Definitely, Maybe Agile

 In this week's episode, Dave and Peter explore what the right amount of planning means. We discuss the meaning behind "Responding to change over following a plan". Do I have enough information to make a decision? Do I have enough information to decide what direction I’m going to go in? Sometimes we end up stuck on one way of doing things, but if you do planning right, it can help g...

Agile expounds on the need for decentralization, self-organizing teams, autonomous teams, but is there such a thing as too much decentralization? If there is, why? And what's the alternative? This week takeaway:  Balancing de-centralized autonomy and centralized governance The impacts on the speed of decision-making Architecture, security, and more!  We love to hear feedback! If you have ques...

What happens to the aspects of the functional manager when you shift to a team centric delivery model? There are many functions the manager fills in terms of resource, line and skill management, so where do those go?  Join Peter and Dave on this week takeaway:  Consider the impact on your managers Discuss what their new responsibilities might be Understand the number one reason things go sideways...

 What delivery roles are needed? How many do you need? In this week's episode, Dave and Peter go over everything there is to know about sources that work in agile delivery.    This week takeaway:  Resource the work. Don't understaff the outcome you are trying to achieve. Skills development.  Create a talent journey.  Properly define the roles and the accountabilities they will have.   We...

 How does your team come together to create their strategy? It's a loaded term, prone to misinterpretation, but there's no time like today to start strategically planning. Far too often though, these sessions are poorly planned and the results leave us wanting. Join us for this week's episode, “Strategy Sessions,” where Dave and Peter explore the secrets of making strategy sessions...

In this week's episode, Dave and Peter discuss Portfolio Level Management.  Key decisions are made at every level of your organization, aligning these and managing the larger scale initiatives can be a challenge.  This week takeaway: Fractal nature of work at different levels Make work visible Follow the decision-making References in this episode: Klaus Leopold Practical Kanban — https://www....

In this week's episode, Dave and Peter explore why you should stop doing too much at the same time. We discuss the culture where we always have to say yes when work is coming through - even though that often means doing a task half-assed or trying desperately juggling everything with no time for anything else in our lives.  Join us on this week takeaway:   Too much WIP  Asking the strategy qu...

In this week's episode we explore change fatigue in more depth as well as discuss how everyone responds differently to changes.  Join Peter and Dave on this week takeaway:  Invite over inflict// Human element of the change, the beneficiaries in the change  The continuous change over big changes Not everybody responds to a given change in the same way   References in this episode: Gary Hamel -...

In this episode of the Definitely Maybe Agile podcast, Dave and Peter give listeners an overview on where to start when you've been given a short timeframe to show value.  This week takeaway:  Start small, don't boil the ocean Pick something that is a pain point Don't just document it, do it. Design an experiment and get started  We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, woul...

 This week learn everything there is about financing, from fund value streams over projects to incremental funding models.  Join Dave and Peter on this week takeaways:  ·     Fund value streams over projects  ·     Aim for incremental funding models  ·     Finance is a supporting function, avoid letting finance dictate product direction.  We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like...

 This episode of the Definitely, Maybe Agile podcast uncovers a surprisingly common problem plaguing today's agile environment: efficiency and effectiveness. Join Peter and Dave on this week takeaway: -You need both but focus on effectiveness because it has been neglected -This focus is driven by the rapidly changing environment -Solely efficient systems will be fragile, effectiveness builds...

In this episode, Dave and Peter give listeners an overview of what Value Stream mapping is as well as some tips for success when implementing these techniques at your company.   This week takeaway:  You already have value streams The importance of the customer Streams are often entangled We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversat...

In this episode, Dave and Peter discuss everything about data radiators and how to have metrics drive better conversations. This week takeaway:  Track metrics as vectors, not targets Product, Team, System health Make metrics positive so your conversations can be too. 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:...

In this episode, Dave and Peter discuss how to run architecture once you have begun adopting agile practices. The need to balance the rigidity of the platform with the innovation of the teams Composable architectures involving pipes and railway gauges Central vs. distributed architecture teams We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a con...

In this episode, Dave and Peter discuss the role of Agile PMO and Agile CoE in the organization.  This week takeaways: Culture change cannot be controlled from a CoE. You can't control a constantly changing process. While a PMO plays a governance role, the Agile CoE (or as we'd rather refer to it Ways of Working team, or Flow Enablement team, not "where excellence is centered")...

 In this episode, Dave and Peter discuss the role of vendors in large companies and why we don't let vendors lead the strategy. They discuss how vendor solutions or products are brought to accelerate growth. A good choice of products maximizes the opportunities an organization can leverage to accelerate skills, and a poor choice can leave you tied to a partner that does not bring you value. W...

In this episode, Dave and Peter have a special guest, Peter Budden, who has over 15 years working in QA and Testing. We discuss what quality means in the terms of agile and DevOps teams. This week takeaways: ·         Make sure that you're having conversations about what quality means for you and for your team.  ·         Figure out ways to help your teams improve their testing skills. ·     ...

In this episode, Dave and Peter have a special guest, Nada Buhendi, who has over 15 years working as an agile coach and IT consultant. Her passion is in using her knowledge and experience to help technology professionals who feel unappreciated and undervalued in their careers. We discuss mistakes we find in job postings and what to look for when applying. This week takeaways: The importance of rol...

In this episode, Dave and Peter discuss the potential differences between Lessons Learned (the end of project debrief) and Retrospectives (the more frequent and regular look at work). We cover many topics before landing on the concept of aligning 3 F's, Frequency, Focus, and Flow when looking back at what has been done. Book references: Think Again - Adam Grant https://www.goodreads.com/book/...

Does training have value? There is certainly plenty of it out there and companies spend plenty of money on it. Is it money well spent? In this episode we talk through some of the benefits of training and when it is most effective. We also talk about how to get more from the training you do invest in. We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us fo...

This week Dave and Peter talk through the perils and benefits of estimation. They touch on relative and absolute estimations, and how they apply to our daily work. 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@definitelymaybeagile.com

This week we dive into experimentation, what it is, its purpose, and how we often mess it up. How do you design experiments? What makes an experiment good? How might you measure success? All this and more! 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@definitelymaybeagile.com

Peter and Dave discuss the difficulty of taking Agile practices out of IT and into the rest of the organization. We discuss the need for creating a common language and acknowledging the differences between areas. There may even be some hints about how to overcome these adoption barriers. We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversat...

Peter and Dave discuss how value is often seen through the lens of the company, focusing value on dollars and cents. There are many types of value especially when products are free to use. Value is very difficult to predict and defined by the customer. References in this episode: Saeed Khan's Medium post on value: https://swkhan.medium.com/a-framework-for-understanding-value-25a8eefcf61c We l...

Dave and Peter discuss Change Approval (or Advisory) Boards. They are a crucial component to organizational change and managing change with companies. As organizations starts to adopt Agile, responsibility of change shifts into the team level and the Board becomes a facilitator to change. Resources: Better Value Sooner Safer Happier - Jon Smart https://soonersaferhappier.com/ We love to hear feedb...