SPaMCAST 568 – Agile Mindset, Passion, and Experimentation, An Interview With Sandeep Koorse

http://www.spamcast.net

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This week in SPaMCAST 568 marks the return of Sandeep Koorse.  Sandeep brings deep insight into the Agile mindset, passion, and experimentation. All three are required for a healthy team. Sandeep last appeared as part of SPaMCAST 511.

Sandeep is an innovative leader with over 15 years of experience in helping companies achieve higher results through a careful evaluation of their processes and their technology. Known for determining the metrics and behaviors that promote consistent excellence then sharing those values with colleagues through influence and authority. Recognized by peers for exceptional problem-solving abilities, excellent communication skills, and a passion for the community. Reach out to Sandeep at sandeep@koorse.com

 

Updated Simple Sprint Planning Checklist

So the answer is . . .

A minor update for Sprint Planning in late 2019!  At some point planning for planning needs to give way to planning.  Planning identifies a goal and helps to envision the steps needed to attain that goal. In Agile, the planning event also sends a message about the amount of work a team anticipates delivering in an iteration. While every team faces variations based on context and the work that is in front of them, a basic planning process is encapsulated in the following simple checklist.

 

Mapping Meeting Types to Scrum

A mad house or a meeting?

Depending on whom you ask and/or when you ask, meetings are a bane or boon.  Scrum practitioners often call the standard meetings ‘ceremonies’. The term confers a huge amount of gravitas to events that are just meetings.  What sets them aside from many run-of-the-mill conference calls is their explicit purpose.  

 

Components of Good Sprint Goals

Look up!

Sprint goals provide direction, they provide energy, and they communicate to the outside world. A sprint goal sounds like a simple, straightforward statement that a product owner should be able to craft quickly and then agree upon with a team with relative ease.  Yeah, right. Real-life is often messier. Teams spend hours – literally – to craft eloquent statements that include every business metaphor known to humankind, or just as bad, they throw together a laundry list of stories and call that a goal. Too much or too little, neither extreme is valuable.  A useful minimalist approach to sprint goals will address four major themes. They are:

 

Five Attributes For Writing Useful Sprint Goals

Climbing towards better sprint goals!

Sprint goals are an important tool for describing the value a team is striving to deliver. Goals can be used to rally the team and to bring the energy of disparate individuals to bear on a specific business problem.  Despite the power of the tool, sprint goals are not universally created and when they are done they are not always well done. In order to guide positive behavior, framing sprint goals so they exhibit:  

 

SPaMCAST 565 – Three Ways Ways To Mess Up Sprint Goals, Product Roadmaps, Essays and Discussions

http://www.spamcast.net

Play Now!  
Subscribe: Apple Podcast
Check out the podcast on Google Play Music
Listen on Spotify!

SPaMCAST 565 tackles three ways to mess up sprint goals. Sprint goals are a statement of the value that teams strive to deliver.  It is possible to complete all of the stories or work items only to realize that the team has lost sight of the goal. Alternately, it is possible to meet the goal and not complete all of the stories. 

We also have a promo for the Agile Online Summit https://www.agileonlinesummit.com/2019 This year’s summit will be held October 7 – 11th — EVERYWHERE, it’s a virtual conference.  Visit the website to sign-up. The basic conference is FREE.

Rounding out the cast, we have a visit from Jon M Quigley with an installment of The Alpha and Omega of Product Development.  Jon talks about his two new books and product roadmaps.

Re-Read Saturday News

 

Agile Techniques: Three Ways Ways To Mess Up Sprint Goals

Without a goal, it is easy to wander aimlessly!

Sprint goals are a statement of the value that teams strive to deliver.  The statement provides a guide for teams so they can focus on the “why” rather than falling into the trap of local optimization.  It is possible to complete all of the stories or work items only to realize that the team has lost sight of the goal. Alternately, it is possible to meet the goal and not complete all of the stories.  There are three general maladies that afflict Sprint Goals when they are not done well. They are: