In which our author discovers correlation does not imply causation and how evidence can help when metrics fall short. — My goodness! So much of my energy these days as an Agile coach operating at a team (squad) level and across the organization is taken up in discussions that center around measurement. From velocity to team maturity, ROIs to KPIs — its hard to have any kind of discussion without…

Scrum has given us a lot, but it’s time for some conscious uncoupling “The age of men is over.” confidently (and rather aggressively, as you would expect from one of those nasty orcs) declares the Orc commander Gothmog in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King …

Squiggly lines over neat boxes in corporate, agile development Inspired by Henrik Kniberg’s classic illustration on agile, iterative development …

A list of similar but different words we come across in the agile / ways of working / management industry — Background A recent linked in post based on my last blog generated some great commentary and debate. One of the standout comments to me was a brief post by Dave Snowden (of Cynefin fame) that said simply: Although Scrum calls itself a framework, the reality is I could call myself a…

An uncomfortable truth or do we just need to keep trying? — The year of the open-minded Chris I have declared 2021 to be the year of the open-minded Chris. As part of my commitment to personal growth am trying hard not to have opinions that I am emotionally attached to, but rather to have hypotheses that I hold lightly. I do believe that having a position on…

From pyramids to nuclear missiles — “A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.” Project Management Institute The evidence that projects have been around for a long time is not hard to find. One of the most recognizable shapes on the planet, the Great Pyramid of Giza shown above…

What changed in the latest Scrum guide — a review of the changes and the global launch event. — On November the 18th 2020 at approximately 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada) the 2020 version of the Scrum guide was published, replacing the previous 2016 version. I know this because 10:00AM EST works out to 4AM New Zealand time. So it was very early in the morning for…

Understand how the “Discover > Design > Execute > Operate” pattern can help your team navigate uncertainty. — Pattern Summary All projects and initiatives are different, however you will recognise four distinct phases in each. Consider the seasons: Summer, Autumn (or Fall), Spring and Winter. In some countries these are reasonably distinct, in others the transition from season to season is more blurred. Yet in all countries understanding the seasons…

Foundation Pattern: Use company bets to prioritize projects — Pattern Summary A company bet in the context of this pattern is a potential project. The language comes from the world of gambling, where players will make bets, for example on the outcome of a sporting event, or a hand of poker. Implicit in the language of bets is the language of…