Blog: Agile & Business

The primacy of learning

April 16, 2008

More and more I am taking the view that learning is the central thing about business. What does this mean? First, learning by itself is not that meaningful. It is learning combined with action. The simple dichotomy (between thinking and action) is really not so simple. For example, one of the best ways to learn […]

Read More »

Respect People

April 11, 2008

“Respect People” is a key tenet of Lean. Of course, who wants to disrespect people?! Still, when people study why Lean works in one company and does not work in another; the answer some of the best people give is: Respect. Respecting people is truly realized at  successful companies. Jim Womack leads the Lean Enterprise […]

Read More »

Do we need a coach? Do we need a coach now?

April 10, 2008

Here are some questions that come up again and again: Do we need a coach? Do we really need a ScrumMaster? How much time should a ScrumMaster give a team?  How good do they need to be? Will we always need one? I am a coach, so perhaps I am biased. Still, bear with me […]

Read More »

How do I start an Agile project?

April 8, 2008

I have been teaching Agile courses for a while now. One of the persistent questions is: “Enjoyed the course, but I want more help on actually doing an Agile (Scrum) project?” In part this question arises from a wish to have a “cookbook.” This cookbook notion is something most of the smart people (at least […]

Read More »

The Nokia Test (3): Agile Specifications

April 1, 2008

The third line in the Nokia Test is: “The Iteration must start before the specification is complete.” What does this mean? The first practical goal was to eliminate the analysis paralysis and delay associated with waiting until the specification was “complete.” I don’t know all the details at Nokia, but I have lived them at […]

Read More »

What’s a ScrumMaster Worth?

March 25, 2008

You may have noticed that some people are feeling a recession out there (these days). So, money can be a bit tighter. So, can you afford a good ScrumMaster? The answer is obviously yes. In fact, they are even in greater need (since there is greater urgency). Now, let’s unwrap this from a financial viewpoint. […]

Read More »

Suggested Reading – For Two CSM courses last week

March 25, 2008

Here are some of the resources we mentioned in the courses. Caution: “Words, words, mere words, no matter from the heart.” — W. Shakespeare. Ground your learning in the heart, and in the fire of experience. “The New New Product Development Game” by Takeuchi and Nonaka. It costs $7 (softcopy). If you need to see […]

Read More »

“How to Tap IT’s Hidden Potential”

March 11, 2008

“How to Tap IT’s Hidden Potential” was the title of an article in the WSJ on March 10. Published in collaboration with the MIT Sloan Management Review. The subhead read: “Too often there’s a wall between a company’s information-technology department and everything else. That wall must go.” I remember getting a paper back in the […]

Read More »

Toward a general theory of Business Value

March 5, 2008

The title of this post is a little highfalutin, but it gets the idea across I hope. After many discussions with people about this subject, I find that the words “Business Value” tend to mean something very narrow to most individuals. For example, the words often mean, mostly: “the numbers we put on the story […]

Read More »

Suggested Resources for CSM Course NYC Feb 28-29

March 4, 2008

Here are some of the resources we mentioned in the course. First, a suggestion and two cautions. Suggestion: Always tightly link thinking and action. Caution: “Words, words, mere words, no matter from the heart.” W. Shakespeare Caution 2: “Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” […]

Read More »