Food for Agile Thought #441: The Hexi Approach to Scaling, Good and Bad Product Coaches, Product Roadmap Failure

Welcome to the 441st edition of the ‘Food for Agile Thought’ newsletter, shared with 42,489 peers.

This week, Dave Snowden and Nigel Thurlow present the Hexi approach, a multi-method strategy enhancing agility through complex adaptive systems. Joshua Arnold advocates for a Quarterly Look Ahead process, and Annie Duke and Lenny Rachitsky explore decision-making improvements using techniques like the “3Ds” framework and pre-mortems. Also, we reveal the hidden costs of offshore software consulting and delve into system-level anti-patterns of stakeholders. Additionally, Willem-Jan Ageling revisits the Agile Manifesto’s principles.

Then, Chris Beswick addresses strategic innovation frameworks, while Marty Cagan emphasizes the critical role of experienced product coaches. Ant Murphy advocates for empathy in problem-solving, and Leah Tharin highlights key pitfalls in product road-mapping, stressing strategic, focused approaches for organizational success.

Lastly, Daniele Davi discusses Kaizen and its role in Agile, emphasizing continuous improvement. Maarten Dalmijn compares OKRs’ fragility to coral, stressing the need for optimal conditions, while Letitia Rohaise critiques traditional personas, advocating for inclusive methods like Jobs-To-Be-Done. Moreover, Paweł Huryn offers strategies for effective surveys, focusing on improving response quality. Finally, Joca Torres explores boosting team productivity through role clarity and method optimization, sharing insights from his experiences across multiple companies.

🚀 Elevate your Product skills: Discover User Story Mapping secrets and help shape our upcoming class with your insights through our survey!

🎓 Launch on July 1, 2024: Learn How to Master the Most Important Artifact in the Advanced Product Backlog Management Course!

👉 Please note:

• The course includes membership in a new community of agile professionals.
• Become fully reimbursed if you also choose to join the Advanced Product Backlog Management Cohort of June 13 - July 11, 2024, at € 399.
• The course will only be available until July 8, 2024, for sign-up!

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🏆 Tip of the Week

📺 Scrum.org: Dave Snowden and Nigel Thurlow introduce the Hexi approach to evolving agility through a ‘best of breed,’ multi-method approach, utilizing complex adaptive systems for enhanced scalability and value flow: "Scaling Complex Systems by Building on Agile Frameworks."

🍋 Lemon of the Week

We are Lemon-free this week.

➿ Agile & Scrum

• Joshua J. Arnold critiques top-down “Priority Lists” for overloading teams without addressing core issues, suggesting a Quarterly Look Ahead process that aligns roadmaps with team capacities to foster sustainable, squad-centric product development: "Top-down “Priority Lists” don’t work."

• 🎙 Annie Duke, former pro poker player and decision expert, and Lenny Rachitsky discuss techniques to enhance decision-making, including the “3Ds” framework, pre-mortems, and the strategic use of language to foster better organizational decisions: "A Framework for Making Better Decisions."

• Test Double: The Test Double Editorial Board scrutinizes the actual costs of offshore software consulting, emphasizing that the low hourly rates are often eclipsed by hidden expenses like communication and maintenance, advising a focus on quality and value for sustainable software solutions: "How to calculate the real ROI of offshore consulting."

• Willem-Jan Ageling assesses the relevancy of the Agile Manifesto’s principles today, finding them crucial yet requiring adaptation to modern challenges like increased delivery frequency and remote communication, urging a shift from rigid methods to flexible, value-focused approaches: "How relevant are the Agile principles today?"

🎓 🖥 🇬🇧 Advanced Professional Scrum Master Online Training w/ PSM II Certificate — May 28-29, 2024

Discover Scrum’s four success principles in this official Scrum.org Advanced Scrum Master training class, including the industry-recognized PSM II certification. The PSM II training class is designed as a live virtual class and will be offered in English.

Enjoy the benefits of a compact, immersive class with like-minded agile peers from 09:00 – 17:30 o’clock CEST.

Learn more: 🖥 🇬🇧 Advanced Professional Scrum Master Online Training w/ PSM II Certificate — May 28-29, 2024.

Customer review: “Since about 12 people have already asked me these last 2 days: Yes, taking one of Stefan Wolpers’ classes is a mind-blowing experience. He’s actually the most adroit facilitator I’ve met after Guy Kawasaki & Roland Busch. It all flows like a silk ribbon in a soft spring breeze but with a strong authenticity that prevents the thing from feeling all Del Monte Canned Corporate Facilitation(tm). It may be due to his seemingly effortless mastery of the Liberating Structures. He doesn’t “teach to the test,” yet when you take the open practice assessments, you somehow score 95+ the first time. I dunno, it’s magic or Mozart, you pick.” (Link.)

🎯 Product

• Cris Beswick distinguishes between a culture of innovation and a Culture of innovation, emphasizing that real innovation results from systematically combining elements within a strategic framework, aligning closely with the principle “form follows function” to optimize organizational structures for continuous innovation growth: "When Building a Culture For Innovation, Form Follows Function."

• Silicon Valley Product Group: Marty Cagan emphasizes the crucial role of experienced product coaches in aiding companies to transition from feature-team models to robust product models, underscoring the necessity of real-world experience and a deep understanding of business nuances for effective coaching: "Good Product Coach / Bad Product Coach."

• Ant Murphy explores the distinction between winning arguments and solving problems in product management, highlighting the crucial role of empathy and curiosity in effectively collaborating with stakeholders and driving meaningful change in organizational practices: "Do you want to win arguments or solve problems?"

• Leah Tharin outlines seven common pitfalls in product road-mapping, emphasizing the importance of strategic focus over detailed estimations and reactive planning, and advocates for clear, actionable, and internally aligned roadmaps to guide long-term organizational objectives effectively: "7 fails of roadmap-making."

🛠 Concepts, Tools & Measuring

• Medium: Daniele Davi explores the concept of Kaizen, a principle of continuous, incremental improvement fundamental to Agile and Lean. He connects it with Agile Manifesto principles, advocating for sustainable, team-driven enhancements that advance product quality and team dynamics: "Kaizen."

• Maarten Dalmijn parallels coral’s fragility and the delicate nature of OKRs, emphasizing that, like coral, OKRs require pristine conditions to thrive and often fail in unsuitable organizational environments: "Why OKRs Often Slowly Wither Away."

• UX Collective: Letitia Rohaise critiques traditional persona use in UX design, advocating for more inclusive methods like Jobs-To-Be-Done and Empathy Maps to capture and reflect users’ diverse needs: "Rethinking personas: Empathy and inclusion in UX design."

• Pawel Huryn offers a comprehensive guide on crafting effective surveys for product teams, addressing common issues like low response rates and poor data quality. He emphasizes proper preparation, strategic question formulation, and adapting survey tactics to enhance response quality and relevance in product management: "The Ultimate Guide to Surveys for Product Teams."

🎶 Encore

• Medium: Joca Torres explores strategies to boost development team productivity, highlighting role clarity, strategic measurement, and method optimization. He uses examples from his roles at Locaweb, Conta Azul, Gympass, and Lopes: "Measuring and managing the productivity."

📅 Training Classes, Meetups & Events

Upcoming classes and events:

• 🖥 💯 🇩🇪 May 14-15 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German)
• 🖥 🇬🇧 May 28-29 — Live Virtual Class: Advanced Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM II; English)
• 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 June 6 — Live Virtual Meetup: Hands-on Agile 61: Backlog Manager to Product Manager with David Pereira (English)
• 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Jun 13-Jul 11 — Live Virtual Cohort: Advanced Product Backlog Management Cohort (PBM; English)
• 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 June 25 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills Training (PSFS; English)
• 🖥 🇩🇪 Jul 9-10 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German)
• 🖥 🇩🇪 Aug 27-28 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM I; German)

See all upcoming classes here.

📺 Youtube Channel

• Johanna Rothman: Tackling Fake Agility.

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