Agile antipattern: Another burndown chart that lies!
That burndown chart looks sweet doesn’t it? The team finished the iteration on time. What could possibly be wrong. Well, a lot actually. Notice that…
Category: Management
Agile antipattern: Changing the definition of done
Ever see a burndown chart like the one to the left? I’ve been on a big burndown chart kick lately and when I saw this…
Agile pondering: How does a highly mobile agile team of 1 work?
In my last post I gave you insight into how I do my work as an agile team of 1. What I didn’t mention is…
Agile pondering: How does agile work with a team of 1?
See that picture off to the left? That is me and my agile team! It’s not a bad picture, but there appears to be something…
The 7 Deadly Sins of Almost Being Agile presentation from Agile 2009
This presentation was originally given at Agile 2009 in Chicago. Richard Lawrence and I wanted to give teams a bit of hope if they weren’t…
Agile antipattern: Burndown charts that hide the truth
See that burndown chart over there to the left? It looks beautiful doesn’t it? It is an actual burndown chart with no made up data. …
New to agile? Give thanks!
Here in the United States we will be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, November 26. If you are currently on an agile team you…
Agile antipattern: Doing Agile!
I spent the past week in Orlando, Florida at the Agile Development Practices conference and I heard a number of people say “We do agile…
Free Event! Agile Adoption: The Real Story
On October 20, the Agile Cooperative will be hosting a free one-day seminar designed to give attendees a lot of information about what is really…
New to agile? What to do when you are behind
Wow, has it really been more than a month since I posted something on my blog? Ouch! I guess I’ve been busier than I thought. …
Agile antipattern: Insanity! (5 insanity antipatterns)
It is sometimes said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. This definition has…
New to agile? 3 ways to cut scope (and live)
The primary way I see teams release products faster is by reducing the scope of each product. However, this can’t be done in an arbitrary…
New to agile? Remember how to say “No”
No. Only two letters. Very simple word. Yet for some reason, with the exception of when we are at “the terrible 2’s” stage of life…
Agile antipattern: Treating symptoms not causes
Agile teams often get to a point where they have a number of problems which must be addressed. During retrospectives these items keep coming up…
Agile antipattern: Hiding unfortunate truths
“Unfortunate truths” are things which are true – unfortunately! I’ve heard the phrase used by defense lawyers and I have to admit it is pretty…
Agile antipattern: Comparing velocity between teams
I recently saw an excellent blog post about iteration velocity. Good reading in general, but the last paragraph really got my attention and is why…
Agile Ponderings: Certification – useful or not?
I’ve had to do a lot of thinking about certification recently. Why? Because I needed to decide if I should apply to become a Certified…
New to agile? Tips for better daily stand-ups
As an agile coach I have attended a lot of daily stand-up meetings. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been in a meeting…
Agile antipattern: Extending an iteration
I had a previous blog post about stopping an iteration and how it was a really bad idea. Another blog post was about moving work…
New to agile? Don’t settle for mediocrity
James Shore recently changed the entire focus of his company. This blog entry gives his reasons why. The blog post really struck a chord with…