Kanban Archives - Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast

Michael Schmidt: Ensuring Kanban Sustainability Despite The Scrum Master’s Absence

In this episode, Michael shares his experience with implementing Kanban in a software development team. Despite a functional team, the input quality was not good enough, and the team also had too many people taking on the product manager role. Michael collaborated with them, establishing a workflow and introducing a “Ready-kanban” system. Daily product standups were instituted, but progress halted when Michael went on vacation. Upon his return, he discovered no improvements, highlighting a trust deficit in the Kanban process. Michael emphasizes the need for collective ownership and sustainability of the practice, urging reflection on its benefits for lasting success.

The inspiring story of how a failing hospital turned things around with Agile and Lean

Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story – How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company.

About Michael Schmidt

Michael a Berlin-based Agile Coach for teams, roles and organisations around software based product development. Michael invented “the taskboard” on his own, which ignited his working agile by conviction some 13 years ago.

You can link with Michael Schmidt on LinkedIn and connect with Michael Schmidt on Twitter.

Kaisa Martiskainen: Finding the right Agile process for a mixed development and DevOps Team

In this episode, Kaisa shares the experience of joining a big team that had developers and operations people working in scrum. The team was unhappy with the long meetings and the 2-week sprint cycle did not fit the repetitive operational tasks. Kaisa suggests using surveys to assess the situation, talking to the manager about the impact of scrum on operations, and seeking help from a mentor. She also emphasizes the importance of promoting a solution that is already coming out from the team instead of pushing for change. The episode highlights anti-patterns such as cramming different types of work into sprints and replacing Kanban with Scrum in an operations team without considering the impact on the team.

Want to Improve Your Change Management Results? Discover the Lean Change Management Approach Today!

As Scrum Master we work with change continuously! Do you have your own change framework that provides the guidance, and queues you need when working with change? The Lean Change Management framework is a fully defined, lean-startup inspired change framework that can be used as the backbone of any change process! You can buy Lean Change Management the book at Amazon. Also available in French, Spanish, German and Portuguese.

About Kaisa Martiskainen

Kaisa is an Agile coach working for a large multinational software company. Originally from Finland, her thirst for learning new things and passion for languages led her to live in Sweden, and Scotland before settling in Montreal, Canada. She is an avid Redditor who spends her free time reading, knitting, investing and playing with her two daughters.

You can link with Kaisa Martiskainen on LinkedIn.

Cynthia Kracmer: The need for Scrum Masters to adapt to the reality they meet, and not force Scrum on Agile teams

In this episode, Cynthia shared her experience as a training lead for an insurance company. When she started, she quickly realized that the team was not ready and that there were people with different levels of knowledge. The team was struggling with late deliveries and a lack of communication between the Product Owner and the developer. Cynthia recognized that the team needed a Scrum Master, and she reached out to the Product Owner to suggest this. Cynthia also emphasized the importance of identifying client needs and suggesting what might be missing. She believes that in large organizations, it’s often best to jump in and help, remain open-minded, explore other frameworks, and focus on what is valuable for the company and the team.

Cynthia also discussed the importance of recognizing that every team and every client is different. She suggested looking beyond Agile and exploring other methods that might be interesting. Cynthia’s tips for success include understanding client needs, being open-minded, and exploring other frameworks. She emphasized the importance of focusing on value and finding what works best for each unique situation. Cynthia’s story highlights the need for effective communication, collaboration, and adaptability to ensure the success of a project.

The inspiring story of how a failing hospital turned things around with Agile and Lean

About Cynthia Kracmer

Cynthia Kracmer is a Business Transformation & Human Capital Managing Consultant passionate about creating innovative, stimulating and ‘healthy’ organizations for people. She is Agile agnostic, and has worked as a Scrum master, agile coach and agile transformation lead in the Life Sciences area. She loves singing, traveling (she’s been to 63 countries), cycling and running.

Connect with Cynthia Kracmer on LinkedIn.

BONUS: The Collaboration Equation, Fostering Effective Collaboration in Agile Software Development with Jim Benson

In this episode, we explore Jim Benson’s latest book: The Collaboration Equation. Scrum Masters should read this book because it offers a systematic approach to building the right environment for Agile software development. Having been involved in Agile since 1997, Jim has seen many projects start with excitement, only to fall apart over time. His book offers an approach to avoid the Agile adoption decay, and a way to make changes stick by helping professionals learn to act with agency in an environment that supports their efforts. Jim has applied this approach in many different organizations, and shares some aspects of those stories in this episode.

According to Jim, every Scrum master and product owner is a change agent, responsible for bringing opportunities for change to humans. However, these change agents can become frustrated when others don’t see the clarity that Agile methodologies are supposed to bring. This is where his book comes in, helping change agents to identify the right environment for their organization by considering factors such as how work flows and what culture they want to create. By providing this systematic approach to Agile software development, Jim’s book offers a valuable resource to anyone involved in the process of change within an organization.

Discovering Agile: A Story of Continuous Improvement and Paying Attention to End-Users

Continue reading BONUS: The Collaboration Equation, Fostering Effective Collaboration in Agile Software Development with Jim Benson

BONUS: Embracing Self-Awareness and Empathy in the Agile Change Process, Insights from Dustin Thostenson

In this episode, we explore Dustin’s personal experience with change during his career and share his lessons learned, and experiences with change in teams. Dustin notes that while he has found certain practices to be successful, sometimes things do not work out and this can lead to consequences like being fired. Dustin asks us to consider if our behavior could be perceived as telling others they are doing things wrong instead of being considered helpful by the team.

The Importance of Self-Awareness and Empathy in Agile Software Development

Continue reading BONUS: Embracing Self-Awareness and Empathy in the Agile Change Process, Insights from Dustin Thostenson