Product Agility
Ben Maynard
Less Method. More Meaning.The world of Product Discovery and Creation is becoming increasingly challenging due to mistakes and missed opportunities that are prevalent in agile teams, large-scale Scrum and all other agile frameworks. History has shown that when organisations try and scale their product development to more than one cross-functional team, mistakes are made that cut short many chances of getting all possible benefits.The route of this for many is the need for more attention paid to the incredible advancements in Product Management driven by hordes of professional Product People who prove that making their customers happier is not a pipe dream but a hard and fast reality.This podcast exists to explore all topics related to Product and Agility and Coaching. How do you marry the agile principles with Product discovery?Is it really possible to have hundreds of cross-functional teams (or Product Teams) all working from an effectively prioritised single Product Backlog and a dedicated Product Owner?How can you embrace continuous improvement and empirical process control for your product, people and processes?Ever wondered how to overcome the problems people face when trying to scale the Product Owner role and how it relates to Product Management and Product Teams?Baffled by how to define a product in such a way that enables Feature Teams (aka Product Teams) and why doing wrong means you will only ever be stuck with technical teams? Scrum Teams are not compatible with modern product management techniques.Want to know what Product Focus means and how the right focus makes creating a shippable product less painful?Need to get your head around how to blend modern product management techniques with Sprint Planning and Sprint Reviews to achieve Product Increments that cover the entire product?This podcast's original focus was on Scaling Scrum vs Single-Team Scrum and how organisations can reap the benefits of Scrum when working on a larger product but still keeping a single product backlog. We found many Product People liked what we said, and then the penny dropped. This isn't a podcast about scaling Scrum or the limitations of single-team Scrum.This podcast is for Product People & agile advocates who coach or get their hands dirty with Product creation.We promise there is no Taboo topic that we will not explore on your behalf. We aim to transcend the conversations about a single team, Daily Scrums, Scrum Masters and the double-diamond and bring everyone together into responsible teams dedicated to working on the entire product to make their customers happier and their lives more fulfilling.Come and join us on our improvement towards perfection, and give us your feedback (we have a strong customer focus, too), and who knows, perhaps we will discover the magic wand that we can wave over all the broken agile and sudo-products to create a more resilient and adaptable future by bringing the worlds of Product, Agility and coaching together.This podcast has the conversations and insights you need.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Sep 19, 2022 • 11min
Konstantin Ribel - What Should Have Been Bigger in the Agile World? What Will be the Next BIG Thing?
Send us a textKonstantin Ribel is an Organisational Design Consultant & Certified LeSS Trainer with nearly a decade of experience. This experience spans both hardware and software in the medical and automotive worlds. Understandably this leads him to have some unique and thought-provoking insights into making multi-team agile really work. There is no better testament to this than his HUGE LeSS Huge case study at BMW Autonomous Driving. He is a great conversationalist and apparently the world's youngest Certified Large Scale Scrum (LeSS) Trainer. In this episode, Konstantin does a brilliant job at explaining why the next big thing in the agile world should be something that should have been bigger and it makes Ben think about how that thing could act as something between a rigorous and dedicated yoga programme and industrial strength pain killers that can make organisational flexing, ultimately, less painful.And what else??!🏎️ What is the seismic shift that's needed to make Konstantin's agile dreams come true?🏎️ If it is true that the bigger the organisation the more painful it is to remain flexible, is this why when they adapt too far too soon it's painful and often snaps back to the status quo? (this is what Ben calls the FIP). 🏎️ An update on how is Ben's mid-life crisis manifesting? Here are some tasty links for you:🔗Konstantin's Website🔗Konstantins LeSS Courses🔗Konstantin Ribel on LinkedIn🔗Extreme Programming🔗HUGE LeSS Huge case study at BMW Autonomous DrivingHost Bio Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes. Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱! Ben Maynard 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/ 🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard 💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ Product Agility Podcast 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/ 🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56 iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p Want to come on the podcast? Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80
Sep 12, 2022 • 41min
Wolfgang Steffens - Large Scale Scrum (LeSS) Trainer Interview
Send us a textWolfi is a passionate coach with more than 10 years of experience in large-scale Lean and Agile Product Development. What did he do when Craig Larman and Bas Vodde arrived at his place of work in 2005? He started learning. Since coaching his first Large Scale Scrum (LeSS) adoption in 2007 he has continued to support several organizations within Nokia Siemens Networks, and in 2010 he coached a 1000+ people organization on their SAFe adoption.With all this experience and expertise in project and programme management, it was always going to be another great interview to add to the list.We of course covered the standard Large Scale Scrum (LeSS) trainer questions:👟 What is your elevator pitch for LeSS?👟 Did you choose LeSS or did LeSS choose you?👟 What’s the one thing, above all others, you love about LeSS?👟 What was your favourite LeSS adoption?👟 If you could change one thing about LeSS what would it be?Not only that by listening to this you will be able to:🐶 Tell your friends what in Wolfi's opinion is the crucial element of LeSS🐶 Save yourself time by being told what do you get when you google "Descaling"🐶 Know forever how Wolfi describes the term "Descaling"🐶 Still have no idea what apples have to do with descaling🐶Know whether or not Wolfi and Ben be opening a Kettle company.🐶Finally know what was the big thing about LeSS that made sense to Wolfi's ex-Programme Manager's mind?🐶Answer the question "Does Programme and Project Management ever have a role in a Large Scale Scrum environment?"🐶 Know what is it about LeSS that Wolfi believes makes it rigorous?🐶Describe Large Scale Scrum (LeSS) can help with your mould problem in your bathroom🐶Explain what are Host Bio Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes. Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱! Ben Maynard 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/ 🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard 💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ Product Agility Podcast 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/ 🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56 iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p Want to come on the podcast? Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80
Sep 5, 2022 • 4min
Wolfgang Steffens - What Will Be The Next Big Thing In Agile?
Send us a textWolfgang Steffens is a passionate, energetic, inspiring, and authentic coach with 10+ years of experience in large-scale Lean and Agile Global Product Development💼He is a Certified LeSS Trainer & Coach, Systems Thinker who started his agile learning in 2005 when he was introduced to Scrum and Agile for the first time⏰Wolfi is a sterling chap (as we would say in England) and I was excited to ask him...📣"What Will Be the Next Big Thing in the Agile World"📣His response was not at all what I was expecting!!Stay up-to-date with us on our social media!LeSS Matters website - https://www.lessmatters.co.ukLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/less-matters-communityTwitter - https://twitter.com/LeSSMattersCommHost Bio Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes. Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱! Ben Maynard 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/ 🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard 💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ Product Agility Podcast 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/ 🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56 iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p Want to come on the podcast? Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80
Aug 29, 2022 • 17min
Ben Maynard & Jac Hughes - The Swimmers Body Illusion
Send us a textJac Hughes spends most of his days providing presently surprising agile support at his company Everday Agile.If you haven't already done so you should really check out his videos, they make me jealous they are so good 💘In this episode, Jac educates me about something I knew nothing about, The Swimmers Body Illusion. At first, I thought it was a classic magic trick, but no, turns out it is actually something very useful for us agile change agents. 🏊 Will swimming every day alone make you as ripped as a swimmer with chees grater abs? 🏊What does it have to do with copy and paste agility (definitely not talking about the Spotify model)🏊Why Jac feels like agility like a full tank of petrol🏊Why overlaying scrum on what already exists, is always bad news🏊 What are the effects over empowerment? 🏊 What was Ben's big app idea you are welcome to steal?🏊 Hear Jac say the words "Sexy UI in front and Dog Toffee at the back", still not sure what it means💥💥!!Boom!!💥💥Useful linksA brilliant book on Team Coaching - Building Top Performing TeamsSome stuff on the Swimmers body illusion that isn't as good as what we said, honestKanban maturity model to show leaders like Jac doesAdaptivity fit - a really interesting and useful tool for engaging with leaders on an agile journeyHost Bio Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes. Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱! Ben Maynard 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/ 🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard 💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ Product Agility Podcast 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/ 🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56 iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p Want to come on the podcast? Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80
Aug 22, 2022 • 8min
Wolfgang Steffens - What In The Agile World Should Have Been Bigger?
Send us a textWolfgang Steffens is a passionate, energetic, inspiring, and authentic coach with 10+ years of experience in large-scale Lean and Agile Global Product Development. He is a Certified LeSS Trainer & Coach, Systems Thinker who started his agile learning in 2005 when he was introduced to Scrum and Agile for the first time. So, given all of the text, I have copied and pasted from the LeSS website (with a few edits) we could be led to believe that he would have something interesting to say when I asked the question📣"What In The Agile World Should Have Been Bigger"📣I was not let down and neither will you be as he covers:🏁Have we missed the point about agile?🏁What are the pre-conditions for agile?🏁Does agile mean different things to different organisations?🏁Doe's getting old mean that we have to end up inflexible?🏁What doe's Wolfi know is the only way to act in a complex world?🏁Why do some managers dislike the idea of experimentation?🏁What is the impact of a compelling experiment hypothesis?🏁Who would call agile thrilling?🏁Is the answer to all of this a coalescence of purposes?Stay up-to-date with us on our social media!LeSS Matters website - https://www.lessmatters.co.ukLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/less-matters-communityTwitter - https://twitter.com/LeSSMattersCommHost Bio Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes. Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱! Ben Maynard 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/ 🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard 💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ Product Agility Podcast 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/ 🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56 iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p Want to come on the podcast? Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80
Aug 15, 2022 • 16min
Jac Hughes - Scaling Agile Across Organisations? Where Would You Start?!
Send us a textJac Hughes spends most of his days providing presently surprising agile support at his company Everday Agile.If you haven't already done so you should really check out his videos, they make me jealous they are so good 💘 Jac had a question for me, and it stumped me if I am totally honest. It was not one that I had ever been asked before and the points we hit on were incredibly useful, way beyond the scope set out in the question. There is something here for everyone: 🍬What is the scaling Pick and Mix approach?🍬Can you mix SAFe and LeSS?🍬Are any of the popular scaling approaches we know of designed for cross-company collaboration?🍬Is there something beginning with P that could be the secret sauce?🍬What could be one thing that would work, but maybe would not be feasible?🍬And if it could work, what would a company have to give up to get something out?🍬In what way doe's Ben think SAFe over-empowers people?🍬What is a bigger concern for Ben & Jac? A receding hairline or grey hairs? 🍬What is the Integration difference between SAFe and LeSSWhats this??!?! Some Useful and Relevant Links? (Yes)Open BankingJac on LinkedInEveryday Agile on LinkedInEveryday Agile's websiteStay up-to-date with us on our social media!LeSS Matters website - https://www.lessmatters.co.ukLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/less-matters-communityTwitter - https://twitter.com/LeSSMattersCommHost Bio Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes. Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱! Ben Maynard 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/ 🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard 💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ Product Agility Podcast 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/ 🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56 iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p Want to come on the podcast? Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80
Aug 8, 2022 • 19min
Jac Hughes - Starting with a new client? What are the foundations for success?
Send us a textIn this episode, Jac and I speak a lot about something called "contracting". Now I can imagine some of you are shouting "we value customer collaboration over contract negotiation", and that is a fair thing to shout, but let's not throw the baby out with the bath water on this one...What we are talking about is an extremely useful practice the agile world has taken from the professional coaching world that helps us to align expectations and co-create an agreement that is a win-win for both the agile coach as well as our clients.This co-created agreement provides us with the bedrock for collaboration if done well and that's what we honed in on thinking about starting with new clients.🎯The intangible nature of agile coaching (it's not like we have a lead time for our work? Or do we?)🎯Are there measures for what could be deemed as "success" when agile coaching? (We thought so)🎯If we measure some of the things Jac and I talk about would they help us to get senior leaders increasingly engaged?🎯 What is it that builds trust with a new client and how doe's Jac do it?🎯 Should we only contract at the start of a new gig? 🎯 Who should we be contracting with?Useful linksSteve Sampson-Jones Brilliant Infographic of HimThe International Coaching Federation (ICF)Jac on LinkedInEveryday Agile on LinkedInEveryday Agile's websiteStay up-to-date with us on our social media!LeSS Matters website - https://www.lessmatters.co.ukLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/less-matters-communHost Bio Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes. Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱! Ben Maynard 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/ 🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard 💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ Product Agility Podcast 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/ 🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56 iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p Want to come on the podcast? Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80
Aug 1, 2022 • 44min
Dinesh Sharma - Certified Large Scale Scrum (LeSS) Trainer Interview
Send us a textDinesh is an agile trainer and coach. He has over 24 years of experience helping organisations with adopting agile ways of working.He has worked on some of the most complex product development anywhere in the world, including many large, financial services organisations, government departments, aerospace and defence and global consultancies.And for an hour he sat down with Ben Maynard to field the LeSS Matters Trainer interview questions! What a ✨legend✨So other than the questions, what was spoken about?🎯Why Dinesh was a terrible hunter-gatherer (of requirements)🎯What he helped Sita use with Scrum that helped them succeed🎯How Dinesh got started with Large Scale Scrum (LeSS) and how similar Dinesh and Ben's stories are🎯What's the benefit of bringing off-shore partners close to you and the customer?🎯Doe's having a strong purpose help with Product creation.🎯Can Large Scale Scrum help to create alignment against that purpose?🎯What is more important the idea of Large Scale Scrum (LeSS) or LeSS itself?🎯Dinesh Sharma or Dinesh Vodde?!🎯Can you really understand how Large Scale Scrum (LeSS) will help you if you don't know your problem🎯Do you want a simple or complicated organisational structure to deal with complex problems?🎯Large Scale Scrum (LeSS) does have silos!🎯Large Scale Scrum (LeSS) give you a "how" on how to use Systems Thinking to manage the whole, not just the parts.Dinesh's LeSS Trainer Case StudyDinesh on LinkedInStay up-to-date with us on our social media!LeSS Matters website - https://www.lessmatters.co.ukHost Bio Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes. Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱! Ben Maynard 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/ 🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard 💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ Product Agility Podcast 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/ 🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56 iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p Want to come on the podcast? Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80
Jul 27, 2022 • 5min
SAFe V LeSS - Is It Really a Battle?
Send us a textSAFe, also known as Scaled Agile Frameworks, is one of the most popular #agile frameworks for trying to create nimble, adaptable, agile organisations. How successful it is at this seems to divide the #agile community.As companies prioritise #businessagility, they tend to look for #agile frameworks that closely resemble their current way of working and infrastructure. This confirmation bias makes change hard for large organisations and leads them to be very conservative when considering options for new ways of working.As such, #SAFe has grown in popularity with traditional leadership teams.Unfortunately, #SAFe has also required a reputation for being at best, a bridge between being a "traditional" organisation and a truly #agile one. There is a great deal more failed adoptions in #SAFe than there are successful adoptions which have placed #SAFe firmly in the 'trough of disillusionment' using Gartner's Hype Model.On the one extreme, the hardcore #agile evangelists dismiss #SAFe as nothing more than a corporate wolf dressed in #agile clothing. On the other hand, conservative executives view it as a low-risk transition framework that enables them to tap into some of the low hanging fruit offered by #agile ways of working.So, which is right?Ben Maynard, #LeSS expert and #coach, walks us through the differences between #SAFe and #LeSS (Large Scale #Scrum). Ben has worked in countless agile environments and balances the visionary ideals of the #agilemanifesto with the pragmatic reality of working in large organisations that embrace logical transitions in favour of bold transformations.If you are considering a #scrum adoption with a #scalingframework, visit https://www.sheev.co.uk to find out how Ben can help your organisation become more effective.#agile #scrum #largescalescrum #agileframework #projectmanagment #productdevelopment #projectmanager #SAFe #scaledagileframeworksHost Bio Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes. Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱! Ben Maynard 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/ 🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard 💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ Product Agility Podcast 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/ 🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56 iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p Want to come on the podcast? Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80
Jul 25, 2022 • 38min
John Coleman - Are Agile Islands the Best Agile Adoption Technique We Don’t Know About?
Send us a textJohn Coleman is a wizened and skills agile leader and practitioner. So when he started talking to me about "Agile Islands" and "Agile Archipelagos" I wondered if success had gone to his head and it was finally his time to come off the boil.NOT THE CASE IT SEEMS!Most of us have heard of agile bubbles made popular by Michael Sahota and the commonly held belief was how do you increase the bubble to consume the entire organisation. What John proposes is something very different and terrifically though provoking. So in this episode, John shares with us his approach to getting organisational agility, just not in the way that many of us had tried and failed to do in the past, by provoking us to ponder:🏝️ Can forming a culture bubble of agility be an evolutionary approach?🏝️ Should we start slowly? Expand carefully? Improve carefully? Or just go hell for leather?🏝️Are the pathways to organizational agility numerous? 🏝️ Should we opt for evolution or revolution?Remember to check out the LeSS Matters community on MeetupHost Bio Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes. Stay up-to-date with us on our social media📱! Ben Maynard 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmaynard-sheev/ 🐦 https://x.com/BenWMaynard 💻 https://sheev.co.uk/ Product Agility Podcast 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/productagilitypod/ 💻 https://productagilitypod.co.uk/ 🖇️ https://linktr.ee/productagility Listen & Share On Spotify & iTunes Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lkwAYJzVSuk5zfJ1vIDZq?si=4c691fb12f124a56 iTunes - https://apple.co/3YvTX8p Want to come on the podcast? Want to be a guest or have a guest request? Let us know here https://bit.ly/49osN80
