The Agile Cafe Podcast

The Cost Of Losing Customer Focus

 

Hi, this is Nick Fifield with episode 6. Today I’m chatting with Kyle Dukes on the Cost Of Losing Customer Focus.

 

INTRODUCTION

Background and challenges

What compelled you to become an Agile coach & trainer?

Tell me about the time you discovered Agile.

Moving to an Agile NICHE, from general PM to ScrumMaster, then Agile Coach & Speaker.

**Agile is CULTURE**

The top challenges faced implementing Agile techniques.

 

TOPIC TAKE-AWAY POINTS

Why should you be passionate about customer focus?

Steve Jobs quote

Walmart - all about the customer.

Structuring your organisation to have 100% customer focus

Ways to get to know your customers better - personas, surveys, keyword research, web analytics, net-promotor score.

Description of the net-promotor score and its powerful benefits

What happens when you ignore the customer - loose top talent…

Examples of companies who lost sight of the customer…

Advice to CEOs

AMAZON - a company focused on the customer.

Utilise data and analytics to get close to your customers and help to make decisions

Developing a great customer experience

Adapting quickly to customer data

Online vs Brick & Mortar companies

Every company is a software company…

 

QUICKFIRE ROUND1. A piece of advice for a new Scrum Master / Agile Coach

Ans: Add value and examples. Capital One talk.

 

2. What’s your favourite book or internet resource and why?

Ans: Book - Training from the Back of the Room.  https://amzn.to/2JljR8H *

Explains how people learn, get people engaged, learn fast by doing.

 

3. What’s the best way to build a career in the Agile Lean space?

Ans: Many different paths. Continuous self-improvement and add value, plus examples.

 

4. Share your favourite practical tip and why?

Ans:  Become an expert in the team's Agile tools and think ahead.

 

5. Name one way of convincing others to the benefits of Agile Lean techniques.

Ans: Eat your own dog food…

 

6. What’s do you see as the next evolution of Agile or the general software delivery approach?

Ans: Agility moving out of IT into other business areas e.g. HR. Why and how….

 

You can contact Kyle at [email protected]

 

MY REQUEST TO YOU…

Please take the time to share the podcast with your friends and colleagues along with a recommendation.

Note: Being transparent, the links marked with an asterisk (*) are Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase the book via the link you will not pay any more than normal, but it will earn the podcast a few pennies which will contribute towards the media hosting costs. Thanks.

Agile Infographic Reports with Ian Carroll

 

In this episode I talk with Ian Carroll on how to create engaging and informative infographic reports for an Agile organisation. Ian is an experienced Delivery Coach and trainer.

INTRODUCTION

Background and challenges

What compelled you to become a Delivery Coach?

Tell me about the time you discovered Agile.

How was Agile taken as a practise?

 

TOPIC SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

Why should an Agile team created a report?

What should you include within a team report?

What makes an engaging report?

How do I creating reports based on objective data.

What type of information should we share on an Agile report?

Alternative to a RAG status?

What questions should your report answer?

How do we evolve a report to include answers to stakeholder questions?

Where to look for inspiration on Infographics?

What tools and resources do you use?

How long does it take to produce these reports, and automation?

How to get valuable data from JIRA?

 

 

QUICK FIRE ROUND TIPSPiece of advice for a new Scrum Master / Agile Coach

What’s your favourite book or internet resource and why?

 

>>David Andersons, Blue Book on Kanban

 

What’s the best way to build a career in the Agile Lean space?

Share your favourite practical tip and why?

Name one way of convincing others to the benefits of Agile Lean techniques.

What’s do you see as the next evolution of Agile or the general software delivery approach?

 

You can contact Ian at [email protected]

iancarroll.com

 

 

MY REQUEST TO YOU…

 

Please take the time to share the podcast with your friends and colleagues along with a recommendation.

 

Note: Being transparent, the links marked with an asterisk (*) are Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase the book via the link you will not pay any more than normal, but it will earn the podcast a few pennies which will contribute towards the media hosting costs. Thanks.

Retrospectives - Tips & Tricks, with Alistair Sloley

In this episode, I talk with Alex Sloley about Retrospects, how to run them effectively, along with plenty of hints and tips.  Alex is an Agile Coach and international speaker.

INTRODUCTION

Background and challenges

TOPIC-SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

What is an agile retrospective

Why have a retrospective

Do you really need one at the end of every iteration?

Characteristics of a good agile retrospective facilitator

How to create a safe environment to run agile retrospectives

How to run a successful retrospective?

Anti-patterns… things to watch out for… what’s in it for me.

Dealing with difficult team members.

Retrospective ideas and examples.

Retrospective tools?

QUICKFIRE ROUND TIPSWhat is your best Agile AH-HA moment?What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? Share your favourite practical tip for bringing about positive results within your team(s)? Can you share a quality internet resource with the audience? If you could recommend one book to our listeners, what would it be and why?

The Agile Samurai: How Agile Masters Deliver Great Software Jonathan Rasmussonhttp://amzn.to/2ESXF2D *

You can contact Alex here [email protected]

MY REQUEST TO YOU

Please take the time to share the podcast with your friends and colleagues along with a recommendation.

Note: Being transparent, the links marked with an asterisk (*) are Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase the book via the link you will not pay any more than normal, but it will earn the podcast a few pennies which will contribute towards the media hosting costs. Thanks.

Atlassian Jira Portfolio with Michelle Melancon

In this episode, I talk with Michelle Melancon about Jira and the Portfolio plugin. Michelle is an Agile Evangelist & Coach with a strong technical background in configuration management and Jira for the enterprise.

Introduction:

Background, Challenges

Topic:

What is Jira?

What is it used for?

Why popular? History?

What is the latest version? 

Main new features

Portfolio for Jira - explained

QUICKFIRE ROUND

When did the concept of Agile techniques first make sense?

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Share your favourite practical tip for bringing about positive results within your team(s)?

Can you share a quality internet resource with the audience?

Atlassian Team Playbook

If you could recommend one book to our listeners, what would it be and why?

Coaching Agile Teams: A Companion for ScrumMasters, Agile Coaches, and Project Managers in Transition (Addison-Wesley Signature Series (Cohn) by Lyssa Adkins *

You can contact Michelle here [email protected]

Please take the time to share the podcast with your friends and colleagues along with a recommendation.

Note: Being transparent, the links marked with an asterisk (*) are Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase the book via the link you will not pay any more than normal, but it will earn the podcast a few pennies which will contribute towards the podcast hosting costs. Thanks.

Origins of Agile with Anand Murthy Raj.

 

Anand is a certified SAFE trainer and agile coach.

Introduction:Why he moved to using Agile techniques.Transitioning from a Delivery manager to an Agile coach. The biggest challenge during a coaching career

Topic:In this episode, we talk about the origin and history of Agile concepts.

How does history transition into the Agile concepts we know today?

Can you share a quality resource with the audience?

The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt *

The Lean Startup: How Constant Innovation Creates Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries *QUICKFIRE ROUND

Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action by Simon Sinek * 

You can contact Anand here [email protected]

Note: Being transparent, the links marked with an asterisk (*) are Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase the book via the link you will not pay any more than normal, but it will earn the podcast a few pennies which will contribute towards the podcast hosting costs. Thanks.

A Podcast Introduction With Host Nick Fifield

 

 

Hi there! 

 

My name is Nick Fifield and I’m the host of the Agile Café podcast.

 

This is episode 0, which introduces …

 

a)            My background and experience

b)            Why I’ve started the podcast

c)            And My plan for the podcast

 

You are welcome to skip this episode, the true content starts in the next one! J That said, I DO hope you listen on!

 

Assuming you are still here…. first things first. A little about me…

 

I live in Reading, a large town 40 miles West of London in the UK. After graduating with a degree in Computer Science, I started my career working professionally as a software developer, this lead to a series of roles at software companies, consultancies and investment banks.

About ten years ago I joined a project at Barclays Capital where we used parts of Scrum to help with communication and planning. Whilst, on reflection, the Agile implementation was poor, it did open my eyes to a new way of working within teams. I later joined a small software department where there was a need for improved communication, coordination, planning and delivery. Hence, a golden opportunity to establish the use of Scrum and, as they say here in the UK, “the rest is history”. I have since worked in management and consultancy roles, where I continue to apply and advocate various Agile techniques to help teams improve software quality and delivery.

On a more personal note, I have a healthy obsession with everything technology, enjoy watching sci-fi movies and competing in long distance running events.

 

So, WHY have I started the Agile Cafe podcast?

Why is an excellent question!… There’s a great book and famous TED talk by Simon Sinek, called “Start with Why”.  It explains how great leaders inspire others by telling people WHY they are doing something rather than selling the WHAT. Here are a few reasons Why I started the podcast:-

a)            Learning never stops -  there is always more to learn, and the Agile community is no different. Methods and practices evolve, and new ones are developed. Starting a podcast is a great opportunity to speak with and learn from leaders in this field.

b)            Change perception – there are many miss-conceptions about what being Agile means and what it doesn’t. Agile & Lean techniques are not a silver bullet or necessarily easy to establish. However, when done right, these techniques can radically improve team morale, quality, productivity and delivery. I feel the need to help others understand and communicate these points.

c)            Helping others – agile and lean techniques are typically frameworks or guides rather than concrete step by step processes. This can make it a challenge when trying to apply them in practice, especially at scale across an organisation. Even those with experience within the industry, like myself,  have many questions. More so, those who are new to the subject. This podcast aims help answer those questions, providing practical help, and arm people with the skills they need within their role.

 

My plan for the Agile Café podcast is to run a series of interviews with practitioners, coaches,  authors, vendors and thought leaders. During these chats, we will discuss a particular topic, and the lessons they have learned. The show will have a question quick fire round, where I will ask the guest a standard set of questions aimed at capturing practical tips and advice. Finally, I will offer you some homework, influenced by what we have learned from the episode.

One of my favourite sayings is “plans change”.  This is very fitting because, in an agile way, I’m sure my plan for the show will change along the way, adapting according to your feedback and my lessons learned.

 

I hope you enjoy the show and I look forward to hearing your feedback following each episode. You can contact me via the Agile Café FACEBOOK page, just login to FACEBOOK and search for @theagilecafe.

 

Enjoy!