Agile Complexification Inverter

The product owner calls everyone together and explains the "crazy" direction we are headed and why. Team morale does an immediate 180-degree turnaround and sky-rockets. Product Owner has a Sprint Goal This little tidbit of Sprint Planning often goes unnoticed, is frequently forgotten or never mentioned. But when you see the difference it makes for a bunch of devs that thought we were building the wrong thing and then realize how crafty your product owner is... well you will not forget to insist on the reasons - the goal of sprints you and the team are running. Years ago, in a rainy distant land far from sunny Texas, I worked for a SpeakEasy. The company was a hot-shot in ISD land (Internet Service Delivery in the days of modems). They had this crazy idea to build a Voice-Over-IP telephone product and hired out the tree-hugging hippies from a little consultancy company across the lake. These hippies said they had a new collaborative way to build products that work...

Here's a overview of a Scrum Immersion workshop done at GameStop this month. A case study example. Normally these workshops start with the leadership (the stakeholders or shareholders) which have a vision for a product (or project). This time we skipped this activity. The purpose of the Workshop is to ensure alignment between the leadership team and the Agile Coaches with regards to the upcoming scrum workshop for the team(s). Set expectations for a transition from current (ad-hoc) practices to Scrum. Explain and educate on the role of the Product Owner. Expected Outcomes: Create a transition plan/schedule Set realistic expectations for transition and next release Overview of Scrum & leadership in an Agile environment Identify a Scrum Product Owner – review role expectations Alignment on Project/Program purpose or vision Release goal (within context of Project/Program & Scrum transition) Once we have alignment on the Product Owner role and the Project V...

In a few minutes how do you explain the benefits of multiple incremental releases to someone new to this agile mindset?  I'm convinced that if I try to use words (which is typically the case when caught in a hallway conversation) or even words and a few quick sketches - I will not do justice to the complex concept.  Why?  Because this concept deals with multiple what if scenarios that play out in long timeframes with little feedback. So needing to have this conversation today, I had the time to do a search for some help.  And I found this wonderful article and video with a voice over explanation. Business Benefits of Software Release in Multiple Increments And there is an interactive Wolfram graphic you can play with yourself. http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/BusinessBenefitsOfReleasingSoftwareInMultipleIncrements/ Now with this link and the video explanation (done with a german accent I think, gives it real authority) - I can solve the problem of comi...