September 04, 2018

16: Building an Agile Team with Sinead Condon

30 minutes

Is it possible for non-technical teams to benefit from practices like agile that were created by and for engineers? What if we’re not in a tech or software development space? How can non-techie managers take agile and use it for the growth of their teams? If you’ve heard about agile, but are still unsure what it is, you’re not alone. In this episode, I speak with Sinead A. Condon, Transformation Strategist for CA Technologies. We discuss agile priorities and ceremonies and agile for non-techies.

Key Takeaways:

Agile is both a mindset and a series of processes, ceremonies and structures.

An agile mindset is one which prioritizes delivering value, continuous improvement, speed and collaboration.

The daily standup is one of the most common agile practices. Individuals share what they completed yesterday, what they're working on today, and what (if anything) is standing in the way of getting their work done.

Practicing agile includes keeping a running to-do list (back-log) of tasks that need to be completed and then prioritizing on a regular basis.

The 'retrospective' is a ceremony in which the team looks for ways to improve. After a cycle of work (either time or project based), people ask 'what can we do better?'

Agile means working in shorter time periods (sprints) and in multiple iterations.

Most important to the agile mindset is curiosity. Keep asking what your stakeholders value and whether your actions are delivering adequate value given the efforts.

Read the article based on this episode: Agile for Non-Techies: What Every Manager Should Know

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By Mamie Kanfer Stewart

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