Hiya everyone! 👋 I recently attended the Agile Day conference (thanks to my current company where I am working right now kind enough for sponsored) and wanted to share some good insights from the Operational Track. While I might have missed some bits (better than zero……also shoutout to ChatGPT for helping me clean up my keynote notes 😅), these takeaways are too good not to share.
The Truth About Agile: More Than Just Tech Jargon
I think this conference really drove home that Agile isn’t just another buzzword we throw around. It’s a mindset focused on delivering quality work through cross-functional team collaboration. But (and this is crucial) without the right approach, it can lose its impact real quick.
Opening Session
Before diving into tracks, the opening talk dropped some good stuff:
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Clarity is King: Agile thrives when there’s a clear, shared goal. It’s not about “doing Agile” just because everyone else is.
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Common Pitfalls to Watch Out For:
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Jumping on the Agile hype train without understanding the philosophy
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Cherry-picking parts of Agile (spoiler: it works best as a complete system)
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Thinking “fast = Agile” (real Agile is about consistent value delivery)
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Getting stuck in “doing” vs “being” Agile
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The big yikes: Using Agile as an excuse to cut headcount 🚫
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Track 1: Why Kanban Might Be Your Mechanical Scrum’s Savior
Ever heard of Mechanical Scrum? It’s when teams follow Scrum practices without really getting the Agile mindset. Signs you might be stuck in it:
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Teams working in silos with an “Us vs. Them” mentality
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Focusing on individual output over team outcomes
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Trying to make Agile fit old habits instead of evolving
The Kanban Fix
Here’s how Kanban can help:
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Invest in Real Training: Understanding the “why” behind practices
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Restructure Success Metrics: Team wins > Individual wins
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Embrace WIP Limits: Smaller, manageable workloads = better quality and focus
Flow Metrics 📊
When stakeholders ask “When will it be done?”, instead of frantically checking Jira, try this probabilistic approach:
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“50% confident → 8 days”
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“85% confident → 16 days”
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“95% confident → 19 days”
Pro tip: Embrace probability over promises!
The Heat Map: Your Sprint’s Health Check 🚦
Think of it like this:
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🟢 Green: Fresh work, happy days!
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🟡 Yellow: Warning signs, time to ask questions
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🔴 Red: Houston, we have a problem!
Key learning: “Stop starting, start finishing” - WIP limits are your BFF!
The Context Switching Tax 💸
Here’s the harsh reality of context switching:
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1 Project = 100% focus
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2 Projects = 40% per project
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3 Projects = 20% per project
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4 Projects = 10% per project
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5 Projects = 5% per project (why are we doing this to ourselves? 😫)
Track 2: Mental Agility at Work
Let’s talk about something often overlooked - mental agility in tech. It’s a shared responsibility:
Individual’s Part (60%):
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Perspective and attitude
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Setting healthy boundaries
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Regular self-reflection
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Continuous growth
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Adaptability
Organization’s Part (40%):
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Creating a safe environment
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Clear, effective workflows
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Supporting flexible work
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Tools that enable rather than restrict
Track 3: Building Excellence Through Communities
The secret sauce to Agile excellence? Communities of Practice (CoPs) and psychological safety!
What Works:
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Regular knowledge sharing
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Cross-team learning
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Practice-specific focus groups
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No-blame culture
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Safe-to-fail environment
Personal Takeaways 🎯
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Those WIP and Context Switching Numbers Don’t Lie
- “Do less, deliver more” isn’t just a catchy phrase!
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Heat Maps Are Actually Super Useful
- Better than saying “it’s complicated…” to stakeholders 😅
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Mental Health Reality Check
- Taking care of ourselves isn’t optional - it’s part of the job!
Looking at operations from a developer perspective helped me understand why certain practices exist. It’s not just process for process’s sake - there’s actual data backing things like WIP limits and sprint planning.
If you got even one takeaway from this, i guess we can consider that a win haha.