Andrew Watters

Another great Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast week of episodes from Vasco Duarte, with Mike Lyons. Great observations on delivering #value, the #agile #mindset #devops and much more between two people who are truly committed to #lifelonglearning and #activelistening https://lnkd.in/eYmUVUQu

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From arrival to inspiration, our Team Lead and Back-End Competency Lead Alexander Ryabtsev, is now soaking up insights from day one's standout speakers 🗣️ who truly made an impact: 1️⃣ Maxim Danilov: His talk 🎙️on reducing code complexity by decoupling monolithic repos into smaller, manageable applications was a game-changer. He introduced custom tooling 🛠️ for code </> analysis that aids in refactoring, offering a fresh perspective on large codebases. For those working with legacy systems, this approach could be a powerful 💪🏻 way to reorganize and optimize code. 2️⃣ Tiago Silva & Pedro Correia: They presented two new Python web frameworks, Esmerald and Lilya. Inspired by Django, Flask, Starlette, and FastAPI, their frameworks aim to offer an alternative, focused 👁️ on developer experience. Initially, Alexander was skeptical—thinking 💭 "Yet another framework, is Python becoming the new JS❓"—but Tiago and Pedro's passion and vision quickly won him over. He’s eager to explore 🔎 Esmerald and Lilya further and see what new ideas 💡 they bring to the table. 3️⃣ Nicholas Tollervey: The speaker delivered a thought-provoking, philosophical talk 🔊 on the responsibilities developers bear in shaping the software that powers 💥 our world. He highlighted the pitfalls 🕳️ of over-complication, the obsession with “best practices,” and the importance of critical thinking 🧠. With his background in philosophy and teaching 📚, he emphasized the value of guiding new developers toward the right mindset. A true reminder ⏰ to strive for excellence 💎 not only as developers but as individuals. Every minute ⌚ was inspiring! 4️⃣ Sydney Runkle: Her journey to landing a role at Pydantic was truly motivating 🤩. She offered insights into the internal processes, challenges, and routines at Pydantic, making it a must-hear 👂 for aspiring devs and Computer Science students 🎓 looking for their first big break. Her story proves that with determination and the right opportunities, you can gain invaluable skills ✨ and experience in both coding and collaboration.🤝🏻 Although only day ❶, but the insights and energy from PyCon Portugal are already pushing us to think bigger and reach higher! 🚀

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"If we get the team to work incrementally, in Scrum and with Jira, then they're agile, and they're good to go, and we can move on to the next one." Does this sound familiar? Focusing too much on the team level and not enough on the organisation is a common mistake in agile efforts. In this snippet from our roundtable at Agile 2023, Philip Heijkoop gets into the importance of having a broader perspective when it comes to your transformation. Watch now: https://bit.ly/3rwSNOF

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Agile development teams aim to deliver working software frequently, from a few weeks to a few months, with a preference for shorter timescales​​. Read more 👉 https://lttr.ai/ASjai #EmphasizeFlexibility #ContinuousFeedback #Developers #Term‘AgileDevelopment #SnowbirdSkiResort #GlobalTechnologyFirm #LeverageCompetitiveAdvantages​​ #LongDevelopmentCycles #MinimumViableProduct #AgilePrioritizesDirect

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How do we in the role of an agile coach supported a brand new Engineering Manager (EM) and Product Owner (PO) who are on the same team, in helping their team becoming more effective? Recently we discussed how they’re 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗼𝗴 and what the two of them do to 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺. 🤷‍♀️ 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 🤷‍♂️ • The difference between a user story, a task, and a sub-task.   • Who is responsible for what and  • How these three elements co-exist within a team’s workflow.   • How to deal with the overhead of a somewhat awkward workflow to link tasks to user stories dictated by JIRA. 🧠 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 🧠 Without such an alignment you will find repeated discussions about this and inconsistent ways of breaking down work.   It’s well worth the time 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀, perhaps coming up with your own hierarchies and definition, and, over time, using the data to make better informed forecasts about “when will it be done.” It’s amazing to see how different teams get hung up on trying to align their diverse mental models about something that on the surface appears so simple.  𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀: 👤𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: User stories are short, simple descriptions of a feature told from the perspective of the user or customer.   They are intended to define the “𝗪𝗵𝘆” 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 “𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁” and provide a clear understanding of what needs to be developed. ⛑️ 𝗧𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Tasks are more granular work items derived from user stories.  They represent the 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 to implement a user story.   Ideally tasks would cover end-to-end implementation slices rather than be split along lines of specialty such as BE or FE. 🪛 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Sub-tasks are the smallest units of work, breaking down tasks into even finer details. They are often used to 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸. Ideally a sub-task could be easily completed within a day. How do you break the work down with your team? And who is responsible for the breakdown? #agilecoaching #productowner #EngineeringManager #planning

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In 🎥 Episode 55 of Talking Roadmaps, Maarten Dalmijn 📖, talks to Phil Hornby. He's a consultant and author. He straddles the product management and agile space helping build empowered teams. An interesting discussion centred around "Is your roadmap a paper victory?" 🦻 listen to find out more! https://lnkd.in/eh_AkxQq #roadmapping #expert #productmanagement #productmgmt

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Like most people, I often get asked how to do some of tactical things within the umbrella of Agile, like breaking epics into user stories. Now this is a crucial step in allowing teams to deliver value incrementally and efficiently. But this trouble starts with the Epic, put the effort in to clarifying what the Owner WANTs and what result the are expecting. That is the critical First Step :) But here are three techniques to help you break things down : 1. Workflow Steps (Process Mapping) Identify the sequence of steps in a workflow or process. Each step can become a user story, perfect for epics representing a large process or series of actions. EG: For an epic like "User purchases a product," break it down into: "As a user, I want to browse products so that I can choose what to buy." "As a user, I want to add a product to my cart so that I can buy it later." "As a user, I want to enter payment details so that I can complete the purchase." 2. CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) Consider the CRUD operations on the data or entities involved in the epic. This is especially useful for managing entities like records or profiles. EG: For an epic like "Manage user profiles," create stories such as: "As an admin, I want to create user profiles so that I can onboard new users." "As a user, I want to view my profile so that I can see my account information." "As a user, I want to update my profile so that I can keep my information current." "As an admin, I want to delete user profiles so that I can manage inactive accounts." 3. Acceptance Criteria Decomposition Review the epic’s acceptance criteria and break them down into individual user stories. Each criterion often represents a distinct piece of functionality. EG: For an epic like "User can manage their subscriptions," decompose into: "As a user, I want to view my current subscriptions so that I know what I’m subscribed to." "As a user, I want to change my subscription tier so that I can upgrade or downgrade." "As a user, I want to cancel a subscription so that I can stop being charged." 4. Relative Sizing: Fine-Tuning Your Stories Compare stories relative to one another based on complexity, effort, or uncertainty, rather than using absolute estimates. This ensures stories are of similar size and manageable within a sprint. EG: Start with a baseline story like "As a user, I want to reset my password," then compare and adjust other stories relative to it. Mastering these techniques is HARD and DIFFICULT and you will be challenged by your Team. But by breaking down epics into manageable, actionable stories, you will be more likely to deliver value consistently and create repeatable patterns for the Team. #Agile #ProjectManagement #UserStories #Scrum #ProductDevelopment #SoftwareEngineering #ProductManagement

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Understanding agile sprints and timeboxes is essential for any organisation looking to improve its project management practices. Our latest article outlines the golden rules you need to follow to make the most of these concepts. See how these methods can streamline your team's workflow and boost productivity. Click the link in the comments section to read the full article. #AgileTraining #ProjectManagement #ProfessionalDevelopment

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