Arguing Agile: Product Management, Business Leadership, & Org Design

In this episode, we explore an article titled "Do Infrastructure Teams Need Product Management."

Join Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Agility Coach Om Patel as we discuss the realities of Infrastructure or Platform teams and the reasons they team might or might not have a Product Manager.

Click here for the Source Article.

0:00 Topic Intro: Do Infrastructure Teams Need Product Management
0:26 Reading the Article
1:29 Om's Initial Take
3:13 Arguing on Observation #1: Seasoned Teams
4:37 Why So Scarce?
5:51 What is Culture?
9:00 Statement #2 - Solving Different Problems
14:01 Reframing the Argument
15:25 Examples from the Article
17:13 Going Over Each Point
18:49 Brian's Example of One Product, Multiple Teams
21:16 Common Use & Politics
27:26 Executive Interrupts
34:37 Listen with Empathy
35:07 Aligning with Strategy
39:29 Multiple Teams & the Bigger Picture
43:04 Article Conclusion
45:11 Brian's Call to Action
46:03 Om's Summary
48:53 Podcast Summary
50:31 Wrap-Up

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AA133 - Do Infrastructure Teams Need Product Management?

On this episode, Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Agility Coach Om Patel discuss the reporting structures of Product Management and dive into an article on the subject by Product Consultant, Jason Knight.

https://arguingagile.com/

Jason Knight's Full Article: "Falling in Love with Problems, and who SHOULDN’T Product Management report through?," published Feb 20, 2023.

0:00 Topic Intro: Who Should and Shouldn't Product Management Report Through
0:17 Jason Knight's Newsletter Article
2:08 Sidebar on "Bad Executives"
2:53 Founders and Company Size
3:56 Chief Marketing Officer
5:34 Om's Experience
7:12 Arguing On the CMO
10:41 Power Dynamics
12:07 Hot Take: Working with Sales
14:39 Chief Operating Officer
16:11 Experiences with the COO Cons
19:01 Pros of COO
21:02 Realities of the Operations
22:29 Customer Focus & Centricity
23:46 Chief Technology Officer
25:18 Arguing on the CTO Role
28:38 Shadow Roadmaps
32:01 Progression of the CTO Role
33:32 Chief Executive Officer
34:47 Cold Realities of Product Management
36:58 Testing Ideas
38:47 A Big Pro of the CEO
40:28 Article Conclusions
41:30 Arguing on CPOs
43:16 Unique CPO Requirements
46:49 Wrap-Up

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AA132 - Who Should Product Management Report Through?

On this episode, Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Agility Coach Om Patel discuss the reasons why everything is always priority one in some teams and software development organizations, their experiences in these organizations, and what might be done.

https://arguingagile.com/

0:00 Topic Intro: Everything is Priority One!
0:34 Not Touching This...
2:10 Unclear Product Expectations
7:00 Games with Metrics
10:33 Delegating to the Team
12:09 Misaligned Goals and Strategies
21:50 Team Overcommitting
26:45 Impact of Culture
29:55 Ineffective Inter-Team Communication
37:37 Artificial Urgency or Pressure
42:42 Technical Debt
46:31 Wrap-Up

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Apple Podcasts:
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AA131 - EVERYTHING IS PRIORITY ONE!!!

Dive into the world of Agile software development, quality assurance, and testing in this knowledge and experience-packed podcast episode! Join a former QA Manager turned Product Manager and an Enterprise Agility Coach as we explore key topics around agile development and testing!

#AgileDevelopment #QualityAssurance #TestingInAgile #SoftwareQuality #TechDebt #CrossFunctionality #AutomationTesting #ShiftLeft #ScrumGuide #TechnicalProductPeople #SoftwareBugs #ReleaseProcesses #PodcastDiscussion #AgileMindset #EngineeringMindset #podcast

0:00 Topic Intro: Testing and Agile
0:16 Quality in the Scrum Guide
2:44 Tech Debt
4:15 Cross Functionality
6:23 Analytical & Engineering Mindset
10:29 Testing Mindset
11:25 Unburdening Development
14:50 Aligning Product and Quality
18:18 Technical Product People
22:01 Experiences with Bugs
26:15 Grades of Service
29:22 Shift Left
34:07 Automation
37:15 Advanced Release Processes
43:01 Wrap-Up

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Apple Podcasts:
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On this episode, Enterprise Agility Coach Om Patel responds and discusses some typical complaints or gripes with agile practices and agilists in general.

0:00 Topic Intro: Gripes with Agile
0:26 Om's Immediate Response
2:25 Agile Has No Deadlines
5:08 Lack of Product
7:30 Giving Deadlines
9:43 No Documentation
11:47 Formality of Handoffs
16:36 No Long Term Planning
21:31 Systems Design & Architecture
25:20 Locking Down Scope (Scope Creep)
28:04 Inadequate Testing
32:36 Wrap-Up

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If everybody needs change management, then why are we so bad at it?

Today, returning Arguing Agile guest Stormy Dickson stops by for an in-depth discussion on change management, including:

• Why Having a Coach is a HUGE Bonus
• A Summary of "Leading Change" by John Kotter (from AA60)
• Where Change Typically Breaks Down
• The Importance of Setting and Communicating a Solid Vision
• The Importance of Short Term, Quick Wins
• What Happens When Leaders Fail
• Moving Forward with Assumption versus Evidence
• Consolidating & Anchoring Your Gains
• and on being Brave Enough to Lead the Change

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Product Manager Brian Orlando has the absolute pleasure of sitting down to talk agile transformations with the dynamic duo of Agility Coaching - William Kremner and Om Patel!

Listen as we discuss the pain points that organizations face that lead them to consider agility and as we offer advice on how to overcome these challenges.

Pain points aside, we also banter about:

• Aligning Stakeholders with Change
• Avoiding "Bubbles of Agility
• Courage in #Coaching
• Experimentation
• The Importance of Small Wins

0:00 Topic Intro: Why Are We Going Agile?
1:21 Pain Points
4:27 Considering the How
8:46 Arguing on Alignment
12:20 Fragile Bubble of Agile
15:21 Arguing on: Fragility
17:18 Courage & Coaching
19:38 It's Great, but Not Now
25:14 Experimenting Your Way to Success
29:41 Effects of Company Size
33:06 Product Skills
34:43 Diminishing Conviction
37:47 Small Wins
40:18 Avoiding Disaster
44:04 Coaching or Leading, Based on Maturity
47:16 Mitigating Risk Liability
50:06 Wrap-Up

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Offshoring in Software Development

0:00 Topic Intro: Offshoring
0:28 Cost of Labor
3:06 Not So Pure Cost
5:31 Product Quality
9:08 Larger Talent Pool
12:16 Replacing Employees (Attribution)
13:50 Time Zones (24/7 Development)
19:36 Irreconcilable Time Zone Differences
21:37 Less Support Staff
24:30 Missionaries, Not Mercenaries
25:52 Collaboration & Culture
31:19 Partners
33:31 Real Perspectives on Hiring Mercenaries
38:03 Counterpoint (Shoe Store Example)
41:52 Wrap-Up
42:40 Being "Southern"

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Are you a Scrum Master or Product Manager serving on multiple teams?

Are you feeling overwhelmed, or have you noticed certain problems that you can't quite put a name to? It could be that you've got one team (or a couple teams) too many!

On this episode, Enterprise Agility Coach Om Patel and Product Manager Brian Orlando discuss the effects of serving on multiple teams.

We discuss some situations and conditions that mitigate the effects of overload, and many that cause overload!

0:00 Topic Intro
0:20 Warning Indicators
1:12 Team Maturity
5:12 Org Structure
8:55 Level of Experience
12:57 Time Commitments
17:28 This One Scrum Master Trick...
18:30 Communication & Collaboration
22:19 Stakeholder Management Red Flags
24:11 Product Complexity
28:28 Our Advice
31:14 Wrap-Up

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The team constantly scans for impediments. The scrum master should be "causing the removal of impediments."

...but how?

In this episode, Enterprise Agility Coach Om Patel and Product Manager Brian Orlando deep dive into the world of impediments.

Are impediments the same as blockers?

Is a dependency an impediment?

How do we deal with organizational design and communication between teams as an impediment?

What happened to Brian's hair?!?

All these discussions and more, on this episode of Arguing Agile!

0:00 Topic Intro
0:38 Blockers & Impediments - The Difference
2:51 Tech Debt
4:35 Dependencies
11:22 Organizational Design Problems
13:11 Making Decisions
16:24 Silos Are Evil
21:36 Technical Impediments
22:26 Intra Team Communication
23:54 Technical Dependencies Again
27:39 Communicating with Other Teams
29:58 Ad Hoc, Scaled Refinements
35:46 Wrap-Up

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Apple Podcasts:
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Google Podcasts:
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