's hard to get over. Matt Stauffer: We've been working ... That's probably been the biggest barrier with bringing on juniors is that the combination of junior, plus remote, it's really an extra level of shame. Adam Wathan: Plus new job, right? Matt Stauffer: Yeah. Adam Wathan: Which is hard for even for like an experienced person, yeah. Matt Stauffer: New job, remote, new tech, I don't know what I'm doing, everybody else here has got it and I'm asking for questions every 15 minutes, I feel like I'm bothering people. Adam Wathan: Yeah. Matt Stauffer: That's definitely tough. Adam Wathan: Yeah. Matt Stauffer: So this is the last question I'll ask about your time at Tighten, but one of the things that was really impactful from our perspective was that you had a lot of thoughts about how a company should be run and a lot of them came from watching Base Camp and and Thoughtbot, and thinking about concepts that you've talked about in the podcasts and some of the times I've talked with you about on podcasts of things like no estimates and stuff like that, where there's a certain way of thinking, and I think that Dan and I say often that your time at Tighten was really impactful in terms of just kind of like sharing those things with us, but it wasn't always just as easy as Adam comes in and teaches something. Matt Stauffer: Often it happened in the context of, you know, there was a ... Not necessarily there was a conflict, but there was sort of like well, why is it not happening this way and we'd be like, "Oh well, I don't know. We'll figure that out." So I was wondering during your time at Tighten, do you feel like you learned anything about what you wanted to kind of do when you grew up kind of vibe in terms of teaching, or were there things that you learned about how you think software should be written or something that happened in the context of those learning moments and those conflicts and everything that we had during those times? Adam Wathan: Yeah, I'm try to think if there's anything specific I can take away as like a learning ... Matt Stauffer: And if not, no worries, I'll just edit out the question. Adam Wathan: Yeah, I think like ... I mean, what I like working on the most at Tighten was being able to create projects for companies, build stuff for other people. I think if anything, what I maybe took away is that ... What's the best way to say this? I like having control I guess of like my own destiny in that sense because working with companies to build new projects for them there's like this of course this whole layer of stuff that comes with that that isn't there when you're just building something for yourself of course, right? Matt Stauffer: Yeah. Adam Wathan: And it can be a real challenge sometimes to get people on board with building something in a way that is in their best interests, even though they might not understand why or agree why, and that's just like a whole thing that you have to figure out how to navigate that can just get in the way of what you want to do which is just like creating the best thing for solving a problem for them, right? Matt Stauffer: Yeah. Adam Wathan: So I think being able to get into what I'm doing now where I get to like create training stuff and stuff like that has been a nice change in that sense, because it lets me focus on just doing ... Creating the thing that I want to create. But yeah, like you said, like I think a lot of the reason that I cared so much at Tighten and everywhere I worked about how to try and run these projects successfully is for that same reason because I just want to make the great project, you know what I mean? Matt Stauffer: Yeah. Adam Wathan: And I think everyone is on the same page there, right? Like you want to figure out a way to navigate the other stuff and minimize it so that you can just focus on doing the work, but because I just care so much about doing the work and that's what I want to do, that it kind of pulls me down this path of figuring out like okay, what is stopping us from being able to just do the work and what ideas are out there in the world that people have that can help us focus on- Matt Stauffer: Help us, yeah. Adam Wathan: Just doing the work for people. So I don't know if that really answers your question in terms of I guess like a specific kind of learnings or take aways, but in terms of, you know, that sort of project management side of things, I think that's sort of like where my motivations at least come from to care about that stuff. Matt Stauffer: Well, it's funny because you say everyone feels that way and of course everyone, you know, hopefully wants to really do a good job for the client, but it also reflects a little bit back on what we were talking about earlier about you love doing things to the best they can possibly be done and it's not just your things, you know, it's also other people's things. Like every project you have a hand in, you want it to be the best possible thing, and if there's stuff getting in the way of that, well, then that's stuff that you need to kind of shave off so that it can just be the optimal it will be. So I totally hear that and that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for answering that kind of convoluted question. Matt Stauffer: So the transition from there was it was during your time there that you wrote your book and you released it and you were able to transition it to be doing your own educational stuff full time. So in terms of that switch, when and what was the process like for you to start thinking you know what, working at somebody else's consultancy may just not end up being the thing for me and I want to try info products or I want to try my own products or something like that? Like what was that journey like for you? Adam Wathan: Yeah, so I think for me what really happened there as I put together this book and released it, I didn't really have crazy expectations for it or anything like that. Again, it was just one of those things where I've always just really liked making polished things that are finished that you can look at and be like this is done and this is tidy and this feels nice. And I used to do that with even like trying to contribute tutorials to Game Facts and stuff back in the day. I never got anything on there, but I would just like agonize over like making some sweet like ASCII art title at the top of these like stupid plain text files- Matt Stauffer: That's perfect. Adam Wathan: And I just wanted it to feel like a polished thing, right? So that was kind of like one of my biggest motivations for making the book was first of all, I've always been interested in like creating something and selling it and seeing like what it's like to make your own money on the internet sort of thing, but I also just like ... It's hard to think back to it now because I have a few products now, but back then I kind of felt like I just had never got to finish anything, if that makes sense? Matt Stauffer: Yeah, definitely. Adam Wathan: And this is a common thing that I think like agencies deal with a lot in general, right? As you get to work with a client, you do a lot of really great work for them, but you're not necessarily like always around 'till the end of the project because maybe eventually they hire their own team which is one of their goals from the beginning, right? They're trying to get like a head start on something so that once they have a little bit of traction they can build their own team around it, because of course that's more economical way to handle that. Adam Wathan: Or the other end of the spectrum is you start working on a project for someone and it turns out that they just aren't able to hold up their end of the bargain really and the project is just not going to work out and you do work for them for six weeks and then they realize like you know what, I'm not ever going to be able to make an app company properly, so you kind of just say okay, thanks for your work, you did a great job, but like that's the end of the project. Like I've worked on so many projects that never even went to production, you know? Matt Stauffer: Yeah. Adam Wathan: Or got any users or anything like that and that's kind of like a ... At the time that was kind of "I just want to finish something. I just want to have something that's done." I did that with my Nitpick too, that little SaaS something- Matt Stauffer: Yeah, I remember. Adam Wathan: That I built, and the whole goal there was just the same thing, like I want to build an app 'till it's done and then put it out on the internet, and that was just like a cool feeling. So I did the same thing with the book and then the book ended up being, you know, pretty successful, and before I worked on that book, I had the idea all along that what I really wanted to do was some sort of testing thing, like some TDD book or course or something, but it was just like ... Sounded like so daunting, it just sounded like a big project. Adam Wathan: So I stumbled on this idea to the collections thing, and that seemed so much more manageable, so once I had finished that and, you know, it was pretty successful, I thought you know what, if I want to do this like testing product, this is the best possible chance that I'm going to have to be able to spend the time on that because the book did well enough that like I can take six months off and focus on this thing. So I thought you know what, I'm not going to get a chance like this again. If I don't do it now then this money is just going to go into an RSP or something and it's just going to ... Yeah, of course that's good, I should have money saved away for a time. Matt Stauffer: Right, right. Adam Wathan: I'm not going to ... Like it's not going to change my life in any way, I'm just going to keep doing the exact same thing that I'm doing. The book's going to be out there, but I'm not like seizing the moment to use it as an opportunity to try something. So I thought you know what, this is like the only chance that I'm going to get to probably do this, so why don't I try it out. So that's when I decided to move on to try and to just do something for myself and see how it panned out and I did the testing course, which was way bigger than I even was worried about it being originally. Adam Wathan: So it's a good thing that I didn't try and put it together when I was still working, but that did really well too, and that's been able to let me focus on continuing to do more stuff like that. I'm always able to stay just like a little bit enough ahead of where I need to be that I have some time to figure out what the next thing is going to be, you know, and I'm just kind of like building the bridge as I try and cross the river. Matt Stauffer: Yeah, that's awesome. I remember one of the things that you said when you let us know that you were going to be going off to do the thing full time and you said, "You know, I don't know how this is going to work out, but I know that if it totally flops in six months I can apply to one of a myriad programming jobs, but if I don't try this, there's no guarantee I'll ever have this chance ever again where there's the traction for my book and I have enough money to kind of try this thing and so I got at least try it." And that really stuck with me, just the idea that like ... And I mean I've had that happen where I've had an influx of cash and it just kind of goes and spreads out across retirement savings and health expenses and whatever else, and your life is exactly the same even though you put all that work into it, and so that idea of those are those moments and it's scary, but like what's the worst thing that's going to happen? I'll use up all the money and then apply for jobs on the other end. Matt Stauffer: You know I'm a little less stable because I'll have to be applying for a job versus having once settled, but there's no guarantee that your job's not going to shut down the next day, you know, and so like the idea that oh well, everything's perfect now, I'll be put ... No, no. You know, I really love that kind of thinking and obviously at least so far it's working out really well for you, so I'm hoping that's an inspiration for other people to kind of consider taking some of those leaps. Matt Stauffer: I would love to ask you a million questions about how you think about product and stuff like that, but we're longer than usual, and thankfully other people have asked you that on their podcasts, so I'm going to try and link some of your stuff with Justin Jackson and some other people, also Full Stack Radio, even though it's you interviewing other people, you do learn a lot about the interviewer by the questions they ask. So all this super interesting stuff that we don't have time for, I hope that we'll be able to ... People will be able to kind of suss that information out anywhere else. Matt Stauffer: But I think one of the things we have not talked about, so every time I'm going to be interviewing somebody in the Laravel podcasts I go into Tighten Slack and I say I'm about to interview this person and I'm actually opening my Slack right now to make sure that new questions ... Yep, a couple of new questions came in, and I say, "Are there any particular questions that y'all want to ask them?" And so I ask that question in Tighten Slack, which is kind of funny because you are still in some of our Slacks and you used to work there, but there's still some questions. Matt Stauffer: So the first question came up for you is, "Do you even lift, bro? Which first of all is fantastic, but second of all in our Slack that actually triggers a gif of you doing a lift, so it's perfect. So we haven't gotten to talk about that at all. Adam Wathan: Yeah. Matt Stauffer: Where did that fit into your whole world? Can you tell everybody a little bit about kind of that part of your life? Adam Wathan: Yeah, so when I was working up in Fort McMurray in Alberta, I've always been kind of like an overweight kid. Matt Stauffer: Same. Adam Wathan: And like most people, like you just want to look better, right? Matt Stauffer: Yeah. Adam Wathan: So when I was working up there, you're just like so bored and you're not using your willpower for basically anything else that it was like an opportunity to finally try and do that seriously, right? It's actually funny because if you follow along with like the bootstrap podcast like Ian and Andre, Andre is kind of doing the same sort of thing. Like he decided to basically take off some time during the year from any really like mentally sort of straining work. Like I think he's just mostly focused on doing some consulting stuff and I'm not even sure if he's working the same amount of hours and stuff that he was doing normally, but he decided like, you know, I want to take this opportunity with this kind of reserve of mental energy that I have and focus on something like really life changing thing, which for him was like getting in shape, right? Matt Stauffer: Yeah. Adam Wathan: And it's funny because I never really thought about it that way, but when I heard him phrase it that way it's like you know what, that's exactly like why I was able to do it originally, because I just didn't have anything else pulling at my brain. So when you're going to make dinner or even going out for dinner with your friends it's easy to order the vegetables instead of the fries because like I just haven't used any of that brainpower, you know what I mean? Matt Stauffer: Yeah. Adam Wathan: So when I was working out there, I just ... It was easier for me to start eating a lot better and get into like home workouts and stuff like that and that led me down this whole path of eventually discovering like strength training. Pro tip; if you're a programmer who wants to like start exercising, the terms that you should be Googling are strength training. That is the term that's going to find you ... At least I think is going to find you the stuff that's going to resonate most with how your brain works in terms of things being really measurable and being able to like science the shit out of everything with lots of percentages and math. Adam Wathan: But eventually I kind of stumbled onto this like form of exercise where you're just focusing on like lots of really high bang for your buck compound exercises like multi joint movements like squats and deadlifts and bench press and overhead press and chin ups and barbell rows and stuff like that, and once I finally found the good stuff online which was like Mark Rippetoe's content and stuff like that, you learn like what you should be doing is progressively trying to increase the weight that you're lifting. Like a lot of people just go to the gym and they just like pick whatever they think is going to be like a good weight to lift that day and just do it or whatever, but they're not actually tracking their progress, so they don't really make progress, but if you can develop a plan where you know like okay, this week this is what I'm lifting, next week I have to try and lift this and it goes up and up and up. Adam Wathan: For me that's what was able to keep me kind of motivated because I was seeing progress on paper because seeing progress in the mirror is a lot harder, it takes a lot longer and it's a lot more subtle and gradual, and if you're not taking the pictures of yourself topless in the mirror every week to compare like okay, do I actually look like I'm getting in better shape, but if you're just like blogging stuff in a notebook it's easy to say okay, I bench pressed 185 for six reps last week and this week I did it for eight reps, that's pretty cool. So I've kind of gone into this whole thing of getting stronger and lifting and eventually started competing in power lifting competitions because like with everything I do I have to take it to the extreme. Adam Wathan: So what started as like 185 pound like skinny fat kid to trying to like look better without his shirt off, turned into like a 260 pound dude deadlifting 600 pounds and winning nationals power lifting gold bells. That was just something ... I would still be doing that, but it's a hard ... Once you get there's like a point of diminishing returns, which I think I definitely hit, where you're just more likely to get injured than you are to make progress, and I've hurt myself a couple times and I have a nagging back injury now that doesn't bother me day to day, but any time I get back into lifting, no matter how light I start, after a couple weeks I do one rep not 100% perfect and my back is messed up for a week, it's really frustrating. Adam Wathan: So it's hard for me to really stay motivated into it these days because the thing that kept me going was like getting stronger. So going to the gym to lift less than I did before is like, whatever. I still need to get back into it more, but yeah, that was a big thing for me for a while. Matt Stauffer: It's funny because as you were saying that, a light was going off in my head. I switched to a new trainer about four months ago and it was the first time the trainer has been trying to teach me the skills to be able to stop working with him versus just kind of like giving himself job security by just kind of telling me what to do. And he's a Mark Rippetoe guy and he just moved to Chicago, or he's moving to Chicago this weekend and so he's like here's everything I know and he set me up with this thing called ... Have you ever heard of the 5-3-1? Adam Wathan: Yep, that's what I always used to do. Jim Wendler. Matt Stauffer: That's literally what I started it this week at the new gym on my own and I've got a 5-3-1 calculator. Adam Wathan: That's awesome. Matt Stauffer: I plug all my information in. Adam Wathan: It's amazing. Jim Wendler is like he's the DHH of weight lifting. Like he's just got that same like everyone over complicates things attitude and there's this quote that I ... So this is so funny because like so many people who get into power lifting are like super nerds about this stuff, right? Like the amount of like just nerds that get into this stuff is outrageous just because of the fact that you get to make spreadsheets, you get to calculate like your estimated one rep max based on how many reps you lift this way or whatever. Adam Wathan: And I'll never forget there's like a F.A.Q. section in one of Jim Wendler's books where someone asks a question and it's like, what is the best ... I can't remember exactly how it was phrased, but basically the question is like what incline should I be using on like

Our six part video series, powered by PMI, explores the organisational competencies that can help your business become a project management champion

Links Agile Connection (https://www.agileconnection.com/question) Subway Map to Agile Practices (https://www.agilealliance.org/agile101/subway-map-to-agile-practices/) Picks Craig Doug DeMuro car videos (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsqjHFMB_JYTaEnf_vmTNqg) Auto Trader column called Oversteer Music without lyrics, but that I like 2Cellos (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyjuFsbclXyntSRMBAILzbw) Harp Twins (https://www.youtube.com/user/CamilleandKennerly) Lee Agile Connection (https://www.agileconnection.com) Bonus pick not mentioned in the show (http://dilbert.com/strip/2018-01-22) John 2017 Top 66 Developer Resources (https://hackernoon.com/the-top-66-developer-resources-from-2017-e82531365e6d) Agile Coalition (https://coalition.agileuprising.com/)

Whether you build video games for a living, or just like playing them for fun today's episode will help you improve your Scrum implementation. I'm always looking for practical tips on how teams can improve their work together and my friend Clinton Keith (who wrote Agile Game Development with Scrum) just came out with a new book...

Whether you build video games for a living, or just like playing them for fun today’s episode will help you improve your Scrum implementation. I’m always looking for practical tips on how teams can improve their work together and my friend Clinton Keith (who wrote Agile Game Development with Scrum) just came out with a new book...

Chris Chapman (@derailleuragile) joined me (@RyanRipley) to discuss #NoEstimates, Lean, System Thinking, and Poutine. [featured-image single_newwindow=”false”]Chris Chapman Coaching on Agile Practices[/featured-image] Chris is a #NoEstimates advocate, a lean thinker, a lover of Canadian craft beer. He is a coaching with leanintoit.com and seeks to bring agile thinking to all levels of an organization. Chris is a true veteran in our field having worked as a developer, team lead, and now – agile coach. In this episode you'll discover: How a #NoEstimates mindset brings value to a team What lean thinking can do for executives Coaching techniques for when you’re learning about a team Where we learned about lean and system thinking Links from the show: How I Learned to Let My Workers Lead Toyota Kata by Mike Rother Lean Hospitals by Mark Graban [callout]This book will help you implement successful change and bypass change resistance by co-creating change. The book will do that through examples of how innovative practices can dramatically improve the success of change programs. These practices combine ideas from the Agile, Lean Startup, change management, organizational development and psychology communities. This book will change how you think about change Click here to purchase on Amazon.[/callout] [reminder]What do you do when you don’t know what to do? Please share your ideas below.[/reminder] Want to hear another podcast about the agile mindset? — Listen to my conversation with Zach Bonaker, Diane Zajac-Woodie, and Amitai Schlair on episode 39. We discuss growing an agile practice and how coaches help create the environments where agile ideas can flourish. One tiny favor.  — Please take 30 seconds now and leave a review on iTunes. This helps others learn about the show and grows our audience. It will help the show tremendously, including my ability to bring on more great guests for all of us to learn from. Thanks! This podcast is brought to you by Agile Dev East. Techwell’s Agile Dev East is *the* premier event that covers the latest advances in the agile community. Agile for Humans listeners can use the code AFH16 to receive $200 off their conference registration fee. Check out the entire program at adceast.techwell.com. You’ll notice that I’m speaking there this year. Attendees will have a chance to see my Business of Agile presentation, along with my half day session on advanced scrum topics called Scrum: Answering the Tough Questions. I hope to see many Agile for Humans listeners in Orlando, Florida – November 13th – 18th for this great event. The post AFH 045: System Thinking and #NoEstimates with Chris Chapman [PODCAST] appeared first on Ryan Ripley.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nothing is perfect. There are no perfect solutions to anything and no solver bullets. We have all heard these expressions hundreds of times. The same thing can be said of Agile, Scrum, Scaled Agile or any of the many Agile inspired methods of organizing projects. So this week on The Guardian Podcast, we lean in and find out the objections to Agile from the philosophical to the individual team member.

Agile Practices

I had the pleasure to talk to Jason Fair about his work in bringing Agile to large complex integration projects. This is a topic that I am very interested in and have been writing about lately. You can check out the series of blog posts on Agile Practices in Large System Integration Projects. Jason recently...

In this podcast, Scott Ambler, IBMs practice leader for Agile development discusses the Agile Scaling Model (ASM) and how it can help you define a roadmap for effective adoption and tailor agile practices to meet the unique challenges faced by your software and systems delivery team.

APLN - DC Chapter - Transitioning to AgilityPanel:  - Sanjiv Augustine, Thad Sheer, Bob Payne, and Cliff Berg.We talked about our experiences transitioning organizations to Agile Practices.  This was a fun discussion.  It is long but I hope you enjoy it.-bob payne