The Everyday Agile Podcast

Sam Quayle is a Director at Hyperact. A product development consultancy for start ups and scale ups Here are six quick things about Sam 1️⃣ He is the co-founder and design lead of Hyperact, a product-led tech consultancy that works with visionary tech companies to build products that scale. 2️⃣ Over the last 15 years he has helped some of the biggest brands on the planet solve their customer’s problems through great design and cutting-edge technology, including Google, Disney, Toyota, NHS, BBC, GDS, Sky Betting & Gaming, M&G, Cinch, HSBC, and Sage. 3️⃣ His skillset spans across product design, service design, user research, strategy, product management and designOps. Recently, his main focus has been building teams and strategy. 4️⃣ He has built and scaled user-centred design capabilities in two consultancies. The last, at Infinity Works, he grew from 1 to 50 in under three years. 5️⃣ He's a father of three, including twins. 6️⃣ He believes in the power of cross-functional, customer-obsessed teams. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:49 Sam's Career Journey 02:48 The Birth of Hyperact 03:26 Insights on Product Design 04:31 Challenges in Transformation 08:25 Understanding Design in Tech 11:16 What Makes Good Design? 18:48 Hyperact: The Journey and Challenges 25:18 The Importance of User Research 34:26 Final Thoughts and Contact Information Sam's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-quayle/ https://www.hyperact.co.uk

Mark Walsh is a Liverpool-based technical lead/manager/architect with over 14 years of industry experience spanning multiple companies, including LateRooms, Yodel, LivingLens and Medallia. Mark's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markwalsh-liverpool/ Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:17 Mark's Career Journey 00:55 The Importance of Cross-Functional Teams 03:39 Startup Experience and Wearing Multiple Hats 08:01 Role and Responsibilities of a CTO 10:23 Thoughts on Agile Methodologies 18:27 Managing Technical Teams 24:54 Open Office Spaces and Flow State 26:39 Effective Communication in the Workplace 28:42 Onboarding and Technical Documentation 29:35 Managing People and Personalities 32:06 The Debate on Estimating Work 37:28 Product Mindset vs. Project Focus 43:23 The Startup Experience 44:37 Advice for Aspiring Engineers 47:07 Concerns About AI and Junior Engineers 50:37 Final Thoughts and Mentorship Our Website: https://everydayagile.co.uk/ Jac's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jac-hughes/

Lucy Stafford-Hughes, a seasoned Transformation Consultant and Agile Coach, shares her insights on agile transformation across various sectors. She discusses her unique career journey from policing to agile advocacy, revealing the challenges of cultural shifts. Lucy emphasizes the importance of mentoring women in tech and overcoming biases in the industry. Additionally, she addresses the complexities of prioritization in public sector organizations and the necessity of psychological safety within teams, highlighting the difference between agile behaviors and mere framework adherence.

James Pels - Chief elephant spotter at proven ea and founder a co-organiser of lean-agile Manchester. James has over 20 years of experience helping organisations across various sectors identify and address the things that hold them back. Most people are often aware of these things but don't want to speak about them, hence the elephant spotter tag. He aims to improve organisational performance by using lean, agile, and digital methods and tools to identify and address the root causes of complex and challenging problems. Jame's Socials https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamespels/ https://provenea.com/ Episode Chapters: 00:00 Welcome and Introductions 00:17 James' Professional Background 01:48 LinkedIn Post on Project Management Failures 03:14 Challenges in Project Management 05:51 James' Career Journey 14:42 Advice for Aspiring Contractors 18:18 Understanding Agile and Agility 23:43 Defining Psychological Safety 25:08 Common Pitfalls in Agile Adoption 26:47 Changing Perspectives on Agile 28:46 Balancing Agile in Traditional Environments 32:46 Inspiration and Daily Routines 34:55 Lean Agile Manchester Meetup 42:42 Upcoming Events and Training Opportunities 47:13 Final Thoughts

Off the back of two guests needing to drop out, an emergency request for questions went out. This video answers those questions. Thank you for sending them in. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:49 Question 1: Transition from Armed Forces to Agile 02:10 Question 2: Pathways for Agile Development 03:33 Question 3: The Agile Job Market 05:11 Question 4: Controversial Agile Beliefs 06:28 Question 5: Modernizing Agile Principles 07:36 Question 6: Essential Scrum Events 08:30 Question 7: IR35 and Agile Practitioners 09:46 Question 8: Supporting Veterans in Agile 11:00 Question 9: Quantum Leap as a Scrum Master 11:42 Question 10: Challenges in Product Delivery Consultancy 13:33 Question 11: Agile vs. Waterfall for Clients 14:52 Question 12: Agile in Complex Manufacturing 16:49 Conclusion

With over 15 years of Agile and Waterfall delivery experience, Tom is a specialist in helping organisations work effectively to maximise the ROI their teams deliver most recently head of delivery at the consultancy Aiimi Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:19 Military Experience and Transition to Civilian Life 02:23 Career Path and Agile Methodology 04:43 Insights on Scrum and Organizational Challenges 08:10 Role and Responsibilities of a Head of Delivery 14:40 Creating Healthy Team Dynamics 17:59 The Importance of Metrics in Team Performance 23:40 Challenges in Measuring Performance 26:00 The Pitfalls of Project Management 26:44 Choosing the Right Metrics 29:39 Introducing a New Venture 34:21 The Entrepreneurial Journey 39:32 Reflections and Future Plans Tom's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomwhittam/ Make Team's Faster https://maketeamsfaster.com/

With over 10 years of experience in high performing teams, Elle is a director at an agile consulting firm and Delivery Lead at a Fintech Start-Up funded by the N Brown Group, a leading digital fashion retailer. Chapters: 00:00 Introductions 01:42 Ironman 07:03 Cycling Across the Himalayas 12:49 Transition to Agile Consulting 25:42 Balancing Emotions and Professionalism 28:27 Navigating ADHD in the Workplace 33:25 Core Values and Agile Practices 35:49 Challenges of Hierarchy in Agile Transformation 41:16 Personal Growth and Overcoming Anxiety 51:33 Reflections and Future Directions Elle's Socials https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellehaigh/ Elle's Fundraising Page https://companygiving.unrefugees.org.uk/fundraisers/elisehaigh

Patrick Blain is a Digital transformation and agile delivery specialist, and you love finding the most effective and efficient ways to bring value. This ranges from driving enterprise-level agile & digital transformations to setting individual teams up for success and enabling them to do their best work.

Georgina Hughes develops team leaders everyone loves and works hard to: 🛠️ Create professional process implementations that work for individuals, teams, and management. 🛡️ Support product developers and protect them from micro-management. 🧑‍🏫 Coach and mentor at all levels to produce a shared understanding of the how and why of product development. 00:00 Pre Record 00:42 Introduction 01:29 The importance of boundaries 04:30 Self-diagnosing neurodivergence 09:05 The journey into Coaching 22:00 Going from freelance into perm work 25:30 The first 90 days 27:00 Where do organisations go wrong with agility? 31:39 The motivation behind sharing knowledge 34:29 Helpful things outside of the Agile bubble 39:41 The freelance itch 43:25 Living the Agile Manifesto and Linkedin 52:27 Where can people get in touch? 53:47 Is there a question I should have asked but haven't? 54:49 Is the Agile Manifesto still relevant? 59:20 Closing comments Georgina's socials Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agilegeorge/ Substack: https://georginahughes.substack.com/

Holly Donohue is a Fractional CPO, Product coach and speaker. Holly helps companies do things a little differently to drive commercial success. Perhaps you don’t yet need a full-time CPO, but could really do with the experience of one. You might need help establishing a new product function into the business. Or maybe you already have a product and engineering function and want to get it working better than ever. With over a decade of experience leading change in product & tech teams and nearly 20 years in tech, tackling these problems is what Holly loves the most. 00:00 - Pre-record 01:18 - Introduction 02:42 - What did this post mean? 06:10 - The journey into freelancing 10:15 - A day in the life of a fractional CPO 15:35 - Accountability as a Product Manager 20:45 - How do you start building trust? 25:30 - Are there any good Product maturity models? 31:40 - The best team structure you have seen 34:10 - Thoughts on OKRs 38:05 - Getting involved in public speaking and the product scene 42:20 - Freelancing lessons and advice 47:20 Where to get in touch with Holly 47:30 What question should have been asked but wasn't 51:00 Thank you Holly's Socials 👇 https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollydonohue/ https://www.productrebel.co.uk/