Where Is Work Waiting? Four Flow Metrics That Make It Visible
WIP, cycle time, throughput and work item age: the four flow metrics that show where work waits, what they tell you and how to use them.
Articles
Notes from the field
Flow and Kanban, Scrum, lean and continuous improvement, strategy and portfolio: practical notes for organisations where work waits less.
Scrum in the Age of AI: Are Sprints Shrinking from Weeks to Days?
AI speeds up coding, but work still waits for decisions, reviews and tests. What to know before you shorten your sprints.
8 Common Mistakes in Agile Adoption and How to Avoid Them
The eight most common mistakes in agile adoption, from ignoring culture to limiting team autonomy, and how to avoid them.
10 Signs Your Organisation Is Ready for Agile Transformation
Is your organisation ready for agile transformation? Ten signs, from leadership support and market pressure to team autonomy and a learning culture.
Agile Methods and Continuous Improvement: An Organisation That Grows at Every Stage
What is continuous improvement and how do agile and lean put it into practice? Kaizen, PDCA, flow metrics and seven principles of a lasting system.
Exploring Agility Across Industries
How is agility applied beyond software? The impact of agile approaches in aviation, e-commerce, healthcare and data science, and the benefits they share.
Scrum@Scale: A Holistic Look at Scaled Agile Transformation
What is Scrum@Scale and how does it work? Scrum of Scrums, MetaScrum, the Executive Action Team and the two cycles; how it differs from SAFe and LeSS.
Agile and Remote Work: Our New Normal
How do remote and hybrid agile teams succeed? Advice on collaboration tools, time zones, team cohesion and leading remotely.
Moving to Kanban: A Step-by-Step Path to a Smooth Transition
How do you move to Kanban? From visualising today's flow to WIP limits, flow metrics and feedback loops: a step-by-step guide to adopting Kanban.
Leadership in Scrum: The Key Factor Behind Failures
Why does Scrum get stuck because of leadership? Servant leadership, what missing leadership does to teams, and six areas leaders should develop.
Why Do the Five Scrum Values Matter?
What do the five Scrum values (commitment, focus, openness, respect and courage) mean in practice? Signs they are missing, and how to strengthen them.
What Is a Scrum Master? Responsibilities and Common Misconceptions
What does a Scrum Master do, and not do? How they support the team, the Product Owner and the organisation, the skills needed and common misunderstandings.
Why Agile Transformations Fail, and How to Raise the Success Rate
Why don't agile transformations deliver? Starting with the method, not measuring, copy-paste models and silos, and how to raise the success rate.
The CEO and Sponsor Factor in Agile Transformation
What is the CEO's or sponsor's role in an agile transformation? Vision, removing obstacles, communication and leading by example.
What Is a Product Owner? Responsibilities and Pitfalls
Who is the Product Owner, why is it one person, and how do they manage the Product Backlog? Responsibilities, skills and common pitfalls.
Sprint Retrospective Tips: A Guide to More Effective Retrospectives
How to run a better Sprint Retrospective: psychological safety, starting with data, root cause analysis, following up on actions, and common mistakes.
What Is Scrum? A Guide to Roles, Events and Artifacts
What is Scrum and how does it work? Its three accountabilities, five events, three artifacts and values, when it fits, and the most common mistakes.
What Is a Sprint? Length, Rules and a Good Sprint Goal
What is a Sprint, how long should it be and what can change during it? How to write a Sprint Goal, run Sprint Planning and avoid common mistakes.
Are the Agile Manifesto Values Still Valid?
What do the four values of the Agile Manifesto, written in 2001, mean today? What each value looks like in practice, and the manifesto in the age of AI.
How Do We Build a Coalition During an Agile Transformation?
One team can't carry an agile transformation alone. Who should be in the change coalition, how should it work, and which mistakes should it avoid?
The Role of Tools in Agile Transformation: Flow First, Tools Second
When do digital tools help an agile transformation, and when do they get in the way? Choosing tools, tool categories, AI tools and common mistakes.
Five Stages of Becoming an Agile Learning Organisation
What is a learning organisation and how does it relate to agility? Five stages, from making work visible to building learning into the structure.
Does Building an Agile Culture Matter?
What is agile culture, why does it matter and how do you build it? Why applying a framework isn't enough, and which behaviours to change.
Customer-Centric Agility
What is customer-centric agility? How to put the customer at the centre of work with feedback loops, end-to-end flow, the right measures and leadership.
Are Organisational Structures the Enemy of Agility?
How do silos, unclear roles, approval layers and individual performance systems slow agility down? Practical ways to reduce structural obstacles.
A Different Look at Agility Through the Schneider Culture Model
The Schneider culture model describes control, collaboration, competence and cultivation cultures. How to use it in an agile transformation.
What Blocks Agility in the Workplace?
Seven obstacles that slow agile transformation in daily work, from lip-service leadership and vague goals to hierarchy, and how to deal with them.