Definitely, Maybe Agile

We're so happy to have made it to episode 52! This year has been full of guests and conversations about agility. We've also had the opportunity to share our expertise, so thank you for joining us on these journeys together—it's not going unnoticed. This week's episode is about addressing your team's needs and not just forcing agile processes on them. You'll learn what...

In this episode of the Definitely, Maybe Agile podcast, Dave and Peter have a special guest, Rob Hirschfeld, co-founder, and CEO of RackN, a collaborative platform for teams automating infrastructure as code. This time we'll have a slightly longer episode than normal as we dive into different aspects of complexity. This isn't one you'll want to miss. We had a lot of fun recording it...

What do you think of our services, and has it had the impact you were hoping to see? In today's episode of the Definitely Maybe Agile podcast, Peter and Dave talk about the importance of asking for feedback from our customers to prevent business agility from failing. This week takeaways: Validate emergent needs with your customers Build a system that can respond to that. We love to hear feedb...

 Now we are going to talk about our second antipattern that came up in episode 43, being unable to say "no". This often presents itself as confusing speed with focus. This week takeaways: Reducing delivery costs starts with saying no. Prioritize and concentrate efforts in one place. Limit work in progress Automation is essential.   We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would l...

 In the last 5 episodes of the Definitely, Maybe Agile podcast, we presented 5 ways Business Agility can impact your bottom line. In today's episode, we start our 5-episode series of exploring antipatterns that prevent us from achieving these benefits. The first antipattern we're going to explore is one from our discussion in episode 44 on How business agility increases revenue. While bu...

In today's episode of the Definitely Maybe Agile podcast, Peter and Dave talk about how resilient systems prevent you from losing money when things go awry. This week takeaways: Risk management is the responsibility of the entire organization. Build a stronger system capable of learning and recovering. We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even joi...

In today's episode of the Definitely Maybe Agile podcast, Peter and Dave talk about Retention. It can be expensive to hire, but building a culture where people focus on great work does wonders for your company’s bottom line! This week takeaways: Understanding why culture is so important Bring people into the conversation Have the right people in the right fit We love to hear feedback! If you...

 This week on the Definitely, Maybe Agile podcast with Peter and Dave, we continue our series about how business agility impacts your bottom line. By creating alignment to common goals in the organization, business agility increases efficiency and subsequently, profitability. This week takeaways: The role user centricity plays Creating stronger alignment with who you are as an organization, and wi...

Today we're going to talk about increasing revenue. What's the potential impact we can have on the bottom line by focusing on revenue growth. One of the clearest ways in which business agility helps us there is by helping us get high-quality products into the market faster. This week takeaways: Put high-quality products into market faster Create rapid feedback loops Capture the opportuni...

 In today's episode of the Definitely Maybe Agile podcast, we're trying out a new, bite-sized, format. Here is the first in our series on Business Agility for your Bottom Line. Let's discuss how you can deliver more, with less, by saying no. This week takeaways:  Reduce wasted effort  Automate your processes Reduce multitasking We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would...

 Peter and Dave talk about the importance of managing SPOF (Single Point Of Failure) this week. This issue can have a negative effect on an organization if not handled correctly, so stay tuned!   This week takeaways:  A single point of failure in an organization does not mean that organization has failed.  Identify them.  Build redundancy or slack into the system  Encourage the habit of continuous...

This week, Peter and Dave talk about how we can explain complicated topics to inexperienced audiences. This week's takeaway: Use analogy and metaphor to help convey ideas in a way that transcends language. Make sure you are understood. Make things visible.  References in this episode: Barbara Oakley https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/36647421-learning-how-to-learn We love to hear feedback...

This week, Peter and Dave talk about the difference between taking simple approaches to solve problems in complex systems.   This week takeaways: Stop chasing efficiency and talk more about effectiveness. Measure more Don't think of the system as a factory. Don't jump into a solution too quickly, and experiment more.   We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propos...

Feedback is a difficult topic for leaders to approach, but it's necessary.  This week, Peter and Dave talk about how to provide feedback effectively. This week takeaways: ·        Recognize the need for feedback. Remember to ask and when you ask, take action on it. ·        Teams succeed together but when they fail, it's the leadership ·        Give leadership in the right manner for the...

This week, Peter and Dave talk about the importance of understanding when to bring governance into your process. They also discuss ways you can minimize dependency on others while maximizing flow for success! This week takeaways: ·        Create balance ·        Minimize dependencies ·        Make flow the focus We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or eve...

 In this week's episode of the Definitely, Maybe Agile podcast, Dave and Peter discuss the ins and outs of how to handle change management for an organization. This week takeaways: • The change must be targeted, figured out who is going to be impacted by the change • Make sure that the communication is correct.  • Understand the experience of the users References in this episode: Jonathan Sma...

In this episode, Dave and Peter point out the value of gamification in workshops. They explain how this technique can help people to better understand some topics, and apply them to their own environment. This week takeaways:  Encourage the right types of conversation. Scenario-based exercises.  Compete against your own personal bests. We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to...

Developing an agile process is not only about following a set of steps to the letter but how you're going to take that idea and apply it in your environment. Dave and Peter explain the importance of the Why, What, and How of Agile. This week takeaways:  Recognize that there are two paradigms  Mindset shift  The same solution can have different consequences   We love to hear feedback! If you h...

 In this week's episode, Dave and Peter talk about why leaders should help their teams eliminate WIP.    This week takeaways:  Understand and believe in it Stop starting, start finishing Consider the impact of what you say and when you say it We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversation, contact us here: feedback@definitely...

In this week's episode, Dave Sharrock and Peter Maddison talk about the difficulties in delivering big programs.  In doing so, they cover how to approach them iteratively while acknowledging complexity.  This week takeaways: Recognize that planning is needed Classify and prioritize the work Identify the individual problems. Systems running in parallel. References in this episode: David J. Bla...

In this week's episode, Dave Sharrock and Peter Maddison share their insights on the importance of understanding and handling dependencies for your organization.  This week takeaways:  Understand priorities and their impact. Co-create a visual representation. Update technical rules and recognize the role of conversation.  We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose...

In this week's episode, Dave and Peter answer a question from one of our listeners. They explore as the roles are evolving from your traditional IT Roles to more innovation on Products and Process Re-engineering, how would a leader/manager train their team to learn skills like Process Mappings? What resources are available? This week takeaways: Find ways to make learning experiential Train te...

In this week's episode, Dave and Peter will unpack lean thinking. They'll  explore how it works in an innovative and complex environment. This week takeaways: — Efficiency or effectiveness — System variance in complex systems — Apply the method to the right problem References in this episode: Gary Hamel — https://www.garyhamel.com/author Tom and Mary Poppendieck — https://www.goodreads.c...

This week's episode of Definitely, Maybe Agile uncovers how can we make the change stick. We explore why some people are more apt to change their minds than others, and what strategies can help us keep moving forward when it feels like there is no other option.  This week takeaways:   Are leadership built-in? Hidden agendas Start small and keep it simple References in this episode: Leaders Ea...

This week on the Definitely, Maybe Agile podcast, Peter Maddison and Dave Sharrock explore important topics relating to QA in teams. These include some of the major issues that arise when you don't test. Join us on this week's takeaway: — Don't separate the QA team — Testing capability must be integrated  — Identify the problem first, so you can focus on the right areas. We love to...