James Nash

Back when I started at SIQ and was doing Scrum based Agile development, I can remember doing 2 week sprints. We'd then spend 1 full day doing retro (2 hours), demo(1 hr, in front of stakeholders, occasionally end users), story grooming/sprint planning (taking the remainder of the day), and team sprint commitment (which wasn't committing to getting the work done, but that we thought it was reasonable to guess and would try to make it). It wasn't infrequent that we'd have another meeting somewhere in the middle of a sprint to do some more grooming. Of course, we'd have the daily standup that we'd struggle to keep to 5-10 minutes (including parking lot). Every few months we'd have a release planning 1-2 day where we'd go through and groom the entire backlog of epics for the release. I was thinking about this today. With the agile teams that I've been working with over the last 5-7 years that claimed they were Scrum teams, I can't remember doing much of that. Sure there would be the daily 30-60 minute status meeting. Maybe some story grooming, generally ad-hoc or right at sprint planning. Sometimes there'd even be a sprint planning. Back then, you'd sprint and get a little bit of a break, only to sprint again. What brought this thought up was reading Slack by Tom DeMarco and he's talking about sprinting through a 26-mile marathon. You'd sprint hard for a couple hundred yards, fall over gasping for air and cramping up. When you'd recover you'd get up and do it again for another few hundred yards until the end of the 26-mile marathon. The sprint-gasp-sprint-gasp marathon would probably take you at least twice as long to complete as a more normally run marathon. These days it's just SPRINT the entire marathon.

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I redesigned the Fidelity Bank PLC mobile app UI Goal: 1. Improve UI 2. Improve the UX of some flows 3. Generally, improve user retention rate Case study coming up soon...

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A recent study conducted with 250 UK engineers and 350 US engineers looks into whether or not we’re benefiting from Agile Software Development - the results of this study are worth seriously bringing agile development into question and demands considering alternative product operating models. This might be the inflection point to marshal in continuous tri-track research, design and deployment - at a minimum experiment with what it can do to augment what seems to be a failing model. “One standout statistic was that projects with clear requirements documented before development started were 97 percent more likely to succeed. In comparison, one of the four pillars of the Agile Manifesto is "Working Software over Comprehensive Documentation."” Linked article is a summary, Full study results in comments below:

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The question about “how to make sure the architecture is testable” stuck in my head when discussing software architecture 3 weeks ago on 'This week in testing' by Ministry of Testing I suggested M.U.S.T.A.P.O as part of the discussion, because testing is not just a stage . I discussed the benefit of testability as a consideration when looking at the architecture. How it relates to 'shifting left', but also 'shifting right'. Which is why this mnemonic is so apt. Every step involves testing and Quality. https:l/https://lnkd.in/ewuMcEHj -quality-in-software-88c25f812258?source= friends_link&sk= ff27e1175c84e8a7b97a0942141a82b6 I explain M.U.S.T.A.P.O. here in Medium.

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How people work without the protection of tests based on behaviours that matter is baffling to me. I'm working on some fairly complicated logic today. It requires introducing some new logic while keeping a lot of existing behaviour working as-is. Because the tests were test driven from the start and all tests were based on behaviour, the relationship with my tests while doing this work is fantastic. I break something that matters, a few seconds later I find out about it. In order to do what I need to do for the new functionality, I discovered a function that I could reuse, but I could only reuse part of that logic. This function was doing a bit too much. So I pulled out the logic that I don't need for the new functionality and stuck that inside a new function. I then pass this function as a callback parameter for the existing logic to continue as it should - and my tests for the existing logic passed as they should. For the new stuff I'm doing, I could then create a new function that gets passed in as a callback to the same (now shared) function - and suddenly the new functionality tests all started passing as well. Doing TDD against behaviour means that you can use your tests for rapid, accurate feedback. I don't need to manually test all the existing functionality again because I know I can trust the tests that came before. The new stuff will work too - I know this because I have an executable proof. How people do this on a day to day basis without this level of fast feedback and protection is beyond me. Learn TDD based on behaviour and make your life significantly less stressful.

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📣 Calling all Scrum Masters and Product People! 📣 (UX-ers, feel free to chime in too...) Was discussing the value of demos with the very talented Christopher Spencer , specifically the developer's relationship to demoing work. The goal is to use this as an entry-point for exploring the product development cycle and Agile / Scrum as concepts. In your expert opinions: - What's the value of a demo? - Should we go into an iteration on some unit of work without demoing the last iteration? - How can we demo when it isn't super clear who our stakeholders are? Kristy Swart Smith, MSIO, PSM I and II, CSSBB, CPM, KMP Todd Adams JP Garnier Olivia Girgis #scrum #agile #mentoring #mentor #productdevelopment

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My weekly newsletter on Design, Innovation and Technology is out now. Please check it here. https://lnkd.in/e4pg2ABh #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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I have been searching for a practical use for AI in UX beyond writing copy, generating images or other nonsense. I found one and it is awesome: Sidekick which part of Stark’s Figma plugins. It really does reduce the “Busy Work” when dealing with accessibility. Enjoy: https://lnkd.in/gbrUtGjJ #Stark #Figma #Acessibility #UX

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My weekly newsletter on Design, Innovation and Technology is out now. Please check it here: https://lnkd.in/e-3gnXJ9 #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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They say conduct user interviews where your users are, but what happens if your users are in the gym and everyone has headphones in... Sometimes you need to do awkward things to get those insights! #UserInterviews #UserResearch #UserInsights #Awkward

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Sometimes I'm asked a humbling question that takes a moment to answer. At Agile Manchester last week, I took a question from the audience that made me stop and think. “How do you ensure engineers are able to contribute ideas to the roadmap” As product people, it's easy to get wrapped up in customer and stakeholder requests, whilst trying to balance that with insights from discovery. We sometimes forget to make space for our engineering team to contribute meaningfully to that process. This gets harder in a lower maturity environment where the team might be acting more like an order fulfilment function. A mental checklist for today: 👉 Are you looping your engineers into product discovery? 👉 Have you created space to ideate as a team? 👉 Are you empowering all the disciplines in the team to figure out the best solutions? If you're an engineer, how would you like to be involved?

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My weekly newsletter on Design, Innovation and Technology is out now. Please check it here: https://lnkd.in/eFBTeUkt #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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AGILE DOESN'T WORK. It never did. This article is why we do discovery. Proper problem/opportunity identification and definition is one of TWO major fail points in a research/design/build process of ANY KIND. But this is especially noteworthy in a huge iteration, pivot, venture, new-to-world innovation. When you distill Product Requirements down from Customer Requirements and Business Requirements, we design and build better, with more confidence and everyone contributes and creates together in harmony. When you skip this or suck at it, well then you run in circles attempting to validate poor design and development. That is where we find ourselves kids. We needed a study (one of many) of 600 engineers to determine that forced Agile cadences boasted a 268% higher fail rate? Ask yourself who is this news to? The current state of PM led 'anything', doesn't work. We keep trying to invent false realities wherein trade labor is somehow supposed to be design leadership. If you want to manage developers with this nonsense, go right ahead. But it has never worked for research, design or any facet of discovery work. Agile is a joke. Because a bunch of silly snowbirds sat around drinking in a ski-lodge 23 years ago and invented something that didn't need inventing, simply because they didn't know any better, doesn't mean it has value. Read Erik Meijer's article and mine from 2 years ago on the same subject in the comments. "The main reason why agile methods are popular is because managers think it means doing things faster." — Alan Cooper

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A new issue of my newsletter on Design, Innovation and Technology is out now. Please check it here: https://lnkd.in/efAhckE3 #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches? The All Blacks' Secret to High-Performing Teams (It's Not Just About Talent) Ever wondered how the All Blacks maintain their dominance? It's not just world-class talent. Strong coaching, with each coach playing a specialised role, is the secret sauce. The world of Agile is no different! Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches share remarkable similarities in how they propel teams to success. Here's the 📕playbook 🔴 Team-First Mentality: Both Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches, like All Blacks coaches, prioritise collective victory. They guide, mentor, and clear roadblocks to unlock the team's full potential. 🔴 Specialised Expertise: Just like the All Blacks have scrum, lineout, and backs specialists, a Scrum Master has deep Scrum knowledge, while an Agile Coach boasts broader Agile frameworks expertise. 🔴 Communication & Collaboration: Seamless communication between coaches and players (or team members) is crucial. Everyone needs to be aligned on goals, strategies, and how to conquer challenges. 🔴 Continuous Improvement: The best never settle. The All Blacks constantly refine their game, mirroring how Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches foster a culture of continuous improvement within their teams. 📖 The All Blacks Coaching Team Analogy Head Coach: The Agile Coach. Provides overall strategic direction and ensures alignment across the entire organisation (team). Scrum Coach/Breakdown Specialist: Focuses on a specific area, similar to a Scrum Master who ensures the Scrum framework is followed meticulously within the team. Skills Coaches (kicking, tackling etc.): These specialists refine specific skills, just like an Agile Coach who helps different departments adopt Agile practices relevant to their work. The takeaway? Agile success, like All Blacks victories, requires a powerful team effort backed by a coaching team with a shared vision and complementary skill sets. What are your thoughts on building high-performing teams? #Agile #Scrum #AllBlacks #Coaching #leadership #teamculture #management #highperformance #definitionofdone

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Don't you get fed up with the constant barrage of agile '𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀' on here with very little actionable help? Well, some free help for agile leaders is inside 👇. As things are ramping up with our Mission Control software delivery platform, I've been spending more time on LinkedIn in the last few months than in the previous 3 years combined. One thing I've noticed is that the vast majority of 'content' being put out is just a bunch of people's angry opinions on agile (which get pumped out to everyone thanks to the LinkedIn ragebait algorithm). Is this really helpful? The harsh reality is that people running software development teams are struggling with job losses, restructuring, and rapidly changing expectations of their roles. People need content & support that will be of immediate and practical value, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. A trending topic at the moment is using team & organisational data to create feedback loops to help visualise, inspect, adapt and improve a company's software delivery ecosystem. In the last few days, I've seen: 1. Three separate agile gurus saying 'use your data' in one form or another 2. People calling out the same gurus for not actually providing any actionable advice on how to 'use their data', no templates, no tools etc 3. Posts from LeSS (Large Scale Scrum) saying to 'use your data to create feedback loops' with no actionable advice on how How can this be such a hot topic, but all that's flying around is opinions? Who is taking action to help improve the situation? At Methodshift, we are moving beyond opinions. Our Mission Control software delivery platform is currently free for the first 3 agile teams onboarded in your organisation. Is this the smartest business decision? Probably not. But many of our customers that love our product are struggling to afford the most basic licences due to lay offs and cost cutting. We simply 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲 to turn our backs on them and shut them out. The feedback from users on our platform so far has been exceptional, and it makes me very proud of what our small, passionate team has achieved. Mission Control has been described as "𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺" by our growing user base and it has been said that our free tier offers far more than most tools paid tiers (including ActionableAgile, Nave, EasyBI etc). So.. Are you ready to take action and learn new skills? Become more evidence-based and data-informed, and truly use your data to help your teams? Onboarding your team with Mission Control is fully automated and takes less than 2 minutes using Jira Cloud 👉 https://lnkd.in/eUue4C_M Let Mission Control instantly plug those pesky data gaps and create the feedback loops needed to supercharge your teams with data. That, or you can keep doom scrolling through pages and pages of 'opinions' !

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Louder for the people in the back. The goal is mot having a design system. The goal is what that system unlocks for your business. #designsystemssavelives

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Another day in Jim's linked in feed. Today it is tons of posts telling people what a product owner is and how it is not what people and teams usually do. Lots and lots of posts. If agile were a product, they would be support staff telling people to click on the confusing buttons on the poorly defined UI to do a basic function. These posts are all failure demand. If you are answering the question or alerting the user over and over and over again, it's a design issue.

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