a·gen·tic a·gil·i·ty

a·gen·tic a·gil·i·ty: sig·nals

Bite-sized, timely social updates highlighting emerging trends, insights, and shifts in Agile, DevOps, Azure, and AI. Quick reads designed to keep you informed and ready to adapt.

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Agentic Agility

Bonuses reflect mistrust, not motivation. True engagement in knowledge work comes from purpose, autonomy, and meaningful challenges—not financial …

Signals Signals
Read more about Bonuses are not incentives
Agentic Agility

Most transformations fail without open, honest conversations that address real issues, making transparency and tough dialogue essential for true …

Signals Signals
Read more about Why Most Transformations Fail Without Honest Conversations
Scrum

Software development thrives on continuous discovery and adaptation; upfront planning can’t predict everything. Embrace uncertainty, deliver …

Signals Signals
Read more about The Myth of Knowing Everything Upfront in Software Development
Miscellaneous

AI is automating repetitive tasks, freeing people to focus on creative, strategic, and empathetic work that technology can’t replace. It’s a shift, …

Signals Signals
Read more about AI isn’t coming for your job
Miscellaneous

Explores how routine, repetitive jobs affect worker dignity, questioning their value as automation rises and urging a shift toward meaningful, …

Signals Signals
Read more about The Hidden Impact of Routine Jobs on Worker Dignity
Scrum

UX is integrated into Scrum, not handled separately. Design and validation happen within Sprints and backlog refinement, supporting continuous, …

Signals Signals
Read more about In Scrum, we don’t do UX separately
Product Development

The FBI Sentinel project failed with a waterfall approach, wasting years and budget, but succeeded rapidly after switching to Agile and iterative …

Signals Signals
Read more about The FBI Sentinel project was textbook waterfall
Product Development

Copying scaled agile frameworks fails because each business needs a tailored, evidence-based approach to agility that fits its unique culture, …

Signals Signals
Read more about Why Copying Scaled Agile Frameworks Fails in Your Business
Scrum

Learn how Professional Scrum training empowers teams to identify organisational blockers, create actionable change backlogs, and drive real …

Signals Signals
Read more about Maximising Value from Applying Professional Scrum Training
Product Development

Explores the US Department of Defence’s shift from traditional waterfall delivery to lean-agile methods, highlighting new procurement rules and the …

Signals Signals
Read more about US Department of Defence and the History of Waterfall Delivery
Product Development

Many organisations use excuses to avoid Agile, but even large, regulated bodies can adopt iterative delivery to reduce risk and deliver value …

Signals Signals
Read more about Too many organisations hide behind excuses:"
Software Development

The FBI’s 1995 criminal records system was outdated at launch, showing how slow, waterfall methods can leave technology obsolete and users behind. …

Signals Signals
Read more about FBI Launched Outdated Criminal Records System in 1995
Scrum

The end of a Sprint is a checkpoint for review and adaptation, not a deadline. Focus on flow, learning, and continuous improvement over strict task …

Signals Signals
Read more about Stop treating the end of the Sprint like a finish line
Scrum

Answers common questions about integrating design and UX work into Scrum Sprints, clarifying why dedicated Design Sprints aren’t needed and how to …

Signals Signals
Read more about Design Sprints in Scrum: Common Questions and Practical Insights
Scrum

Change succeeds when everyone understands and engages with it. Broad Scrum training empowers all roles to identify blockers and drive real, lasting …

Signals Signals
Read more about You can’t deliver change through memos
Scrum

Scrum can drive organisational change, not just product features, by using backlogs, teams, and feedback to enable real, evidence-based agility across …

Signals Signals
Read more about Scrum isn’t limited to building features
Engineering Excellence

Learn how evolving engineering practices like Feature Flags, TDD, and refactoring enable smoother Sprint workflows and reduce technical debt in Scrum …

Signals Signals
Read more about Evolving Engineering Practices to Improve Sprint Workflow in Scrum
Leadership

Explains why frameworks alone can't shift team culture, emphasizing clear vision, leadership commitment, and empowering teams to drive meaningful …

Signals Signals
Read more about Why Frameworks Alone will-not Transform Your Team Culture
Scrum

Explains how scaling Scrum requires UX coherence through Communities of Practice, shared frameworks, and collaboration—not central control—to ensure …

Signals Signals
Read more about When you scale Scrum, the challenge isn’t just delivery—it coherence
Scrum

Discover why experienced Scrum practitioners often misunderstand core principles, and how revisiting Scrum fundamentals restores clarity, agility, and …

Signals Signals
Read more about David thought he already knew Scrum
Scrum

Explains how Scrum supports continuous flow and agility by prioritising Sprint Goals, Done increments, CI/CD practices, and outcomes over rigid sprint …

Signals Signals
Read more about Scrum doesn’t stop you from optimising flow
Scrum

Clarifies Scrum guidelines on unfinished work, explaining that items can span multiple Sprints if the Sprint Goal and Done Increment remain intact, …

Signals Signals
Read more about Scrum Myth Debunked: Unfinished Work is Allowed in Scrum
Miscellaneous

Explores how AI automates repetitive tasks, enabling humans to focus on creative, strategic, and empathetic work, and challenges fears about AI …

Signals Signals
Read more about AI won’t replace humans
Scrum

Explains why Scrum is a social framework, not just engineering, emphasizing inclusive training, alignment, collaboration, and breaking …

Signals Signals
Read more about Scrum is not an engineering process
Miscellaneous

Examines how Frederick Taylor’s management ideas still shape workplaces today, highlighting their impact on motivation, job design, and the challenges …

Signals Signals
Read more about Frederick Taylor Legacy: Why it-is Still Problematic Today
Product Development

Resilience must be built into products from the start, ensuring they withstand failures like outages or network loss, rather than being treated as an …

Signals Signals
Read more about Resilience is not a department
Practice

A London flood shut down most datacentres, but Rackspace stayed online by regularly live-testing failures, proving true resilience comes from …

Signals Signals
Read more about During a massive flood in London, nearly every datacentre went down."
Agentic Agility

Heathrow’s outage was caused by an over-sensitive disaster recovery system, not a power loss, highlighting the risks of untested resilience and flawed …

Signals Signals
Read more about When Heathrow went down, they blamed the power supplier.
Ethos

Most disaster recovery plans fail in practice due to overlooked dependencies and lack of real-world testing, leaving organisations vulnerable when …

Signals Signals
Read more about Everyone has a disaster recovery plan—on paper
Product Development

Mandating Agile or Scrum fails without cultural change; true agility requires trust, transparency, and a supportive environment, not just tools or …

Signals Signals
Read more about You can not implement Agile or Scrum successfully by decree
Product Development

Explains how true quality improvement needs both tools and a culture of safety, using Toyota’s andon cord as a lesson for Agile and Scrum adoption in …

Signals Signals
Read more about Toyota "andon" cord lets any worker stop production to fix defects
Leadership

Explores why true organisational agility depends on empowering teams with agency, not just adopting frameworks like Scrum, Kanban, or DevOps, to …

Signals Signals
Read more about You want speed, adaptability, resilience
Scrum

Accountability in Scrum requires real agency; without the power to act, roles like Product Owner and Scrum Master become ineffective and …

Signals Signals
Read more about let-us be blunt
Scrum

Explains how true self-management in Scrum requires active, disciplined effort from Product Owners, Scrum Masters, and Developers, not chaos or lack …

Signals Signals
Read more about We hear self-managing teams so often it become a cliché
Scrum

Explores why team autonomy in Scrum must be balanced with alignment to strategic goals, highlighting the role of clear objectives and leadership in …

Signals Signals
Read more about Everyone loves to shout give teams autonomy
Technical Leadership

Explores how fear hinders true agility in teams, emphasising the need to foster courage and trust for effective Agile, Scrum, and DevOps practices and …

Signals Signals
Read more about Fear is the real enemy of agility
Engineering Excellence

Technical debt limits business agility, slows engineering, and hinders innovation. Managing it with automation and transparency is key to staying …

Signals Signals
Read more about Technical debt cripples business agility and slows engineers down
Product Development

Teams struggle not from lacking frameworks, but from ignoring feedback. Success depends on acting on signals, fostering safety, and empowering real …

Signals Signals
Read more about Most teams don’t fail because they lack frameworks
Scrum

Agile and Scrum expose underlying team and workflow issues, helping organisations address real problems rather than masking dysfunction with process …

Signals Signals
Read more about Agile and Scrum are often misunderstood
Product Management

Certifications show test-passing ability but don’t prove real-world product skills. Experience, judgement, and stakeholder influence matter more for …

Signals Signals
Read more about A certification proves you’ve passed a test
Scrum

Many agile transformations restrict team autonomy, leading to control and compliance instead of true ownership, adaptability, and meaningful …

Signals Signals
Read more about Here the dirty secret behind many agile transformations
Engineering Excellence

Highlights the importance of promptly fixing software bugs instead of managing backlogs, arguing that unresolved defects harm product quality and team …

Signals Signals
Read more about I’ll never understand teams that manage bugs instead of fixing them
Product Development

Explains how slow product release cycles delay feature delivery, risk losing relevance, and create competitive disadvantages, highlighting the …

Signals Signals
Read more about let-us do the maths
Scrum

Balancing backlog refinement prevents wasted effort and chaos. Aim for just enough detail so developers can plan sprints confidently without …

Signals Signals
Read more about Too much refinement wastes time
Scrum

Many product development surprises stem from poor backlog management, not true unknowns. Regular refinement and reflection help teams anticipate and …

Signals Signals
Read more about Not all surprises in product development are true unknowns
Entrepreneurship

Explores how slow organisational processes, risk aversion, and excessive alignment cause promising ideas to stall, leading to lost innovation and …

Signals Signals
Read more about Innovation graveyards: Where great ideas die in slow organisations
Leadership

Successful companies thrive by creating unique ways of working, not by copying frameworks. Tailor your approach to fit your organisation’s culture, …

Signals Signals
Read more about No successful company thrives by copying others’ ways of working
Product Development

Many companies mistake adopting Agile frameworks for true agility, but real success comes from customising ways of working to respond quickly to …

Signals Signals
Read more about Companies often say "we-are going Agile!" as if declaring it makes it so
Engineering Excellence

Technical debt poses significant business risks, reducing agility, slowing innovation, and causing lost opportunities. Addressing it is crucial for …

Signals Signals
Read more about Understand the true risk of technical debt in your business
Engineering Excellence

Microsoft’s switch to 3-week Sprints increased team anxiety due to greater transparency, exposing inefficiencies but enabling faster, more frequent …

Signals Signals
Read more about Microsoft shift from 2-year cycles to 3-week Sprints caused team anxiety
Leadership

Delays in decision-making hinder organisational growth, reduce competitiveness, and allow opportunities to slip away due to bureaucracy and slow …

Signals Signals
Read more about Every delay in decision-making taxes your organisation future
Engineering Excellence

Ignoring technical debt misrepresents software asset value, risking financial loss and operational issues. Properly account for technical debt to …

Signals Signals
Read more about Would your CFO approve misrepresenting corporate assets?
Product Development

Highlights the importance of delivering a usable product each sprint in Agile, warning against focusing on process over outcomes and emphasising real …

Signals Signals
Read more about Agile without a usable working product is just expensive theatre
Engineering Excellence

Technical debt always harms productivity and system stability. Ignoring it leads to inefficiency and risk, making it essential to address rather than …

Signals Signals
Read more about There no such thing as "good" technical debt
Miscellaneous

Explains why businesses must prioritise customer needs and agility to stay relevant, avoid missed opportunities, and remain competitive in a rapidly …

Signals Signals
Read more about You don’t own your market
Product Management

Many organisations misunderstand Product Ownership, treating it as simple backlog management instead of a strategic, accountable role essential for …

Signals Signals
Read more about Most companies still get Product Ownership wrong
Product Development

Explores why organisational responsiveness and real-time decision-making are crucial for staying competitive, highlighting the risks of outdated …

Signals Signals
Read more about The market isn’t slowing down for anyone
Product Development

Learn what makes an effective Product Owner, why generic job specs fall short, and which key responsibilities and skills are essential for true …

Signals Signals
Read more about Hiring a Product Owner? Avoid copying job specs from the internet
Product Development

Most features don’t deliver value. Short feedback loops and real user input help teams avoid wasted effort by ensuring they build what users actually …

Signals Signals
Read more about Building the wrong thing is worse than fixing a bug
Product Development

Learn how an effective backlog guides product strategy, prioritises value, and supports decision-making, rather than serving as a simple list of tasks …

Signals Signals
Read more about A great backlog isn’t just a list of tasks

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