Agile Conversations - Chapter by Chapter

The first chapter of Agile Conversations is all about people-centred development, and we tell the story of our own journey from over-determined software factory to today's feature factories, with similar Taylorist theories of management in both. In today's episode, we go into more depth on the causes of this tragic journey, touching on old and new topics like Theories X and Y, the Cynefin framework, and why there isn't a JIRA plugin for conversational quality.

SHOW LINKS:
- Taylorism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_management
- Theories X and Y: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_X_and_Theory_Y
- 12 Signs You're Working in a Feature Factory by John Cutler: https://cutle.fish/blog/12-signs-youre-working-in-a-feature-factory
- Cargo cults: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult and https://www.jamesshore.com/Blog/Cargo-Cult-Agile.html
- Cockburn on people: https://web.archive.org/web/20140329203655/http://alistair.cockburn.us/Characterizing+people+as+non-linear,+first-order+components+in+software+development
- Cynefin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynefin_framework

Episode transcript: https://www.conversationaltransformation.com/posts/software-factory-to-feature-factory/

Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list!

Software Factory to Feature Factory

Continuing our tour of our new book Agile Conversations, we come to our chapter on the foundational method for conversational analysis, the Four Rs. We briefly explain the value of conversational analysis, and share our observation that even highly motivated people who know how much it can help their agile teams find it hard to actually pull out a piece of paper and do an analysis. The reasons for this are very similar to the reasons we need the analysis in the first place—our cognitive biases fool us into thinking we don't need the help, others do.

SHOW LINKS:

- Extract of Agile Conversations: https://itrevolution.com/conversations-humanitys-secret-weapon/
- Thinking, Fast and Slow: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking,_Fast_and_Slow
- Previous episode on the Four Rs: https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/learning-through-case-studies-the-4-rs
- James Clear, Atomic Habits: https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits
- London Organisational Learning meetup: https://www.meetup.com/London-Action-Science-Meetup/
- Slack for Conversational Transformation: https://join.slack.com/t/agile-conversations/shared_invite/zt-e7j2fbet-jIjExF5HpWqMWpTJ1RfEfw

Episode transcript: https://www.conversationaltransformation.com/posts/how-to-improve-and-why-you-wont/

Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list!

We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show.
 
Email us at info@conversationaltransformation.com

How To Improve and Why You Won't

We reflect on chapter 3 of Agile Conversations, all about building trust as the first step to a successful agile team. We respond to a reader who had an interesting understanding of the "Test-Driven Development for People" technique and relate the Trust Conversation to vulnerability, exploratory testing, and the painful process of learning.

SHOW LINKS:

- Previous episodes on trust: 
    - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/the-first-thing-to-build-is-trust 
    - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/be-predictable-to-build-trust
    - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/test-driven-development-for-people
- Squirrel's video on TDD for people: https://www.douglassquirrel.com/how-i-work.html
- Kristine Casas blog post: 
    - https://testkeis.wordpress.com/2020/05/17/read-agile-conversations/ 
    - https://medium.com/@rocketkeis/on-the-ladder-of-inference-64493f7f8e00
    - via https://softwaretestingweekly.com/issues/20

Episode transcript: https://www.conversationaltransformation.com/posts/a-sense-of0security-gained-and-lost/

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Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list!

We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show.
 
Email us at info@conversationaltransformation.com

A Sense of Security, Gained & Lost

We're up to chapter 4 of Agile Conversations: "Fear: The Default Feeling". We look at why defaulting to fear was a successful adaptation for our ancestors and why it serves us poorly now, for example leading to the phenomenon of "greenshifting" that can lead to catastrophic misunderstandings. We explain why starting sentences with the phrase "I'm afraid that..." can help you expose and reduce fear in your team.

SHOW LINKS:

- Previous episodes and blog posts on fear and related techniques: 
    - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/overcoming-normalisation-of-deviance
    - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/removing-the-blame-frame
    - https://blog.jeffreyfredrick.com/2016/04/08/coherence-busting-explained/
    - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/greenshifting
- Greenshifting: https://www.drdobbs.com/dr-dobbs-agile-newsletter/191600661

Episode transcript: https://www.conversationaltransformation.com/posts/fear-the-original-sin-of-unproductive-conversations/

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Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list!

We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show.
 
Email us at info@conversationaltransformation.com

Fear: The Original Sin of Unproductive Conversations

Although we talk about joint design a lot, we haven't managed to do an episode on it. As we get to chapter 4 in our tour through Agile Conversations, it's time to rectify that! We focus on a common error that we didn't cover in depth in the book: how trying to "convince" someone through advocacy fails. Using the Four Rs, we roleplay an ineffective advocacy-heavy conversation about tech team execution, and then revise it to increase curiosity, reduce defensiveness and achieve greater internal commitment.

SHOW LINKS:

- Getting to Yes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_to_Yes
- David Burns on (not) trying to help: https://feelinggood.com/2019/10/28/164-how-to-help-and-how-not-to-help/
- Previous episodes and blog posts on joint design:
   - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/mutual-learning-model-part-one
   - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/how-to-fail-by-acting-unilaterally-part-i
   - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/how-to-fail-by-acting-unilaterally-part-ii
   - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/how-to-fail-by-acting-unilaterally-part-iii
   - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/how-to-fail-by-acting-unilaterally-part-iv 
   - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/how-to-fail-by-acting-unilaterally-part-v 

Episode transcript: https://www.conversationaltransformation.com/posts/why-finding-the-balance-for-joining/

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Our new book, Agile Conversations, is out now! See https://conversationaltransformation.com where you can order your copy and get a free video when you join our mailing list!

We'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show.
 
Email us at info@conversationaltransformation.com

Why: Finding the Balance for Joint Design

Troubleshooting Agile is a problem-solving session for agile teams. Jeffrey Fredrick and Douglas Squirrel look at common problems agile teams face and provide practical, immediately useful advice for getting back on track.