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Think It Build It Ship It Tweak It – a Business Fable

October 2, 2024
"Think It, Build It, Ship It, Tweak It: A Business Fable" explores a practical, iterative approach to product development and agility. The fable highlights the importance of balancing planning, execution, and learning in real-time, emphasizing adaptability in delivering business value. By focusing on continuous improvement and responsiveness to customer needs, this methodology helps teams stay aligned with evolving market demands while reducing risks and fostering innovation. The story provides actionable insights for leaders seeking to implement agile practices within their organizations for better outcomes.
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🇮🇹 Product Discovery: 5 impatti concreti per l’azienda

October 2, 2024
Nel dinamico panorama aziendale di oggi, il product discovery emerge come una strategia chiave per il successo. Questo approccio innovativo non solo pone l'utente al centro dello sviluppo, ma riduce anche significativamente i costi e migliora il ROI. Attraverso tecniche come le proto-personas e l'impact mapping, le aziende possono prendere decisioni basate sui dati, migliorare la collaborazione interfunzionale e accelerare il time-to-market. Il corso Professional Product Discovery and Validation (PPDV) offre gli strumenti necessari per padroneggiare queste tecniche, permettendo alle aziende di trasformare il loro approccio allo sviluppo dei prodotti e rimanere competitive nel mercato.
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Wenn Product Owner an Grenzen stoßen

October 1, 2024
Wenn ein Product Owner allein auf weiter Flur ist, dann kann es ziemlich ungemütlich werden. Kürzlich habe ich in einem Professional Scrum Product Owner Training eine solche Konversation geführt. Details zum Hintergrund und mögliche Auswege findet ihr in diesem Artikel.
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Continuous Discovery: Connecting Strategy to Value Delivery

October 1, 2024
Continuous Discovery is a powerful approach to product development that ensures the product remains customer-centric, feasible, usable, and viable. By validating high-risk assumptions, engaging all team members, and employing effective discovery approaches, teams can create products that truly resonate with customers and stand out in the market.
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Increase Your Impact As An Agile Practitioner!

October 1, 2024
If Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, and all other Agile practitioners want to survive, make more impact, and offer more value, they should use data, evidence-based feedback, and insights from scientific research to improve team and organizational effectiveness.
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Agile in Med Device: TIR45 Changes

October 1, 2024
This week on the take5IRL podcast, Jeff Lee welcomes Kelly Weyrauch to discuss the latest updates to TIR45, the guide for applying Agile in medical device software. Kelly covers key topics like signatures, boosting regulatory compliance with Agile, and defining "done" to avoid last-minute surprises. A must-listen for anyone in the med device space!
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Agile Primitives

September 30, 2024
Dive in to explore how the Agile community is coming full circle, rediscovering the essence that made Agile transformative in the first place.
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What is Scrum? Scrum is an IDEA

September 30, 2024
Scrum is an idea. The word ‘Scrum’ comes from the game of Rugby: a whole team working together; their singular mission is to move the ball down the field. The idea grows out of a few important truths about team development and product quality.
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Scrum is Hard and Disruptive #15 - Leadership is Essential

September 27, 2024
The final episode of "Scrum is Hard and Disruptive" emphasizes the essential shift in leadership from command-and-control to coaching and supporting teams. Effective Scrum leaders focus on setting meaningful goals, creating environments for success, and using evidence-based management to guide decisions. This mindset shift enables self-managing teams to thrive, delivering real value rather than just busywork.
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How to Craft Effective Product Experiments

September 26, 2024
Learn how to effectively craft experiments in product development to validate ideas, optimize features, and drive innovation. Discover key steps and techniques, such as A/B testing, paper prototyping, and usability tests, to gather actionable insights, reduce risks, and deliver data-driven solutions that maximize product value.
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Developing Your Company as a Product Using Agile/Scrum/EBM

September 26, 2024
What if you treated your company like a product? Some of the most successful founders have unlocked this powerful mindset, applying the same principles used to build great products—iterative improvement, stakeholder focus, and strategic investment—to shape their organizations. By viewing internal experiences as products in a portfolio, leaders can drive meaningful change and build better companies.
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Scrum is Hard and Disruptive #14 - Conflict Not Fights

September 26, 2024
Todd Miller and Ryan Ripley explore the role of conflict in Scrum teams, emphasizing that healthy conflict under pressure can drive focus and innovation. They discuss the importance of recognizing when disagreements shift from problem-solving to personal fights and stress the need for team members to maintain a commitment to constructive conflict.
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5 Examples of Failed Products: Lessons on Product Validation

September 26, 2024
In the competitive world of product development, success is never guaranteed. This article explores five glaring examples of failed products, from Amazon Fire Phone to Quibi, analyzing what went wrong and how proper validation could have prevented these costly mistakes. Learn how the Professional Product Discovery and Validation course can give you the tools you need to avoid such failures and guide your product to success
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Scrum is Hard and Disruptive #13 - Self-Managing Teams Rock

September 25, 2024
Todd and Ryan discuss the power of self-managing teams, emphasizing that teams thrive when they have autonomy and direct access to customers, leading to higher productivity and better solutions. They caution that self-management is a skill that requires nurturing through coaching and support, rather than simply expecting teams to excel without guidance.
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The Cone of Uncertainty and its Usage in Scrum

September 25, 2024
Often we are required to make predictions about the future, specially the cost and effort that would be required to complete a project/ set of features for a product. Now in a complex environment this is not easy as many variables are at play. But is there an approach or tool to guide us? The Cone of Uncertainty might help.
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Zwei Dinge, die ich als Scrum Master von einem Face-to-Face-Event mit zahlreichen Professional Scrum Trainern gelernt habe

September 24, 2024
Als Scrum Master haben wir oftmals mit Events zu tun, die schwer zu moderieren sind. Mal ufern sie aus, mal sind sie gähnend langweilig. Mal gibt es Menschen, die einen Termin für sich und ihre Meinung kapern, mal wiederum findet nahezu keinerlei Interaktion statt. Doch wie ist es, wenn viele Professional Scrum Trainer (PST) aufeinandertreffen? Man mag denken, es läuft alles wie geschmiert, immerhin treffen doch sehr erfahrene Trainer aufeinander. Doch ist das tatsächlich so? Aus meinem letzten Treffen mit anderen PSTs habe ich zwei Dinge gelernt, die ich gern teilen möchte.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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🇮🇹 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.
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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.
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“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.”