The problem with project managers and product based thinking

Once upon a time I used to run projects. To be honest I am probably a better BA than a PM, but I have run quite a few projects and my projects always seemed to come through OK. So when I encountered agile projects with product owners on them, I was pretty relaxed. Advertisements

The problem with project managers and self managing (agile) teams

I sometimes get involved discussions about whether agile teams need project managers. I have a very strong view on this – NO, we do not need project managers, unless of course we do, in which case YES.

What does an agile coach actually do – is it really that simple?

In my last article, I explained what I think agile coaches do in practice. But I did not reveal some of the complications and messy bits that get in the way of adopting the model in any sensible way. So in this article I will explore some of the complexities and messy bits.

How we defined the problem in our workshop, plus a plan on a page

I ran a mini workshop as part of a training course I didn’t really follow the course notes in this exercise so we did not have any standard material to refer back to. People took notes and photos as we went, but I promised to publish a generic version of what we did. So here […]

Extending the coaching agreement – what do agile coaches actually do?

In my last article, I discussed what I think is NOT actually agile coaching. This time I will tackle the tougher challenge – what does a good agile coach actually do? A quick word of warning though – this simple question seems to have resulted in a long article. I apologise for not making this […]

Extending the coaching agreement – when is an agile coach not an agile coach?

I was talking to some experienced agile people and we started to discuss “agile coaching.” We agreed that it was a great idea and that everyone should have an agile coach. But then we realised that we did not mean the same thing when we said “coach.” We did agree on some things, like being able […]

Its a catastrophe – the reality check approach

I have been exploring some ways to help people and teams tackle major challenges, impediments and catastrophes. But my final approach is one I learned from my parents when I was young. Its not in any of the agile coaching approaches, but I have found I use it often. I also find this is the […]