Why You Shouldn’t Assign Team Members to User Stories During Sprint Planning
The Agile Compass by Matthias Orgler Hello Reader, last week we talked about why we can’t seem to let go of “finalizing the plan”. This week we’ll loo...
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Agile Compass
A growing collection of articles on agility, innovation, leadership, and product management. Practical insights to help you navigate change and build high-performing teams.
The Great Agile Paradox: Why We Can’t Seem to Let Go of “Finalizing the Plan”
The Agile Compass by Matthias Orgler Hello Reader, last week we talked about why Product Owners shouldn’t spend so much time writing user stories. Thi...
How to Boost Team Collaboration with User Stories – Not Just Writing!
Let’s Chat About Writing User Stories… Or Not Alright, do you measure the effectiveness of product owners by how much time they devote to writing great user stories? Many do...
How to Overcome Resistance to Change in Agile Transformations
Agile transformations often encounter resistance, a natural response to change, particularly in the context of organizations. Agile coaches and leaders play a crucial role in...
Unlocking Innovation and Autonomy: The Critical Role of Psychological Safety in Agile Teams
The Agile Compass by Matthias Orgler Have you ever wondered why some agile teams soar to new heights of innovation and efficiency, while others strugg...
Rapid Experiments vs. Big Upfront Planning
What is better: An iterative approach with rapid experiments and lots of failures, or a cautious big upfront planning trying to sketch a perfect solution while avoiding risks...
Why do we plan agile transformations as waterfall projects?
Why do we plan agile transformations as waterfall projects? It sounds hilarious, yet I‘ve seen it over and over again: Agile transformations are planned as a project with ...
Why do some management boards think agility wouldn‘t affect them?
Why do some management boards think agility wouldn‘t affect them? Don‘t limit your agile transformation to the “delivery organization“! You cannot require Product Owner...
How to easily destroy agility
If you don‘t set clear goals & priorities on top management level, you‘ll stir unhealthy conflict & confusion in teams. It‘s not uncommon for managers to spend hal...
Warning: A hybrid agile/waterfall organization should NOT be your goal.
A hybrid agile/waterfall organization should NOT be your goal. An agile/waterfall hybrid is a temporary state that exists during transformations. It‘s not the state you‘re...
? Stop arguing over frameworks and methodologies!
These are NOT what makes you agile. ? The grass is always greener on the other side. Debating whether scrum or kanban or something else is better will not get you anywhere...
How long is your backlog?
If you start having trouble finding stories – or wondering whether the story is already in there somewhere – your backlog is probably too long ? The idea of a product back...
How to slow down your business
If you can change direction every 2 weeks ?, but you only decide to change direction once a year ?, you‘re not agile. Agility is far too often confined to the delivery org...
Your budgeting kills agility!
Agility is much more than teaching teams to deliver in sprints. If your goal is to tackle the challenges of today, you’d better become agile on all levels. Traditional ...
Are you sweating over picking the right agile framework?
Whether you use SAFe, LeSS, Scrum, Kanban … is NOT the important success factor for agility. Just as picking the best electric guitar is not gonna make you a rock star. ? ...