The Big Agile Questions for 2025: A Community Reflection With Your Submitted Questions

Substack Week: Engineering Strategy, Bridging Technical Excellence with Business Success With Aleix Morgadas In this Substack Week episode, we explore the critical intersection of engineering strategy and business success with Aleix Morgadas, an engineering strategy consultant focusing on sociotechnical aspects of high-stake business challenges. Aleix shares insights from his experience helping organizations align their technical capabilities with business objectives, while offering practical approaches to developing and implementing effective engineering strategies. The Genesis of Engineering Strategy Personal experience sparked Aleix's journey into engineering strategy when he joined a large company and found himself grappling with strategic decision-making in engineering. He identified a crucial gap: while strategy was well-established in product and business domains, engineering organizations often lacked strategic frameworks for participating in key decisions. This realization led him to start writing about his struggles and insights, helping others navigate similar challenges through his newsletter. "I found that engineering was missing a way to be part of the decision making process, and we needed to be clear on the problems and challenges that engineering organizations face." Breaking Down the Four-Step Process Drawing inspiration from Richard Rumelt's work on strategy, Aleix presents a comprehensive framework for developing engineering strategy. The process emphasizes the importance of understanding organizational context and identifying shared challenges before taking action. "Solve the shared pains - that's why we need to uncover those pains in the first place." The framework consists of four key steps: Context Understanding: Begin by defining your business context, as strategy must align with your specific environment and circumstances Problem Identification: Focus on understanding current organizational pains and creating alignment around which problems to solve Direction Setting: Break down larger goals into manageable increments while ensuring actions don't compete with each other Strategy Execution: Create space for teams to work on strategic initiatives while maintaining autonomy The Power of Bottom-Up Strategy Aleix challenges the traditional top-down approach to strategy development, advocating for a more inclusive process that brings together perspectives from all levels of the organization. This approach recognizes that teams and top-level management often have different visions that need to be reconciled for effective strategy implementation. "Strategy does not need to be designed top-down. Teams and top-level management have different visions, and we need to be able to bring those together." Implementation and Execution Success in engineering strategy requires more than just planning - it demands thoughtful execution and ongoing adaptation. Aleix emphasizes the importance of learning through action and starting with minimal effort initiatives to gain momentum. "By doing you learn, and doing is critical for strategy. Start with the least effort action you have in mind." Recommended Resources For Further Study The book: Good Strategy/Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt The blog post: North Star Framework Template & Activity Library The Jobs to be done Framework TEMPLATE: The engineering strategy template by Aleix VIDEO: Aleix’s Engineering Strategy Journey Talk [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] 🔥In the ruthless world of fintech, success isn’t just about innovation—it’s about coaching!🔥 Angela thought she was just there to coach a team. But now, she’s caught in the middle of a corporate espionage drama that could make or break the future of digital banking. Can she help the team regain their mojo and outwit their rivals, or will the competition crush their ambitions? As alliances shift and the pressure builds, one thing becomes clear: this isn’t just about the product—it’s about the people. 🚨 Will Angela’s coaching be enough? Find out in Shift: From Product to People—the gripping story of high-stakes innovation and corporate intrigue. Buy Now on Amazon [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]   About Aleix Morgadas Aleix Morgadas is an engineering strategy consultant specializing in sociotechnical aspects to overcome high-stake business challenges. He regularly shares his knowledge through his blog while leading Teamperature, a SaaS product focused on assessing Team Cognitive Load for healthier teams. He also publishes the Engineering Strategy newsletter on Substack. You can link with Aleix Morgadas on Substack.

19 Helmi 41min

Substack Week: Bridging the Gap Between Agile Teams and Leadership With Josh Anderson In this Substack Week episode, we explore the critical challenges and opportunities in the relationship between Agile teams and organizational leadership. Josh Anderson shares insights from his extensive experience in technology leadership and discusses how both sides can work together more effectively. Understanding the Business-Team Divide "We are part of the business, but many teams separate it out say, 'Oh, that's over there, that's not us.' No, that is us." One of the most common challenges in organizations is the perceived divide between "the business" and development teams. Josh emphasizes that this separation is an anti-pattern that needs to be addressed. Teams must understand how they create value for customers and how their work connects to the organization's broader mission. The key is asking fundamental questions like "Why do we exist?" and focusing on delivering real value to customers rather than just building features or fixing bugs. The Art of Communication with Leaders "You have to reach across the aisle... speak in language that they understand, and of course the other side of the aisle has to understand that you may not understand all of the financial acumen or other things that they're throwing out." Effective communication requires both sides to make an effort to understand each other. Josh highlights the importance of: Using common language that everyone understands Being willing to ask for clarification when needed Explaining technical terms and concepts clearly Focusing on business value rather than process details Understanding that it takes approximately seven repetitions for new concepts to be fully absorbed Learning from Anti-Mentors "That experimental database of things I need to try is getting actively shrunk. So I'm starting to just cross off things. Okay, don't do that, don't do that, don't do that." Josh introduces the concept of "anti-mentors" - learning valuable leadership lessons from challenging experiences with ineffective leaders. This approach helps: Build a clear understanding of what not to do Narrow down the field of potential leadership approaches Create a stronger foundation for experimentation with new methods Transform negative experiences into positive learning opportunities The Leadership Laboratory "Constantly experiment with things. But be super inclusive about those experiments that you're going to run and say, 'Hey, this is who we want to be.'" Josh emphasizes treating leadership development like product development, using experimentation and feedback loops to improve continuously. Key aspects include: Setting clear expectations about experiments and intended outcomes Including team members in the process of change Giving changes enough time to show results Being open to adjusting based on feedback Creating a safe environment for trying new approaches Recommended Resources For Further Study The book: Turn the Ship Around by David Marquet Josn’s The Leadership Lighthouse Newsletter on Substack The Meta-Cast Podcast with Josh and Bob Galen And take a look at KAZI.IO - Josh's consulting business [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] 🔥In the ruthless world of fintech, success isn’t just about innovation—it’s about coaching!🔥 Angela thought she was just there to coach a team. But now, she’s caught in the middle of a corporate espionage drama that could make or break the future of digital banking. Can she help the team regain their mojo and outwit their rivals, or will the competition crush their ambitions? As alliances shift and the pressure builds, one thing becomes clear: this isn’t just about the product—it’s about the people. 🚨 Will Angela’s coaching be enough? Find out in Shift: From Product to People—the gripping story of high-stakes innovation and corporate intrigue. Buy Now on Amazon [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] About Josh Anderson With over two decades of experience in technology leadership, product innovation, and operational excellence, Josh has worked with many businesses and helped transform them into high-value, product-driven organizations. Josh is also a fellow podcaster at the Meta-Cast with Bob Galen. You can connect with Josh Anderson on Substack.

18 Helmi 36min

Substack Week: Why Product Management is Broken and How to Fix It With Anton Zaides In this SPECIAL Substack Week episode, we dive deep into the current state of product management with Anton Zaides, a seasoned software engineer and leader. Anton shares his perspectives on why product management is fundamentally broken and offers practical solutions for organizations looking to improve their product development processes. The Journey to Engineering Leadership "I started to search for content from other engineering managers and focused on practical insights." Anton's journey spans 15 years in software engineering, from game development to DevOps and scaling startups. His transition to leadership revealed a gap in practical leadership content, which inspired him to start sharing his own experiences. Drawing from his four years as an engineering leader in a startup, Anton noticed patterns in product management that needed addressing, leading to his viral article on the topic. The Broken State of Product Management "My team was working on a feature, that got canceled the day after it was released." Product management faces several critical challenges in today's technology landscape. Anton identifies key issues including the development of unused features, increasing software complexity, and misaligned incentives that discourage innovation. Through his conversations with industry professionals, he discovered these problems were widespread, with teams frequently building features that get canceled or go unused. Despite following Agile methodologies, many organizations fail to properly evaluate feature impact, leading to wasted resources and frustrated teams. Product Managers vs. Program Managers "The PM spent only 5% of his time on talking to customers." One of the core issues Anton identifies is the transformation of product managers into glorified program managers. In many organizations, product managers spend most of their time managing JIRA tickets and dependencies rather than engaging with customers and driving innovation. The pressure to deliver on predetermined roadmaps, often dictated by executive teams, leaves little room for challenging assumptions or testing ideas with minimal scope. This shift away from customer interaction and strategic thinking has reduced the product manager's role to primarily managing internal processes. Fostering Better Product Management "PM's should be like a founder for the product business." To improve product management, Anton advocates for several key changes: Offloading program management responsibilities to the team Trusting product managers to make strategic decisions Requiring specific industry knowledge and experience Encouraging face-to-face customer interactions Moving product managers closer to commercial roles Involving engineers in customer conversations Organizational Structure and Communication "The more links you have in the communication chain, the worse the information gets communicated." Anton proposes a shift towards a more functional organizational structure where Product and Engineering work together more closely. He emphasizes the importance of direct communication between technical teams and customers, warning against over-reliance on data alone. The solution involves bringing everyone closer to the business side and creating stronger networks between organizations and engineers. Practical Implementation Tips "Get engineers to visit customers." Key recommendations for improving product management include: Involving engineers in customer and sales conversations Giving engineers visibility through release messaging and communications Establishing strong collaboration between engineering leaders and product managers Ensuring product managers have deep domain expertise Creating opportunities for direct customer interaction Treating product managers as business owners rather than project managers Recommended Resources for Further Study Anton’s Article that we review in this interview: “Product Management is broken, a change is coming”  John Cutle’s article on Product Manager’s Responsibilities  Anton’s Article on how to work effectively with your Product Managers A book recommendation: Empowered by Marty Cagan An episode of Lenny's podcast with Brian Chesky [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] 🔥In the ruthless world of fintech, success isn’t just about innovation—it’s about coaching!🔥 Angela thought she was just there to coach a team. But now, she’s caught in the middle of a corporate espionage drama that could make or break the future of digital banking. Can she help the team regain their mojo and outwit their rivals, or will the competition crush their ambitions? As alliances shift and the pressure builds, one thing becomes clear: this isn’t just about the product—it’s about the people. 🚨 Will Angela’s coaching be enough? Find out in Shift: From Product to People—the gripping story of high-stakes innovation and corporate intrigue. Buy Now on Amazon [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] About Anton Zaides  Anton Zaides is a seasoned software engineer and leader with 15 years of experience. From game development in Unity3D to leading DevOps and scaling startups, Anton's journey is marked by rapid growth. In 2023, he began sharing insights for engineering managers, amassing 15k newsletter subscribers in under a year. He writes a newsletter called "Leading Developers" that provides practical insights for engineering managers. You can link with Anton Zaides on Substack.

17 Helmi 38min

BONUS: The Future of Agility, Insights from Industry Research with Simon Powers Is Agile really dead? What does this wide research from industry reveal?  In this detailed, and insightful episode, we explore the current state and future of agility with Simon Powers, founder of The Deeper Change Academy. Simon shares insights from his comprehensive survey conducted between October and December 2024, which included 311 survey responses, 15 case studies, and 8 in-depth interviews with senior leaders. The Current State of Agility The research reveals that while there's been a decline in traditional agile roles and certifications since October 2023, approximately 70% of organizations continue to invest in agile practices and transformations. However, these initiatives are often being rebranded and restructured, moving away from traditional "agile transformation" terminology. "Organizations are still embracing agility and moving forward with change, but what they're doing is that the names they're using are changing. People aren't necessarily being employed as agile coaches, but the agile coaching responsibilities are still required within organizations." Leadership Development and Organizational Structure A critical finding shows that leadership development in many organizations has stalled, creating two distinct organizational patterns: Organizations focused primarily on operational efficiencies, resulting in decreased agility Companies that have embraced coaching as a management tool and invested in leadership development "The culture is very different depending on where you sit. When you're constantly competing against a head count of a developer versus that of a coach, you're less able to take the necessary risks, talk to the right people, do bolder experiments, and have more of an effect within the organization." The Impact of Funding Models The research identified that the funding model for agile initiatives significantly impacts their success. Centrally funded transformation efforts tend to be more successful than those funded through departmental headcount, as they provide greater authority and ability to drive change across the organization. "Where people are hired or paid for within the head count, the overwhelming majority - like 90% of people who are in that position - are reporting that they do not have the authority to actually carry out the roles that they have responsibility for." Collaboration and Remote Work The survey revealed interesting insights about optimal collaboration patterns in the post-pandemic era: The sweet spot for office presence appears to be 2-3 days per week Full remote work can significantly reduce collaboration effectiveness Physical presence remains important for developing leadership skills and team dynamics "Being at home 100% of the time is a big reduction of collaboration and working on things and growing these skill sets that are needed in leadership as well as within the teams." Future Trends and Challenges Looking ahead, the research highlights several key areas that will shape the future of agility: Team structures remain a critical factor in software delivery capability The need for better strategy tools at senior leadership levels The importance of breaking down silos in software development The continued evolution of agile practices to meet increasing complexity "Organizations are going to need to sort out these problems that we've been slowly solving through agility for the last 20 years. We're just going to be continuing on, but what flavor? I don't know." About Simon Powers Simon Powers is the founder of The Deeper Change Academy and author of "Change: A Practitioner's Guide to Enterprise Coaching." With over 20 years of leadership experience, Simon empowers HR leaders and department heads to create thriving, human-centered workplace cultures through tailored coaching, strategic advisory, and transformational programs. You can link with Simon Powers on LinkedIn.

15 Helmi 45min

Mateusz Komander: From Business Analyst to Product Champion, The Impact Of Vision In The PO Role Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. The Great Product Owner: The Empowered Business Analyst Mateusz shares an inspiring example of a Business Analyst who embodied the ideal Product Owner traits despite not having the official title. This proxy PO took genuine ownership of the platform, demonstrated strong decision-making abilities by saying "no" to stakeholders when necessary, and actively supported the team's ideas. Their success came from maintaining a clear vision for the product while remaining open to experimentation. The Bad Product Owner: The Vision-less Decision Maker The most significant anti-pattern Mateusz observed was a Product Owner lacking a clear vision for their product. This absence of vision made decision-making challenging and complicated the PO's ability to gain support for their ideas. The team struggled with last-minute requirements and a short-term roadmap that didn't provide adequate guidance. To address this, Mateusz suggests using simple visualization tools, focusing on product goals, and maintaining a clean backlog aligned with a 6-month roadmap. [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] 🔥In the ruthless world of fintech, success isn’t just about innovation—it’s about coaching!🔥 Angela thought she was just there to coach a team. But now, she’s caught in the middle of a corporate espionage drama that could make or break the future of digital banking. Can she help the team regain their mojo and outwit their rivals, or will the competition crush their ambitions? As alliances shift and the pressure builds, one thing becomes clear: this isn’t just about the product—it’s about the people. 🚨 Will Angela’s coaching be enough? Find out in Shift: From Product to People—the gripping story of high-stakes innovation and corporate intrigue. Buy Now on Amazon [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] About Mateusz Komander  Mateusz, is a Scrum Master at Heineken, and brings expertise from biotech and airline industries, excelling in Agile delivery and transformations. Skilled in Management 3.0, he fosters self-managed, innovative teams. Mateusz just launched a podcast on organizational transformation, Mateusz highlights how understanding team dynamics beyond the Scrum framework enhances collaboration and effectiveness. You can link with Mateusz Komander on LinkedIn.

14 Helmi 14min

Mateusz Komander: Understanding Team Expectations - The Key to Scrum Master Success Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. For Mateusz, success as a Scrum Master starts with understanding team expectations. He emphasizes the importance of regularly asking teams "What do you expect from me as your Scrum Master?" The responses not only reveal the team's previous experiences with Scrum Masters but also indicate their maturity level and understanding of the role. By asking this question periodically, Mateusz can track the team's evolution and adapt his approach accordingly. Self-reflection Question: When was the last time you explicitly asked your team about their expectations of you as a Scrum Master, and how did their answers influence your approach? Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Adapt to Your Team's Needs Mateusz learned through experience that consistently changing retrospective formats can create chaos for teams. He recommends finding a format that works well for your specific team and sticking with it. For some teams, this might be Lean Coffee, while others might benefit from simpler models like "What works well/not so well/needs improvement." The key is to experiment initially, gather feedback after each retrospective, and then settle on what works best for your team. [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] 🔥In the ruthless world of fintech, success isn’t just about innovation—it’s about coaching!🔥 Angela thought she was just there to coach a team. But now, she’s caught in the middle of a corporate espionage drama that could make or break the future of digital banking. Can she help the team regain their mojo and outwit their rivals, or will the competition crush their ambitions? As alliances shift and the pressure builds, one thing becomes clear: this isn’t just about the product—it’s about the people. 🚨 Will Angela’s coaching be enough? Find out in Shift: From Product to People—the gripping story of high-stakes innovation and corporate intrigue. Buy Now on Amazon [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] About Mateusz Komander  Mateusz, is a Scrum Master at Heineken, and brings expertise from biotech and airline industries, excelling in Agile delivery and transformations. Skilled in Management 3.0, he fosters self-managed, innovative teams. Mateusz just launched a podcast on organizational transformation, Mateusz highlights how understanding team dynamics beyond the Scrum framework enhances collaboration and effectiveness. You can link with Mateusz Komander on LinkedIn.

13 Helmi 12min

Mateusz Komander: Scaling with Purpose, Managing Agile Team Growth While Avoiding Conway's Law Pitfalls Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Mateusz shares a compelling story about scaling an application development team that started small but grew rapidly. The team implemented a Flight Levels system, breaking into smaller groups of four people maximum to maintain focus and efficiency.  While this approach initially showed promising results, it eventually led to unexpected challenges as teams began forming silos around architectural layers, exemplifying Conway's Law in action. This experience highlighted the importance of carefully managing team identities and considering platform team approaches when scaling. Self-reflection Question: How can you maintain cross-functional collaboration when scaling teams while preventing natural tendencies toward technical silos? [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] 🔥In the ruthless world of fintech, success isn’t just about innovation—it’s about coaching!🔥 Angela thought she was just there to coach a team. But now, she’s caught in the middle of a corporate espionage drama that could make or break the future of digital banking. Can she help the team regain their mojo and outwit their rivals, or will the competition crush their ambitions? As alliances shift and the pressure builds, one thing becomes clear: this isn’t just about the product—it’s about the people. 🚨 Will Angela’s coaching be enough? Find out in Shift: From Product to People—the gripping story of high-stakes innovation and corporate intrigue. Buy Now on Amazon [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] About Mateusz Komander  Mateusz, is a Scrum Master at Heineken, and brings expertise from biotech and airline industries, excelling in Agile delivery and transformations. Skilled in Management 3.0, he fosters self-managed, innovative teams. Mateusz just launched a podcast on organizational transformation, Mateusz highlights how understanding team dynamics beyond the Scrum framework enhances collaboration and effectiveness. You can link with Mateusz Komander on LinkedIn.

12 Helmi 13min