Troubleshooting Agile

We're joined by Steve Berez, partner at Bain and co-author of Doing Agile Right: Transformation Without Chaos. Steve tells us some stories from his 30-year consulting career, illustrating missteps he's seen in digital transformations like "You Folks Do Agile" and "Agile as a Quick Fix". He advocates the metric of "team fun" as the best way to determine whether you're doing agile right. SHOW LINKS: - Steve's book and other material: https://www.bain.com/agile - Article on the Agile C-Suite: https://hbr.org/2020/05/the-agile-c-suite - Previous podcast episode mentioning Cargo Cult Agile: https://www.conversationaltransformation.com/posts/software-factory-to-feature-factory/ --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. 
 Email us at info@conversationaltransformation.com

A reader points out that our example conversations often show people masking emotions, but we don't say as much about what to do when someone is being rude or when you yourself feel your emotions are out of control. We suggest ways to increase your sense of safety with an escape plan, but also demonstrate methods for staying in the conversation and learning from it even if it's challenging to do so. SHOW LINKS: - Stratechery 2x2 chart: https://stratechery.com/2013/the-uncanny-valley-of-a-functional-organization/ - Brene Brown: https://brenebrown.com/ - LOL meetup on working with emotions: https://www.meetup.com/London-Action-Science-Meetup/events/xbtmspybcfbgc/ - Nonviolent Communication and receiving empathetically: http://laurelandassociates.com/tip-319-nonviolent-communication-10-receiving-with-empathy/ - Dr. David Burns talking with your EAR: https://daviddburnsmd.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/the-five-secrets-v-1.pdf - Emotions in decision-making: https://hbr.org/2006/01/decisions-and-desire --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. 
 Email us at info@conversationaltransformation.com

Exploring the importance of user stories in software development, discussing the distinction between user stories and tasks. Introducing the concept of 'human stories' involving various stakeholders. Addressing complex technical changes with user stories and effective communication strategies. Analyzing trade-offs and decision-making processes within a user story framework.

Clarke Ching has been studying bottlenecks and constraints for thirty years, and has lots of stories and insights for us. He explains why bottlenecks are important, why your developers should always be your bottleneck, and how to explain the theory of constraints using a herd of buffalo. SHOW LINKS: Our Sloan Management Review article: https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/solving-the-problem-of-siloed-it-in-organizations/ Clarke online: https://www.clarkeching.com/ or https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarkeching/ Free book from Clarke: https://share.toc.guide Theory of Constraints: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_constraints Sixth Sense movie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sixth_Sense Cheers TV show: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheers --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. 
 Email us at info@conversationaltransformation.com

Jeffrey and Squirrel had very different experiences at recent tech conferences including DOES London/Virtual. We describe what worked and what didn't for us, and how listeners can apply the lessons to their own remote attendance at conferences and meetings. SHOW LINKS: Audiobook Companion at IT Revolution site: https://itrevolution.com/agile-conversations Podcasts on remote working and affordances: https://www.conversationaltransformation.com/posts/active-listening-for-remote-working/ https://www.conversationaltransformation.com/posts/missingaffordances/ Alistair Cockburn's People and Methodologies in Software Development: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/253582591_People_and_Methodologies_in_Software_Development Links from DOES London Virtual: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FsWkeoweWDPYjDDbukCnH4Hj3LLRV3RobIUKa2qWdwk/edit DOES London Virtual Slack archive: https://devopsenterprise-archive.itrevolution.com/ask-the-speaker-keynote/2020-06-25 Episode transcript: https://www.conversationaltransformation.com/posts/lessons-for-remote-work-from-does-london-virtual/ --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. 
 Email us at info@conversationaltransformation.com

Coming to the final chapter of Agile Conversations, we look at how leaders can not only provide accountability for others, but be accountable themselves, including stories from the early days of agile and from today's clients. SHOW LINKS: - XP Explained book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/67833.Extreme_Programming_Explained - Rapid Development book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/93892.Rapid_Development - Dynamics of Software Development ("don't flip the bozo bit"): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1416996.Dynamics_of_Software_Development - Nurtureshock: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6496815-nurtureshock - Greenshifting: https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/greenshifting - Kent Beck Ease at Work: https://www.infoq.com/news/2007/04/beck-ease-at-work/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeA4CBInqKo - The Art of Action: https://www.stephenbungay.com/Books.ink - Radiating Intent: https://medium.com/@ElizAyer/dont-ask-forgiveness-radiate-intent-d36fd22393a3 - Accountability and Compassion: https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/mutual-learning-model-accountability-and-compassion Episode transcript: https://www.conversationaltransformation.com/posts/accountability-leaders-are-accountable-too/ --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. 
 Email us at info@conversationaltransformation.com

Moving on to Chapter 6 of Agile Conversations, it's time to talk about commitment. Not engagement, which we argue is insufficient to produce effective results, only enthusiasm that is far too often misdirected out of confusion about what important words mean and how to measure progress. We offer specific tools for effective commitments and hear a story about a company that created a pile of bones instead of a Walking Skeleton. SHOW LINKS: - Events we're speaking at soon, including IT Pro Live and DOES London: https://www.conversationaltransformation.com/events/ - Domain-Driven Design: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain-driven_design - Big Book of Concepts: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/big-book-concepts - Specification by Example: https://gojko.net/books/specification-by-example/ - Walking Skeleton: https://wiki.c2.com/?WalkingSkeleton Episode transcript: https://www.conversationaltransformation.com/posts/commitment-is-not-enough/ --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. 
 Email us at info@conversationaltransformation.com

Although we talk about joint design a lot, we haven't managed to do an episode on it. As we get to chapter 4 in our tour through Agile Conversations, it's time to rectify that! We focus on a common error that we didn't cover in depth in the book: how trying to "convince" someone through advocacy fails. Using the Four Rs, we roleplay an ineffective advocacy-heavy conversation about tech team execution, and then revise it to increase curiosity, reduce defensiveness and achieve greater internal commitment. SHOW LINKS: - Getting to Yes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_to_Yes - David Burns on (not) trying to help: https://feelinggood.com/2019/10/28/164-how-to-help-and-how-not-to-help/ - Previous episodes and blog posts on joint design: - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/mutual-learning-model-part-one - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/how-to-fail-by-acting-unilaterally-part-i - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/how-to-fail-by-acting-unilaterally-part-ii - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/how-to-fail-by-acting-unilaterally-part-iii - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/how-to-fail-by-acting-unilaterally-part-iv - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/how-to-fail-by-acting-unilaterally-part-v Episode transcript: https://www.conversationaltransformation.com/posts/why-finding-the-balance-for-joining/ --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. 
 Email us at info@conversationaltransformation.com

We're up to chapter 4 of Agile Conversations: "Fear: The Default Feeling". We look at why defaulting to fear was a successful adaptation for our ancestors and why it serves us poorly now, for example leading to the phenomenon of "greenshifting" that can lead to catastrophic misunderstandings. We explain why starting sentences with the phrase "I'm afraid that..." can help you expose and reduce fear in your team. SHOW LINKS: - Previous episodes and blog posts on fear and related techniques: - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/overcoming-normalisation-of-deviance - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/removing-the-blame-frame - https://blog.jeffreyfredrick.com/2016/04/08/coherence-busting-explained/ - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/greenshifting - Greenshifting: https://www.drdobbs.com/dr-dobbs-agile-newsletter/191600661 Episode transcript: https://www.conversationaltransformation.com/posts/fear-the-original-sin-of-unproductive-conversations/ --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. 
 Email us at info@conversationaltransformation.com

We reflect on chapter 3 of Agile Conversations, all about building trust as the first step to a successful agile team. We respond to a reader who had an interesting understanding of the "Test-Driven Development for People" technique and relate the Trust Conversation to vulnerability, exploratory testing, and the painful process of learning. SHOW LINKS: - Previous episodes on trust: - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/the-first-thing-to-build-is-trust - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/be-predictable-to-build-trust - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/test-driven-development-for-people - Squirrel's video on TDD for people: https://www.douglassquirrel.com/how-i-work.html - Kristine Casas blog post: - https://testkeis.wordpress.com/2020/05/17/read-agile-conversations/ - https://medium.com/@rocketkeis/on-the-ladder-of-inference-64493f7f8e00 - via https://softwaretestingweekly.com/issues/20 Episode transcript: https://www.conversationaltransformation.com/posts/a-sense-of0security-gained-and-lost/ --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. 
 Email us at info@conversationaltransformation.com