Auspicious Agile State of Agile 2020

This week’s Auspicious Agile video blog takes a look at the VersionOne – Collabnet State of Agile Report for 2020. Lot’s of interesting developments. SAFe and Scrum continue to dominate Agile Scaling and Team level Agile. We will cover many other Agile and DevOps developments in the video.

Agile, DevOps, and Business Agility Trends 2019 - 2020

This week's Auspicious Agile video blog covers trends in Agile, DevOps, and Business Agility for 2019 & 2020. Business Agility covers areas of Agility extending beyond traditional IT and Software and extending to all business functions like executive leadership, marketing, operations, finance, legal...

#Agile #DevOps #BusinessAgility #AupiciousAgile
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Here are links to the surveys and my upcoming Agile classes:

Public Agile Classes - https://auspiciousagile.com/agile-classes/ (SAFe and IC Agile)

Version One State of Agile Survey 2019 - https://www.stateofagile.com/#ufh-i-521251909-13th-annual-state-of-agile-report/473508

Business Agility Institute - Business Agility Report 2019 https://businessagility.institute/learn/2019-business-agility-report-raising-the-bar/

Puppet Labs State of DevOps Survey 2019
https://puppet.com/resources/whitepaper/state-of-devops-report
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Do Agile & DevOps Work Together (part 2)

This question comes up a lot.  People ask if "now that we have DevOps do we still need Agile".  Or "Does Agile work with DevOps", "Should they be separate teams or initiatives"?  In this week's video blog we will try to answer these questions with a quick though exercise.

Our Guide To Distributed Agile Framework eBook has Been Published on Amazon!

Our new Guide to Distributed Agile Framework eBook has just been published on Amazon!  We appreciate your support and feedback!  Our team has been working on the book for ~2 years now, and we are proud to present the product of this effort. We hope it helps many people to be more successful with Agile and distributed Agile teams.

Introduction
Distributed teams are the norm for many organisations today. Companies are global, communications technologies allow people to live away from the "office" location and many of the new workforce are nomads. Even though most people will acknowledge the wisdom that collocated work is easier, reality is often different. Companies distribute their offices and partners globally and people running projects need to find ways to collaborate remotely. With the advent of new technology, this movement will only grow.

We as authors have experienced the challenges of distribution. Cultural, time zone and geographical distance, make collaboration more challenging.

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Also support Auspicious Agile by shopping on Amazon using the link below!
https://www.amazon.com/?tag=auspiagile-20 and purchasing our new book using the Amazon Affiliate link below or in the picture above:

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Agile “Growth” Mindset, Does it Really Matter?

What is Growth “Agile” Mindset, and does it really matter? Have you been involved in an Agile transformation or initiative. Was the “Growth” mindset present or missing? In today’s Auspicious Agile video we take a look at how important “mindset” really is to Agile and innovation.

Kanban Agile Method Update - (Kanban, Agile Scaling, and DevOps)

This week's Auspicious Agile video blog returns to the popular and evolving topic of Kanban.  We revisit this Agile method which continues to grow in popularity.  We will take a look at the basics of Kanban, along with how it is used with DevOps and Agile Scaling.

Want to check out the original Auspicious Agile video blog on Kanban?  You can find it here - https://youtu.be/4ksLe3qKa9o

Overview of Singapore Global Scrum Gathering 2017

I attended and spoke at the #SGSIN Singapore Global Scrum Gathering 2017 this week.  It was a really good conference, and I enjoyed taking part in it.  Special thanks to the organizers and Scrum Alliance.  I will be giving a summary of my talks at the Scrum Gathering along with some video clips, and playlists of the talks.  I will also include some other noteworthy talks and events at the Scrum Gathering from my perspective.

One of my talks during the conference was on Agile and The Design Sprint, and was a talk explaining how Design Sprints connect Agile and Design Thinking.  I discussed experiences and experiments I have been involved in using different variations of the Design Sprint concept, particularly the Google Ventures variation defined in the book Sprint (Amazon Affiliate link).  Here are some of the highlights from that 20 minute talk:

The Auspicious Agile video blog on Agile and The Design Sprint can be found here.  The Youtube playlist that has video of the entire 20 minute session can be found here.

My other talk at the Singapore Global Scrum Gathering 2017 was on Distributed Agile Scaling and Leadership.  I shared on some of the work I have been collaborating on with three others in this area that is available for review and feedback in Gitbook format currently.  Here are some video clips from the session:

For those who would like to watch the full 45 minute Singapore Global Scrum Gathering session the YouTube playlist can be found here.

There were also many other great talks and sessions during the conference.  Here are some that I thought were interesting and noteworthy:

There was an impromptu Open Space Agility session with Daniel Mezick, which was quite informative and entertaining.  You can learn more about Open Space Agility (which was used to facilitate our Tuesday Open Space sessions for the conference) here.



Thomas Friend had an informative look at how NASA uses Agile methods, and also gave some good clarification on the Agile Joint Strike Fighter (SAAB Gripen).



Pete Behrens talk on Agile Leadership, and mistakes commonly made in Agile Leadership was also particularly informative.  I particularly enjoyed this talk as well because I believe leadership is a critical element in the successful adoption of Agile and Scrum.

If you want to see the materials for these presentations and others they should be made available here.  Of course a great part of every Global Scrum Gathering is getting to catch-up with new and old friends.  This conference was no exception:

Until next time,
Stay Agile!

Agile Scaling Round up

This week's Auspicious Agile video blog takes a look at an updated set of Agile scaling methods.  There is coverage from VersionOne's 11th Annual State of Agile Survey, which provides some good perspective.  Methods covered included SAFe, Scum-of-Scrums, LESS, RAGE, Disciplined 2.0 and many more (believe me there are allot).

Taking a Look at Modern Agile

This week's Auspicious Agile video blog takes a look at Modern Agile created by Joshua Kerievsky.  Modern Agile goes beyond software development and applies to areas as broad as HR, Business Strategy, Product Development, and many more.

New Distributed Agile Framework

I am working on a new Distributed Agile Framework with my team mates +Hugo Messer  Savita Pahuja, and Arjan Franzen.  Our latest post can be found on InfoQ.  We welcome feedback and comments on the framework draft that we can incorporate as we iterate on our next version.

https://www.infoq.com/articles/be-agile-distributed-teams

Agile and The Design Sprint

This week's Auspicious Agile video blog takes a look at the Google Ventures Design Sprint.  We cover several applications including Venture Capital, Innovation Labs, Hackathons, and Agile Product Teams.

SAFe Agile Contracts

This week's Auspicious Agile video blog takes a look at the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) approach to Agile contracts.  This blog is a continuation of the series on Agile contracts.

The first blog post in this series can be found here - https://auspiciousagile.com/2014/11/08/agile-contracts/

The related Scaled Agile Framework Blog post can be found here - http://www.scaledagileframework.com/agile-contracts-and-safe/

SAFe Agile Portfolio - CapEx and OpEx

This week's Auspicious Agile video blog looks at the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe4) Portfolio Level - CapEx & OpEx.  A practitioner's perspective on the recent SAFe and Dean Leffingwell article on the topic.  CapEx & OpEx are accounting and financial terms, but they are very relevant for the enterprise Agile practitioner.  Find out how in this week's video blog.

A Tale of Two (Lean) Start-ups

This week's Auspicious Agile Video Blog takes a look at two real start-up companies.  We will look at how the principles of Lean Start-up (think Agile for Businesses) applies to each of the companies.  We will see where each company used Lean Start-up principles and where they failed to do so.

The Universe of "Agile" Approaches

There are a broad array of "Agile" methods.  From Transformation Design, and Design Thinking, to Agile Scaling, Lean & Kanban, Scrum & DevOps.  This week we take a look at the spectrum of Agile methods from the business oriented to the technology focused and see what they have in common.

Scaled Agile Framework 4.0 - A Practitioner's Perspective

This week we take a look at the new version of SAFe 4.0. I will give a practitioner's perspective on the changes and updates, covering interesting and noteworthy areas. SAFe 4.0 represents a significant update and is beneficial to learn about if you are or plan on scaling Agile.

An Agile Start to the New Year 2016!

This classic Auspicious Agile blog post, (with a few updates) appears below. I hope it helps you to have a great Agile start to the New Year!

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Hello and Happy New Year!  In looking forward to the New Year, setting goals, and making resolutions here are some thoughts to keep you Agile, flexible, and successful:

1.  Flexibility in your goals

As you set your goals for the New Year, start by building in some flexibility in your goal setting. Let's look at a few examples, some personal and some professional.  

For example:  You may want to re-start or continue your education.  At the same time you may want to start a new relationship, or get more serious about an existing relationship.  A few months into the year you may realise that the time required for achieving additional / higher education and also being involved in a relationship are more time than you have available in your discretionary time.

Being flexible you may choose to try another educational approach, like on-line learning or micro-learning so you can continue your education where you are or while you are at home.  This may give you more time for your relationship(s).  Or you may decide to put plans for a more serious relationship on hold until you complete your continuing education goals.  The point being that building in flexibility to your plans can help you to better achieve your goals and if necessary re-prioritize them (see personal backlog below).

Another example:  Let’s look at a professional case where you may be considering expanding your business into a new market.  While it makes sense to set some milestones this year to achieve market entry, it also makes sense to leave room to be flexible in your market entry approach.

It may make sense to set up a new business entity in the market, but it may also make more sense to work with local partners already in the market.  Leaving yourself some flexibility in achieving your milestones and goals for this year increases your likelihood of achieving your goals and resolutions.

2.  Adapting and adjusting your personal backlog

Just like the way we set up a Scrum Product Backlog or in a SAFe scaling context a Program Backlog in planning to meet your New Year’s goals and resolutions create a personal backlog. This builds on the first point as it helps you to visualise your goals and prioritise them.  Having a personal backlog in place also allows you to prioritise your goals and make trade-offs if you aren’t able to achieve everything according to your initial plan (and of course plans do change).

For example maybe you want to gain a new professional certification, start exercising again, and travel more to a new region.  Two month’s into the new year you may realise that you won’t be able to maintain your exercise routine and increase your travel to the new region.  In that case you may need to update your backlog to incorporate a new type of exercise that you haven’t done in the past.  Or you may need to look at the priorities in your personal backlog and decide whether travel to the new region is as important to you as being able to continue your exercise program.  Having a personal backlog enables you to be flexible.

3.  Limit your WIP

Limiting Work in Process (WIP) is a Lean principle that we see in Agile in the form of the sprint backlog (which limits the work in process every 2 – 4 week time box / sprint).  Limiting your personal WIP this New Year will help you to focus on what is really important. Do you have new family commitments, broader responsibilities in the work place, and want to continue your education. These are all great resolutions and goals, but trying to do everything at the same time makes it unlikely you will do anything very well.

So you may choose to focus on those new family commitments during the first month or first quarter (we can think of this as a sprint goal or in SAFe a Program Increment Objective).  During the second month or second quarter you may increase your focus on executing on those new workplace responsibilities (of course you will have probably done some initial planning during the first month or quarter).  Finally you may tackle that goal of continuing your education by enrolling in a Masters Program in the second half of the year.

By limiting WIP you are able to focus on a limited set of things (stories) in your backlog.  By doing this you can benefit from reduced task switching and achieve some early wins in key personal areas that will help to encourage you to continue in other areas.  Limiting WIP is a key approach to help you to achieve your goals and resolutions in the New Year!

4. Use a Kanban Board

A Kanban board is something that allows you to visualise your tasks and activities. There is an example below, but you can name the columns whatever you like.

 

For example when I moved from the US to Asia, I used a Kanban board to coordinate all of the activities. The columns were Ready/Blocked/In-Progress/Done. Using this method I could visualise all of the activities I needed to do like packing and shipping, finding housing, and updating mailing information. Using the Kanban board allowed me to effectively manage a complex move, and I actually still use one to track my day-to-day activities.

In Summary

Applying a few Agile principles to your planning for the New Year can help you to be more successful in achieving your goals.  Namely, by maintaining flexibility in your goals, creating and adapting your personal backlog, limiting WIP, and using a personal Kanban board, you will be well on your way to a successful and Happy New Year.

Have a Happy and Prosperous New Year 2016, and Stay Agile!

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The Original blog posts can be found here:

http://auspiciousagile.blogspot.sg/2015/01/an-agile-start-to-new-year.html

http://auspiciousagile.blogspot.sg/2015/10/personal-agile.html

Sticky Notes from the Agile Scaling Tour

“Sticky Notes” from my recent Agile Scaling Speaking Tour covering Agile Scaling Methods (SAFE, LESS, DAD, Spotify, SOS, Nexus).  This week we cover some key points and learnings from the conferences, and conversations with speakers and participants.

Agile Scaling Tour - SAFe v LESS

Today we re-visit one of the most popular Auspicious Agile video blog posts.  This one covers a comparison of LESS vs SAFe.

Here is the full playlist of Agile Scaling videos prepared for my "Agile Scaling Tour" speaking series covering LESS, SAFE, Scrum-of-Scrums, Nexus, Spotify, DAD, DevOps, and the Shu-Ha-Ri approach to becoming an Agile practitioner @ scale. 

Agile Scaling Tour Playlist featured in InfoQ -

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCAsCmczqRfk21x9R9xCJUPhU67W1TGhp

All the best, and until next time Stay Agile!

Agile and Martial Arts!?