Software Process and Measurement Cast

This week, Jorgen Hesselberg discusses the efficacy of assessments in helping to guide an agile journey. Assessments are a tool to help coaches coach and to answer the question of where are we in our journey toward being more agile. Jorgen last appeared in SPaMCAST 557 in 2019 (http://bit.ly/2MiBw4K). Jorgen Hesselberg is the author of Unlocking Agility and co-founder of Comparative Agility, a leading agile assessment, and continuous improvement platform. A proven thought leader of numerous successful enterprise transformation efforts since 2009, Jorgen provides strategic guidance, executive counsel, and coaching to some of the world's most respected companies, both as an internal change agent and an external consultant. He has trained thousands of people on agile and Scrum, disruptive innovation, and enterprise transformation strategy. Contact Information Email: jorgen@comparativeagility.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jhesselberg Comparative Agility: https://www.comparativeagility.com/product/ Re-read Saturday News! Chapters 14 and 15 of Badass Agile Coaching: The Journey from Beginner to Mastery and Beyond are titled Badass Role-Based Coaching and Context-Based Coaching. Written by Jennifer Fields, the chapters explore role-based and context-based coaching dynamics. The two chapters are intertwined; I view roles as a specialized type of context. Jennifer presents several scenarios in both chapters on how she would approach coaching events for different roles and contexts. Week 1: Badass Role-Based Coaching and Context-Based Coaching - http://bit.ly/3IjYEfU A quick advertisement: Controlling work entry requires preparation, knowledge, and building to establish a path to control work entry (magic wands are normally not available), which is why Jeremy Willets and I have developed a work entry workshop. Interested? Please email us at tcagley@tomcagley.com or willetsjm@gmail.com Next SPaMCAST In the next Software Process and Measurement Cast, we continue our journey into the use of flow metrics to plan work. Next week we will tackle something more complex. We will also return to the QA corner with the regular version of Mr. Barriault's column.

Planning is an important component of getting work done. Planning is not, however, creating and delivering work. Minimizing the amount of time spent planning but not under planning is almost mind-numbingly difficult. Flow metrics are tools to maximize the value of planning while minimizing the time spent on planning. Over the next few entries in the Software Process and Measurement Blog, we will explore several examples of using flow metrics in planning. We also have a visit from Susan Parente who brings her Not A Scrumdamentalist column to the podcast. Susan provides guidance on navigating environments that are not pristinely agile in a pragmatic fashion. Re-read Saturday News! Chapter 13 of Badass Agile Coaching: The Journey from Beginner to Mastery and Beyond is titled Badass Pair-Coaching. Over the years I have had many opportunities to participate in pair coaching, although fewer over the past few years. I miss pair coaching; it pushes me to expand my horizons and up my game. What about you? Week 13: Badass Pair-Coaching - http://bit.ly/3Y51J9f A quick advertisement: Controlling work entry requires preparation and knowledge, building to establishing a path to control work entry (magic wands are normally not available), which is why Jeremy Willets and I have developed a work entry workshop. Interested? Please email us at tcagley@tomcagley.com or willetsjm@gmail.com Next SPaMCAST Jorgen Hesselberg returns to the podcast to discuss the efficacy of assessments in helping to guide an agile journey. Assessments are a tool to help coaches coach and to answer the question of where are we in our journey toward being more agile. Jorgen appeared in SPaMCAST 557 in 2019 (http://bit.ly/2MiBw4K)

Today we begin year 17 of the Software Process and Measurement Cast with a presentation that Jeremy Berriault did at IdeaFest 2020. The presentation covered using supply chain concepts in an agile environment. When I originally recorded the session, I felt the idea was interesting but not very useful. But I am a bit of a packrat; I don't throw anything away. Last week I listened to the presentation again. This time I could see that the idea of using supply chain concepts is a great approach to implementing value chains and mirrors why flow metrics are such a valuable concept. Jeremy was just a bit ahead of the rest of the world. Note, the recording is not perfect. There is some external noise from unmuted microphones in the feed. I think the bit of interference does not diminish the message. The content is great; stay with it and you will have a lot to think about. The slides: (see www.spamcast.net Jeremy's website: https://berriaultandassociates.com/ Re-read Saturday News! This week Chapter 12 of Badass Agile Coaching: The Journey from Beginner to Mastery and Beyond focuses on language. Language is both essential and a deterrent for creating understanding. This is a provocative statement, but the truth of the statement is not open for debate. Week 12: Badass Agile Coaching in the Language of the Client - http://bit.ly/3jg6VI6 A quick advertisement: Controlling work entry requires preparation and knowledge, building to establishing a path to control work entry (magic wands are normally not available), which is why Jeremy Willets and I have developed a work entry workshop. Interested? Please email us at tcagley@tomcagley.com or willetsjm@gmail.com Next SPaMCAST Using flow metrics to plan in Kanban and Scrum environments. Flow metrics are incredibly useful metrics for value streams and value chains. They are equally useful at the team level — and in some cases even more powerful. We will also have a visit from Susan Parente who brings her Not A Scrumdamentalist column to the podcast.

Today we revisit the topic of empathy as we mark the last show in year 16. As coaches and leaders, we are taught that being empathetic is critical. However, the blanket statement that we need to walk a mile in someone else's shoes is not all rainbows and kittens. We will also have a visit from Jon M Quigley who brings his Alpha and Omega of Product Development column to the podcast. Jon and I continue our conversation on flow and its importance for teams and leaders. Re-read Saturday News! This week Chapter 11 of Badass Agile Coaching: The Journey from Beginner to Mastery and Beyond looks up. Even if you focus your agile coaching practice on teams you will need to coach up the managerial and executive hierarchy of the team. Week 11 - Coaching Up - http://bit.ly/3ZWo6z1 A quick advertisement: Controlling work entry requires preparation and knowledge, building to establishing a path to control work entry (magic wands are normally not available), which is why Jeremy Willets and I have developed a work entry workshop. Interested? Please email us at tcagley@tomcagley.com or willetsjm@gmail.com Next SPaMCAST Using flow metrics to plan in Kanban and Scrum environments. Flow metrics are thought of as incredible metrics for value streams and value chains. They are equally useful at the team level — and in some cases even more powerful. We will also have a visit from Jeremy Berriault who brings his QA Corner column to the podcast.

Luis Gonçalves returns to the Software Process and Measurement Cast to discuss his new book, Product First. We also talked about organizational mastery and change. Become a beta reader of Product First at http://bit.ly/3ZwQHL7 Luis last joined us on SPaMCAST 718, we discussed OKRs. Luis's Bio Luis Gonçalves is an Entrepreneur, Best Seller Author, and International Keynote Speaker. When consulting he works exclusively with Entrepreneurs, Founders, and Senior Leaders on the implementation of his game-changing "ADAPT Methodology". By following the "ADAPT Methodology" Executive Leaders will be able to transform their traditional project-oriented companies into modern digital product companies. OKR Guide: https://adaptmethodology.com/okr-guide-en Website: https://adaptmethodology.com/ Website: evolution4all.com Podcast: https://adaptmethodology.com/podcast/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/luismsg Re-read Saturday News! This week Chapter 10 of Badass Agile Coaching: The Journey from Beginner to Mastery and Beyond enumerates the four meta-skills in the Coaching Growth Wheel. They are: Leadership, Change Artistry, Inspiration, and Role Modeling. These four skills underpin the model and I strongly recommend a close reading of the chapter. A quick advertisement: Controlling work entry requires preparation and knowledge, building to establishing a path to control work entry (magic wands are normally not available), which is why Jeremy Willets and I have developed a work entry workshop. Interested? Please email us at tcagley@tomcagley.com or willetsjm@gmail.com Next SPaMCAST Using flow metrics to plan in Kanban and Scrum environments. Flow metrics are thought of as incredible metrics for value streams and value chains. They are equally useful at the team level — and in some cases even more powerful. We will also have a visit from Jon M Quigley who brings his Alpha and Omega of Product Development column to the podcast.

A funny thing happened on the way to this week's Software Process and Measurement Cast, I was asked about managing risk in Agile. In preparation for answering the question, I reviewed and updated some of my work on the topic. So instead of flow metrics, we have an essay on risk. That is just the chance you take when you ask me a question. Note -- I have a great question on risk to ask Susan Parente, @techriskmanager, the next time we record. We also have a visit from Tony Timbol. Tony discusses agile requirements in an installment of his To Tell A Story column. Check out Tony at http://tonytimbol.com/ Re-read Saturday News! This week we tackle Chapters 8 and 9. These chapters of Badass Agile Coaching: The Journey from Beginner to Mastery and Beyond are titled An Agile Coaching Story, Parts 1 and 2. They are written by Mark Summers of Beliminal and provide great advice on how to prepare and execute coaching events. Week 9 - Agile Coaching Story, Parts 1 and 2 - https://bit.ly/3jQ2m7a A quick advertisement: Controlling work entry requires preparation and knowledge, building to establishing a path to control work entry (magic wands are normally not available), which is why Jeremy Willets and I have developed a work entry workshop. Interested? Please email us at tcagley@tomcagley.com or willetsjm@gmail.com Next SPaMCAST Luis Gonçalves is back to discuss his new book! Luis and I had a great time talking about shifting from projects to product thinking, organizational mastery, and more!

Today we share our year-end panel discussion with the SPaMcast contributors and occasionally our dogs (once one gets going everyone needs to get in on the action). The topic this year is engagement. Is being on two calls at once, engagement? Does just being present tick the engagement box? Patterns and antipatterns abound, but Is engagement really that important? The panelists for this installment are: Jeremy Berriault linkedin.com/in/jeremy-berriault-mba Jeremy Willets linkedin.com/in/jeremywillets Susan Parente linkedin.com/in/susanparente A quick advertisement: Controlling work entry requires preparation and knowledge, building to establishing a path to control work entry (magic wands are normally not available), which is why Jeremy Willets and I have developed a work entry workshop. Interested? Please email us at tcagley@tomcagley.com or willetsjm@gmail.com Next SPaMCAST Using flow metrics to plan in Kanban and Scrum environments. Flow metrics are thought of as incredible metrics for value streams and value chains. They are equally useful at the team level -- and in some cases even more powerful. We will also have a visit from Tony Timbol who brings his "To Tell A Story" column to the podcast.

Over the years we have explored a wide range of books on Saturdays. Sometimes our re-reads reflect the real world outside software development. For example, in 2018 we re-read Bad Blood, Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou, the story of Theranos and Elizabeth Anne Holmes. This year Ms. Holmes went to prison. While I don't expect prison sentences for the subjects in the books we read in 2022, I expect the knowledge in the books we tackled to have a broader impact on the world. In the past year, we have re-read 3.4 books – 40% is the progress on the current book according to Kindle. Links to all of the read entries can be found in the show notes. I am looking forward to reading and learning with all of you in 2023. This week we also have a visit from Susan Parente and her Not A Scrumdamentalist column. Susan and I discussed how a newly minted Scrum Master can get up to speed quickly. A quick advertisement: Controlling work entry requires preparation and knowledge, building to establishing a path to control work entry (magic wands are normally not available), which is why Jeremy Willets and I have developed a work entry workshop. Interested? Please email us at tcagley@tomcagley.com or willetsjm@gmail.com Next SPaMCAST Every year I host a panel discussion with the columnists and other SPaMcast contributors. We will cap 2022 with a spirited discussion on the importance of engagement. Is it all that its cracked up to be or not?

While preparing for this week's podcast I ran across a recording of a presentation I did at IDEAfest 2020. The topic was the seven macro trends driving software development behavior. The presentation was crafted just at the beginning of the Covid19 pandemic but the topics are still relevant, perhaps even more relevant than they were in March 2020. So to make a long story short, I re-edited the recording and decided to share the talk with those that weren't at IDEAfest 2020 or have blanked the last two years from their memory. I will also post the presentation in the feed for your pleasure and to spark conversation. Re-read Saturday News This week we re-read Chapter 6 of Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching: The Journey from Beginner to Mastery and Beyond (Amazon Associate Link - buy a copy or two and give them to friends). Chapter 6 of Badass Agile Coaching: The Journey from Beginner to Mastery and Beyond is titled, Badass Agile Coaching Operating System. There are several important concepts to explore in this chapter all wrapped into the metaphor of a computer operating system. Previous Entries in Our Re-read: Week 1: Logistics and Forewords - https://bit.ly/3zoAYlx Week 2: Introduction to Badassery in Agile Coaching - https://bit.ly/3hcEPMs Week 3: The Mindset of the Badass Agile Coach - http://bit.ly/3Eu0qJu Week 4: Agile Coaching Frameworks - http://bit.ly/3Ok60S7 Week 5: Badass Agile Coaching Agreements - https://bit.ly/3iylnKM Week 6: Badass Agile Coach Arcs - https://bit.ly/3W4Mzzg Week 7: Badass Agile Coaching Operating System - https://bit.ly/3hCZ86s A quick advertisement: Controlling work entry requires preparation and knowledge, building to establishing a path to control work entry (magic wands are normally not available), which is why Jeremy Willets and I have developed a work entry workshop. Interested? Please email us at tcagley@tomcagley.com or willetsjm@gmail.com Next SPaMCAST The SPaMCAST 735 feature an essay on using flow metrics to plan either an epic or a sprint. Simply put the process generates a ton of knowledge and is dead simple . . . why aren't you using it now? We will also have a visit from Susan Parente and her Not A Scrumdamentalist column

The SPaMCAST 733 features a reflection on a reflection. As I was reading Chapter 5 of Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching: The Journey from Beginner to Mastery and Beyond (check out the re-read at https://bit.ly/3W4Mzzg) and retrospecting on my own behavior, I replayed some past coaching experiences. The point today is less the linkage to our current re-read than the confluence of continued learning and reflection. We also have a visit from Mr. Jeremy Berriault. Jeremy and I talk about coaches who let their own biases run away with them. Re-read Saturday News This week we re-read Chapter 5 of Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching: The Journey from Beginner to Mastery and Beyond (Amazon Associate Link - buy a copy or two and give them to friends). Chapter 5 is titled Badass Agile Coaching Arcs. Coaching and conversations are highly intertwined activities. I am at a loss as to how I would coach without actively interacting with people. I think the idea of a conversation arc is something I naturally understood or perhaps the concept percolated in my mind from sales training (haven't I strongly suggested sales training?). The idea of an arc to a coaching conversation makes perfect sense. Previous Entries in Our Re-read: Week 1: Logistics and Forewords - https://bit.ly/3zoAYlx Week 2: Introduction to Badassery in Agile Coaching - https://bit.ly/3hcEPMs Week 3: The Mindset of the Badass Agile Coach - http://bit.ly/3Eu0qJu Week 4: Agile Coaching Frameworks - http://bit.ly/3Ok60S7 Week 5: Badass Agile Coaching Agreements - https://bit.ly/3iylnKM Week 6: Badass Agile Coach Arcs - https://bit.ly/3W4Mzzg A quick advertisement: Controlling work entry requires preparation and knowledge, building to establishing a path to control work entry (magic wands are normally not available), which is why Jeremy Willets and I have developed a work entry workshop. Interested? Please email us at tcagley@tomcagley.com or willetsjm@gmail.com Next SPaMCAST The SPaMCAST 734 will feature a lightly edited version of the SPaMCASTs annual holiday panel. We are going to talk about engagement and whether being engaged is as important to organizations as it is to all of us in the agile and lean consulting industry.