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

On this episode, Brian Orlando and Om Patel sit down with Senior Test Engineer Michael Iglesias to discuss QA Engineering. 

0:00 Intro
0:11 QA Engineering vs QA Testing
2:23 QA Engineering Value vs Development Management's Ego
4:48 The Value of QA Automation
7:13 How Creativity Happens?
9:23 Collaboration & Creativity
11:51 Pragmatic Planning Approaches
15:20 Spike Work
18:16 Spike Work - A Real Example
19:56 One Benefit of PO at the Daily Scrum
23:42 This Segue was Slick
24:58 Continuous Education & Improvement
26:40 Learning: On Your Own Time
29:59 Learning Organizations
32:49 When the PO doesn't value Technical Work
38:05 When New Learning Happens
39:29 Solving Business Problems or Building Features
42:16 Real Stories of Product Mismanagement
47:50 Why do Critical Conversations Get Shut Down?
49:55 More Productive Conversations
53:36 Speak to Stakeholders in Their Own Language
56:29 The 20/80 Rule (Not the Good Kind)
1:00:18 Simplifying Complexity and Learning
1:02:11 Pushing for More Learning in Your Culture
1:06:16 Using Utilization to Benefit Learning
1:11:49 Utilization, Learning, and Middle-Management
1:15:56 Wrap-Up

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Agile Podcast E33 - QA Engineering with Michael Iglesias

In this episode, Brian Orlando talks Product Management as he walks through and reacts to two articles from Marty Cagan - the CSPO Pathology and the MBA Pathology.

CSPO Pathology:  https://svpg.com/the-cspo-pathology/

MBA Pathology:  https://svpg.com/the-mba-pathology/

0:00 Topic Intro
0:20 First Product Manager
0:56 CSPO Pathology: Different Types of Software Teams
3:27 CSPO Pathology: PO vs PM
5:32 CSPO Pathology: Delivery is Just One Small Part
6:45 CSPO Pathology: Process over People
7:39 CSPO Pathology: Training and Time
9:46 CSPO Pathology: Innovation
11:26 CSPO Pathology: Main Ideas
15:20 Product Managers vs. Product Owners
17:05 MBA Pathology: Intro
18:06 MBA Pathology: Required Unlearning
20:35 MBA Pathology: Management vs. Leadership
21:44 MBA Pathology: Being "The Boss"
23:00 MBA Pathology: Playing Nice with Others
24:19 MBA Pathology: Command and Control
27:01 MBA Pathology: Summary
29:08 Wrap-Up

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Agile Podcast E32 - Reaction to the MBA/CSPO Pathology

In this Agile Podcast, Brian Orlando and Om Patel discuss User Acceptance Testing. Is it necessary in Agile Software Development and if it is, what should it look like in Agile Software Development?

0:00 Topic Intro
0:28 Is it Needed?
5:52 Exploratory Testing for Confidence
7:53 Typical Testers "Owned" by Development
10:23 Who is Involved?
12:15 Responsibility/Accountability for the UAT
16:49 Roadmaps and UAT
19:50 Rolling UAT into DoD
21:21 Design Thinking UAT
23:12 Isn't This Roadmap Item Just a Gantt Chart?
24:21 Marrying the Incremental with the Whole
25:38 Personas to Accelerate UAT
27:57 Risk of User Personas - Silo'd Thinking
34:20 UAT Expectations & Metrics
37:07 Brainstorming for Metrics
39:14 Escaped Defects, Business Value, Missed Opportunity
41:45 Measuring Stupid Things
43:47 Better UAT Metrics
45:40 Arbitrary Metrics and Deadlines
47:09 UAT Triage
51:01 Product Manager/Owner Quagmire
53:08 Best UAT Story
55:18 Include the Right People
56:55 One Last Talk on Metrics
59:50 Wrap-Up

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Agile Podcast 30 - User Acceptance Testing in Agile

On this episode, Brian Orlando and Om Patel discuss work cultures where Projects are prevalent, such as in the traditional PMO (Project Management Office). The discussion begins with a healthy round of what it takes to change cultures and progresses toward the intent and design of most project-based cultures.

0:00 Topic Intro
0:29 Project-Based Cultures
2:58 Change and Culture
4:12 Changing Organizational Culture
5:19 3 P's of Changing Culture
7:31 Only Management can Change the System
10:03 PMO Pros and Cons
10:56 Not Everyone is Comfortable Trailblazing
12:45 Executive Teams Should be a Cross-Functional Team...
14:28 But, Executive Teams are Usually just Silos for Budgeting
17:17 Developer Thinking vs. Tester or Product Thinking
19:37 Goals of the PMO
21:20 PMO Standardization
23:43 Sanitization vs Uniqueness
24:54 PMOs and Quality
26:56 PMO Culture - Pros & Cons
28:51 Change is Difficult
31:15 Real Example of Project over Product
33:12 Problems with Siloed Budgeting
36:11 Comment and Like, Pretty Please!
36:30 CTO who owns Product (isn't an Excuse)
38:25 Save Money by Confirming Assumptions
41:57 Offshoring for the Wrong Reason
45:05 PMOs and Generating New Ideas
48:25 Adapting versus Controlling
53:24 Successful Offshoring
55:17 Offshoring Product
58:08 Are Consultants Different?
59:42 A Unique PMO/Project Issue?
1:02:52 Middle Management Squashes the Best Ideas
1:05:28 Wrap-Up
1:06:18 Shout Outs (more wrapping up)

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Agile Podcast E31 - Project & PMO Cultures

On this episode, Brian Orlando and Om Patel review real job descriptions in the agile Software Development space. We've chosen a selection of current job roles to review in order to identify red flags, raise questions to ask in an interview, or to point out what we think are good or bad jobs.

0:00 Topic Intro
1:04 How Companies Write Job Descriptions
2:09 Process for this Podcast
3:06 Scrum Master Advisor
7:04 Business Analyst & Release Train Engineer!
14:09 Senior Scrum Master
16:45 Requirements in Job Descriptions that are actually Wish Lists
17:38 Senior Scrum Master, Continued...
20:28 Senior Scrum Master & Project Manager
24:30 Lead Scrum Master
27:10 Agile Coach / Scrum Master
31:55 Technical Product Owner
37:37 Senior Development Product Owner
41:19 How some Job Descriptions are Written
43:24 Senior Development Product Owner, Continued...
46:44 Product Manager
49:34 Discussion of the Word Oversee in Job Descriptions
51:13 Product Manager, Continued...
55:43 Delivery Manager
58:04 Agile Coach
1:01:14 Senior Agile Coach
1:05:06 Enterprise Agile Coach
1:09:05 CTO
1:15:08 Wrap-Up & Audience Homework

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Agile Podcast E29 - Review of "Agile" Job Descriptions

Also available on YouTube:
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Agile Podcast E28 - How to Spot a Good or Terrible Lead

Agile Podcast E27 - All About Agile Coaching, Part 2

In this episode of the Agile Podcast, Brian Orlando and Om Patel walk through the basics of Agile Coaching including the path to becoming an Agile Coach, the difference between Scrum Masters or Team Coaches and Enterprise Agile Coaches, and where Agile Coaches should be aligned within an organization.

0:00 Intro
0:14 Topic Intro
2:52 Paths to being an Agile Coach (or SM)
4:23 Scrum Masters from Outside the Industry
5:43 Preconceived Notion Background Theory
11:28 Preconceived Notion Theory Continued - QA
16:41 Experiment Log Template
20:04 Ideal Placement in the Organization
27:49 Coaching Circle Diagram
30:45 Agile Coaching at the Enterprise Level
35:51 First Exec Experience
39:51 Agile Coaching Competency Framework
43:47 Wrap-Up

Source Referenced in the Podcast:
https://dandypeople.com/blog/agile-coaching-in-a-nutshell/

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Agile Podcast E26 - All About Agile Coaching, Part 1

In this episode, Brian Orlando and Om Patel are joined by a Special Mystery Guest to talk about Challenging the Status Quo. We discuss typical issues Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches experience in their role as Change-Agent including out-of-control Systems, working with Vendors, and the burden of redundant reports and meetings.

0:00 Intro
0:14 Contracting-to-Perm
3:10 Ignoring Expertise (that You've Paid For)
6:14 Contracting & Perm - More Differences
8:13 Continuing to Challenge the Status Quo
9:39 Time for Budgeting
11:44 Manually Created Scrum "Reports"
14:41 Bashing on Jira & ADO
16:52 More Challenging the Status Quo
19:29 Vendor Teams
22:47 Corporate vs Start-Up (Big vs Small)
26:15 Scrum Master at a Small Company
29:01 Difference Between Status and Status Reports
31:11 Carry-Over Work
34:39 When Teams Over-commit Consistently (another Podcast)
36:16 Segue on Market Position
38:06 Right and Wrong Ways to Challenge
40:48 High "C" DISC Personalities
45:56 Out of Control Systems
52:33 Aaaaand, a break for Taylorism
54:12 Back to Controlling Systems
55:22 Wrap-Up
56:25 After-Wrap (I might cut this, or not)

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Agile Podcast E25 - Challenging the Status Quo

On this episode, Brian Orlando interviews co-host Om Patel about his storied career, starting from his first job to his big break into business agility.

0:00 Intro
0:15 Tell Me About Yourself (Career Summary)
3:15 First Job
10:20 Entrance to Agility
17:41 Agile Principles
18:40 Enterprise Agile Coaching
24:10 Working at the Big-Four
31:23 Another Agile Transformation (Sweden/Australia)
33:52 Career Highlights/Landmarks
41:27 Customer Centricity
45:30 Things to Change
47:37 People that Stand-Out
57:33 Advice for Yourself
1:02:10 Validate Your Decisions
1:03:51 Conclusion

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Agile Podcast E24 - Career Profile: Om Patel (Enterprise Agile Coach)