BROADCASTS.com

Oftentimes, those who practice agility will turn their nose up at teams or companies that are not doing agile perfectly. And though the agile practices are important and are great pathways to success, many teams and companies often find ways that work for them that are not perfect agile. In this conversation, Dan and Sam highlight some of the ways in which companies and teams find what works for them, why perfect practicing agility isn\u2019t the end-all-be-all, share the key characteristics for succeeding in agile, and, most importantly: why you shouldn\u2019t be getting your agile shorts in a knot!

\xa0

Key Takeaways

Should a team or company be doing agility perfectly?

If a team finds a helpful practice for them, then that\u2019s what they should do\xa0

\u201cThat\u2019s not agile,\u201d or \u201cThat\u2019s not the way story points work,\u201d is not very helpful to somebody

It\u2019s important to remember that everyone is on their own agile journey and you shouldn\u2019t judge where they are right now in it

An agility mindset is what really matters; they will improve their practice over time

As long as it works for them, they\u2019re delivering, and their customers are happy then they\u2019re good

Just because a team isn\u2019t doing something by the book doesn\u2019t mean they are wrong in doing it

Advice in entering a new role within a company that\u2019s getting started with agility:

Enter the company/role with curiosity

Just because the role states you will be doing certain things doesn\u2019t mean you will always be doing those things/won\u2019t be doing other things

Start with what the company already knows/is doing; you can adapt as you go along

If you\u2019re interviewing for a position of any kind, it\u2019s not just about, \u201cDo they want you?\u201d but, \u201cDo you want them?\u201d

When selecting a company you want to work for it is important to make sure that they breed a culture of innovation (regardless of where they are in their agile journey) and have a culture of constantly wanting to inspect, adapt, and innovate

Strategies for failure in agility:

There are degrees of planning that can be unhelpful when trying to forecast things out \u2014 but zero planning is also a strategy for failure

There is this idea that agility is a binary state (I.e. \u201cYou either are or you are not agile\u201d) \u2014 agility is more of a continuum (it never truly ends)

Key characteristics for succeeding in agile:

Curiosity is a key characteristic of anybody who wants to succeed in agile

Low tolerance for impedance and that we cannot change things; we have to do it this way

Question how things could be done/how things could be done differently

Asking: \u201cWhat would happen if ______?\u201d

Having an experimental mindset

Don\u2019t make assumptions about what you think are bad practices/what isn\u2019t agile \u2014 you could learn a lot from these experiences

\xa0

Mentioned in this Episode:

AgileThought.com/Events \u2014 Visit for AgileThought\u2019s upcoming virtual events & RSVP!

Agile Coaches Corner Ep. 116: \u201cModern Management Made Easy with Johanna Rothman\u201d

Jira

Ralph Stacey Chart

Wikispeed.org

Discover to Deliver: Agile Product Planning and Analysis, by Ellen Gottesdiener and Mary Gorman

Johanna Rothman\u2019s Modern Management Made Easy Book Series

\xa0

Want to Learn More or Get in Touch?

Visit the website and catch up with all the episodes on AgileThought.com!

Email your thoughts or suggestions to Podcast@AgileThought.com or Tweet @AgileThought using #AgileThoughtPodcast!