You Have To Be Agile To Coach Agile If software development is about wiring code, then coaching is about re-wiring the neurons in each practitioners head and re-wiring their relationships. Yes, coaching is about changing people. You cannot expect a one-size fit all solution, so you need to adapt the recommended practices and approach. This paper discusses how to work with people, how to manage the coaching progress and setting objectives and expectations. This paper also talks about coaching not being just about helping the team learn, but also for you to learn and grow. You have to be agile to coach agile.
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Coaching is Key for Scrum Success – Part One of Two Organizations eager to solve the problems they see in their projects or processes often decide to adopt Scrum in the belief that it will immediate solve all those problems. Although Scrum can and often does resolve some problems immediately, it also has the potential to expose or exacerbate other existing problems and can even appear to create a few problems of its own. In some cases, this can be seen to be a “failure” of Scrum, even when implemented by an organization that was initially enthusiastic and determined. This perceived failure can cost the organization considerable time and money if the Scrum team continues along the same path they are on, despite the unresolved problems. These costs, as well as frustrations and even pressures from inside or outside the Scrum team can cause Scrum to be abandoned without ever demonstrating its full potential. |
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Agile Coach Performance Management: Measure Yourself as a Coach, Not as a Manager The desire to control comes through loud and clear in the way most people’s worth is measured by their company’s performance management process. When it comes to performance review time, these controlling phrases crop up anew. Many successful agile coaches have been dismayed to learn that, despite the amazing results their teams produced and despite the new clarity and purpose that pervades the workplace, measuring their contributions still includes phrases such as “Herd the cats.” |
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An Overview of Lean-Agile Methods Life used to be simpler. In the early 2000s, if you wanted to go "agile," XP was the route of choice. And then Scrum became popular. And it was not too long before organizations began to hit the limits of these approaches due to their focus on teams. And then it became apparent that lean principles could be applied to software and Lean Software Development and later Kanban were added to the mix. Now, you have a great many choices: Not just about which method to use, but where to start, whether to go top-down or bottom-up, and what should be the scope of your effort. |
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Coaching Fundamentals What is the Purpose of Coaching? In our work environments and personal lives we’re always looking to make clear, thoughtful choices, speak them clearly, and execute them in effective ways. We want to optimize our time and energies to create valuable outcomes. All this can happen spontaneously and without a plan, but with foresight to think and plan before taking actions, especially for larger goals, there’s a higher probability for getting quicker and more reliable results. |
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The Power of Play Let the Fun Begin! As children, we learn through play. Because play is so much fun, it creates a virtuous circle where we play and learn. As adults, with the help of educational or “learning” games, the lucky ones among us find ourselves playing to learn once again. Judging by the popularity of learning games, we can still learn a lot through play. For some, it may even be the best way to learn. |
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The Agile Tipping Point Nirav P Assar uses Malcom Gladwell's best selling book , The Tipping Point to discuss what's necessary to fully, and successfully implement agile, in order to take advantage of all that it can bring to a software development team. |
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Are You Done Yet? Johanna Rothman recently wrote, commenting on Joshua Kerievsky's proposed definition of done. Both posts are worth a read, if for no other reason than to better understand why we have such a difficult time defining what "done" is, and why defining "done" is one of the major challenges for teams trying to adopt agile practices. |
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Six Behaviors to Consider for an Agile Team If you've been tasked with creating an agile team, first consider what differentiates an agile team from a non-agile team. In this column, Johanna Rothman highlights six behaviors of people on successful agile teams that candidates for an agile team should possess. |
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Agile ALM—Opposites Attract Agile and ALM are two terms that you don’t often see side by side. To most developers, agile means team interaction, customer collaboration, dynamism, and responsiveness to change. In contrast, ALM seems to imply the opposite of agile, with echoes of rigid procedures, inflexibility, and top-down process control. But are the agile and ALM approaches as contradictory as they first appear to be? |
Mike Shepard
July 20, 2010 |
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