In this episode, Dave and Peter discuss the role of vendors in large companies and why we don't let vendors lead the strategy.

They discuss how vendor solutions or products are brought to accelerate growth. A good choice of products maximizes the opportunities an organization can leverage to accelerate skills, and a poor choice can leave you tied to a partner that does not bring you value.

We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversation, contact us here: [email protected]

In this episode, Dave and Peter have a special guest, Peter Budden, who has over 15 years working in QA and Testing. We discuss what quality means in the terms of agile and DevOps teams.

This week takeaways:

·         Make sure that you're having conversations about what quality means for you and for your team. 

·         Figure out ways to help your teams improve their testing skills.

·         Testing is a mindset, asking good questions, and giving people the space to be inquisitive. 

We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversation, contact us here: [email protected]

In this episode, Dave and Peter have a special guest, Nada Buhendi, who has over 15 years working as an agile coach and IT consultant. Her passion is in using her knowledge and experience to help technology professionals who feel unappreciated and undervalued in their careers. We discuss mistakes we find in job postings and what to look for when applying.

This week takeaways:

• The importance of role clarity. 
• Investing in and supporting people
• The mindset that the organization might need to develop. 

References:
 Project Aristotle https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22875447-work-rules
Work Rules - Lazlo Block https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22875447-work-rules
Personal Business Model You - Tim Clark - https://businessmodelyou.com/


We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversation, contact us here: [email protected]

In this episode, Dave and Peter discuss the potential differences between Lessons Learned (the end of project debrief) and Retrospectives (the more frequent and regular look at work). We cover many topics before landing on the concept of aligning 3 F's, Frequency, Focus, and Flow when looking back at what has been done.

Book references:
Think Again - Adam Grant
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55539565-think-again
Atomic Habits - James Clear
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40121378-atomic-habits

We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversation, contact us here: [email protected]

Does training have value? There is certainly plenty of it out there and companies spend plenty of money on it. Is it money well spent?

In this episode we talk through some of the benefits of training and when it is most effective. We also talk about how to get more from the training you do invest in.

We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversation, contact us here: [email protected]

Links:
Xodiac corporate training: https://xodiac.ca/services/

IncrementOne training:  https://www.incrementone.com/training

This week Dave and Peter talk through the perils and benefits of estimation. They touch on relative and absolute estimations, and how they apply to our daily work.

We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversation, contact us here: [email protected]

This week we dive into experimentation, what it is, its purpose, and how we often mess it up. How do you design experiments? What makes an experiment good? How might you measure success?

All this and more!

We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversation, contact us here: [email protected]

Peter and Dave discuss the difficulty of taking Agile practices out of IT and into the rest of the organization. We discuss the need for creating a common language and acknowledging the differences between areas. There may even be some hints about how to overcome these adoption barriers.

We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversation, contact us here: [email protected]

Peter and Dave discuss how value is often seen through the lens of the company, focusing value on dollars and cents. There are many types of value especially when products are free to use. Value is very difficult to predict and defined by the customer.

References in this episode:
Saeed Khan's Medium post on value:
https://swkhan.medium.com/a-framework-for-understanding-value-25a8eefcf61c

We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversation, contact us here: [email protected]

Dave and Peter discuss Change Approval (or Advisory) Boards. They are a crucial component to organizational change and managing change with companies. As organizations starts to adopt Agile, responsibility of change shifts into the team level and the Board becomes a facilitator to change.

Resources:

Better Value Sooner Safer Happier - Jon Smart
https://soonersaferhappier.com/

We love to hear feedback! If you have questions, would like to propose a topic, or even join us for a conversation, contact us here: [email protected]