Time For Agile To Buy Mom or Dad Jeans? A Conversation with Mark Metze, Jeremy WIllets, and Tom Cagley, SPaMCAST 802

The SPaMCAST 802 features a panel discussion.  Mark Metze, Jeremy Willets, and myself. discuss “Is agile still a movement or has it reached middle age?”  We weigh the appropriateness of wailing and gnashing of teeth, hand wringing and sullen withdrawal, or pragmatism and philosophy. In the end perhaps the right answer is to buy a pair of mom or dad jeans and accept that all great movements reach middle age at some point. We look forward to your opinions and comments.   Panelists Mark Metze: With a career spanning over 30 years in the software industry, Mark has evolved from a seasoned developer, dedicating 19 years to crafting high-quality and maintainable code that directly addressed real-world challenges. Transitioning into a management role, he spent the next 9 years leading development teams, gaining a holistic perspective on the various roles crucial for successful software delivery. Embracing the philosophy of servant leadership, he transitioned once again to the role of a Scrum Master. Over the last 3.5 years, his focus has been on fostering collaboration, continuous improvement, and empowering teams to excel in their agile practices. Mark's journey from a hands-on developer to a supportive Scrum Master reflects a deep understanding of the intricacies of software development, coupled with a passion for facilitating teams to achieve their highest potential. Mark also hosts The Agile Within podcast with new episodes debuting each week. It's mission is "Providing agile insights into human values and behaviors through genuine connections". You can listen on your favorite podcast platform or on the web: Jeremy Willets is a coach, speaker, and author who has spent the last decade working with people and teams to achieve greatness in the workplace. He started out as a technical writer on a Scrum team and quickly fell in love with Scrum and the Agile Manifesto values and principles. Since then, he’s served thriving organizations as a Scrum Master, Agile Coach, Senior Agile Coach, Release Train Engineer, people manager, and mentor.   Jeremy has spoken at conferences throughout the midwestern United States. He’s an avid Substack blogger and music maker. He holds a SAFe® Practice Consultant (SPC) certification. Jeremy can be found at    Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Jeremy Willets and I have opened a new workshop cohort to help you learn to tame the work intake beast!  The workshop will run from 31 May to 28 June in five manageable 90-minute chunks. For more details hop over to our Maven site  for more information, sign up, or join the mailing list!   Re-read Saturday News Chapter 3, Deep Work is Meaningful completes Part 1 of by Cal Newport. If you are reading this chapter for the first time, my interpretation of the author’s intent is not to prove that deep work is meaningful but rather to argue that it is more meaningful than shallow work. On deeper reflection, there are even more cautionary notes for the always “in contact” amongst us. Read the chapter, this week’s re-read post, and contemplate!                                                                                                       Remember to buy a copy of and read along. Week 1:  -   Week 2: -   Week 3: -   Week 4: -     Next SPaMCAST  In SPaMCAST 803 we will contemplate the product roles impact on work intake. These roles appear straightforward and at the same time offer many layers and nuances. Regardless of the approach or structure someone is using, making work intake decisions might enhance or trash product decisions. Someone is making those decisions, you need to understand the impact. We will also have a visit from Susan Parente who brings her Not a Scrumdamentalist column to the podcast.