Scott Sehlhorst

If you're looking into scaled Agile frameworks for your organization, this video could save you a ton of headaches and consulting fees. A lot of organizations turn to scaled Agile frameworks when Scrum isn't working as well as they thought it would, but they're solving the wrong problem. I recently covered this on the most recent episode of Agile Bites, “Scaling Agile - Is Less More?” Listen to the full episode at the link in the comments or on your favorite podcast platform. #agile #agility #scrum #SAFe #SaS #LeSS #scaledagile #softwaredevelopment

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Thoughtful discussion full of well explained facts - be sure to give it a read 👍🏽

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The Kanban Method is predicated on respecting the current system, so I try to reserve judgment when observing kanban boards. And yet four things lead me nearly always to say "you're doing it wrong." Here are a few quick things you can do to improve today.

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Join me on a #projectManager journey to the Agile world. From our Fireside chat, let's continue the conversation at some of the iconic locations in #Hawaii https://lnkd.in/g9haNkcu #agile #pmiHawaii #pmiHNL #agileCoach #agileCoachingToolbox #agileYoda

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🔔 Time is ticking! Join us for our webinar on Agile UX Best Practices this Tuesday, June 4th, at 4:00 PM PST. Reserve your seat now to gain valuable insights into optimizing your UX processes. See you there! https://lnkd.in/gwwpkjmc #AgileUX #WebinarReminder 🚀

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In 1998 Steve McConnell published "Software Project Survival Guide: How to Be Sure Your First Important Project Isn't Your Last." One thing that always stuck with me from that book was the "Top 10 Risks List." In today's age of iterative and incremental development, it can sometimes be easy to get a little too focused on what we need to get done this sprint. We might lose sight of the big picture, especially as it pertains to risks that may impact the ability to ship. The Top 10 Risks List is simple, with just five columns: 1️⃣ This Week - The issue's rank on the list as of right now. 2️⃣ Last Week - The issue's rank last week (or the last time you met to review the list) 3️⃣ Weeks on List - How many weeks has this risk been on the list? 4️⃣ Risk - Short description of the risk 5️⃣ Risk Resolution Progress - Notes about what's being done about the risk You don't need to have exactly 10 risks - you could have 5 or 15. The important thing is that you have the list and review it regularly with the team. This list can work especially well for Scrum of Scrums meetings, where you need to track items that may affect other teams' ability to ship.

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For all the PMs out there frustrated with devs' execution, you can influence execution without becoming a project manager: https://lnkd.in/eYi7NQiC [hit me for a friends link if you can't access the article] #productmanagement #execution #priorities #focus #swarming

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Why Systems Thinking Is So Important. Just gave this talk. See first comment for the recording of the talk. Systems thinking is sadly missing in the Agile space. Systems thinking tells us: - to look at the whole - systems are defined by the relationships between the components - local optimizations (e.g., silos) won’t necessarily result in improvement - the system is the source of most of the challenges people face If you want consistency of behavior, have the system help create it, don’t expect people to do it. Deming used these insights to teach that you need to focus on improving the system instead of imploring people to do better. Management’s role shifts from micro-managing people to improving the system. Without these insights, many nonsensical beliefs have permeated the Agile space where teams and organizations spend a considerable amount of their time trying to solve the wrong problems. This talk will discuss both what systems thinking is, why it is so important and how to use it to solve your challenges more effectively than when you don’t use it.

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Adding to why systems thinking is so important. And how this aspect of it is ignored by many Agile approaches. I keep hearing "well they are having problems with our approach because they don't understand it." If this is an infrequent occurrence, then it's probably the people. But if many many people are having the problem then it is what is called a "common cause problem" and it is a problem with the system. Agile approaches are not separate from the people using them. The approach and the people are part of the system. But if you don't take a systems thinking approach (none of the popular Agile approaches do) then you don't recognize this. It's ironic for those saying they are based on empiricism when you believe in systems thinking. Because when you do you recognize the behavior you are getting is due to the design of the system (intentional or otherwise). This is a critical concept because it let's you know that when something goes wrong, don't blame people, blame the system - and fix it. So this confusion is empirical evidence that there is something wrong with the system. But promoters, when they don't understand systems thinking, will blame people. The double irony is that people who don't incorporate systems thinking also often blames managers for interfering with teams. But they don't acknowledge that the same thing is going on with management. The system they are in has them look at people instead of the system. The way out of this trap is to attend to the system. Here's a great talk on it: Why Systems Thinking is So Important. https://bit.ly/3W9xcIE

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Agile teams need skills to deal with impediments to work together to deliver and satisfy the needs of their customers and stakeholders buff.ly/46fDgCI Play the Impediment Board Game helps teams to develop those problem-solving skills! #Impediments #Agile

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Have you ever asked yourself the following questions:? 1. How can I make my teams more efficient and effective?​ 2. How can I create more capacity in my teams (without spending money)?​ 3. How would I even know what my teams’ capacities are? If someone suggested to you that Agile may help with this, would you respond with an additional question that runs something something like: "Does this “agile” thing work outside of software?​" Read more in our blog post! #AJC #TeamEfficiency #WorkplaceProductivity https://lnkd.in/eBn7C26b

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We are expanding the Amplio Consultant Educators program to include technical issues - both for the developers and for team coaches / Scrum Masters. Here are some insights we've had in our discussions. The question isn’t do Scrum Masters need to be technical? The answer is clearly no. They will never have the technical competency of the people they are guiding unless they were technical to begin with. The question is “what do they need to know?” The same for a product owner. Scrum Masters should be asking these questions: -  What are the biggest risks we face? -  Are we attending to them? Scrum Masters need to understand what emergent design is. And that we don’t need to anticipate the specific changes to deal with but that developers need to accommodate change.  They need to be the voice for the team to build high quality. To encourage the team to take the right steps to build the quality. To stand up to product owners and managers by explaining how high quality will speed things up. And there are some simple, virtually universal practices for developers that many don’t know. A couple of these are: -  When someone asks you to do something ask “how will I know I’ve done that?” They should be able to tell you. This simple question often saves a lot of time when there is a misunderstanding. The depth of their response also tells you how well they’ve thought of this. -  Is there anyone who should know what you are doing because they will be needed to actually deliver value? Have you let them know what you’re working on? Do you want me to communicate with them? More coming as I go through the transcript of the session. #ScrumMaster #Scrum #techical #Amplio

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The need for Systems Thinking.   Scrum is a simple framework designed for small, cross-functional, autonomous teams creating a new product.   Easy to start. Short iterations, short planning cycles, daily pivots, weekly reflections of how we’re doing, some clarity on roles. I’ve started teams in an hour when they match this.    But now, most teams adopting Scrum are neither cross-functional nor autonomous. And are involved in multiple projects. They need to learn how to work in a system of other teams. Teams having their own focus and pressures.   Scrum-based Agile is a victim of its own success. The challenge with multi-team Agile is between the teams, not within the teams. Scrum has been created purposefully incomplete to enable a simple start.  It provides no guidance on how to move to where it wasn’t designed for.    Coordination is not enough, that just causes more work for the teams. Attempting to solve an organizational problem with a team solution is like Sisyphus rolling his rock up the mountain.    Systems thinking is the way out.   Insights from Deming - A system must be managed. It will not manage itself. Left to themselves, components become selfish, independent profit centers and thus destroy the system. The secret is cooperation between components toward the aim of the organization. - A bad system will beat a good person every time. - Theory without experience is useless. Experience without theory is expensive.   Essence of systems thinking - a system is defined more by the relationships between its components than the components themselves - fixing one part of the system without to attending to the rest of it is not necessarily going to help. That is, local optimizations are not always helpful. - the system causes most of the problem and therefore management of the system is needed. - when something goes wrong we need to fix the system, not the people to blame. This can remove fear. They can work with management to improve the system. - systems thinking can help us break up silos by looking at the whole The role of management is to shift from managing teams to improving the system in which the teams work. Knowing the system is at fault avoids managers blaming the teams and then the teams blaming the managers back in an endless cycle.   Insights from Russ Ackoff “Successful problem solving requires finding the right solution to the right problem. We fail more often because we solve the wrong problem than because we get the wrong solution to the right problem.” “Our ability to solve a problem is limited by our conception of what is feasible.” “You rarely improve an organization as a whole by improving the performance of one or more of its parts.” Consider the challenges you face. How many of them are caused by the actions of your team? How many of them are caused by the situation your team is in? Didi a talk on this. See the recording here https://lnkd.in/dF8W-wTe

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I found so much value in Bob Galen’s recent thoughts on Navigating Agile Coaching Value, especially where he cautions us not to project our agile biases on our client’s goals. When we prioritize on our needs and preferences as coaches, it’s so much harder to see what our clients need.  Check it out here! https://lnkd.in/expcQw2m

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We still have quite a few seats open for our Dysfunction Mapping course on June 3-4. If you are seeking ways to make yourself more effective as a Scrum Master, Agile Coach, Team Leader (of any team), this class is for YOU! https://lnkd.in/gGFZFPGJ If you are looking for helpful classes that deliver SEU's and PDU's, this gives 8 of both! #Agile #Scrum #Dysfunction #DysfunctionMapping #Leadership #Training

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🔍 Understanding Product Scope with Joseph Phillips 🔍 Join Joseph Phillips, Director of Education at Instructing.com, as he explains the critical concept of product scope in our latest video! 🎓✨ In this video, discover: What product scope is: the customer's vision of the end result 🌟 The role of the business analyst in creating the product scope through requirements gathering 📝 How the project manager may also be involved in gathering requirements 📋 How requirements translate to the product scope and define the "definition of done" ✅ The relationship between product scope features/functions and the project scope 🔄 Learn how to accurately define product scope to ensure project success! Watch now for expert insights and practical advice! 📺🚀 #ProjectManagement #ProductScope #RequirementsGathering #JosephPhillips #InstructingDotCom #BusinessAnalyst #ProjectSuccess #DefinitionOfDone Check out the all-new PMP Exam Masterclass at: https://lnkd.in/gbyJG9Pi https://lnkd.in/gbf7_Uvx

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