Troubleshooting Agile

By A weekly problem-solving session for all things agileBusiness

Troubleshooting Agile episodes

June 09, 2021 Surprise! Why are you being so hostile?
Squirrel tells the story of a conversation that took a sudden difficult turn, and we discuss methods like the Disarming Technique for handling surprises like this effectively.
SHOW LINKS:
- Roger Schwarz, Eight Behaviours for Smarter Teams: https://www.csu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/917018/Eight-Behaviors-for-Smarter-Teams-2.pdf
- David Burns, the Disarming Technique: https://feelinggood.com/2017/12/11/066-five-secrets-training-the-disarming-technique/
- Finnish Agile Circle: https://www.meetup.com/Agile-Finland-Helsinki-Coaching-Circle/
- London Organisational Learning Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/London-Action-Science-Meetup/
---
Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list!
We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show.
22 min
June 02, 2021 Status in Meetings: We are All Primates
A listener asks us about why social hierarchy and popularity norms matter so much in team discussions. We riff on a number of ideas this inspires including the Tyranny of Structurelessness and the Core Protocols.
- Tyranny of Structurelessness article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tyranny_of_Structurelessness
- Project Aristotle (Google study): https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html?smid=pl-share
- Core Protocols: https://liveingreatness.com/files/core-protocols-3.03.html
- Liberating Structures: https://www.liberatingstructures.com
- Six Thinking Hats: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Thinking_Hats
- Google Re:Work: https://rework.withgoogle.com/
- Schwarz, Skilled Facilitator: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/221980.The_Skilled_Facilitator
----
Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list!
We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show.
Email us at [email protected]
20 min
May 26, 2021 CITCON 2021 Part II: Taylor was Right
At #citcon Virtual 2021, Andy Parker makes the case that Fredrick Taylor, whom we sometimes like to bash as the father of the feature factory, created the foundation of our work as software teams.
- CITCON: https://citconf.com/
- Fredrick Taylor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Winslow_Taylor
- Previous Fredrick Taylor episode: https://www.conversationaltransformation.com/blog/in-praise-of-taylor/
- Productive Workplaces Revisited: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1268463.Productive_Workplaces_Revisited
- Cynefin framework: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynefin_framework
Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list!
We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show.
Email us at [email protected]
16 min
May 19, 2021 CITCON 2021 Part I: Teaching Agile Again and Again and Again
Our friends at CITCON help us think about why we feel like we're covering the same agile lessons over and over, like breaking epics down into very small stories. An analogy to teaching long division turns out to be surprisingly helpful.
- CITCON: https://citconf.com/
- Moore, Crossing the Chasm: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_the_Chasm
- Chris Matts, community of needs: https://snowbirdcollaboratory.org/community-of-needs/
- Alistair Cockburn: https://alistair.cockburn.us/
Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list!
We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show.
Email us at [email protected]
22 min
May 12, 2021 We Have All The Answers But Nobody Will Listen To Us
We describe some data scientists we know who are stuck in a tricky bind - why won't others in their organisation listen to their insights? This is the "Last Mile" problem of data science, for which we recommend (surprise!) building relationships through better conversations.
- Last Mile problem of Data Science: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2019/07/23/solving-the-last-mile-problem-for-data-science-project-success/
- Devops Enterprise Forum: https://itrevolution.com/forum-paper-downloads/
- High Agency:
https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1276956836856393728?lang=en
Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list!
We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show.
Email us at [email protected]
18 min
May 05, 2021 The Voodoo Charm
"We'll keep an eye on it". "It's on our backlog." "It's on our tech debt list". These are all examples of voodoo charms, reassuring phrases that make you feel better but don't create real change. We suggest several ways to overcome the real fear behind your use of the voodoo charm.
SHOW LINKS:
- public pronouncements don’t work: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/culturing-science/new-years-resolution/
---
Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list!
We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show.
Email us at [email protected]
18 min
April 28, 2021 The Meeting Before The Meeting
Squirrel tells a dramatic story about preparing for a meeting under huge pressure, and we discuss how valuable it is to have a solid relationship to build on when negotiating over something as important as survival of your startup.
SHOW LINKS:
- Your first 30 Days as an Agile Manager: https://xebia.com/academy/en/training/first-30-days-agile-manager
---
Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list!
We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show.
Email us at [email protected]
17 min
April 21, 2021 Vasco Duarte - Scrum Master Call to Arms: Part II
Vasco Duarte, master of Scrum, issues a call to arms for all scrum masters: you have nothing to lose but your estimates and feature factories! Noted Scrum sceptic Squirrel questions Vasco vigorously on what Scrum Masters do and discovers that Vasco's view of the role is very different from the traditional one.
SHOW LINKS:
- Vasco: http://softwaredevelopmenttoday.com/ , https://scrum-master-toolbox.org/
- Scrum Master Summit: https://scrummastersummit.org
- No Estimates book: https://oikosofyseries.com/no-estimates-book-order
---
Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list!
We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show.
17 min
April 14, 2021 Vasco Duarte - Scrum Master Call to Arms: Part I
Vasco Duarte, master of Scrum, issues a call to arms for all scrum masters: you have nothing to lose but your estimates and feature factories! Noted Scrum sceptic Squirrel questions Vasco vigorously on what Scrum Masters do and discovers that Vasco's view of the role is very different from the traditional one.
SHOW LINKS:
- Vasco: http://softwaredevelopmenttoday.com/ , https://scrum-master-toolbox.org/
- Scrum Master Summit: https://scrummastersummit.org
- No Estimates book: https://oikosofyseries.com/no-estimates-book-order
---
Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list!
We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show.
15 min
April 07, 2021 Business as a Second Language - with Alan Weiss
Alan Weiss has written over 60 books on consulting and advocates a no-holds-barred approach, "the martial arts of language", to business problems. He eats difficult conversations for breakfast! We find out why language controls business, how us engineers can drive strategy by emphasizing results and not technology , and what tough love is and why it's so effective.
SHOW LINKS:
- Alan Weiss: https://alanweiss.com
- Business as a Second Language workshop: https://alanweiss.com/growth-experiences/bsl/
---
Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list!
We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show.
Email us at [email protected]
15 min

About Troubleshooting Agile

From the publisher's feed

Troubleshooting Agile is a problem-solving session for agile teams. Jeffrey Fredrick and Douglas Squirrel look at common problems agile teams face and provide practical, immediately useful advice for…