Troubleshooting Agile

Jeffrey tells the story of his team writing code that gives incorrect but still useful results, and we reflect on why it can be hard to choose to "pay to learn". SHOW LINKS: - Thinking, Fast and Slow: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking,_Fast_and_Slow - Worse is Better: https://dreamsongs.com/WorseIsBetter.html --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

Squirrel helps teams split their work into tiny "slices" they can release daily or weekly, and finds that the biggest obstacle is all the things that developers think they know about users, many of which they have to first unlearn. SHOW LINKS: - Original tweet: https://twitter.com/douglassquirrel/status/1435602671306674176 - Falsehoods programmers believe about names: https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-names/ - Elephant carpaccio: https://alistair.cockburn.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Elephant-Carpaccio-exercise-instructions.pdf - Will Rogers: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2018/11/18/know-trouble/ --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. 
 Email us at info@agileconversations.com

Squirrel tells stories of clients whose attempt to ringfence developers on certain tasks ended badly, and we explore why hiding from a difficult conversation with "dedicated" engineers doesn't work. SHOW LINKS: - Original tweet: https://twitter.com/douglassquirrel/status/1435602662796537861 - https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/solving-the-problem-of-siloed-it-in-organizations/ --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. 
 Email us at info@agileconversations.com

We discuss making radical change in an organisation by violating its norms in use and producing productive conflict. SHOW LINKS: - How Should the Company Decide?: https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/how-should-the-company-decide --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

We consider the dynamics—or perhaps statics!—of an organisation that is stuck running the same agile processes or following an unchanging strategy, even though it isn't providing any improvement, and consider why an organisation might get stuck in this way. SHOW LINKS: - Double-Loop Learning: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-loop_learning --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. 
 Email us at info@agileconversations.com

We discuss why daily delivery via "elephant carpaccio"—already challenging for engineers—is doubly difficult for designers, and what to do about it. SHOW LINKS: - Elephant Carpaccio: https://alistair.cockburn.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Elephant-Carpaccio-exercise-instructions.pdf --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

A listener asks how to find a great company to work for, and Jeffrey and Squirrel share a few opinionated, biased heuristics for discovering great environments to work in. SHOW LINKS: - CITCON conferences: https://citconf.com/ - DevopsDays: https://devopsdays.org/ - DOES conference: https://events.itrevolution.com - Joel Test: https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/08/09/the-joel-test-12-steps-to-better-code/ --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. 
 Email us at info@agileconversations.com

Squirrel and Jeffrey trade stories about coaching people who feel trapped by a decision seemingly outside their control—and how a recursive question can help unlock more options and a better result. SHOW LINKS: - Unilateral control: https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/how-to-fail-by-acting-unilaterally-part-i - Mutual learning: https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/mutual-learning-model-part-one - Eight behaviors: https://cdn.csu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/917018/Eight-Behaviors-for-Smarter-Teams-2.pdf - Drive by Daniel Pink: https://www.danpink.com/books/drive/ --- Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://agileconversations.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list! We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show. Email us at info@agileconversations.com

The discussion highlights the power of code words and emojis in enhancing team communication. It reveals the hurdles teams face during growth and the significance of maintaining cohesion. Remote work challenges are tackled, emphasizing cultural inclusivity for newcomers. As new members join, teams must adapt their dynamics and embrace open dialogue to foster collaboration. Overall, it’s a deep dive into the evolving nature of team culture and the strategies to successfully navigate change.

Discover how a telephone emoji transformed communication in a coaching scenario, emphasizing the importance of effective dialogue in agile teams. Delve into the fascinating world of code words, like 'step Q', that enhance trust and collaboration among team members. Learn how these shared symbols can strengthen dynamics and create a sense of intimacy within groups. The conversation also touches on managing growth and loss as teams evolve, inviting listeners to reflect on their own communication practices.