Digital Tools for Product Backlog

In a previous post, we explored the role of digital tools in managing the Sprint Backlog (https://connexxo.com/2024/02/digital-tools-for-sprint-backlog.html/). Now, let’s take a step back and look at a crucial artifact in Scrum: the Product Backlog. While digital tools can help teams visualise and manage the Product Backlog, they also introduce challenges that can impact collaboration and … Weiterlesen …

Lonely management

As a consultant, coach, and advisor, I meet with management teams to discuss crucial aspects of their organisational evolution. My role is to assist them in formulating a winning strategy, a task I thoroughly enjoy despite the occasional feeling of navigating turbulent waters. However, there is one essential and worrying constant in most of these … Weiterlesen …

A checklist for agile leaders

One of the typical questions from such leaders is, “What should I do every day?” This query often arises because managers in companies have many operational tasks to do every day. However, leading an organisation is more than checking off tasks: it’s also – and I’d say, more importantly – about helping people grow. I … Weiterlesen …

Digital Tools for Sprint Backlog

A while ago, I ran into a couple of posts written by Bas Vodde on the LeSS blog in January 2020: Digital tools considered harmful – Sprint Backlog (https://less.works/blog/2020/01/10/digital-tools-considered-harmful-sprint-backlog.html) Digital tools considered harmful – Jira (https://less.works/blog/2020/01/16/digital-tools-considered-harmful-jira.html) These posts were written just as COVID was beginning to explode worldwide, so while what is written in there … Weiterlesen …

How to slowly destroy your organisation

  How to slowly destroy your organisation Here is a tip if you want to destroy your organisation: keep adding roles! I’ve seen it in many companies, and it is a typical slippery slope! Let’s discuss why and what the alternatives are. Back to the “beginning”: the agile team Think of a small company. Just … Weiterlesen …

Transformation “energy”

One interesting observation I made several times during “agile transformation initiatives” is that they seem to be activated by a sort of “organisational energy” that drives the change. This lasts for a certain amount of time, but then it usually fades and is eventually gone. Here is how it works prototypically: Phase 1: “Recognise Incompetence” … Weiterlesen …

Laws, Sausages and Sprints

Update: I got some comments regarding this post that made me realise I was a victim of bias when writing it. It might seem I am arguing for an isolation of the developers. Absolutely not: anybody who heard me on the topic knows I am an advocate of direct communication between developers and stakeholders. This … Weiterlesen …

For agile at scale, use actionable principles instead

It seems the battleground where agile consulting companies are trying to win something has moved to the “scaling” domain: what methods/frameworks/tools/… could we use to bring agility to larger organisations. The topic is fascinating and important, but the answers we’re getting from the market are, in most cases, pretty disappointing, as many “solutions” seem designed … Weiterlesen …

The retrospective: is not about you, dear facilitator!

This is the fourth article in a mini-retrospectives series. In the previous ones I wrote about how retrospectives should be done at regular intervals, but also in other occasions and how the retrospective could be done in different groups than just the team and that sometimes changes happen even without an action item being clearly … Weiterlesen …

Retrospectives: “Tunes and adjusts its behaviour accordingly”…

This is the third article in a mini-retrospectives series. In the previous ones I wrote about how retrospectives should be done at regular intervals, but also in other occasions and how the retrospective could be done in different groups than just the team. In this post I will continue to challenge the 12th principle of … Weiterlesen …

Retrospectives: “The Team reflects”… more or less?

This is the second article in a mini-retrospectives series. In the previous one I talked about how retrospectives should be done at regular intervals, but also in other occasions. In this post I will continue to challenge the 12th principle of the agile manifesto to explain other ways to spice up your retrospectives. The 12th … Weiterlesen …

Retrospectives: “At regular intervals”… or not?

This is the first in a series of posts about how to moderate retrospectives creatively. Traditionally the retrospective in agile software development is the reflection done at the end of the iteration. Principle twelve of the Agile Manifesto says “At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts … Weiterlesen …