Agile Methodology News, Latest Updates and Recent Announcements on Techminis

A naukri.com initiative

New

Home

Agile Methodology News

Medium

292

Image Credit: Medium

From Credentialing Highs to Lasting Mastery: Rethinking Microcredentials in the Agile Industry

Scrum Alliance and other industry players move towards offering shorter, more superficial certification courses
Microcertifications offer quick, temporary psychological validation for practitioners, and social proof and free advertising for companies
Microcredentials can result in a superficial culture of credentialism, with employees pressured to accumulate badges at the expense of mastering skills
The shift toward and preference for superficial certifications over genuine skilled expertise fuels a stagnation of the Agile industry, encourages complacency, and hinders innovation
To avoid pitfalls of shortsighted thinking and align the Agile industry with its principles of delivering genuine impact, the focus should be on foundational education and long-term skills acquisition and development
The role of product managers lies in advocating for the long-term health of Agile workflows and teams, nurturing genuine mastery over collecting badges
By shifting the focus towards substantive growth and impactful outcomes, Agile teams can transform organizations and deliver real value
Agile success should be evidenced by tangible outcomes such as improved customer satisfaction and faster time-to-market
The Agile industry needs more masters, not more badges. Genuine Agile mastery demands time, resources, and tools that empower practitioners to drive meaningful change
Adopting a mindset of sustainable growth and re-defining success through investing in deep, foundational education is the key to unlocking the full potential of Agile

Read Full Article

17 Likes

Medium

Image Credit: Medium

Why Agile Needs Product Thinkers, Not Project Managers

Building agile teams should extend throughout the organization, not just the software side of the product.
True cross-functional collaboration is rare in large organizations, causing silos and lack of communication.
Technology often becomes an impediment to agile practices, causing delays and panic among project managers.
Transitioning from project-based to product-based thinking requires a cultural shift and gradual learning.

Read Full Article

Medium

Image Credit: Medium

Building Data Science Models: Product Lessons Learned from Focusing on the End Goal

The key lesson here is to think about how a technology or model will be used from the very beginning.
Start with the end goal in mind to ensure the model is developed in a way that provides valuable insights and actions.
Collaboration between product and data science teams is crucial for successful integration of models into the product.
Working in an agile way and building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) can help save time and frustration on future projects.

Read Full Article

1 Like

Medium

283

Image Credit: Medium

Cultural Mindset: A Thought About Collective Ownership

Working in a group of five, under a Tech Lead, the author decided to dip toes into the waters of collective ownership and embrace a feature or service/microservice-based approach.
The goal was for every team member to be equally knowledgeable about every nook and cranny of the project, providing a wellspring of expert opinions to tackle bugs and roll out new features.
This approach ignited the team’s commitment and sense of ownership towards the project, providing unique opportunities for some team members.
Breaking down silos led to standardization and harmonization of best practices across different technologies and scopes, providing a common language for effective communication.
Collective ownership meant everyone was empowered to handle user stories from end to end, segment them better, and understand their impacts collectively.
This experiment led to erasing the need for a single point of contact and training team members to attend all project meetings and voice decisions.
However, it is essential to find and accept compromises, as everything in the organization must evolve together, not just one piece of the puzzle.
The importance of promoting autonomy and initiative, eliminating rules, fostering internal mobility and collective ownership, which disrupts the Tech Lead's roles, is vital to create a successful team.
The article concludes with celebrating small victories and contributing to the gradient descent.

Read Full Article

17 Likes

Scrum-Master-Toolbox

252

Mike Bowler: The Pitfalls of Combining PO With Other Roles

Mike Bowler highlights the importance of active involvement and collaboration for great Product Owners.
He warns against combining the roles of a Product Owner and manager, as it can lead to micromanagement and stifled team autonomy.
Mike suggests choosing between being a Product Owner or a manager to avoid power imbalances.
He emphasizes the need for fostering an environment that promotes engagement while empowering the team to make independent decisions.

Read Full Article

15 Likes

Dev

274

Image Credit: Dev

Combining Scrum with Kanban and Extreme Programming

Scrum is a framework that is primarily utilized in the sector of software development and divides the work into digestible chunks, referred to as Sprints.
Kanban is a strategy for regulating the flow of work, and it makes use of visual boards to help track and manage work in progress so that teams can view what is now being worked on, what is still pending, and what has already been finished.
Scrum teams can use Kanban boards to track the flow of work items during a Sprint, typically visualizing stages like “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done,” which gives the team a clear view of work progress and can help prevent bottlenecks.
XP is a collection of software development approaches that are intended to enhance the quality of code and flexibility in meeting the ever-evolving requirements of customers.
XP’s engineering practices can be highly beneficial when incorporated into a Scrum environment.
One of the foundational XP practices is Test-Driven Development (TDD), which ensures that development is always aligned with requirements and that code quality is maintained from the start.
Continuous Integration (CI) is another critical XP practice that complements Scrum’s focus on delivering potentially shippable increments.
Combining Scrum, Kanban, and XP, when combined, provide a comprehensive approach to Agile development that tackles both the management and technical components of software delivery.
This hybrid method enables teams to take use of the structure of Scrum, the flow optimization of Kanban, and the engineering best practices of XP.
Through the implementation of these advanced Agile methodologies, teams have the ability to improve their productivity, decrease bottlenecks, and deliver high-quality products in a more expedient manner.

Read Full Article

16 Likes

Hackernoon

342

Image Credit: Hackernoon

Challenges in Implementing Agile Methodology for Cloud Solutions

Agile methodology may not always be the perfect fit for cloud or SaaS solution implementations.
Cloud solutions in procurement can conflict with Agile's principles due to complexities and upfront planning needs.
Cloud procurement implementations involve multiple stakeholders with distinct needs, requiring comprehensive requirements design.
Integrating with legacy systems poses challenges that Agile's short-cycle approach isn't well-equipped to handle.

Read Full Article

20 Likes

Scrum

360

Image Credit: Scrum

Defining Value in Scrum: What Does It Mean for You?

The concept of value in Scrum is subjective and unique to each person, team, or organization.
Value can be defined based on various factors such as making money, reducing risk, raising quality, etc.
It is important to understand why a product or service exists and who it brings value to, whether it's the team, organization, clients, or society.
Aligning perspectives on value with stakeholders and users is crucial for defining the value generated by the team.

Read Full Article

21 Likes

Medium

157

Image Credit: Medium

5 Pillars of Product Delivery

Empowered decision makers leading with informed decisions, encouraging data-driven decision making, fostering a culture of accountability and responsibility
Intentional and transparent cross-team communication, establishing clear communication channels and protocols, promoting active listening and collaboration
Selecting and adjusting technologies and tools to support the process, assessing needs and requirements early, continuously reviewing and optimizing technology/tool usage
Asking the Next Best Question (NBQ) to find the next best action, gaining confidence through asking before telling, applying NBQ in various stages of the product delivery process
Defining, executing, and iterating on process, creating a well-defined and flexible process framework, reviewing and refining the process based on feedback and results

Read Full Article

9 Likes

Kanbanzone

405

Image Credit: Kanbanzone

Strategic vs. Tactical Planning: Understanding the Differences

Strategic planning is focused on medium to long-term goals, while tactical planning deals with short-term, detailed actions.
A strategic plan loosely connects the dots between the starting point and the finish line without going into the intricacies. It must not only be aspirational, but also realistic and informative of external factors.
A tactical plan is more precise and details the smaller steps needed to solidify the overall strategy. It often involves specific short-term goals and must underlay the overall strategic plan.
Strategic planning helps align team members and stakeholders, while tactical planning brings the roadmap to life. It ensures large goals are more achievable and easier to understand, indicating the actions that are necessary to make a goal a reality.
To create a strategic plan, one should go through the existing objectives, research the market, define the organization's mission and vision, create long-term goals, and allocate the necessary resources.
To create a tactical plan, one should study the strategy, identify the goals that can be measured imminently, plan and identify the necessary tactics, assign responsibility, allocate resources, identify KPIs, and monitor and adjust the plan regularly.
Kanban Zone is a product that can help businesses create both strategic and tactical plans. The platform promotes visual collaboration, frequently updates progress, supports capacity planning and offers multiple integrations with market-leading tools.
Kanban Zone is a highly efficient platform that minimizes time spent on repetitive work and helps analyze progress, team productivity, and project timelines through its advanced metrics features.
Strategic planning and tactical planning are necessary processes for business success. Kanban Zone is a suitable process efficiency solution for businesses of all sizes, and one can try it for free.

Read Full Article

24 Likes

Medium

211

Image Credit: Medium

Vabro: Tool Used For Seamless Project Management

Vabro is a tool specifically designed for Agile teams, providing an intuitive interface and strong features.
Key features of Vabro include splitting big projects into smaller tasks, keeping everyone updated instantly, and integrating with popular tools like Jira, Trello, and Slack.
Vabro is an all-encompassing solution tailored to the needs of agile teams, helping them manage projects following Agile methodologies.
Vabro is recommended for any team looking to enhance their project management capabilities.

Read Full Article

12 Likes

Productcoalition

Image Credit: Productcoalition

Does Anyone Really Ever “Complete” a Sprint

The real secret to sprint effectiveness isn’t about checking every box by Sprint Review day; it’s about delivering consistent value while maintaining team sanity and stakeholder trust.
Perfect sprint completion itself is a vanity metric.
Instead of playing a weird game of capacity chicken with your sprint, teams should estimate work more reasonably and plan for 80% capacity and acknowledge that if everything is P0 then nothing is.
Measure what matters including value delivered to customers, velocity, team sustainability, prediction accuracy, and quality of output.
Agile ceremonies should offer opportunities for genuine collaboration and improvement.
Conversations need to be had with stakeholders that clarify the new way of working.
Stay focused on planning based on reality, delivering consistent value, measuring true metrics of success, learning and improving, and managing expectations well.
The real win will be the maximal value you provided your customers along the way.

Read Full Article

3 Likes

Scrum

369

Image Credit: Scrum

There's more to Organizational Agility than the Scrum Guide

While Scrum framework guides the interactions of Scrum team, it doesn't describe organizational changes that support agility.
Organizations need to figure out how they can best use Agility within their unique environment.
Leadership alignment is crucial for Agile teams. Leaders must shift from a command-and-control mindset to a model that empowers and trusts teams.
Leaders should also empower teams to self-organize, foster accountability, innovation, and a higher level of engagement.
Leaders should evaluate customer outcomes, value creation, and overall team culture instead of merely measuring success by throughput.
Leaders should also focus on removing organizational and technical impediments to help their teams perform well in an agile environment.
Leaders should work to foster open communication, trust, and a willingness to experiment and learn from failure to build a strong team culture.
An Agile Transformation requires a clear purpose & vision aligned with organizational objectives that serves as a foundation for success.
Leaders should invest in Scrum training & knowledge sharing to ensure everyone has the knowledge to contribute to a sustainable transformation.
Ongoing coaching support helps maintain Agile momentum and encourages continuous improvement. Coaches are key to reinforcing practices, answering questions, and providing feedback.

Read Full Article

22 Likes

Scrum

311

Image Credit: Scrum

Product Operations – A Key Ingredient in your Product Journey

The vision of the Product-oriented organization is to have product teams aligned around outcomes, focused on what truly matters, collaborating cross-functionally, and equipped with data-driven insights.
Moving from managing tasks and backlogs to managing outcomes and owning products is a challenging transformation, especially for organizations new to the product world.
Product Operations, also known as optimizing structure, processes, and tooling, plays a crucial role in established Product Organizations, enhancing the Product Management experience and driving innovation with fewer distractions.
As companies embrace product thinking to develop the company, there will be an increased demand for enabling people to think and work in product ways of working, making the future of Product Operations even more interesting.

Read Full Article

18 Likes

Scrum

157

Image Credit: Scrum

Continuous Deployment – Vanity or Transformational Capability?

Continuous Deployment has become a bragging right for technology organizations.
Integrating and deploying every small change reduces the length of the feedback loop.
Continuous deployment is crucial for trying, inspecting, and adapting in an environment of uncertainty.
Closing fast feedback loops is essential for various products and industries.

Read Full Article

9 Likes

For uninterrupted reading, download the app

Agile Methodology News

Discover more