Here's This Agile Thing

Summary: In most organizations, the traditional path of systems and software development falls into what Tim Ottinger describes as Scatter-Gather. Examined carefully and objectively, it is an exceedingly inefficient approach for development, and yet it crops up everywhere.   This episode, we get to talk to Tim Ottinger about why this Scatter-Gather pattern has predominated, how to expose the inefficiencies and what are more productive approaches instead.  A genuinely insightful discussion that lays bare the dysfunctions residing in many IT organizations and how to fix them.

Summary:   Dysfunction Mapping is a practical method developed by Michael Lloyd to help organizations spot and fix hidden problems that slow them down. It systematically identifies areas where communication breaks down, processes aren’t working, or team dynamics are strained. The goal isn’t just to point out flaws but to create a clear path toward smoother operations and a healthier workplace culture.   This week we are joined by our friends (and colleagues) Rick Waters and Marcelo Lopez Jr. who conduct a 2 day class on Dysfunction Mapping. Rick and Marcelo provide an overview and address not just the what, but also the why behind Dysfunction Mapping and make it accessible to everyone who strives to improve their organization's operations.

Summary:   What might a successful organization look like (and function like) if launched from day 1 adhering to agile values and principles? This week we are joined by Chandresh Patel, Founder and CEO of Bacancy Groups, a visionary entrepreneur who is passionate about innovation, leadership, and building people-centric organizations.   Chandresh shares insight into the foundations upon which he built Bacancy with thoughtful, intentional and sustainable growth. Adaptability and growing experimentally is baked in. He also shares his “Happiness First” philosophy, emphasizing work-life balance and employee well-being as the cornerstone of success. Lot's to learn here about his focus, the goals of the organization and cultivating leaders.

Summary: Here's a proposition - that the application of Agile has not delivered to desired organizational outcomes. What has been the ROI of the implementation of agile concepts and principles? Matt proposes that TOC addresses the gap.   Once again we open "The Goal" to interpret the practical use of Thinking Process Tools (some are trees, some are clouds) introduced in the book. How can we leverage the tools in TOC to deliver organizational effectiveness and measurable outcomes?  Let us help you navigate the trees in the proverbial forest.

Summary:   Time for a book deep dive. This episode we dig into the Theory of Constraints as explained in the management novel "The Goal" by late Eli Goldratt (Goldratt and Cox) in 1984. Some deep (and sometimes vociferous) debate on dissecting the language, the context of the 80's (when the book was published)  and what in fact should be a worthy goal for an organization.   Questions we consider are: is it as simplistic as "to make more money"? Or is the goal to provide quality, valuable products/services to the market in a sustainable manner? Given the make money language, are the principles from the book still applicable for not-for-profit organizations?

Summary: Today's episode, we analyze and debate a recent posting that seemingly pits Systems versus Goals. This takes us down an interesting journey with respect to systems, system's thinking and the importance for leaders to view their organizations as a system or system of systems. Next we turn our attention to the critical value of goals with an acute awareness of the potential pitfalls of targets in order to minimize the unintended consequences of hyper focus on meeting those targets irrespective of achieving desired outcomes.   In exploring the notion of systems versus goals, we arrive instead that in fact it is both, getting the goals right AND building healthy systems to support the achieve worthy goals.

Summary:   This episode we explore the notion of moving from Project to Product, as inspired by the Mik Kersten tome of the same name. We dig into why project to product, is it an either/or, can it be both and does it depend? As such, we debate the points in the context of Cynefin. To support the debate, we attempt to understand the nature of projects particularly in the complex and complicated spaces as well as understanding products and their lifecycle. Though we don't arrive at final answers - if ever - there are some ideas and avenues for us and our audience to continue to explore.

Summary: In light of the recent partnership between PMI and the Agile Alliance, our hosts share their perspectives on this development, scratch the surface on the respective histories of each organization and generally ponder what the longer term impacts (hopefully positive) may spring from this super alliance.

Summary:   It's a new year and in this episode, our three headed monster (hosts MM&J), decide to retrospect on the previous year (2024) of HTAT episodes. What did we like, dislike, learn and how to shape the coming year ahead. All in an effort to be more appealing to our target audience and guide the path forward in 2025. Are we eating our own cooking (or "dogfood" if you will)?  Ultimately, we all grow through retrospective (and feedback).

Summary:   This week, to follow up our previous conversation on AI, we take another excursion down "Augmented Intelligence" lane in an effort to help Matt justify purchasing a new high powered machine to help him experiment  locally with few LLM's (e.g. Llama vs. Perplexity) for analyzing project data and seeing where the current boundaries lie in their ability to augment planning.   What might we discover if we give an LLM a conceivable plan with parameters, and ask it to  evaluate potential changes to the plan and identify possible impacts. To what end ? We engage in a vigorous debate  the value of what it may or may not be able to do and most importantly, why.