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Applying Systems Thinking in Product Definition for Agile Organizations

September 24, 2024
In my previous post on Product Definition, which you can read here, I introduced the basics of how products—both internal and external—are defined in an agile organization. Today, I’m excited to share a deeper dive into this concept through a new video, where I walk you through how we apply Systems Thinking in the Creating Agile Organizations (CAO) approach.
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🇫🇷 5 exemples de produits qui ont échoué : leçons sur la validation des produits

September 24, 2024
Dans le monde compétitif du développement de produits, le succès n'est jamais garanti. Cet article explore cinq exemples flagrants d'échecs de produits, du Fire Phone d'Amazon à Quibi, en analysant ce qui n'a pas fonctionné et comment une validation adéquate aurait pu éviter ces erreurs coûteuses. Découvrez comment le cours Professional Product Discovery & Validation (PPDV) peut vous donner les outils dont vous avez besoin pour éviter de tels échecs et guider votre produit vers le succès.
Blog Post

Agile in Medical Device: A Case Study (Part 1 of 2)

September 24, 2024
In this episode of the take5IRL podcast, PST Jeff Lee and his colleague Patrick Campbell take you behind the scenes of a transformative case study. They dive into the challenges faced by a struggling product group in the medical device industry. Faced with the urgent need for change, they turned to Agile, but how do you implement Agile in a regulated environment? Tune in to hear how our team at agilityIRL brought fast-paced, hands-on Agile training to this team, guiding them through a steep learning curve to achieve remarkable results.
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Agile in Medical Device: A Case Study (Part 2 of 2)

September 24, 2024
In part 2 of this powerful medical device case study, our hosts, PST Jeff Lee and Patrick Campbell, continue the journey from where we left off in episode 62. After hands-on Agile training, we moved into coaching the team as they executed their first sprints. Tune in to hear about the cultural shift that took place—a big change for the company that allowed them to see improvement in real-time and track progress like never before. Curious about the results? Listen in to see the tangible improvements and what they were able to accomplish as they embraced Agile in a regulated environment.
Blog Post

Scrum is Hard and Disruptive #11 - Scrum is Harder than Waterfall

September 23, 2024
In their latest episode, Todd and Ryan explain why Scrum is often harder than waterfall development, emphasizing that iterative processes require constant adjustments to engineering practices and architectural decisions. They highlight that Scrum forces teams to move away from over-planning and focus more on building and testing, which demands a disciplined and adaptive approach.

Enfoque de Producto versus enfoque de Proyecto

September 23, 2024
Las empresas que buscan adoptar Scrum podrían mejorar su uso y la obtención de beneficios si evalúan primero las diferencias entre el enfoque de producto en el cual se basa Scrum junto al enfoque ágil y el enfoque de proyectos, o modelo tradicional de gestión de proyectos para aprovechar mejor los beneficios. En el siguiente post explicamos algunas diferencias que nos permita adoptar de manera apropiada el enfoque de producto con Scrum.
Blog Post

🇮🇹 5 esempi di prodotti falliti: lezioni sulla validazione del prodotto

September 23, 2024
Nel mondo competitivo dello sviluppo dei prodotti, il successo non è mai garantito. Questo articolo esplora cinque clamorosi esempi di prodotti falliti, da Amazon Fire Phone a Quibi, analizzando cosa è andato storto e come una corretta validazione avrebbe potuto prevenire questi costosi errori. Scopri come il corso Professional Product Discovery & Validation (PPDV) può fornirti gli strumenti necessari per evitare simili fallimenti e guidare il tuo prodotto verso il successo
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The Wisdom of Incremental Delivery

September 23, 2024
Incremental delivery is the superpower behind the Scrum framework. Scrum is based on Empiricism, which requires Transparency, Inspection, and Adaptation. But none of that works without delivering value in increments.
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Scrum is Hard and Disruptive #10 - Leave Scrum Alone

September 20, 2024
The video emphasizes that Scrum is a simple, adaptable framework that doesn’t need enhancement, unlike complex methodologies. Instead of altering Scrum, teams should focus on adding context-specific practices and addressing organizational impediments that hinder progress. The key message is to improve the environment in which Scrum operates, not the framework itself.
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A Scrum Master Removes Impediments (Really?)

September 20, 2024
As a Scrum Master, solving problems for the team is acceptable for the right reasons. Don’t do it out of routine. Before solving a problem, consider if you’re helping the team grow in their ability to resolve similar problems independently.
Blog Post

How To Create Business Problem Statements

September 20, 2024
A well-crafted Business Problem Statement is key to guiding your team toward the right solutions, rather than jumping to conclusions. This article explores how to create impactful problem statements by focusing on the "Why," "What," and "Who" behind business challenges. With real-life examples from e-commerce, healthcare, and publishing, learn how to foster creativity, empathy, and ownership in your team, while keeping your goals clear and aligned.
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Covering Up Problems... (SGE005)

September 19, 2024
Is your team changing or skipping Scrum elements to cover up deeper problems? Learn how to identify what’s missing, uncover the real issues, and find better ways to leverage the Scrum framework for more effective results.
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Scrum is Hard and Disruptive #9 - Scrum is Change Management

September 19, 2024
In the latest episode of "Scrum is Hard and Disruptive," Todd Miller and Ryan Ripley discuss how Scrum is not just a process to be implemented but a powerful tool to drive change within organizations. They emphasize that many companies misuse Scrum by treating it as another procedural rollout, failing to embrace its disruptive nature meant to challenge old business habits.
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It’s Okay for the Roadmap to Change

September 19, 2024
A roadmap is a visualization of the Product Owner’s plan to deliver the Product Goal and fulfill the product vision. But in the real world, especially in complex environments, plans change—and that’s okay.
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Scrum is Hard and Disruptive #8 - Old Habits Die Hard

September 18, 2024
Todd and Ryan discuss the ongoing struggle of Scrum teams against ingrained Waterfall habits and predictive thinking that undermine Agile principles. Despite shifts in workforce generations and management styles, many teams still sacrifice quality to meet deadlines and rigid plans.
Blog Post

“OKRs S&%k, but we don’t know anything better” – Scaling Founder Mode by Fixing OKRs (Leveraging EBM)

September 18, 2024
“OKRs S&%k, but we don’t know anything better” This was a direct quote from a cybersecurity scaleup’s Chief of Staff, but I hear the sentiment way too often from founders, chiefs of staff, COOs, and others in the scaleup ecosystem. I started encountering OKRs when working with scaleups a couple of years ago, helping leaders fix their ways of working to reap the promised benefits of “Agile.”
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Scrum is Hard and Disruptive #7 - Change is Required!

September 17, 2024
Scrum adoption requires top-down leadership but thrives with a “middle-out” approach that engages middle management to drive organizational change. Sustained effort and healthy conflict resolution are crucial, as the journey is ongoing and filled with challenges. To succeed, organizations must embed Scrum principles deeply enough that change continues effectively beyond the influence of any single individual.
Blog Post

Agile in Medical Device

September 17, 2024
In this episode of the take5IRL podcast, Jeff Lee and Kelly Weyrauch break down what the FDA expects from your systems and reveal how adopting an Agile approach can give your company a competitive edge. Don't miss out on these game-changing insights!
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Scrum is Hard and Disruptive #6 - The Point of Scrum is DONE!

September 16, 2024
This blog post explores how Scrum's intentional pressure on both engineering and product management teams drives continuous improvement and excellence. It emphasizes the importance of the "Definition of Done" and the need to close the "Effectiveness Gap" between current and target practices. Ultimately, the stress Scrum creates is a positive force that helps teams achieve better outcomes with each sprint.
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How to Make Value Flow Without Interruptions in SAFe

September 16, 2024
In 2022, Andrew Sales (Chief Methodologist and SAFe Fellow at Scaled Agile, Inc.) was talking at the Tecnifor SAFe Day. You can find the talk here. His subject was “accelerating flow of customer value”. I want to reflect on this talk and share how we can help improve flow of customer value in SAFe systemically. This post invites you to improve SAFe beyond the solutions proposed in this talk.   
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Scrum is Hard and Disruptive #5 - I'm All In

September 13, 2024
Partial implementations of Scrum often obscure critical dysfunctions in product development, preventing teams from fully benefiting from the framework's potential. Scrum Masters are vital in identifying and addressing these issues, requiring experience and leadership to drive real change.
Blog Post

How to Develop Your Company’s Purpose

September 13, 2024
Developing your company's purpose is one of the most critical steps in building a meaningful and successful business. Gone are the days when work was solely about trading time for money. Today, employees seek a deeper sense of purpose, often valuing it more than financial compensation. In this blog, we explore the significance of company purpose, why it matters, and how to develop your company's purpose to inspire your team and create a basis for sound future decision-making.
Blog Post

What Is Product Discovery?

September 12, 2024
Product discovery is not just a process — it’s a critical mindset for driving successful product development. By adopting a structured approach to discovery, teams can ensure they are solving the right problems and delivering value to both customers and the business.
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Scrum is Hard and Disruptive #4 - Look in the Mirror

September 12, 2024
Scrum is more than a project management tool; it’s a competitive advantage that exposes organizational weaknesses and drives continuous improvement. Todd and Ryan emphasize that while Scrum highlights inefficiencies, true success requires adapting and addressing these issues rather than ignoring them.
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Product Management with Purpose: Addressing the Problems Your Customers Face

September 12, 2024
Teams can build a product or feature exactly to specification and still fail if customers don’t respond positively to the product. In their haste to deliver the teams don’t have the necessary information to understand what their customers and users want nor why, so they build.. something. This blog discusses and suggests ideas for readers to consider when using product discovery in their product management process.
Blog Post

Dispelling Myths of Product Discovery in Scrum

September 12, 2024
In this blog, we dispel a series of myths associated with product discovery in Scrum. Myths such as “it's a phase in the process and can not be done in a Sprint,” “It's only for greenfield projects,” to “ The DoD stops us from doing Discovery”.
Blog Post

Why Is Mechanical Scrum a Trap?

September 10, 2024
Mechanical Scrum can become a trap when we follow Scrum without understanding Scrum. The Scrum framework is a great place to start in order to deliver value, but it shouldn’t be itself a destination.
Blog Post

Agile in Regulated Environments

September 10, 2024
Ready to navigate the complexities of Agile in regulated environments? Join Jeff and his guest, Kelly Weyrauch—the go-to expert for Agile in the medical device world—as they dive deep into the challenges and breakthrough strategies for integrating Agile in regulated industries. Tune in to discover how you can master the balance between compliance and agility, transforming your processes into models of efficiency and effectiveness.