We regularly talk about optimizing the workflow but we don’t talk as often about who should be doing that optimization. Should it be the manager, or some dedicated process specialist, or should we be leaving it up to the team to figure out their own workflow? Spoiler: We should let the team figure it out. …
The way to solve complex problems is to break it down into smaller pieces, start with what we know or more often, a hypothesis around an assumption we are making, and then assess the outcome to decide what to do next. Agile frameworks and techniques like Scrum, XP, Feature Driven Development, Crystal, etc. are designed …
Three Ways Kanban Helps Us Solve Complex Problems Read More »
If I only had a dollar for every time an Agile team member complained about not having time free of distractions so that they could completely focus on getting their work done… In the article Flow: The Secret of Creativity, High Performance, and Happiness, we explored Flow from the perspective of the individual and discussed …
Collective Flow – The Rhythm of Creative Collaboration Read More »
Nigeria, like other nations, is an evolving work environment. A nation of over 200 million people (UNDP, 2021). Interesting in her demographic is her workforce. From United Nations Population Fund statistics, over 50% of her population in the workforce is young and vibrant. The question then is, how can the Agile framework; Kanban, facilitate the delivery of value for Nigerian organizations and businesses? To answer this …
Kanban Adoption in Nigeria; A Frontier Worth Exploring Read More »
When working with a flow-based Kanban system there are a few statements that I would suggest most teams should bear in mind. One of my Kanban class attendees labelled these as “Jose’s Rules for Flow” Whilst I wouldn’t go so far as to say these are hard and fast rules, they are some suggestions for …
The comparison between Kanban and Scrum obviously comes up often when we’re talking to teams, especially in the context of Professional Scrum with Kanban. While they are more similar than many practitioners realize, one key difference is the perspective on Teams. If you look at the definition of Kanban or Lean, you wouldn’t find teams …
In football, the team that wins is the one that gets the ball in the other team’s goal most times. Not the one that runs the most. What matters most is what is happening to the ball. So, we need to watch the ball, not the player. Business is no different. In Knowledge Work what …
Business Efficiency? Watch the Ball, not the Player Read More »
The book “The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement” by Eliyahu M. Goldratt took me by surprise. I had forgotten by the time I got around to listening to the audiobook that it was a novel. I just knew I needed to read Goldratt and was starting with his first book. Despite its initial 90’s …
In my last blog post, you read about the Thinking Processes of the Theory of Constraints. In this second installment of the Theory of Constraints, we will discuss its Five Focusing Steps.
In a Kanban system you introduce WIP limits at each step of the value flow. This means, that if you get stuck at any one step in the flow and things are not moving forward, then all those who operate in earlier stages of the system enter a holding pattern. If you’re explaining Kanban to …
Slack is not a dirty word: How ‘slack’ can improve your products Read More »
