Agile Mentors Podcast from Mountain Goat Software

Join Scott Dunn and Brian Milner as they discuss how to influence up, including the tools you can use to overcome difficulties and step into a partnership with the influential people in your organization for influence that creates lasting change. Overview While we all want to be heard, but we are sometimes met with leaders in our organization who are uninterested in our concerns or resistant to giving needed support. And sometimes, it's our approach that's causing our conversations to fall flat. In this episode of the Agile Mentors podcast, Brian Milner and Scott Dunn share their real-world experience on what to do from your side to earn the right to influence up. They discuss what bosses, managers, leadership, stakeholders, and other higher-ups in the organization want and tools you can use to overcome the gaps and step into a partnership with the powerful people in your organization for lasting change. Listen now to discover: [01:06] - Today, Brian and Scott Dunn discuss influencing up. [01:40] - Scott shares how it's easier to influence if you meet people where they are. [03:46] - How to create a win-win by adjusting your communication style. [04:25] - Scott shares how to earn the right to influence up by making things happen on your side of the fence. [06:17] - How a mind of curiosity can help you negotiate your position when the higher-ups say they are 100% onboard with Agile except for… [08:22] - How to challenge management without losing your job or credibility. [10:05] - Why it's vital to look for opportunities to influence an organization at every level. [11:07] - Organizational taxes are the price of the privilege of working in an organization. [12:07] - Brian shares how even small iterations of Agile can move the needle in organizations. [13:09] - Why you need to think about your intentions when trying to influence up. [14:28] - Scott shares how you can introduce tenants of Agile to show people how to work differently, show up differently, and make a difference to improve an organization. [16:05] - How returning to values on the Agile Manifesto helps organizations create team dynamics that inspire respectful team dynamics. [18:59] - Scott shares how making your boss look good makes a big difference for everyone in the organization. [20:09] - Brian shares how to think like your boss so you can frame your approach in a way that speaks their language. [23:58] - The opportunity to 'choose your own adventure' within your organization through sharing information. [25:29] - How to use the power of story to give your boss the tools to help make the change to Agile. [27:11] - Scott shares how resources such as the Agile Mentors Community can help you delve deeper into community for insight into solving your influence issues. Listen in next time when Lance Dacy will be on the show. References and resources mentioned in the show Agile Manifesto #24: How Agile Organizations Respond to Challenging Economic Times with Scott Dunn #1: Scrum vs Agile & Keys to Success with Mike Cohn Lyssa Adkins How To Be Successful with Agile in Any Culture Christopher Avery - CEO & Founder -The Responsibility Company | LinkedIn Mountain Goat Software Agile Mentors Community Scrum Alliance Subscribe to the Agile Mentors Podcast on Apple Podcasts Want to get involved? This show is designed for you, and we'd love your input. Enjoyed what you heard today? Please leave a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one. Got an agile subject you'd like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Please share your thoughts with us at podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com This episode's presenters are: Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He's passionate about making a difference in people's day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work. Scott Dunn is a Certified Enterprise Coach and Scrum Trainer with over 20 years of experience coaching and training companies like NASA, EMC/Dell Technologies, Yahoo!, Technicolor, and eBay to transition to an agile approach using Scrum.

Julie Chickering sits down with Brian to share the best gift books for the Scrum masters in your life. Overview We all have those books on our bookshelves that we’ve had for years and still refer back to time and time again, or that new title that we’ve just read that blows our mind with the way it makes a new concept more relatable. Julie Chickering is a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST), PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), and a traditional Project Management Professional (PMP). Today on the show, Julie joins Brian to discuss the most valuable books they’ve read, the lessons they’ve learned from them, and the best ones for giving to the Scrum Master in your life this holiday season. Listen now to discover: [01:06] - Today, Brian and Julie Chickering will be sharing the most valuable books we’ve read. [02:10] - Julie shares how a book called Two Beats Ahead is helping her learn to let go of her creations. [04:00] - Julie shares an interesting story of how Beyoncé invited musicians in for collaboration and how that opened her mind to learning from her community. [05:07] - Brian shares why Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great by Esther Derby and Diana Larson is his #1 book recommendation for Scrum Masters. [06:29] - Julie shares why she’s also a fan of Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great for the mix-and-mash recipe for creating menu selections. [08:06] - Julie shares why The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups insight into the three main things that make high-performing teams high-performing is her favorite book to give to the leaders on her list. [10:36] - Brian shares the three things from Daniel Pink’s Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us that align with Scrum. [12:34] - Julie shares how she learned to flip the script, start with the hard topics in a conversation, and finish with the positive from Daniel Pink, as included in his book, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. [15:53] - Brian shares why Dan Pink’s books are most enjoyable via audio. [16:15] - Julie shares how a podcast interview with author Scott Sonenshein led her to his book called Stretch: Unlock the Power of Less -and Achieve More Than You Ever Imagined, which helps teams unlock their potential to achieve more. [17:11] - Brian shares Frédéric Laloux's concept of the different colors of organizations as laid out in his book called Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness and how we can better enable change in organizations. [18:57] - Julie shares a book she recommends in Scrum Master class that’s great for sports fans called The Captain Class by Sam Walker, which walks the reader through what makes great sports teams great. [22:15] - Brian shares why sports analogies are great for teaching Scrum. [23:28] - Julie shares how even the Rolling Stones delve deep into figuring out how to improve. [24:30] - Why retrospectives are a great tool for improving the outcome of any mission. [28:25] - Brian shares why we still need to adjust to the current climate, even when the goal remains the same. [30:11] - Brian shares books by recent guests on the show, including Lead Without Blame: Building Resilient Learning Teams by Tricia Broderick, Strategise by Roman Pichler and Coaching Agile Teams: A Companion for Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, and Project Managers in Transition (Addison-Wesley Signature Series (Cohn)) by Lyssa Adkins. Listen in next time when Scott Dunn will be on the show. References and resources mentioned in the show Two Beats Ahead by Panos A. Panay and R. Michael Hendrix Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great by Esther Derby, Diana Larsen The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle DRIVE by Daniel Pink | Animated Core Message Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward by Daniel Pink Stretch: Unlock the Power of Less -and Achieve More Than You Ever Imagined by Scott Sonenshein Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness by Frédéric Laloux The Captain Class by Sam Walker Lead Without Blame: Building Resilient Learning Teams by Tricia Broderick Strategise by Roman Pichler Coaching Agile Teams: A Companion for Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, and Project Managers in Transition (Addison-Wesley Signature Series (Cohn)) by Lyssa, Adkins Mountain Goat Software Agile Mentors Community Scrum Alliance Subscribe to the Agile Mentors Podcast on Apple Podcasts Want to get involved? This show is designed for you, and we'd love your input. Enjoyed what you heard today? Please leave a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one. Got an agile subject you'd like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Please share your thoughts with us at podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com This episode's presenters are: Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He's passionate about making a difference in people's day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work. Julie Chickering is the brains and brawn behind JC Agile Consulting, believes that Lean and Agile practices are packed with potential — to enable positive culture change, business agility, and breakthrough results. Julie is a past president and board member of the Agile Project Management Network (APLN), a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST), PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), as well as a traditional Project Management Professional (PMP).

Tricia Broderick joins Brian to discuss how to lead without blame. Overview Vince Lombardi said, “Leaders aren’t born, they are made,” Great leadership is a learned skill, but in companies focused on the blame game, transparency and problem-solving becomes secondary to self-protection. Tricia Broderick is a leadership and organizational advisor. Today on the show, Tricia joins Brian to discuss how the blame game stifles great leadership and how the 4Cs can help leaders create safe spaces for highly connected, motivated teams to achieve better results and more impactful outcomes. Listen now to discover: [01:37] - Brian introduces us to Tricia Broderick, co-author of the new book, Lead Without Blame: Building Resilient Learning Teams. [02:36] - Is there a difference between a leader and an Agile leader? [04:18] - How exposure to the Agile community framework organically promotes leadership. [06:47] - How the blame game stifles leaders. [08:28] - When you're afraid of blame, you’re focused on self-protection instead of moving forward. [09:38] - Why impact is more important than intention and why taking responsibility for your impact is vital. [11:57] - Tricia shares what we really need for the most creative, quality-based results and outcomes. [14:43] - Tricia shares why we need to break free from a culture of blame and instead focus on shared goals for quality outcomes. [16:43] - Tricia shares the 4Cs of leadership. [17:52] - Great leaders aren’t afraid of complexity; they embrace uncertainty. [18:37] - Leaders instill confidence in others—having a leader that believes in you before you even believe in yourself has a huge motivating impact. [19:53] - Brian shares the concept of ‘dark leadership.’ [20:42] - Why compassion is the key to defeating imposter syndrome. [22:37] - It takes a courageous leader to create a safe space to challenge the status quo and seek out alternative ways for your team to operate. [25:37] - Why investing yourself personally and compassionately in the personal development of your team members isn't for the weak. [26:08] - The importance of the investment in a connection. [26:37] - Tricia shares the biggest takeaway for leaders. [27:31] - Tricia talks about resilient transparency and the leadership learning curve. Listen next time when Julie Chickering will be on the show. References and resources mentioned in the show Lead Without Blame: Building Resilient Learning Teams Mountain Goat Software Agile Mentors Community Scrum Alliance Subscribe to the Agile Mentors Podcast on Apple Podcasts Want to get involved? This show is designed for you, and we'd love your input. Enjoyed what you heard today? Please leave a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one. Got an agile subject you'd like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Please share your thoughts with us at podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com This episode's presenters are: Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He's passionate about making a difference in people's day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work. Tricia Broderick’s transformational leadership, at all levels of an organization, ignites the growth of leaders and high-performing teams to deliver quality outcomes. Tricia has more than twenty years of experience in the software development industry. She is the author of Lead Without Blame: Building Resilient Learning Teams.

Lance Dacy joins Brian to discuss breaking down stories to get things done. Overview There are ways to break stories down into two- or three days worth of work across the team. But sometimes, they can be taken down to a level that devalues what your team is trying to deliver. Lance Dacy is a Certified Scrum Trainer® with the Scrum Alliance® Today on the show, Lance joins Brian to discuss some of the questions you need to ask when breaking stories down. We discuss how to organize teams for the best outcome and share different systems and processes to determine how far is enough when breaking down stories to help your team deliver a usable product to the end user. Listen now to discover: [01:37] - Brian introduces us to Lance Dacy, his guest and neighbor. [02:29] - Brian shares how you can suggest a topic for a future podcast episode by emailing your suggestion to podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com. [02:57] - Today, we're talking about getting work into its smallest component. [03:21] - Lance shares the four things teams need to do to be sure they are all speaking the same language when transitioning to Scrum. [03:44] - The make-or-break consequences of organizing teams for the best outcomes. [05:49] - Lance shares his insight on breaking things down into tasks in the product backlog. [07:47] - Lance uses a car cleaning analogy to break down the story into smaller tasks. [09:40] - In backlog refinement, we will start rounding out those acceptance criteria or conditions of satisfaction and make them their own story. [10:58] - Lance shares his system for determining how far is 'enough' when breaking down stories to be ready. [12:33] - The goal for each sprint planning session. [13:09] - Using the INVEST criteria to assess the quality of a user story. [13:48] - How small is too small? [15:17] - I love metrics, BUT metrics CAN BE misused. [15:55] - The key to not being surprised. [16:37] - Brian shares the importance of the V in the INVEST criteria. [18:14] - Vertically slicing stories to deliver something usable to the end user (the product owner). [21:42] - Using the SPIDR approach to splitting stories. [22:24] - Asking the right questions to create paths that lead to stories that turn into relevant products. [25:55] - The importance of interfaces when splitting up stories. [28:22] - The pros and cons of spikes—why they should be the exception and NOT the rule. [32:01] - Lance circles back to the consequences of creating your teams—focusing on the deliverables. [33:37] - Remember, releasing the product is independent of your sprint time box. Listen next time when we'll be discussing… Transformational Leadership with Tricia Broderick References and resources mentioned in the show What does INVEST Stand For? The S.P.I.D.R. Approach to Splitting Stories HOW TO SPLIT A USER STORY by Richard Lawrence Mountain Goat Software Agile Mentors Community Scrum Alliance Subscribe to the Agile Mentors Podcast on Apple Podcasts Want to get involved? This show is designed for you, and we'd love your input. Enjoyed what you heard today? Please leave a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one. Got an agile subject you'd like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Please share your thoughts with us at podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com This episode's presenters are: Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He's passionate about making a difference in people's day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work. Lance Dacy, known as Big Agile, is a dynamic, experienced management and technical professional with the proven ability to energize teams, plan with vision, and establish results in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment. He is a Certified Scrum Trainer® with the Scrum Alliance and has trained and coached many successful Scrum implementations from Fortune 20 companies to small start-ups since 2011.

Henrik Kniberg joins Brian to talk about creating the Spotify Model. Overview There are ways to get things done, and then there are the best ways to get things done. But the only way to arrive at the right way of doing things is to try and fail, to see what works and what doesn't. Henrik Kniberg is a Certified Scrum Trainer who has worked with teams like Spotify and LEGO to help them implement agile culture in their fast-moving and fast-growing environments. He's also the co-creator of the Spotify Model. Today on the show, Henrik joins Brian to discuss his accidental introduction to Spotify and how he inspired the company to transition to Scrum. We discuss the leadership model that helped the startup scale while holding its own against behemoths like Apple and Google. Plus, an inside look at his time as a designer with Minecraft. Listen now to discover: [01:55] - Brian shares Henrik's Agile Product Ownership in a Nutshell that's become required viewing. [02:22] - Brian shares some of the places on Henrik's resume, including Lego, Minecraft, and Spotify. [03:42] - Henrik shares his love for playing accompaniment musical instruments. [04:08] - Brian shares his professional musical background. [04:35] - Introducing the Spotify engineering culture videos that have sparked a thousand conversations about scaling challenges. [05:10] - Henrik shares the story of his accidental introduction to Spotify and how he inspired the startups to transition to Scrum. [8:26] - Henrik describes how the lack of off-the-shelf scaling frameworks led to his work with Spotify. [08:45] - Standard Scrum, by the books, works for small teams, but for scaling at larger teams like the one at Spotify, it's hard to find a "one size fits all" approach. [10:59] - How realizing 'this is what's helping us swim' during their impressive growth got all the technical leaders of Spotify on board with using Agile. [12:50] - Henrik shares the leadership model that helped Spotify scale up. [14:58] - How Spotify used the speed of innovation to stand against goliath-like competitors like Apple and Google. [16:30] - Convincing the investors that being able to iterate quickly (rather than through roadmaps) was the key to winning the game. [18:09] - Fueling future inspiration—why Spotify instituted the twice-a-year hack weeks for their entire organization. [21:36] - Henrik shares why leadership is the key to culture and driving change in an Agile organization. [24:19] - Brian shares why it's wise to make a change where you can benefit a company rather than hanging on to the now-extinct gold watch at retirement. [25:53] - "Go ahead and copy the Spotify model… and don't worry about someone telling you that you're doing it wrong because that's just you adapting." [26:44] - How the Spotify culture videos had the opposite outcome from what Henrik had planned. [29:54] - Brian asks Henrik an important Minecraft question (as posed by his daughter.) [30:36] - Henrik shares insider information about the guiding principles for designers at Minecraft (and how that led to the creation of Striders). [32:34] - Brian shares why copy/paste is only sometimes best. [32:46] - Henrik shares how creating video games differs from life applications. Listen next time when we'll be discussing… Getting to Small with Lance Dacy References and resources mentioned in the show Agile Product Ownership in a Nutshell Spotify Engineering Culture - Part 1 (aka the "Spotify Model") Spotify Engineering Culture - Part 2 (aka the "Spotify Model") Mountain Goat Software Agile Mentors Community Scrum Alliance Subscribe to the Agile Mentors Podcast on Apple Podcasts Want to get involved? This show is designed for you, and we'd love your input. Enjoyed what you heard today? Please leave a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one. Got an agile subject you'd like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Please share your thoughts with us at podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com This episode's presenters are: Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He's passionate about making a difference in people's day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work. Henrik Kniberg is former member of the board of directors of the Agile Alliance and enjoys helping companies succeed with both the technical and human sides of software development. A Certified Scrum Trainer he’s worked with teams like Spotify and LEGO to help them implement agile culture in their fast-moving and fast-growing environments. He’s also the co-creator of the Spotify Model.

Scott Dunn joins Brian to talk about how Agile teams and organizations respond in difficult economic times. Overview Right now, the word recession is being bandied about, and big companies like Apple and Facebook are already beginning to scale back. But economic downturns can present opportunities for the right individuals. Scott Dunn is a Certified Enterprise Coach and Scrum Trainer with more than 20 years of experience. Today on the show, Scott joins Brian to discuss why now is the moment to hone in on your mission and determine your job market value and how Agile training can prepare you for any opportunity that comes your way. Listen now to discover: [01:52] - Brian shares how the word recession triggers companies to batten down the hatches. [03:19] - How leaning into Agile in an organization creates a natural operating cost reduction. [04:52] - Studies show organizations that invest during recessions are better positioned at the back end of it to, you know, accelerate like a rocket out of it. [06:55] - Scott explains how the Japanese concept of ‘danger opportunity’ offers teams a chance ‘to really do Agile’ and operate efficiently with less. [9:34] - How difficult times help companies prioritize and hone in on their mission and vision and stop trying to be everything to everybody. [12:57] - How organizations create unease and lack of employee trust. [14:46] - How Agile can help workplaces bring humanity back when responding to change. [16:18] -Scott shares a conversation with his daughter about voting with your feet and your values. [19:16] -Scott explains why companies need to invest in top talent to lower their technical debt. [20:17] - Why times like these require ruthlessness in proving out your theories. [22:10] - Scott shares why down economic times are opportunities in disguise for individuals to determine the types of environments they want to help flourish. [25:13] - Determining your job market value and the importance of looking at the total package of an opportunity. [28:30] -Is it really Agile, or is it Agile in name only? [31:33] - How taking classes at Mountain Goat can prepare you to bring your knowledge and skills to any opportunity. Listen next time when we'll be discussing… Scaling with Henrik Kniberg. References and resources mentioned in the show Mountain Goat Software Agile Mentors Community Scrum Alliance Jim Collins The Hedgehog Concept Want to get involved? This show is designed for you, and we'd love your input. Enjoyed what you heard today? Please leave a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one. Got an agile subject you'd like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Please share your thoughts with us at podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com This episode's presenters are: Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He's passionate about making a difference in people's day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work. Scott Dunn is a Certified Enterprise Coach and Scrum Trainer with over 20 years of experience coaching and training companies like NASA, EMC/Dell Technologies, Yahoo!, Technicolor, and eBay to transition to an agile approach using Scrum.

John Miller joins Brian to talk about Agile in the classroom. Overview Agile classrooms help students develop skills that will serve them long after they've left the classroom. John Miller is a Certified Enterprise Coach (CEC) and the Chief Empowerment Officer for Agile Classrooms. Today on the show, John joins Brian to share how he started introducing the Agile framework to educators. He walks us through how Agile classrooms help students solve complex problems while developing decision-making skills. He'll share how converting to an Agile classroom creates deeper, more fulfilling student and teacher relationships and the steps teachers can take to make their classroom an Agile classroom. Listen now to discover: [01:27] - Brian introduces John Miller and explains how, as a CEC, he's reached the highest rung on the Scrum Alliance certification ladder. [03:33] - How John got started with bringing Agile to the classroom. [06:09] - The collaboration between John and the educators to achieve the goal of creating a self-managing classroom. [09:45] - John shares how he went from thinking he'd ruined one class's education to watching them become one of the best self-managing groups he's ever seen. [12:16] - How children's lack of preconceived notions about how things are supposed to work helps them create teams that work. [13:48] - How an Agile classroom empowers students of all levels and learning abilities. [14:36] - The five levels of choice in an Agile classroom. [15:44] - John shares the objective of Agile classrooms to help students solve complex problems by developing choice-making skills. [17:55] - Brian shares that "Scrum is a sports analogy." [19:33] - Dark Scrum vs. Bright Scrum. John shares the formula he created using Ron Jeffries' term Dark Scrum. [24:06] - Is Agile dead, or are people just doing it wrong? [25:13] - John shares the levels of classrooms where Agile works best. Plus, which one did he work with that made him more nervous than high-level CEOs? [27:12] - John explains how the different dynamics lead to different success outcomes for incorporating Scrum into the classroom. [28:42] - What size classrooms achieve the most benefits from working with Scrum? [29:44] - John shares the steps teachers can take to make their classroom an Agile classroom. [31:20] - How converting to an Agile classroom creates deeper, more fulfilling teacher-student relationships. [31:53] - How Agile in the classroom acts as a bridge to industry and a life skills primer. References and resources mentioned in the show Agile Mentors Community Scrum Alliance Agile Classrooms Dark Scrum Agile Manifesto McGregor's Theory Want to get involved? This show is designed for you, and we'd love your input. Enjoyed what you heard today? Please leave a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one. Got an agile subject you'd like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Please share your thoughts with us at podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com This episode's presenters are: Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He's passionate about making a difference in people's day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work. John Miller is a Certified Enterprise Coach (CEC) and the Chief Empowerment Officer for Agile Classrooms. Since 2012, John's mission through Agile Classrooms has been to help educators take a more innovative and creative approach to guiding faculty, managing their schools, and teaching students.

Roman Pichler joins Brian to talk about Product Roadmaps. Overview Product roadmaps help teams plan their everyday work and how their products will change over a year. But then, products evolve, and new data is collected and shared. Companies must then decide how to adapt and progress. So, how can we then create a product roadmap? Roman Pichler is an internationally renowned product management expert specializing in product strategy, leadership, and agility. Today on the show, Roman joins Brian to discuss how to create helpful product roadmaps that create value for the end users in a Scrum based context to move forward and simplify product management. Listen now to discover: [00:06] - Brian introduces Roman Pichler, one of his 'agile heroes. [00:35] - Brian shares about the book Strategise, 2nd Edition. [02:54] - Roman answers the question, "What is a Product Roadmap?" [03:58] - Roman explains if product roadmaps are helpful in an agile Scrum based context. [05:31] - Roman discusses using outcome-based goal-oriented roadmaps to determine a company's product value. [07:33] - Roman shares some examples of goals on a product roadmap. [08:12] - Why a goal-oriented based roadmap is all about outcomes. [09:35] - Brian shares insight into Roman's downloadable Go Product Roadmap. [10:07] - Roman shares how the latest version of the Scrum guide fits in with protocols, product goals, and outcome-based roadmaps. [11:54] - Why Roman adds time frame constraints into his product end goals. [14:41] - Roman shares the two things you need to succeed with collaborative product road mapping in an agile space. [16:40] - Roman explains how to incorporate time frame constraints into your roadmap. [19:40] - The difference between an internal and external product roadmap for public consumption. [21:11] - The importance of an impact analysis when determining whether to stick with a specific delivery date or fully meeting a goal. [25:00] - How to get precise estimates for your team. [26:15] - Roman shares his 'sweet spot' for making outcome-based investment decisions. [28:40] - Roman advises setting dates on (internal) roadmaps for contract-based environments. [29:06] - Roman shares Apple's trade-off decision when they launched the original iPhone in 2007. [31:40] - How to use goals to track the most valuable metrics. [34:41] - The importance of understanding the needs of the stakeholders. [35:19] - Roman shares the importance of balancing expectations with empathy for improved collaboration. [39:12] - Brian shares a funny story about the difference in polite communication between Americans and our friends on the other side of the pond. [40:46] - Roman shares why you shouldn't relinquish product road mapping in an agile space too soon. Listen next time when we'll be discussing… Agile and education with John Miller. References and resources mentioned in the show Roman Pichler Strategise Go Product Roadmap Want to get involved? This show is designed for you, and we'd love your input. Enjoyed what you heard today? Please leave a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one. Got an agile subject you'd like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Please share your thoughts with us at podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com This episode's presenters are: Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He's passionate about making a difference in people's day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work. Roman Pilcher is a leading product management expert specializing in product strategy, leadership, and agility. He has advised product leaders and taught product managers and owners for over 15 years, pioneering agile product management practices. Roman shares his knowledge through his training courses, books, and podcast. You can find his popular Product Vision Board and Go Product Roadmap on his website.

Brian speaks with Stacey Ackerman about working with Marketing teams using Agile. While the majority of teams using Agile are based in software, one of the fastest growing areas for Scrum teams is in Marketing. There’s a natural fit as Marketers are used to using such practices as A/B testing and getting quick results that feed their next steps. As you can imagine, there are a unique set of challenges that a marketing team presents that other Scrum teams don’t necessarily have to deal with as well. In this episode, Stacey talks us through the process that marketing teams follow when attempting to apply agile principles to their work. Listen now to discover: - 2:28 - what’s different about the way marketing teams approach agile? - 8:51 - what is the Agile Marketing Navigator and how are teams using it? - 15:05 - Stacey goes over the different roles - 17:43 - what are the chief problems marketing teams deal with in adopting this? Listen next time when we’ll be discussing… Product Roadmaps with Roman Pichler! References and resources mentioned in the show Agile Marketing Manifesto Want to get involved? This show is designed for you, and we’d love your input. Enjoyed what you heard today? It would be great if you left a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one. Got an agile subject you’d like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Share your thoughts with us as podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com This episode’s presenters are: Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He’s passionate about making a difference in people’s day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work. Stacey Ackerman is one of the few agile coaches and trainers that got her start in marketing. After graduating from journalism school, she worked as a content writer, strategist, director, and adjunct marketing professor. She became passionate about agile as a better way to work in 2012 when she experimented with it for an ad agency client. Since then she has been a scrum master, agile coach and has helped with numerous agile transformations with teams across the globe. Stacey speaks at several agile conferences, has more certs to her name than she can remember and loves to practice agile at home with her family. As a lifelong Minnesotan, she recently relocated to North Carolina where she’s busy learning how to cook grits and say “y’all."

Mike and Brian take audience questions in the “best of” from the Agile Mentors Community’s monthly coaching calls. Overview Twice a month, there is an open Q&A session we offer as part of the Agile Mentors Community where anyone from the community can join in and ask either Mike or Brian questions. These are open discussions and allow the users to ask their own questions that are unique to their situations. We call these “Coaching Calls” because they are there to help coach the members and help them overcome obstacles along the way. Everyone who takes a class with Mountain Goat Software receives 12 months membership in the Agile Mentors Community and they are able to attend these calls and ask questions. Take a listen to some of the best questions we’ve received over the past few months to get an idea of what these sessions are all about. By the way, we are aware there are a few places where the audio is not perfect in this episode and apologize for the less-than-ideal audio in several places. This is because these answers come from live sessions and there were a few streaming hiccups while delivering them. Listen now to discover: 3:10 - Brian: How to conduct fun retrospectives when you aren’t allowed to use cloud-based tools? 7:40 - Mike: How much planning is needed to ensure we complete items in a Sprint? 11:50 - Brian: Do you change the story points on an item if it turns out to be bigger than you thought? 14:50 - Mike: Why use Fibonacci numbers to estimate? 18:05 - Brian: Should Product Owners attend a Daily Scrum? 20:25 - Mike: What’s the best practice for capturing Non-Functional Requirements? 23:00 - Brian: How do you get your first experience as a Scrum Master if you have none? 26:46 - Mike: Tips for starting out with a new team? Listen next time when we’ll be discussing… Next week we will be taking a very short break of just one week. We are trying to practice a sustainable pace approach and are taking just one week off in order to do that. References and resources mentioned in the show Funretrospectives.com Agilementors.com Want to get involved? This show is designed for you, and we’d love your input. Enjoyed what you heard today? It would be great if you left a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one. Got an agile subject you’d like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Share your thoughts with us as podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com This episode’s presenters are: Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He’s passionate about making a difference in people’s day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work. Mike Cohn is co-founder of the Scrum Alliance, and founder of Mountain Goat Software. He’s a veteran of applying Scrum and agile principles and practices to help organizations build better products and ship them on time.