Food for Agile Thought #438: Agile in the AI Age, Product Operating Model, Effective Roadmaps
Also: Marty Cagan on Scrum, Mural CPO Lesson Learned, 4 Levels of PMF in B2B
Hello everyone!
Welcome to the 438th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 42,401 peers. This week, Henrik Kniberg challenges traditional Agile team sizes, advocating for smaller, AI-enhanced teams in his article on Agile in the AI age. Our Lemon champions a retro, bureaucratic approach to “Agile reporting,” and Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson discuss enhancing organizational agility with Evan Leybourn. Also, Michael Küsters argues for Agile as a dynamic, evolvable practice rather than a rigid dogma, while Petra Wille emphasizes structured strategies for effective organizational transformation. Moreover, Marty Cagan shares his perspective on Scrum and the Product Model.
Then, Agustin Soler shares insights from his tenure as Mural’s Chief Product Officer, detailing strategic initiatives that spurred growth. Ant Murphy discusses the nuanced differences between roadmaps and plans, advocating adaptability and audience-specific customization. Phil Hornby and John Cutler explore product management complexities, and Janna Bastow highlights the importance of closing the feedback loop in product management, suggesting AI could transform feedback mechanisms.
Lastly, First Round Capital introduces a new B2B framework to accelerate product-market fit and 37signals shares decision-making principles that underpin thoughtful business choices. Additionally, the Coaching Card Download Hub provides many practice cards for organizational learning and productivity enhancement. Finally, Todd Lankford emphasizes rational decision-making in product development, advocating for clarity over emotion to boost team performance and product evolution.
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🏆 The Tip of the Week: Agile in the AI Age
Henrik Kniberg (via Hups): Agile in the Age of AI
Exploring AI’s impact on Agile and Scrum practices, Henrik Kniberg’s article delves into how AI challenges traditional Agile assumptions and necessitates a reevaluation of cross-functional teams. As AI enhances productivity, it questions the necessity of large teams, suggesting smaller, more efficient teams could become the norm, fundamentally altering Agile practices like the Daily Scrum and Sprint Planning.
Source: Hups: Agile in the Age of AI
Author: Henrik Kniberg
🍋 Lemon of the Week
(via Medium): My Toolkit for Agile Reporting
Peter Lee’s article offers an almost nostalgic return to the thrilling days of bureaucracy. With six rigorously structured questions that might make even a seasoned bureaucrat blush, Lee’s toolkit champions a formality that agile practices typically sprint away from. It’s a bold, retro move — because who doesn’t miss the days of turning agile practices into rigid, checklist-driven chores?
Source: Medium: My Toolkit for Agile Reporting
➿ Agile & Scrum
🎙 Murray Robinson, Shane Gibson: Business Agility with Evan Leybourn
Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson discuss business agility with Evan Leybourn, exploring how organizations can adopt agile practices to enhance flexibility, resilience, and customer responsiveness amidst changing markets and internal challenges.
Source: 🎙 Business Agility with Evan Leybourn
Authors: Murray Robinson, Shane Gibson and Evan Leybourn
Petra Wille: Why Your Transformation Might Not Be Going as Well as You Expected… And What to Do About it
Petra Wille discusses the complexity of organizational transformation, stressing clarity and structured approaches to navigating change effectively, using targeted tactics to align product management with evolving customer needs, for example, by employing the product operating model as a blueprint.
Source: Why Your Transformation Might Not Be Going as Well as You Expected… And What to Do About it
Author: Petra Wille
Michael Küsters: ‘Agile’ is not sacred
Michael Küsters argues that Agile should not be treated as a dogma resistant to criticism but rather as a dynamic, evolving practice that thrives on scrutiny and adaptation, encouraging a scientific approach over unwavering faith.
Source: ‘Agile’ is not sacred
Author: Michael Küsters
🎓 🖥 🇬🇧 Advanced Professional Scrum Master Training w/ PSM II Certificate — April 23–24, 2024
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Learn more: 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Advanced Professional Scrum Master Training w/ PSM II Certificate — April 23–24, 2024.
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🎯 Product
Agustin Soler (via Circuit): Things I did as Mural’s Chief Product Officer
Agustin Soler, co-founder and former Chief Product Officer at Mural, shares a comprehensive overview of his responsibilities and strategies contributing to the company’s growth. He outlines specific tasks and initiatives that helped maintain customer value and operational excellence, emphasizing strategic planning, team management, and product development.
Source: Circuit: Things I did as Mural’s Chief Product Officer
Author: Agustin Soler
Ant Murphy: Building Effective Product Roadmaps
Ant Murphy emphasizes the distinction between roadmaps and plans. Roadmaps focus on long-term goals and flexibility, highlighting the ‘what’ and ‘why.’ Plans are more immediate and detailed, addressing the ‘how’ and ‘when.’ Murphy advocates for adaptable timelines and recommends customizing roadmaps for different audiences to improve organizational communication and alignment.
Source: Building Effective Product Roadmaps
Author: Ant Murphy
John Cutler and Phil Hornby (via Talking Roadmaps): Is your roadmap a beautiful mess?
In this video, Phil Hornby and John Cutler delve into the complexities of product management.
Source: Talking Roadmaps: 📺 Is your roadmap a beautiful mess? —
Authors: John Cutler and Phil Hornby
Janna Bastow (via ProdPad): Closing the Feedback Loop: A Product Manager’s Guide
Janna Bastow emphasizes the crucial role of closing the feedback loop in product management. Also, she outlines strategies for effectively communicating changes to users and using feedback to inform product roadmaps, highlighting the potential of AI to revolutionize feedback processes.
Source: ProdPad: Closing the Feedback Loop: A Product Manager’s Guide
Author: Janna Bastow
📯 Marty Cagan on the Product Operating Model and Scrum’s Future
Let’s explore Marty Cagan’s insights on revolutionizing product management, embracing empowered teams, and fostering innovation by employing the Product Operation Model described in his latest book “Transformed.” We will uncover how to effectively navigate the transformational path to a product-centric approach and how Marty sees Scrum in this context.
Read now: Marty Cagan on the Product Operating Model and Scrum’s Future.
🛠 Concepts, Tools & Measuring
(via First Round Capital): The 4 Levels of PMF
First Round Capital introduces a new framework designed to demystify product-market fit for B2B founders, breaking down the process into strategic steps and sharing expert insights for a systematic approach to achieving PMF faster.
Source: First Round Capital: The 4 Levels of PMF
(via 37signals): The 37signals Guide to Making Decisions
The author outlines decision-making principles at 37signals, emphasizing practical frames and considerations that guide daily choices in business, fostering a culture of thoughtful and informed decision processes.
Source: 37signals: The 37signals Guide to Making Decisions
📖 (via Ivar Jacobson Intl.): Free: Coaching Card Download Hub
The Coaching Card Download Hub offers a comprehensive collection of practice cards to enhance learning and productivity for organizations, teams, and individuals. Available for download, these cards cover a wide range of practices and provide interactive learning through serious games and simulations.
Source: Ivar Jacobson Intl.: 📖 Free: Coaching Card Download Hub
🎶 Encore
Todd Lankford (via Medium): Apply These 5 Product Team Tactics to Bypass Emotion and Act With Clarity
Todd Lankford advocates for clear, rational decision-making in product development, emphasizing tactics to replace emotion-driven decisions with clarity-driven actions to enhance team performance and product evolution.
Source: Medium: Apply These 5 Product Team Tactics to Bypass Emotion and Act With Clarity
Author: Todd Lankford
📅 Training Classes, Meetups & Events 2024
Upcoming classes and events:
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 April 23–24 — Live Virtual Class: Advanced Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM II; English)
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 May 7 — Live Virtual Meetup: Hands-on Agile 61: Toyota Kata Coaching f. Agile Teams & Transformations — Fortune Buchholtz (English)
🖥 💯 🇩🇪 May 14–15 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German)
🖥 🇬🇧 May 28–29 — Live Virtual Class: Advanced Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM II; English)
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 June 6 — Live Virtual Meetup: Hands-on Agile 62: Backlog Manager to Product Manager: Outputs to Outcomes w/ David Pereira (English)
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 June 13–July 11 — Live Virtual Cohort: Advanced Product Backlog Management Cohort Class(PBM; English)
🖥 🇩🇪 June 25–16 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German)
👉 See all upcoming classes here
🗞️ Last Week’s Food for Agile Thought Edition
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Now available on the Age-of-Product YouTube channel:
Hands-on Agile 59: Tackling Fake Agility w/ Johanna Rothman
Hands-on Agile 58: Dysfunction Mapping w/ Michael Lloyd
Hands-on Agile 57: Humble Planning w/ Maarten Dalmijn
Hands-on Agile 54: Overcoming Common Product Backlog Management Traps w/ David Pereira
Hands-on Agile 53: An Agile Coaches Guide to Storytelling w/ Bob Galen
Hands-on Agile Extra: How Elon Musk Would Run YOUR Business mit Joe Justice
Hands-on Agile 43: Outcome-Based Product Planning with Jeff Gothelf
Hands-on Agile 42: Lean Roadmapping and OKRs with Janna Bastow
Hands-on Agile 38: The Product Owner with Roman Pichler
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