Meta-Cast

It is bowl season here in the US, so we decided to explore how closely related the game of football and all of its preparation are related to traditional agile/scrum ceremonies.  We think you'll be surprised to hear how closely they align... What other parallels do you see?   Are there other sports that more closely align to agile and its ceremonies?   This is a public episode. If you would like t...

One of the more common questions we get centers around ways to integrate a UX team/process/approach into Agile.  Bob and Josh share their experiences and approaches that worked/didn't work in hopes of helping you continually improve the integration of your UX team.   What tricks have you used?  Share them in the comments or on twitter! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this wi...

We identify a few rules of engagement for members of your organization that are not a part of the scrum team.  We discuss where the term "chicken" originated from and provide tips and tricks for anyone making the transition as a leader in an organization evolving/transforming to agile.  This is a key challenge for any organization transitioning to agile and, if mis-handled, often leads to a failed...

An agile team's struggles can often be attributed to one of the primary scrum roles (scrum master, product owner, & team) running amok.  Bob and Josh dig into common reasons causing each role to begin to lose its way.  We then provide you with a few tools that can help correct each behavior.  In doing so, you should be able to reduce the level of "amokedness" (Bob's new word) inside your agile...

Where do great scrum masters come from and how can you groom them in your organization?  Bob and Josh dig into various ways to make that happen.  We also cover some of the most common anti-patterns we've seen over the years.  Hopefully those anti-patterns don't sound too familiar! :) How did you become a scrum master?  Was the transition silky smooth or were there a few bumps in the road?  Please...

Sticking with our recent theme of threes (see the previous episode ), Bob intoduces us to  The Three Amigos  concept and how it can facilitate communication across all roles in your team.     Consistent, quality communication drives success in agile, and this approach is another tool for your coaching toolbelt.  What other coaching tricks do you use?  Let us know!  This is a public episode. If you...

Too big?  Too small?  Just right?  Where does your team fit in that paradigm? We share our experiences in building agile teams and describe what "just right" looks like.  How do you know when to stop growing or when to break up a team.  We answer these questions for you. What are your thoughts and experiences? As a reminder, any listener question/topic that we discuss on air gets one of our  fancy...

We revisit our often debated topic of release planning.  Josh slipped up in episode 75  and mentioned a new appreciation for the process.  Given Josh's past comments about his disdain for release planning, Bob jumped all over him and demanded that our next episode centered on this topic.  Find out what caused Josh to evolved his viewpoints and hear Bob grill him on this new revelation! What are yo...

In this episode, Bob and Josh respond to a listener request around our views/implementations of Spotify's agile approach.  Vic ( @AgileCoffee ) asked specifically about our view on Chapters, so we dig into what they are, how we use them, and how they fit into the whole approach. What's your view on Spotify's spin on agile?  Do you use any of their techniques? Bonus Content: Here is the article Jos...

In this episode, Bob and Josh wrap up their three part series on collaboration.  In doing so we tackle the final step an organizaiton takes in becoming truly agile.  Learn how to enable your entire company to agile through world class collaboration.  We cover tips and tricks that each of us has used in the past to help our companies in this area.  What tips can you share? If you missed either of t...

In this episode, Bob and Josh discuss the challenges presented to a product owner and team when stories classified as "non-product" work land in the backlog.  These stories typically include architectural work, research spikes, and other technical challenges like these that end users may never see and/or notice.   We present the common problems teams run into and offer a few suggestions for how yo...

In this speedcast Bob and Josh help you recognize a good scrum master from a bad scrum master.  We also chat about our new audio setup and how we expect it to drastically improve our audio quality. Let us know what you think about our audio quality and what you view as the key qualities required to be a good scrum master. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subsc...

In this episode, Bob and Josh continue discussing the three levels of collaboration.  After tackling collaboration inside an agile team in our previous episode, we dig into how to scale collaboration across all of our agile teams.  We may get sidetracked by a debate about what a healthy sprint review looks like, but we end up circling back to the topic of cross-team collaboration. Let us know how...

In this episode, Bob and Josh kick off a series discussing the three levels of collaboration in an agile organization.  Level one focuses on maximizing collaboration inside of each agile team.  Learn the warning signs that indicate a need for you and your team to focus on improving your collaboration, along with ways to make that improvment happen. As always, we want your feedback and any tips/tri...

  In this episode, Bob and Josh talk through common agile transition failures.  We provide solutions to many of these problems so that you and your team can succeed in your implementation of Agile.  We also discuss the concept of starting with Kanban instead of Scrum.   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themeta...

As a continuation from Episode 67's goal of demystifying story points, Bob and Josh dig into estimations.  When should you do them?  How long should they take?  Who should do the estimations?   Take a listen and let us know what you think.  How does your organizaiton handle estimations? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episod...

What are story points?   Why would we use them? How do we pick a unit? Can I make my teams all use the same numbers? How do we get started? We answer all of these and more as we dig into the hotly debated world of story points.  Like user stories, story points are often talked about, but seldom clarified.  Our goal with this podcast is to give you the tools you need to make story points useful in...

In this episode, Bob and Josh respond to a listener request from  @sjoerddruiven  about the future of agile.  We dig into our hopes for agile's future and also some realistic concerns and fears for where it could end up.  What are your fears?  How can you help shape agile's future? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, v...

In this episode, Bob and Josh discuss various ways to plan, and execute, your sprints in a strategic manner.  Many teams suffer for a microscopic view of their current sprint and struggle to properly plan for and execute on the next sprint.  We share a few tips and tricks on how to prevent that from happening.  What tricks do you use? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this wit...

In this episode, Bob and Josh revisit the Scaled Agile Framework (AKA SAFe).  Josh recently attended a "Leading SAFe" class and that generates some juicy discussion around what SAFe may, or may not, offer to organizaitons like yours.  If you are evaluating the adoption of SAFe, this episode provides a sneak peek into whether or not it is a fit for you. What is your experience with SAFe?  Has it ad...

In this episode, Bob and Josh discuss various ways to plan, understand, and manage your team's capacity.  We cover a few real-world examples of how to get a brand new team off and running without any known capacity.  How does your team manage capacity? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themetacast.substack.com

In this episode, Bob and Josh discuss the concept of hardening sprints and what, if any, value they add.  This has been a long standing debate for us, so it is good to finally get it out to our listeners.  What side of the debate do you land on?  Do you use hardening sprints? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit t...

In this episode, Bob and Josh discuss ways to assemble an optimal agile team.  We also get into an interesting debate over what candidates (including Bob and Josh) should wear to an interview.  We look forward to your feedback and comments, especially pertaining to that debate! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit...

In this episode, Bob and Josh discuss various seating options for your agile teams.  The endless debate around open office layouts earns a large amount of our discussion.  Regardless of your stance on that topic, we share a few tips that will help make any space better.  Feel free to weigh in with comments on our website about your views on what works best for your teams.   This is a public episod...

In this episode Bob and Josh chat with Tricia Broderick about conflict resolution in agile teams.  We dig into the topics she covers in her session at Agile Development Practices/Better Software Conference and learn how to be better leaders and teammates.  A big thanks to Tricia for taking the time to speak with us during her busy schedule at the conference!  Check her out on twitter at @t_broderi...