Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
Viewing Posts by William Krebs
Distributed Agile Teams: Beyond the Tools
Categories:
Agile,
Human Aspects of PM,
Leadership,
Information Technology,
Teams,
Communications Management
Categories: Agile, Human Aspects of PM, Leadership, Information Technology, Teams, Communications Management
| Many of today's agile project teams are distributed around the globe. While simple implementations of agile processes assume co-location, in larger enterprises, this is rarely the case. Selecting tools to assist remote communication helps, but it's not enough. Here are some human factors to consider, beyond the tools, to work successfully with a distributed team: Cultural differences can become apparent when working with global talent. Some people are uneasy if some social small talk is omitted as part of doing business. Some are uncomfortable if we don't simply get to the point. This affects agile teams as they implement practices such as self-organization, pair programming, and retrospectives. Remember people's assumptions can vary. Time-zone differences can be helpful by providing longer hours of coverage. But check with your teams on when they begin and end their workday. Different cultures have different laws and traditions on when to go home. Not all people have private transportation, and not all countries use daylight savings time. Finding teams in compatible time zones can be an advantage with more hours of coverage, if the hours and needs are remembered. Partnering with teams that are north or south of each other makes this easier because the time difference is less extreme. Communication differences among distributed teams also require forethought. Agile teams will notice a need for engaging and informative tools in their story grooming, estimating, planning and retrospective meetings. Telephone calls can be awkward because there is no visual cue as to who is speaking and no person to look at. Also, sound varies for each person depending on if they are in the same conference room, on a speakerphone, using a headset or cell phone. Make it a point to include people on the phone if part of the group is face-to-face. Video conferences or webcams might be a better option. Be aware of the background so it is not distracting. Also be aware of the lighting quality and direction -- illuminating an attendee's face is better than a dark silhouette. Spatial user interfaces, which extend traditional graphical user Interfaces by using two or three-dimensional renderings, give people someone to look at and allow positional body language and gestures to convey nonverbal information. However, be sure to allow training time for participants so they can make the most of these environments before needing to concentrate on a meeting. By using the right tool and having the right mindset, agile teams can work together across wide distances. How do you work successfully with distributed teams? |
10 Years of Agile Practices in Project Management
Categories:
Agile
Categories: Agile
| One decade ago, 17 people who were well-known software leaders met to figure out a better way to build software. Frustrated with traditional methodologies, they brainstormed, argued, discussed and analyzed how the future should look. The result was The Agile Manifesto, which is comprised of four values and 12 principles. In August, Laurie Williams, PhD, led the Agile 2011 Conference, where most of those leaders reunited for a panel discussion. Dr. Williams conducted a worldwide, open survey of 335 members of the agile community across the world to research possible changes to the manifesto. She announced her conclusion that the original manifesto remained valid, saying that the original creators of the manifesto "nailed it" -- even 10 years later. The manifesto authors each talked about the initial meeting held 10 years ago and how agile is trending today. Bob Martin said, "our original meeting was probably the only meeting in my career that actually worked." Ken Schwaber poured water from a pitcher as a visual metaphor for the last use of waterfall. Jeff Sutherland described how developers he's met in the past 10 years have been moved to tears by having a process that worked. But the panelists warned that not all teams do agile well. Some teams call themselves agile but don't do the harder practices. The consensus during the panel session was that the moniker of "agile'" will fade away and simply be how we manage projects. Not just for software, but beyond. The agile conference was impressive because of the growing diversity of tracks. In addition to the usual technical sessions for software testing and development, many sessions covered people skills, including ones on coaching, cultural mapping and distributed teams. Information on the new PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)SM certification was also popular. What will the next 10 years bring? New leadership will expand from the original signatories of the manifesto to those doing agile project management today. And as expressed in the Japanese concept of kaizen, many small improvements will add up to more streamlined productivity in many steps and many teams. How do you see agile advancing over the years? Read more about agile. |
Kinetic Intelligence Leads to Stronger Agile Teams
Categories:
Agile
Categories: Agile
| Kinesthetic intelligence is one strength of people's minds, according to "7 Kinds of Smart," a book by Dr. Thomas Armstrong. Essentially, people who have kinesthetic intelligence learn better by using movement -- like getting up and moving around, for example. But when agile meetings focus on logic, numbers or charts, our kinesthetic aptitude may not get used. Certain agile techniques use body language for visual cues, which exercises this kinetic intelligence. And leveraging it can help engage members of your agile team who don't like to be outspoken. "Big visible indicators," is an agile term for a technique that often includes a large whiteboard or wall divided into columns. Tasks and stories are moved between the columns as they progress to completion. With a wall covered with colored Post-it® notes, not only is progress more visible, but physically walking up to the board in front of the team to move your item to the completed column makes everyone keenly aware of the progress. In a recent stand-up meeting, there were a lot of people attending -- many who were just interested observers. As a coach assisting the Scrum Master, I found it hard to know who to call on next. We used a second body language technique, which allowed the observers to sit during the meeting and the participants stood. Suddenly, our meetings went faster. A third kinesthetic agile technique is "Fist of Five." Team members indicate approval of a plan or decision by holding up anywhere from one to five fingers to vote, five being the most approval. All of these techniques better engage team members who aren't as comfortable being outspoken on a project team. And as teams become more and more dispersed, recognizing and leveraging kinetic intelligence can lead to stronger agile meetings -- especially if people can use these techniques while seeing their teammates. This can be done with video or other virtual representation technology. Do you use any of these techniques? If so, which ones? Do they work? What other techniques do you use? Read more posts on agile. Read more posts from Bill. |
Avoid the Agile Logjam
Categories:
Agile
Categories: Agile
| Not all Agile teams are created equal. Some commit to their work and complete requirements throughout -- not just at the end. Other teams struggle. Their sub-tasks may make progress, but their overall requirements or "stories," which express requirements in ways that customers can relate to, seem to get stuck. They finish on the last day of the iteration, if at all. What makes these teams different? Often requirements haven't been sub-divided. Queuing theory teaches that the same amount of work divided into smaller pieces flows faster. Teams with stories divided into work durations of one to three days see their work fly through the system. They can finish some requirements and then pick more. Teams with stories that take a week or more are at risk of a traffic jam. Moreover, we're less aware of the delay until later -- when it's harder to take corrective action. One correction is to refocus on a smaller number of requirements, but dedicate to finishing those. Another method is to split a story, even though the iteration is underway. Or, remove a story from the current iteration so it can be fully completed in another. If none of these ideas seem enough, make sure the team is committed. Per the principles in the Agile Manifesto, team members need to self-organize to dedicate themselves to finishing whatever work is planned. How have you avoided Agile traffic jams in your projects? Has splitting stories to a manageable size helped avoid bottlenecks? |
Prioritizing Agile Project Requirements
Categories:
Agile
Categories: Agile
| In Agile project management, we must prioritize a requirements list for release planning, iteration planning and the insertion of new requirements. But there are several techniques to do this. One of the most popular methods of prioritizing Agile project requirements is the "MoSCoW" approach. This stands for 'Must, Should, Could, Won't.' The only problem with this method is that everything is usually a must -- which doesn't allow proper Agile release planning because the requirements aren't necessarily put in order of priority. Another method is the Kano model, developed by Professor Noriaki Kano, which strives to fulfill requirements and please customers. This model features four components: • Must haves are elements the product cannot ship without. • Dissatisfiers are things the product must NOT include. • Satisfiers include requirements where the more you have the better the product is perceived. Like a marketing checklist, each feature adds incremental value. • Delighters take the product beyond simply meeting the requirements to boosting customer satisfaction and recommendation. Several prioritization models put together a table weighted by two variables: features and customers. Each feature is weighted by its value to each customer. The sum of the weights multiplied by the scores makes it possible to see which features are most useful overall across the set of demanding customers. No matter which technique is used, your list of project requirements must be sorted from most to least valuable. What techniques do you use to prioritize requirements? |