Food for Agile Thought #467: Messy Product Management, Agile Goldrush, PM’s Untimely Death, Toyota Kata A-Z

Welcome to the 467th edition of the ‘Food for Agile Thought’ newsletter, shared with 42,944 peers. I am Stefan Wolpers, offering hands-on, actionable advice to agile professionals.

This week, John Cutler explores the adaptive nature of product management, emphasizing real-world learning over fixed roles, while Scott Ambler critiques Agile’s “gold rush,” urging a move away from certifications and frameworks toward genuine improvement. Allan Kelly reflects on Art Kleiner’s Age of Heretics, highlighting Agile’s enduring influence despite early transformation failures. Research from Aaron De Smet, Gemma D’Auria, et al. underscores the value of trust and collaboration over “superstar” individuals for team success, and Andy Cleff shares Bob Anderson’s insights on advancing leadership beyond reactive mindsets as essential for true Agile transformation.

Next, Joe Procopio cautions against AI-driven standardization, arguing that real product managers are needed to revive customer-centered innovation, and Noa Ganot offers a three-step approach for maintaining strategic alignment in bottom-up planning, ensuring initiatives align with larger goals. In a podcast, Jason Knight and Jas Shah challenge the “CEO of the product” myth, describing product management as unglamorous and marked by coordination challenges and limited authority. Also, Thijs Morlion and Bart Schroyen introduce a seven-layer model to bridge silos, promoting a collaborative, purpose-driven approach to product development.

Lastly, Jonatan Kruszewski debunks the myth of “zero tech debt,” advocating for manageable debt to enhance delivery and business alignment. Douglas Squirrel and Jeffrey Fredrick delve into Toyota Kata, illustrating how Improvement and Coaching Kata elevate team quality and delivery. Paul Grew introduces a Monte Carlo tool to refine Scrum forecasting, though he emphasizes that data quality and judgment are key. Moreover, Deirdre Cerminaro unpacks systems thinking, presenting mindsets for reframing complex problems. Finally, Dan Shipper suggests that product creation thrives on dynamic, sequence-based thinking over fixed needs, fostering genuine customer engagement through experimentation.

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🏆 Tip of the Week

John Cutler argues that product management’s complexity and inconsistency are expected, not flaws, given its contextual nature. Instead of seeking rigid definitions, he advocates for adaptable, real-world learning approaches: "Keep Product Management Messy."

🍋 Lemon of the Week

Medium: The author argues that traditional Scrum ceremonies are mere process fillers, favoring meetings that let engineers “focus on substance.” Ironically, he misses the fact that Scrum’s purpose is precisely to deliver a meaningful impact through structure: "The Types of Meetings that Actually Matter for Software Engineers."

➿ Agile & Leadership

• Scott Ambler argues that the Agile gold rush has ended due to the community’s overemphasis on certifications, frameworks, and fads, which compromised genuine improvement. He believes Agile’s future lies beyond rigid doctrines: "The Agile Community Shat The Bed."

• Allan Kelly reviews Art Kleiner’s Age of Heretics, tracing Agile’s origins through failed transformation experiments like PacBell’s 1986 initiative. Despite setbacks, he argues that Agile’s core ideas endure and continue to shape modern work: "The first agile transformation failure."

• Andy Cleff discusses leadership’s role in agile transformations, sharing insights from Bob Anderson on evolving leadership beyond reactive mindsets. He emphasizes that true transformation requires developing leaders’ consciousness, not just implementing frameworks: "Beyond Frameworks: Leadership Evolution and Agile Transformations."

• McKinsey & Company: Aaron De Smet, Gemma D’Auria, et al. argue that effective teams rely on trust, communication, and context, not “superstar” individuals or chemistry. Their research reveals the structural and behavioral drivers critical for sustainable performance across various team types: "Go, teams: When teams get healthier, the whole organization benefits."

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Learn more: 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills Class w/ PSFS Certificate — November 21, 2024.

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🎯 Product

• Inc.: Joe Procopio warns that AI-driven standardization risks sidelining product management, which stifles innovation. He argues the field needs “real product people” to break tech’s current rut and revive authentic customer-centric value creation: "The Untimely Death of Product Management."

• 🎙 In a podcast interview, Jason Knight shares Jas Shah’s view that product management’s “CEO of the product” image is misleading. In reality, it’s often unglamorous, involving challenging coordination, competing interests, and limited authority: "Product Management isn't as Glamorous as People Think."

• Medium: Noa Ganot emphasizes the importance of maintaining strategic alignment in bottom-up planning, offering a three-step approach to ensure product initiatives connect to bigger objectives even without a top-down strategy: "Don’t Forget the ‘Up’ in Bottom-up Planning."

• Thijs Morlion and Bart Schroyen present a new seven-layer product development model that unites purpose, people, process, and product. Their holistic approach aims to break down silos, fostering synergy across teams for better user experiences: "From Silos to Synergy: A New Model for Collaborative Product Development."

🛠 Concepts, Tools & Measuring

• Medium: Jonatan Kruszewski argues that zero tech debt is a myth—and even a red flag. Managed tech debt accelerates feature delivery and supports business needs while obsessing over “debt-free” code often hinders progress: "Why Zero Tech Debt is a Myth (and Maybe a Red Flag)."

• 🎙 Douglas Squirrel and Jeffrey Fredrick explore Toyota Kata A-Z, showing how teams can boost results by adopting Toyota’s Improvement and Coaching Kata to instill quality, delivery, and “scientific thinking:” "Troubleshooting Agile: Toyota Kata A-Z."

• Paul Grew introduces a Monte Carlo simulation tool for Scrum teams. The tool aims to improve sprint and release planning by forecasting based on historical data. While insightful for planning conversations, the results depend on data quality and should supplement—rather than replace—team discussions and professional judgment: "Monte Carlo Simulation for Scrum Team Sprint Planning and Release Forecasting."

• IDEO U: Deirdre Cerminaro, on the Creative Confidence Podcast, introduces systems thinking fundamentals, highlighting three key mindsets and practical tools for reframing complex challenges and enhancing problem-solving across work and community contexts: "The Beginner’s Guide to Systems Thinking: Core Mindsets for Seeing the Big Picture."

🎶 Encore

• Every: Dan Shipper argues that creating products that people actually want requires thinking in sequences, not fixed needs, and provoking context-driven responses. By observing and experimenting, product makers can generate genuine customer interest: "How to Figure Out What People Want."

📅 Training Classes, Meetups & Events

Upcoming classes and events:

• 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Nov 21 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills Class (PSFS II; English)
• 🖥 🇩🇪 Dec 4-5 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM I; German)
• 🖥 🇩🇪 Dec 10-11 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German)
• 🖥 💯 🇩🇪 Dec 12 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Product Discovery and Validation Training (PPDV; German)
• 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Dec 18-19 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Master - Advanced Training (PSM II; English)
• 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Feb 4-6, 2025 — Hands-on Agile 2025: From Concept-Based to Context-Based Agility

See all upcoming classes here.

📺 Youtube Channel

• David Pereira: From Backlog Manager to Product Manager.

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