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

How many times have you heard "agile doesn't work here?"

On this episode, Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Agile Coach Om Patel talk through the typical reasons (some legitimate, some excuses) for the statement "agile doesn't work here."

0:00 Topic Intro
0:53 Two Common Issues
5:11 Ego and/or Fear
6:51 Leading with Vision
11:07 Fear of Failure
14:31 Institutionalized Inability to Trust
19:25 What can be Done?
22:07 Agile Sponsorship & Enablement
24:29 Middle Managers
28:33 Incentives & Sales
34:36 Sales & Incentives, Continued
37:51 Incentives for Development
39:35 Self Managing Teams & Salaries
45:49 Dedicated Teams (aka. Durable Teams)
48:26 Hoodwinked into Agile
52:32 Brian's Hoodwinking Experience
57:23 Investing in $uccess
59:20 Wrap-up

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AA83 - Agile Doesn't Work Here

"What does a Scrum Master do all day?"

If you are in an organization where you hear this question, you are aware that people are failing to realize that one third of the Scrum Master's responsibilities are about coaching the organization.

On this episode, Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Agile Coach Om Patel talk about how a Scrum Master spends their day coaching the organization, or, as Om likes to say, "Coaching Up!"

0:00 Topic Intro
0:33 Coaching the Organization
4:03 What do you Do All Day?
6:36 Scrum Adoption - Upstream/Downstream
11:20 Leading, Training, Coaching
15:35 Coaching & Mentoring
18:46 Coaching & Mentoring, without a Scrum Master
21:28 Planning & Advising Scrum Implementations
24:20 Metrics
31:09 Changing Behavior at a Glacial Pace
38:03 Empirical Approach to Problem Solving
41:12 What Makes You Think...
47:14 Discovery Experiments
50:00 Empiricism without Scrum Masters
55:02 HR
57:08 Removing Barriers

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AA82 - What does a Scrum Master Do All Day (Part 3: the Org)

Outside of the daily scrum, what does a Scrum Master do all day?

One third of the Scrum Guide's answer to this is "Serves the Product Owner," and that is what this entire episode is about!

Join Product Owner and Registered Nurse Stormy Dickson with Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Agile Coach Om Patel to talk about how a Scrum Master spends their day serving the product owner.

0:00 Topic Intro
0:45 Effective Product Goal Definition
4:51 Clarity in Goal Definition
11:36 Lack of Strategy
22:46 Finding Techniques without Help
29:49 Clear and Consice: A Discovery Story
38:39 Clear and Concise
44:07 Be Empirical: Get Metrics
46:58 Empiricisim Without a Scrum Master
49:31 What is Empiricism
51:37 Facilitating Stakeholder Collaboration
58:10 Extending Product via Soft Skills

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AA81 - What does a Scrum Master Do All Day (Part 2: the Product)

Outside of the daily scrum, what does a Scrum Master do all day?If you've ever been asked this question - this is the podcast for you!

On this episode, Scrum Master Ayo Eyo joins Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Agile Coach Om Patel to talk about how Scrum Masters spend their day while serving the team.

Special shout out to Product Owner and Registered Nurse Stormy Dickson who just happened to be in the neighborhood and joined us for the last half!

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AA80 - What does a Scrum Master Do All Day (Part 1: the Team)

Have you ever been in an organization where psychological safety was ridiculed or derided?

On this episode, Product Owner and Registered Nurse Stormy Dickson joins Product Manager Brian Orlando to see if a case can be made against psychological safety.

0:00 Topic Intro
1:47 Unearned Autonomy
6:25 Empowered Teams, but Incentivizing Individuals
11:01 A Shield Against Accountability
14:33 Incentives via Consensus
19:46 Transparency in Financials
24:32 Prioritization
30:27 Stormy's Summary
33:50 Decision Making (Consensus vs Lobbying)

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AA79 - The Case Against Psychological Safety, with Stormy Dickson

Have you ever been handed a feature to build rather than a problem to solve?

Have you ever built a feature touted as the next big thing only to find out that it was never used or needed?

On this episode, Senior Scrum Master Ted Wells joins Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Agile Coach Om Patel as they talk about building the wrong thing.

0:00 Topic Intro
0:35 Product-Led and Sales-Led Organizations
4:14 Visionary-Led Organizations
6:59 Working Backwards
11:03 Arguing Against
16:10 Order-Taker or Waiter Product People
20:43 The Need for Refactoring
26:28 The Challenge with Technical POs
34:30 Measuring "Failure"
43:29 One Week Sprints
52:05 Incentives and Illusory Progress
56:37 Wrap-Up

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AA78 - Building the Wrong Thing, with Senior Scrum Master Ted Wells

In Product Management, does having a Technical Background help or not?

On this episode, Product Owner and Registered Nurse Stormy Dickson joins Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Agile Coach Om Patel to explore how the background of a Product Manager (or Product Owner) may benefit or hinder.

0:00 Imposter Syndrome
0:35 Start with Why
4:30 Navigating Difficult Situations
8:27 Stormy's Experiences
12:37 Constantly Starting Over
14:49 Making the Transition
17:46 Partnering with Tech Leader
22:14 Creating Culture
27:18 Learning to Fly
29:24 Pro's of the Non-Technical PM
36:38 Courage is a Value
40:57 Stereotypes & Assumptions
45:49 Soul Searching

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AA77 - Technical or Not? The Backgrounds of Product Managers or Owners

Is there a difference between a Product Owner and a Product Manager? And if the answer is yes (surprise, it is), what is the difference?

On this episode, Product Owner and Registered Nurse Stormy Dickson joins Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Agile Coach Om Patel to explore the differences between Product Owners and Product Managers.

0:00 Topic Intro: PO vs PM
0:19 Mike Miller Definition
3:06 Collaboration in Product Roles
6:35 Strategic vs Tactical
12:06 Heirarchy Driven by Incentives
15:32 Brian's Counter-point
18:43 Role vs Job
22:58 Technical Product Owner
28:27 Domain Knowledge
39:52 Working with Users
45:54 Prioritization & Vision
50:22 Separating PM from the Founders
59:53 Agile Leadership
1:01:22 Wrap-Up

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AA76 - Product Owner vs Product Manager

Beyond what is in the Scrum Guide, how do we work with the definition of done?

On this episode, Product Owner and Registered Nurse Stormy Dickson joins Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Agile Coach Om Patel to explore the definition of done.

0:00 Topic Intro
1:28 Defining Definition of Done
5:14 Breaking DoD
8:44 Contributing and/or Ignoring
13:39 Adapting or Extending the DoD
18:41 Who Prompts a Revision?
20:53 The Hawthorne Effect
23:46 Back to Revisions
25:56 The First DoD
31:25 Stormy's Summary
35:35 No Silver Bullet

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AA75 - Definition of Done

Have you had a bad experience with a certification or certification class?

On this episode, Product Owner and Registered Nurse Stormy Dickson discusses her bad experience with the CSPO certification. Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Agile Coach Om Patel ask questions and wonder what could be changed within the system to make sure these kinds of things don't happen.

0:00 Topic Intro
0:21 Stormy's Certification Experience
7:26 How Did We Get Here?
14:28 Scrum Master Experience
25:47 Organizational Change-Agents
39:12 Experts Teaching Experts
41:44 Base Level for Entry
48:14 Making Money While Being Ethical
52:21 Filtering into Industry
56:58 Let's Talk Fixes
1:01:11 Making Cultural Changes
1:06:23 Leadership
1:08:28 Base Curriculum
1:10:39 Better Curriculum
1:14:02 Pseudo Product Managers
1:16:47 Badmouthing Jira
1:21:59 Wrap-Up

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AA74 - Bad Certification Experiences & Maybe Bad Certifications...