SPaMCAST 506 features our interview with Mark Kilby. Mark and I explored distributed agile teams. Agile in distributed environments is doable, but it isn't easy. Mark provides guidance and advice. Mark recently co-authored From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams with Johanna Rothman (LeanPub). Mark's bio and contact information: MARK KILBY has cultivated more distributed, dispersed, and virtual teams than colocated teams for more than two decades. Currently, Mark serves as an agile coach with Sonatype, a "remote first" software development company focusing on automation of software supply chains. Previously, Mark led agile transformations, from startups to Fortune 500 companies. Mark also cultivates dispersed communities, such as Agile Orlando, Agile Florida, VirtualTeamTalk.com, and the Agile Alliance Community Group Support initiative. Mark's book, From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams, is co-authored with Johanna Rothman and is available now via http://markkilby.com and https://leanpub.com/geographicallydistributedagileteams Twitter: @mkilby Linked In: linkedin.com/in/mkilby Re-Read Saturday News Week 2 of our re-read of The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande (use the link and buy a copy so you can read along). Chapter 1 builds the case that the world we live in and the work that we do is very complex. Complexity creates the possibility for errors. Checklists are a tool to help avoid errors in complicated and complex environments. Current Installment: Current Installment: Week 2 – The Problem With Extreme Complexity - https://bit.ly/2AGZQZX Previous Installments: Week 1 - Approach and Introduction - https://bit.ly/2LYi9Lv Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 507 features our essay exploring consensus decision making. One of the primary decision-making techniques used in teams is consensus decision making. The power of consensus decision making is that it yields decisions that are the output of a process in which a team or group finds a solution that everyone can either actively support or live with. The process of getting to a decision or solution that the whole team can at least live will make sure that everyone on the team has a seat at the table and that team builds both majority and minority views into the deliberation process. Sounds simple, right? We will also have columns from Susan Parente (I Am Not a Scrumdamentalist) and Jeremy Berriault (QA Corner).