Software Process and Measurement Cast

As a coach and mentor, I often observe meetings and events so I can debrief with the person(s) I am coaching afterward and provide them with a different perspective. I was involved in observing a planning session in which a stakeholder stated, "Combine these two items, they are similar, and only count it as one toward our capacity." What? We also have a visit from Jon M Quigley and his Alpha and Omega of Product Development column. Jon and I talk about including technical people in sales and estimates. New Book! Jeremy Willets and I have written Mastering Work Intake: From Chaos to Predictable Delivery which will be released on January 9th. Regardless of whether you're creating, enhancing, or maintaining software products, work intake is a challenge you deal with constantly. Doing the right work at the right time can make or break your project, and there are surprisingly few resources to show you how to manage this process effectively. You need to know what your team is executing, what work is next, and the skill sets required to do the work. Mastering Work Intake: From Chaos to Predictable Delivery focuses on the full pipeline that work follows as it enters and exits your organization, including the different types of work that enter at different levels and times. It is a must-read for agile coaches, Scrum Masters, product owners, project and portfolio managers, team members, and anyone who touches the software development process. Mastering work intake involves recognizing that it's easy to say " yes" and much harder to say " no." Order or preorder your copy from JRoss: https://bit.ly/474ul6G Amazon (US): https://a.co/d/7nYupx5 For physical copies outside of the US and Canada: UK and EU: https://www.eurospanbookstore.com/ For international orders outside of Europe: https://a.co/d/7nYupx5 (or the Amazon store for your country) Note: The Publisher indicates that it takes a while for the physical copies to get to the distributors outside of the USA and Canada. Re-read Saturday News Chapter Four of Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability, titled Process Behaviour Charts is a trojan horse. This chapter is substantially more than a rehash of Process Behaviour Charts. The chapter corrected a misconception I have had for at least twenty years which we will get to in Part 2 of our re-read of chapter 4 (we are taking two weeks on this chapter to set up chapters 5 and 6). Thanks, Mr. Vacanti. Buy a copy and get reading – Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability. Week 1: Re-read Logistics and Preface – https://bit.ly/4adgxsC Week 2: Wilt The Stilt and Definition of Variation – https://bit.ly/4aldwGN Week 3: Variation and Predictability – https://bit.ly/3tAVWhq Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 790 will feature our interview with Stefan Wolpers. Stefan and I talked about the Scrum Master role in the 21st Century.

SPaMCAST 788 is our annual SPaMCAST panel featuring most of the podcast regulars including: Jeremy Berriault, Keis Kostaqi, Jon M. Quigley, Jeremy Willets, and Tom Cagley appears in the ringmaster role. Tony Timbol and Susan Parente, regular contributors, were unable to join and we missed them (this time of year is busy). Maybe I should do the annual panel in February, no one is busy in the colder parts of February. During this year's panel, we talked about using AIs in coaching, working in the office, Jon tent, and took a look into 2024. This is a long podcast so I will keep the chit-chat down to a dull roar. Learn to Solve IT's Dirtiest Secret! Work input, which includes prioritization and sequencing, is how work gets to an organization or team. If you get it wrong you are throwing time and money away. Simply put, poor work intake means "no agile for you". Jeremy Willets and I have written Mastering Work Intake tackling the topic that JRoss Publishing will publish in January 2024. In support of the book, we are building a live, workshop-based course for anyone deciding on what work gets completed! This includes Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Project Managers, Program Managers, and Portfolio Managers - lots of people are involved which is part of the problem! The workshop will cover why work intake is the biggest challenge to teams and organizations today. Attendees will also learn what to do to solve this challenge. This cohort-based course will combine concise lectures, discussions, and exercises. It will provide space to learn and share with peers. We're using a survey to build a waitlist for the first cohort – link below. We will use the list to alert you when the workshop is available. https://bit.ly/3MdmvQa Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 789 we will continue on our tour of some of the least talked about and most scary work intake problems. This is in the run-up to the release of Mastering Work Intake on January 9th. Preorder your copy now! We will also have a visit from Mr Jon M Quigley who is bringing his Alpha and Omega of Product Development column to the podcast.

This week we continue in the minefield of why starting everything you are asked to do is problematic that we began in SPaMCAST 785. Framing the discussion is a text from a friend of the cast which highlights those requests that you just can't say no to. Lots of rationalizations and negative impacts. We will also have a visit from Susan Parente and her Not A Scrumdamentalist column. In this installment, we discuss the idea that everyone has a book in them. Re-Read Saturday News Vacanti begins Chapter 3 of Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability, by reminding the reader: "A predictable process behaves in a way we expect it to." Further a predictable process exhibits only routine variation which means learning to distinguish signal and noise. Buy a copy and get reading - Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability. The current re-read entry Week 1: Re-read Logistics and Preface – https://bit.ly/4adgxsC Week 2: Wilt The Stilt and Definition of Variation – https://bit.ly/4aldwGN Week 3: Variation and Predictability - https://bit.ly/3tAVWhq Learn to Solve IT's Dirtiest Secret! Work input, which includes prioritization and sequencing, is how work gets to an organization or team. If you get it wrong you are throwing time and money away. Simply put, poor work intake means "no agile for you". Jeremy Willets and I have written Managing Work Intake tackling the topic that JRoss Publishing will publish in January 2024. In support of the book, we are building a live, workshop-based course for anyone deciding on what work gets completed! This includes Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Project Managers, Program Managers, and Portfolio Managers - lots of people are involved which is part of the problem! The workshop will cover why work intake is the biggest challenge to teams and organizations today. Attendees will also learn what to do to solve this challenge. This cohort-based course will combine concise lectures, discussions, and exercises. It will provide space to learn and share with peers. We're using a survey to build a waitlist for the first cohort – link below. We will use the list to alert you when the workshop is available. https://bit.ly/3MdmvQa Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 788 we will feature the annual SPaMCAST panel. As always the conversation will be rollicking. The topics will cover AI, working in the office, and a look into 2024.

Software Process and Measurement Cast 784 features our conversation with Kevin Surace. Kevin is an AI Inventor, Futurist, and Keynote Speaker. We talk about the hype and promise of AI and whether you can ignore using AI in the workplace. My synopsis, embrace AI or live under a bridge. That might be a bit of hyperbole but if you lived through the PC revolution and the birth of the internet I think not. Kevin's Bio Kevin Surace, is a renowned futurist, disruptive innovation keynote speaker, and pioneer in the AI space since the 1990s He is the CTO of Appvance.ai which applies AI in the testing space. Kevin has an impressive portfolio of nearly 100 worldwide patents, including the groundbreaking technology behind Siri and other virtual assistants. He is the visionary creator of one of the world's first smartphones and a dynamic speaker featured in over 15 thought-provoking TED and TEDx talks. His accomplishments have earned him accolades such as Inc. Magazine's Entrepreneur of the Year, CNBC's Innovator of the Decade, and an esteemed induction into RIT's prestigious Innovation Hall of Fame. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ksurace/ Personal Website: KevinSurace.com Twitter: @kevinsurace Business Website: https://appvance.ai/ Re-Read Saturday News This week we begin the read of Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability by Daniel S. Vacanti in earnest covering Chapters One and Two. These two chapters provide a statistical cautionary tale and then go on to define variability. The definition of variability is a foundation that much of AA Volume II builds on. Buy a copy and get reading - Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability. The current re-read entry Week 1: Re-read Logistics and Preface - https://bit.ly/4adgxsC Week 2: Wilt The Stilt and Definition of Variation - https://bit.ly/4aldwGN Learn to Solve IT's Dirtiest Secret! Work input, which includes prioritization and sequencing, is how work gets to an organization or team. If you get it wrong you are throwing time and money away. Simply put, poor work intake means "no agile for you". Jeremy Willets and I have written Managing Work Intake tackling the topic that JRoss Publishing will publish in January 2024. In support of the book, we are building a live, workshop-based course for anyone deciding on what work gets completed! This includes Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Project Managers, Program Managers, and Portfolio Managers - lots of people are involved which is part of the problem! The workshop will cover why work intake is the biggest challenge to teams and organizations today. Attendees will also learn what to do to solve this challenge. This cohort-based course will combine concise lectures, discussions, and exercises. It will provide space to learn and share with peers. We're using a survey to build a waitlist for the first cohort – link below. We will use the list to alert you when the workshop is available. https://bit.ly/3MdmvQa Next SPaMCAST In SPaMCAST 787 we continue in the minefield of why starting everything you are asked to do is problematic. Framing the discussion is a text from a friend of the cast which highlights those requests that you just can't say no to. We will also have a visit from Susan Parente and her Not A Scrumdamentalist column.

I was asked, "Why shouldn't I say yes and start everything that comes my way?" As we celebrate the impending publication of Managing Work Intake (it is going to the printers very soon) we continue the discussion of work intake scenarios that bedevil teams and organizations. Controlling work entry is controlling WIP which helps us be our best selves. But are there times when you have to say yes when you don't want to? We also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault bringing his Evolutionary Agilist Column to the cast! Mr Berriault and I discussed the concept of root cause. Everybody is looking for one but very few understand the concept. Re-Read Saturday News This week we begin the read of Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability by Daniel S. Vacanti. This is the second of Mr. Vacanti's books we have covered in Re-read Saturday. The 260-page book includes a Preface, 14 Chapters broken into two sections, two appendices, endnotes, a bibliography, and an index (hooray). I am planning to cover this book in approximately 16 weeks. Reviewing the book, there are several chapters that I can see combining into a single week and a few chapters that will take a couple of weeks to think through. I also suspect that I may lose one or so weekends to holidays. I am targeting completing this read on March 31st. Buy a copy and get reading - Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability. The current re-read entry Week 1: Re-read Logistics and Preface - https://bit.ly/4adgxsC Learn to Solve IT's Dirtiest Secret! Work input, which includes prioritization and sequencing, is how work gets to an organization or team. If you get it wrong you are throwing time and money away. Simply put, poor work intake means "no agile for you". Jeremy Willets and I have written Managing Work Intake tackling the topic that JRoss Publishing will publish in January 2024. In support of the book, we are building a live, workshop-based course for anyone deciding on what work gets completed! This includes Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Project Managers, Program Managers, and Portfolio Managers - lots of people are involved which is part of the problem! The workshop will cover why work intake is the biggest challenge to teams and organizations today. Attendees will also learn what to do to solve this challenge. This cohort-based course will combine concise lectures, discussions, and exercises. It will provide space to learn and share with peers. We're using a survey to build a waitlist for the first cohort – link below. We will use the list to alert you when the workshop is available. https://bit.ly/3MdmvQa Next SPaMCAST Software Process and Measurement Cast 784 will feature my conversation with Kevin Surace, AI Inventor, Futurist and Keynote Speaker. We will discuss the hype and promise of AI.

Software Process and Measurement Cast 784 features our interview with Michaele Gardner and Brian Hackerson. We talk about their Agile Best Self Initiative. We also, and perhaps more importantly, discuss being in control of yourself so you can truly deliver value to those around you. As we start to close out 2023 it is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on how you can be your best self. Michaele Gardner started out as a counselor at an emergency crisis line. Clients were too messy: clear inputs did not lead to predetermined outputs. So she moved into the world of IT and has not looked back. Becoming a developer on an XP team brought together her interests in psychology, flow, teamwork and problem solving. She quickly realized that many teams (and organizations) poured their hearts and souls into projects that added little value. Her next natural step was to help engineers and organizations understand business value at a micro and macro level. At all levels, Michaele loves giving change agents tools to define their own "why" and stay emotionally resilient. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaele-gardner-0829205/ Brian R. Hackerson is the co-creator of the Agile Best Self mindset, the VP of People Operations and Enterprise Agile Consultant at Scrum Inc. An innovator at the intersection of Agile practices and personal development, Brian has revolutionized team engagement and performance in various leadership roles. His approach uniquely blends professional growth with personal empowerment, embodying his belief in the transformative power of aligning individual journeys with Agile principles. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhackerson/ Agile Best Self: https://agilebestself.com/ Re-Read Saturday News Chapter 11 of Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say – and What You Don't is titled Saving The El Faro. In this final chapter, the author could have just as easily reimagined the outcomes of the Pinto design or the Deepwater Horizon disasters. The theme throughout the book is that Industrial-age thinking fails more often in the age of Knowledge Work. My final thoughts on this book? Not to put too fine a point on it, this is Marquet's most important book yet. Use the links below to read all of my final thoughts on Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say – and What You Don't and to catch up on previous installments. Week 1: Logistics, Introduction, Foreword – https://bit.ly/3sTqyu3 Week 2: El Faro – https://bit.ly/3RnkUue Week 3: The New Playbook – https://bit.ly/3Llgmki Week 4: Control the Clock – https://bit.ly/45UFp5Z Week 5: Collaborate – https://bit.ly/3PzFiXI Week 6: Commit – https://bit.ly/46DMmsF Week 7: Complete – https://bit.ly/47aTDQe Week 8: Improve – https://bit.ly/3FMT1Vw Week 9: Connect – https://bit.ly/3QW05Wj Week 10: Applying – https://bit.ly/3ufAq1K Week 11: Red-Blue Operating System – https://bit.ly/3SQLuNb Week 12: Saving The El Faro - https://bit.ly/3R8PIgw Next week we begin the READ (my first time) of Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability; which is available at LeanPub. We re-read Volume I in 2018 (link to the first installment) that book was life changing…I am looking forward to Volume II. Learn to Solve IT's Dirtiest Secret! Work input, which includes prioritization and sequencing, is how work gets to an organization or team. If you get it wrong you are throwing time and money away. Simply put, poor work intake means "no agile for you". Jeremy Willets and I have written Managing Work Intake tackling the topic that JRoss Publishing will publish in January 2024. In support of the book, we are building a live, workshop-based course for anyone involved in deciding on what work gets completed! This includes Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Project Managers, Program Managers, and Portfolio Managers - lots of people are involved which is part of the problem! The workshop will cover why work intake is the biggest challenge to teams and organizations today. Attendees will also learn what to do to solve this challenge. This cohort-based course will combine very short lectures, discussions, and exercises. It will provide space to learn and share with peers. We're using a survey to build a waitlist for the first cohort – link below. We will use the list to alert you when the workshop is available. https://bit.ly/3MdmvQa Next SPaMCAST As we celebrate the impending publication of Managing Work Intake (it is going to the printers very soon) I will continue the discussion of work intake scenarios that bedevil teams and organizations. Controlling work entry is controlling WIP which helps us be our best selves. We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault bringing his Evolutionary Agilist Column to the cast!

Software Process and Measurement Cast 783 tackles a classic work intake problem, "Do you have the authority to ask for this work?" Work input processes need to vet more than just requirements. We also have a visit from Jon M Quigley. Jon and I discussed taking control of your personal growth. It is not your organization's responsibility. Re-Read Saturday News Chapter 10 of Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say – and What You Don't is titled, The Red-Blue Operating System. Marquet starts this chapter with the cautionary tale of the Ford Pinto. The chapter highlights the outcome of the industrial approach to leadership going wrong. My wife had a Pinto when we first started dating. It was our only car and we both remember waiting for it to be recalled, even as we drove to work every morning. We discussed the potential of the fuel tank exploding. What we were oblivious to was the reason for the problem. The failure of leadership and the failure of the decision-making model literally sentenced people to death to achieve a goal. Previous installments of our re-read of Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say – and What You Don't (buy a copy)! Week 1: Logistics, Introduction, Foreword – https://bit.ly/3sTqyu3 Week 2: El Faro – https://bit.ly/3RnkUue Week 3: The New Playbook – https://bit.ly/3Llgmki Week 4: Control the Clock – https://bit.ly/45UFp5Z Week 5: Collaborate – https://bit.ly/3PzFiXI Week 6: Commit - https://bit.ly/46DMmsF Week 7: Complete - https://bit.ly/47aTDQe Week 8: Improve - https://bit.ly/3FMT1Vw Week 9: Connect - https://bit.ly/3QW05Wj Week 10: Applying - https://bit.ly/3ufAq1K Week 11: Red-Blue Operating System - https://bit.ly/3SQLuNb Learn to Solve IT's Dirtiest Secret! Work input, which includes prioritization and sequencing, is how work gets to an organization or team. If you get it wrong you are throwing time and money away. Simply put, poor work intake means no agile for you. Jeremy Willets and I have written Managing Work Intake tackling the topic that JRoss Publishing will publish in January 2024. In support of the book, we are building a live, workshop-based course for anyone involved in deciding on what work gets completed! This includes Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Project Managers, Program Managers, and Portfolio Managers - lots of people are involved which is part of the problem! The workshop will cover why work intake is the biggest challenge to teams and organizations today. Attendees will also learn what to do to solve this challenge. This cohort-based course will combine very short lectures, discussions, and exercises. It will provide space to learn and share with peers. We're using a survey to build a waitlist for the first cohort – link below. We will use the list to alert you when the workshop is available. https://bit.ly/3MdmvQa Next SPaMCAST Software Process and Measurement Cast 784 will feature our interview with Michaele Gardner and Brian Hackerson. We talked about Agile Best Self and being in control of our agile.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 782 features our conversation with Govind Balu on the importance of data and the concept of data transformations. Data represents the gold rush of the 21st Century! Govind Balu is a visionary entrepreneur and experienced executive with a strong background in leveraging data and AI to drive business growth across different industries. As the Founder and CEO of QuaXigma, he spearheads the company's vision to transform organizations into data-driven enterprises. Govind observed that small and medium businesses struggle to effectively extract value from data and are unable to compete in a landscape where larger organizations more effectively leverage AI. Motivated to make data and AI easily accessible to SMBs, Govind founded QuaXigma with a clear mission to develop and deliver solutions that deliver business value by focusing on innovation, customer satisfaction, and strategic consulting. Govind's LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/govindbalu Email: balugovind01@gmail.com Company Website: https://www.quaxigma.com/ Re-Read Saturday News In Chapter 9 of Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say – and What You Don't, Marquet provides several examples of using the new plays. As a reminder, the plays in the new playbook are: Control The Clock Collaborate Commit Complete Improve Connect Each play is powerful; however, the combination of the plays is where the real power is. For example, controlling the clock — calling a pause — allows a person or team time to think. During that pause, if they surface issues that are addressed the post-industrial plays of collaboration and improving are in evidence. Leveraging short iterations so that work can be demonstrated and inspected combines the control the clock, complete, and connect plays. Iterative planning, a hallmark of agile, combines control the clock and commit plays. Use the links below to explore more of the re-read. Previous installments of our re-read of Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say – and What You Don't (buy a copy)! Week 1: Logistics, Introduction, Foreword – https://bit.ly/3sTqyu3 Week 2: El Faro – https://bit.ly/3RnkUue Week 3: The New Playbook – https://bit.ly/3Llgmki Week 4: Control the Clock – https://bit.ly/45UFp5Z Week 5: Collaborate – https://bit.ly/3PzFiXI Week 6: Commit - https://bit.ly/46DMmsF Week 7: Complete - https://bit.ly/47aTDQe Week 8: Improve - https://bit.ly/3FMT1Vw Week 9: Connect - https://bit.ly/3QW05Wj Week 10: Applying - https://bit.ly/3ufAq1K Learn to Solve IT's Dirtiest Secret! Work input, which includes prioritization and sequencing, is how work gets to an organization or team. If you get it wrong you are throwing time and money away. Simply put, poor work intake means no agile for you. Jeremy Willets and I have written Managing Work Intake tackling the topic that JRoss Publishing will publish in January 2024. In support of the book, we are building a live, workshop-based course for anyone involved in deciding on what work gets completed! This includes Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Project Managers, Program Managers, and Portfolio Managers - lots of people are involved which is part of the problem! The workshop will cover why work intake is the biggest challenge to teams and organizations today. Attendees will also learn what to do to solve this challenge. This cohort-based course will combine very short lectures, discussions, and exercises. It will provide space to learn and share with peers. We're using a survey to build a waitlist for the first cohort – link below. We will use the list to alert you when the workshop is available. https://bit.ly/3MdmvQa Next SPaMCAST Software Process and Measurement Cast 783 will tackle a classic work intake problem, "Did I forget to tell you, the requirements changed?" What happens when you don't have a clear line to the business to get feedback as you are doing work? Often you get to do things over and over and maybe over again. We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault bringing his Evolutionary Agilist Coumn to the cast!

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 781 begins with a discussion of prioritization and sequencing. These two ideas often get conflated. Work might be important but if it has predecessors and successors it will require sequencing. You can't deploy a new piece of hardware unless you have it. The acquisition of the equipment comes before deployment. Not letting teams control or have input into sequencing has consequences. Let us discuss avoiding those negative outcomes. We also have a visit from Keis Kostaqi who returns with her You Are Not Alone column. Keis and I discuss the new Scrum Master that gets thrown to the wolves. Get a coach or risk being eaten? Re-Read Saturday News Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say – and What You Don't Chapter 8 is titled, The Enabling Play: Connect. This Chapter begins with the story of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The disaster may have been avoided if a single button had been pushed. The button went unpushed until it was too late because the person did not have permission. Marquet states "How is it that a person could be more afraid of pushing a button without permission, than dying in a fiery explosion?" Hierarchy above all is a power play from the Industrial Age, a play that remains entrenched in corporate life. Fear supported by steep hierarchies, distorts common sense in environments with a strong culture of control and compliance. Previous installments of our re-read of Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say – and What You Don't (buy a copy)! Week 1: Logistics, Introduction, Foreword – https://bit.ly/3sTqyu3 Week 2: El Faro – https://bit.ly/3RnkUue Week 3: The New Playbook – https://bit.ly/3Llgmki Week 4: Control the Clock – https://bit.ly/45UFp5Z Week 5: Collaborate – https://bit.ly/3PzFiXI Week 6: Commit - https://bit.ly/46DMmsF Week 7: Complete - https://bit.ly/47aTDQe Week 8: Improve - https://bit.ly/3FMT1Vw Week 9: Connect - https://bit.ly/3QW05Wj Learn to Solve IT's Dirtiest Secret! Work input, which includes prioritization and sequencing, is how work gets to an organization or team. If you get it wrong you are throwing time and money away. Simply put, poor work intake means no agile for you. Jeremy Willets and I have written Managing Work Intake tackling the topic that JRoss Publishing will publish in January 2024. In support of the book, we are building a live, workshop-based course for anyone involved in deciding on what work gets completed! This includes Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Project Managers, Program Managers, and Portfolio Managers - there are a lot of people involved and that is part of the problem! The workshop will cover why work intake is the biggest challenge to teams and organizations today. Attendees will also learn what to do to solve this challenge. This cohort-based course will combine very short lectures, discussions, and exercises. It will provide space to learn and share with peers. We're using a survey to build a waitlist for the first cohort – link below. We will use the list to alert you when the workshop is available. Link to Survey! https://bit.ly/3MdmvQa Next SPaMCAST Software Process and Measurement Cast 782 will feature our interview with Govind Balu. We will discuss the importance of data and how organizations are tackling data transformations.

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 780 features our interview with Billie Johnson. Our discussion focuses on the role of delivering outcomes and values using agile teams. We also discussed her book, Mastering Business Analysis Standard Practices: Seven Steps to the Next Level of Competency which she co-authored with Kelley Burns. Re-Read Saturday News The improve play is one of the most powerful aspects of Marquet's suggested framework. Improve is chapter 7 of Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say – and What You Don't. Improve is a time for stepping back from the pressure of getting stuff done to consider whether you are doing the right thing, right. We have spoken about the need to pause, reflect, and replan periodically – this is the heart of the Improve play. Previous installments of our re-read of Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say – and What You Don't (buy a copy)! Week 1: Logistics, Introduction, Foreword – https://bit.ly/3sTqyu3 Week 2: El Faro – https://bit.ly/3RnkUue Week 3: The New Playbook – https://bit.ly/3Llgmki Week 4: Control the Clock – https://bit.ly/45UFp5Z Week 5: Collaborate – https://bit.ly/3PzFiXI Week 6: Commit - https://bit.ly/46DMmsF Week 7: Complete - https://bit.ly/47aTDQe Week 8: Improve - https://bit.ly/3FMT1Vw Learn to Solve IT's Dirtiest Secret! Work input is how work gets to an organization or team. If you get it wrong you are throwing time and money away. SImply put, poor work intake means no agile for you. Jeremy Willets and I have written a book tackling the topic that will be published by JRoss Publishing in January 2024. In support of the book we are building a live, cohort-based course for Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Project Managers, Program Managers, and Portfolio Managers on taming work intake. The cohort will cover why work intake is the biggest challenge to teams and organizations today. Attendees will also learn what to do to solve this challenge. We've held workshops on this topic at conferences. We even have a book coming out in January on this topic. This cohort-based course will combine very short lectures, discussions, and exercises. It will provide space to learn and share with peers. We're using this survey to build a waitlist for the first cohort: https://bit.ly/3MdmvQa Next SPaMCAST Software Process and Measurement Cast 781 wrestles with whether overprioritization's impact extends beyond poor leadership to bad products. Just because you have a prioritized backlog does not ensure delivering value. We will also have a visit from Keis Kostaqi who returns with her You Are Not Alone column.