Archives

Two cheers for the Nokia Test

I am an advocate of the Nokia Test, up to a point. Why do I like it? I think it is a simple way to set some sort of lower boundary on Agile (Scrum) and it tends to make two problems more visible: Cowboy Agile on one side and Agilefall (aka Wagile) on the other […]

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The primacy of learning

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 […]

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Respect People

“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 […]

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

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 […]

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How do I start an Agile project?

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 […]

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The Nokia Test (3): Agile Specifications

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 […]

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What’s a ScrumMaster Worth?

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. […]

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Suggested Reading – For Two CSM courses last week

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 […]

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“How to Tap IT’s Hidden Potential”

“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 […]

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Toward a general theory of Business Value

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 […]

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