Agile

What are Daily Standup Meetings? (And can you have them virtually?)

Daily Standup meetings, also known as daily “Huddles,” are a tool for focusing a team on their work for the day. Standups, whether held in person or virtually, are designed to be short – hence the standing format. Typically, there are three questions, and they can be used for any team working for any desired result. These three questions align the team in three distinct and important ways (and yes, Daily Standups can be performed virtually – see the end of the article for tips).

Agile Fundamentals Lunch Learn with AJC’s Alex Jones

There is a lot of talk around being an “agile” organization these days – since COVID began so abruptly, many organizations are reconsidering how they adapt to change, and being “agile” sounds appealing. Learn as Alex Jones discusses the fundamentals of Agile, its birthplace from Lean, how to use the Agile frameworks of Scrum and Kanban to make knowledge work visible, and what the role is of leaders in an Agile organization.

Why Use an Economic-Based versus a Resource-Based Prioritization Model

We have all heard a variation on the justification to *not* undertake certain tasks that runs something like: “but we don’t have anyone who has time to do that.” Many organizations prioritize their work based on who is capable and available to do it. Using a resource-based prioritization model, however, is a dis-service to your organization. We recommend an Economic-Based Prioritization Model.

Meet Alex Jones

Why are Agile/Scrum practices helpful to an organization? There are really two “business results” that an organization should expect to get out of Agile.  The first is a fast, predictable cadence of value delivery.  A traditional “waterfall” project might spend lots of time up front specifying, designing, and producing the output before anything is shipped to …

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Process Improvement & Agile Project Management with Diana Muirhead

AJC’s Diana Muirhead has been leading projects and process improvement for many years in various settings. She has also trained as an Agile Scrum Master and is versed on applying Agile concepts such as Product Backlogs, Sprints, and Retrospectives in non-standard Scrum settings. Diana shares with us her background and ideas on process and projects …

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What is the Role of Leadership in an Agile Organization?

There is a lot of talk around being an “agile” organization these days. Since COVID began so abruptly last spring, many organizations are reconsidering how they adapt to change, and being “agile” sounds appealing. Leaders are asking their teams to be more agile, but what should teams count on those in a leadership role to do in an Agile organization?

Where did Agile Come From?

Have you ever wondered where the term “Agile” came from? This word has been thrown around as a buzz word frequently of late. As in: “We need to be Agile,” or “Our organization’s agile approach allows us to be flexible.” This article discusses the origins of Agile, what it is, and our key take-aways about what Agile means.

Does this “Agile” thing work outside of software?

Agile is actually a collection of frameworks that have their roots in Lean manufacturing. Using Agile, just like Lean, should be part of an overall execution strategy – and should be considered in the right context. If your company has knowledge workers, there is a good chance that some Agile frameworks that are focused on planning and execution and can help visualize capacity, especially when it is hard to “see” work in the form of tangible goods, work-in-progress, or materials.

How to Create a Milestone Schedule in the form of an Agile Project Backlog

Given the inevitability of change, creating a static “Waterfall” schedule with all tasks and dependencies fully known at the outset of a project seems antiquated at best. Here is how we recommend generating a tried-and-true Milestone Schedule in an Agile fashion – specifically by creating an Agile Project Backlog.

Meet Angie Glawe – Project Manager and Agile Consultant

You have a Project Coordinator and Agile Consulting background, tell us about the importance of those in an organization.   Projects are complex by nature. The Project Manager, or Coordinator, plays a key role in pulling the details together and communicating those details. This includes tracking project milestones and due dates, providing support to make sure all project …

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