The Agile Daily Standup - AgileDad

In This Episode of Agile In The Trenches we focus on the best ways to help teams embrace change:  1) Commit to goals, not plans or scope 2) Try pair programming, peer review, and mob programming to increase collaboration 3) Allow team members space to breathe 4) Try 'no meeting zones' 5) Do not overfill sprints. Leave space for innovation 6) Make certain backlog items are sliced very small 7)...

In this Agile In The Trenches episode we learn how to overcome imposed deadlines and how to regain our focus:  1) Demo or deliver value more frequently 2) Avoid the middle man 3) Stop over or under planning 4) Provide incremental and iterative value 5) Use failure as a chance to adapt 6) Bring teams and planners together 7) Build products and services together a s partners 

In the United States, we celebrate Memorial Day on the Last Monday in May each year. What is Memorial Day? How did it start? Why do we celebrate this day in history? Join V. Lee Henson, President and Founder of AgileDad as we explore and learn more about this topic. 

Some things are worth holding on to.. Other things are important to let go. Which things do we choose to hold tight and how do they impact is spiritually and emotionally? Join V. Lee Henson, President and Founder of AgileDad, as we review the story and think a little deeper. 

Join us as we review an AMAZING article by Ronald RC : 1) Never Split The Difference 2) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People 3) Drive 4) Pre-suasion 5) Escaping The Build Trap  https://medium.com/@rcaste91/5-non-agile-books-that-leveled-up-my-scrum-master-skills-cf5527f513fe

What happens when one of your favorite students ever reaches out to you and asks you to review what many may consider the most cringeworthy article on Agile ever written? You graciously review it and try not to let your blood pressure get too high! 

The age old question.. Which technique is best for estimation and forecasting? Join V. Lee Henson, President & Founder of AgileDad as we get this all hammered out and give you the answer you seek once and for all. 

8 Ways To Be a More Effective Leader 1) Show Empathy 2) Be The Ultimate Communicator - Learn to Listen 3) Accept & Embrace Change 4) Prepare and Share a Clear Vision & Execution Strategy 5) Develop Your Followers 6) Communicate Clear & realistic Expectations 7) Failure is a Good Thing 8) Continue Your Education 

3 Techniques to Influence People Logical Appeals (Head) Logical appeals tap into people’s rational and intellectual positions. You present an argument for the best choice of action based on organizational benefits, personal benefits, or both, appealing to people’s minds. Emotional Appeals (Heart) Emotional appeals connect your message, goal, or project to individual goals and values. An idea that...

1. Agility The teams’ ability to react to changes in requirements, development time issues and organizational pivots. You can also consider this as reactiveness to change. 2. Predictability This accounts for commitments made v/s what is actually delivered at a fixed point in time. If the team commits to delivery N number of items in the to-do list in X days, predictability is how close to N the te...

I was asked by a subscriber to review an article from Didem Kolulisa titled 'How Do I Become an Agile Coach?' https://didem-kolukisa.medium.com/how-do-i-become-an-agile-coach-23f5af1abece She offered 4 questions and 4 lessons to help you see just how far along you are and allows you to test your clout to see if you are ready to take on the challenges of becoming a team or enterprise coach. 

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet - Romeo & Juliet Does the word developer bother you? Are you ready to rise up in protest and fight for a different title? Join V. Lee Henson as we explore what alternate words are and if they should be an option. 

Join us as we review a recent Mike Cohn Blog post about High Performing Teams..  https://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/blog/what-is-a-high-performing-agile-team

“Every Sunday morning I take a light jog around a park near my home.  There’s a lake located in one corner of the park. Each time I jog by this lake, I see the same elderly woman sitting at the water’s edge with a small metal cage sitting beside her. This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me, so I stopped jogging and walked over to her. As I got closer, I realized that the metal cage w...

A recent student in my Advanced Product Owner Workshop taught me about the concept of building a Team Motivation MAP M = Mastery: denotes the inclination of people to become a better version of themselves in any given field. Also, the skills that any individual wants to improve what they do next in a continuous manner. The Scrum Master strives to master the application of Scrum in order to foster...

Let's face it, we are all SO TIRED of online meetings via Zoom, Teams, etc. The truth is there are some phrases we are all tired of hearing as well. Here is a short list:  “We’ll wait five minutes for everyone to get here.” This disrespects the time of people who arrived on time. And it discourages a timeliness culture. Most of the time, you should start the meeting without the tardy people....

A recent article by Gabor Csomak discusses how doing fewer story points will over time increase your velocity. The concepts presented are on point, but a clear discussion needs to be had regarding the use of the words Capacity and Velocity as they are not interchangeable.  https://medium.com/nerd-for-tech/why-committing-to-less-story-points-will-increase-your-velocity-d821380c6c5

What are the 5 tips to be an exceptional product owner? I am glad you asked:  1) Master Soft Skills - Human Interaction 2) Fundamental PO Skills - Behavioral Driven 3) Team Skills - Team Engagement & Management 4) Product Skills - The PO Skills one would expect to see... 5) Technical Mastery Skills - If you are working in a tech environment.. 

Do you know and appreciate your friends? Join V. Lee Henson, President and Founder of AgileDad as we learn the tale of two friends that encountered a bear and what they did to stick together. Did their friendship stand this awful test? 

Celebrating Cinco De Mayo Inspiring Quotes To Help Us Do Better

May the fourth be with you. As we celebrate this day where all things should be Star Wars related, here are 4 lessons that can be applied to both our Agile and daily lives:  Lesson #1 — It’s never too late to do the right thing Lesson #2 — Everyone has a good side and a bad side Lesson #3 — Stillness is the key Lesson #4 — Fear is a deadly motivator

The question of proper backlog management has come up quite a bit in our recent coaching sessions. Many organizations are attempting ScrumBan but do they truly know what they are getting themselves into? Join V. Lee Henson as we explore the concept of a team backlog and working Kanban flow within a sprint. 

Here are some practical pointers for putting this principle to work. Great leaders see more than results as their goal. Indeed, good animal health and welfare outcomes are the results we seek. Achieving these desired outcomes requires that team members work together. High-performing teams prioritize the development of trusting relationships as their foundation. As a leader, your presence during a...

“Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed. Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to b...

Have you ever read an article and just found it Cringe Worthy? Join V. Lee Henson, President & Founder of AgileDad as we explore what we can do to make this meeting advice better and more well informed.