Why are Agile teams supposed to be small? How big are they supposed to be? Most agilists tend to agree that a team of ten people works well.

But what is it about the number 10 that makes it the “magic” number?

Since the start of human evolution, people formed groups to be more effective. Whether it was the hunt for a mammoth or going to war, working in teams ensured a greater chance of success.

There have been various researches from Dunbar’s paper through the Scrum Guide to military formations about the ideal number of people in a team.

We’ll discuss the historical, scientific and cultural reasons why 10 seems to be the magic number of forming effective teams.

Does the number of team members really matter? Is 10 really the magic number. You will get an answer that will help you to create effective teams with the right amount of people.

The Business Model Canvas and the A3 Report are classic examples of using visualization tools to help you/a team/an org analyze and plan. However, you might find that available canvases don't really suit your needs. Would you really use the traditional Business Model Canvas for a legacy product in a large enterprise?

Come learn about classic examples of canvases and what they are trying to achieve. Learn about a simple framework that enables you to build a custom canvas that is suited to your needs. And walk away with a custom canvas, because you are going to build your own canvas in this workshop!

Imagine you are a Mad Agile Scientist and have a diabolical experiment to conduct - what would happen if you exchanged the brains of a Product Owner and Scrum Master? Mwuhahahaha!!! How would the body of a Product Owner with the brain of a Scrum Master act? And vice versa?

Perhaps the Scrum Master would now treat the team like a backlog? This Scrum Master would be focused on value and maintaining a coaching backlog of team and person improvements. This Scrum Master is refining the team, crafting a group that delivers value.

And perhaps the Product Owner might treat the backlog like a team? Rather than backlog refining, they coach the backlog. They would be focused on nurturing, protecting, and empowering the backlog. The backlog might transform from an irritation into a labor of love.

Although this experiment sounds terrible, this change of perspective might be what you need to reanimate your dead team or backlog.

Join the fun and come learn what horrifying results await!

The communication tools of Liberating Structures will teach you how to facilitate the discussions your org needs. I am going to demonstrate how to use these techniques in the workshop. And all the attendees are going to be fully immersed and ready to wield their new knowledge the very next day at work.

Come learn how to help your team(s), org(s), and company(ies)!!!

For more information, watch my video at http://youtu.be/UNOjqMUv8h0

A version of this workshop that was presented at Agile Tour Sydney 2016 is at http://bit.ly/2f4Bie8

Imagine you are a Mad Agile Scientist and have a diabolical experiment to conduct - what would happen if you exchanged the brains of a Product Owner and Scrum Master? Mwuhahahaha!!! How would the body of a Product Owner with the brain of a Scrum Master act? And vice versa?

Perhaps the Scrum Master would now treat the team like a backlog? This Scrum Master would be focused on value and maintaining a coaching backlog of team and person improvements. This Scrum Master is refining the team, crafting a group that delivers value.

And perhaps the Product Owner might treat the backlog like a team? Rather than backlog refining, they coach the backlog. They would be focused on nurturing, protecting, and empowering the backlog. The backlog might transform from an irritation into a labor of love.

Although this experiment sounds terrible, this change of perspective might be what you need to reanimate your dead team or backlog.

Join the fun and come learn what horrifying results await!

The Business Model Canvas and the A3 Report are classic examples of using visualization tools to help you/a team/an org analyze and plan. However, you might find that available canvases don't really suit your needs. Would you really use the traditional Business Model Canvas for a legacy product in a large enterprise?

Come learn about classic examples of canvases and what they are trying to achieve. Learn about a simple framework that enables you to build a custom canvas that is suited to your needs. And walk away with a custom canvas, because you are going to build your own canvas in this workshop!

The communication tools of Liberating Structures will teach you how to facilitate the discussions your org needs. I am going to demonstrate how to use these techniques in the workshop. And all the attendees are going to be fully immersed and ready to wield their new knowledge the very next day at work.

If you are a recent convert to LS, come learn a new set of techniques to continue the journey. If you are new to LS, this will start you on your path of facilitation mastery.

Why are Agile teams supposed to be small? How big are they supposed to be? Most agilists tend to agree that a team of ten people works well.

But what is it about the number 10 that makes it the “magic” number?

Since the start of human evolution, people formed groups to be more effective. Whether it was the hunt for a mammoth or going to war, working in teams ensured a greater chance of success.

There have been various researches from Dunbar’s paper through the Scrum Guide to military formations about the ideal number of people in a team.

We’ll discuss the historical, scientific and cultural reasons why 10 seems to be the magic number of forming effective teams.

Does the number of team members really matter? Is 10 really the magic number. You will get an answer that will help you to create effective teams with the right amount of people.

The Business Model Canvas and the A3 Report are classic examples of using visualization tools to help you/a team/an org analyze and plan. However, you might find that available canvases don't really suit your needs. Would you really use the traditional Business Model Canvas for a legacy product in a large enterprise?

Come learn about classic examples of canvases and what they are trying to achieve. Learn about a simple framework that enables you to build a custom canvas that is suited to your needs. And walk away with a custom canvas, because you are going to build your own canvas in this workshop!

The communication tools of Liberating Structures will teach you how to facilitate the discussions your org needs. I am going to demonstrate how to use these techniques in the workshop. And all the attendees are going to be fully immersed and ready to wield their new knowledge the very next day at work.

If you are a recent convert to LS, come learn a new set of techniques to continue the journey. If you are new to LS, this will start you on your path of facilitation mastery.

Imagine you are a Mad Agile Scientist and have a diabolical experiment to conduct - what would happen if you exchanged the brains of a Product Owner and Scrum Master? Mwuhahahaha!!! How would the body of a Product Owner with the brain of a Scrum Master act? And vice versa?

Perhaps the Scrum Master would now treat the team like a backlog? This Scrum Master would be focused on value and maintaining a coaching backlog of team and person improvements. This Scrum Master is refining the team, crafting a group that delivers value.

And perhaps the Product Owner might treat the backlog like a team? Rather than backlog refining, they coach the backlog. They would be focused on nurturing, protecting, and empowering the backlog. The backlog might transform from an irritation into a labor of love.

Although this experiment sounds terrible, this change of perspective might be what you need to reanimate your dead team or backlog.

Join the fun and come learn what horrifying results await!

The Business Model Canvas and the A3 Report are classic examples of using visualization tools to help you/a team/an org analyze and plan. However, you might find that available canvases don't really suit your needs. Would you really use the traditional Business Model Canvas for a legacy product in a large enterprise?

Come learn about classic examples of canvases and what they are trying to achieve. Learn about a simple framework that enables you to build a custom canvas that is suited to your needs. And walk away with a custom canvas, because you are going to build your own canvas in this workshop!

According to the 2016 State of Agile Survey the #3 cause of agile project failure is “Lack of management support” at 38%. To compound the matter, the #5 cause of prevention of further agile adoption is “Management support” at 29%. In contrast, the #2 reason for success in scaling agile is “Executive sponsorship” at 40%.

Clearly the executives and C-suite are a key part of a successful agile transformation. As an agile coach or transformation agent it is imperative that you work with the C-suite so that your org can successfully adopt agile.

Learn about the different types of C-suite executives through the use of personas. We will cover 6 persona types in detail.

The communication tools of Liberating Structures will teach you how to facilitate the discussions your org needs. I am going to demonstrate how to use these techniques in the workshop. And all the attendees are going to be fully immersed and ready to wield their new knowledge the very next day at work.

Come learn how to help your team(s), org(s), and company(ies)!!!

For more information, watch my video at http://youtu.be/UNOjqMUv8h0

A version of this workshop that was presented at Agile Tour Sydney 2016 is at http://bit.ly/2f4Bie8

Are your retros boring, non-productive, and a waste of time? Come learn about 2 case studies of extraordinary retrospectives.

Retrospectives are the heart of the feedback loop that exists within an agile framework that fosters self-improvement.

Retrospectives lose value due to 2 reasons - they get boring or they have no value in terms of actionable items.

The first case will describe a team's experience organized at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia. A custom tour was developed that focused on "mateship".

The second case will describe a team's experience at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, Australia. A prototype team training based on Visual Thinking Strategies, VTS, usually reserved for 11-12 year old school children.

I will describe how you can partner with a variety of resources, including government programs, that will enable you to do the same thing.

The communication tools of Liberating Structures will teach you how to facilitate the discussions your org needs. I am going to demonstrate how to use these techniques in the workshop. And all the attendees are going to be fully immersed and ready to wield their new knowledge the very next day at work.

Come learn how to help your team(s), org(s), and company(ies)!!!

For more information, watch my video at http://youtu.be/UNOjqMUv8h0

A version of this workshop that was presented at Agile Tour Sydney 2016 is at http://bit.ly/2f4Bie8

What's in a story? Perhaps more applicable to agilists today, what's in a user story?

Let's get real about user stories and what they are trying to achieve. Perhaps the user story is not the story format we should be using!

Let's examine the user story format that we all know and love today. We will dive a little deeper into how a story and personas can create synergy. We will discuss how a user story can be presented on a ticket and how stories can be supplemented with information like acceptance criteria.

Of course something so widely used will have anti-patterns. Let's look at a few and have a few laughs as well.

Let's go even further and talk about user story alternatives, I will propose two. But wait! Are there even other user story alternatives? I will introduce two more.

Finally, let's sum up the purpose of the user story and conclude with the central idea that's really important - your story can be anything you want it to be!

Are your retros boring, non-productive, and a waste of time? Come learn about 2 case studies of extraordinary retrospectives.

Retrospectives are the heart of the feedback loop that exists within an agile framework that fosters self-improvement.

Retrospectives lose value due to 2 reasons - they get boring or they have no value in terms of actionable items.

The first case will describe a team's experience organized at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia. A custom tour was developed that focused on "mateship".

The second case will describe a team's experience at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, Australia. A prototype team training based on Visual Thinking Strategies, VTS, usually reserved for 11-12 year old school children.

I will describe how you can partner with a variety of resources, including government programs, that will enable you to do the same thing.

The communication tools of Liberating Structures will teach you how to facilitate the discussions your org needs. I am going to demonstrate how to use these techniques in the workshop. And all the attendees are going to be fully immersed and ready to wield their new knowledge the very next day at work.

Come learn how to help your team(s), org(s), and company(ies)!!!

For more information, watch my video at http://youtu.be/UNOjqMUv8h0

A version of this workshop that was presented at Agile Tour Sydney 2016 is at http://bit.ly/2f4Bie8

What's in a story? Perhaps more applicable to agilists today, what's in a user story?

Let's get real about user stories and what they are trying to achieve. Perhaps the user story is not the story format we should be using!

Let's examine the user story format that we all know and love today. We will dive a little deeper into how a story and personas can create synergy. We will discuss how a user story can be presented on a ticket and how stories can be supplemented with information like acceptance criteria.

Of course something so widely used will have anti-patterns. Let's look at a few and have a few laughs as well.

Let's go even further and talk about user story alternatives, I will propose two. But wait! Are there even other user story alternatives? I will introduce two more.

Finally, let's sum up the purpose of the user story and conclude with the central idea that's really important - your story can be anything you want it to be!