Harvard Business

OCTOBER 10, 2023

Too many project leaders think rigidly about Waterfall and Agile project management methodologies and believe that they need to choose between the two. But many projects — especially those with diverse stakeholder needs and complex structures — benefit from a hybrid approach that combines aspects of Waterfall and Agile.

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Johanna Rothman

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

I have a new book: Project Lifecycles: How to Reduce Risks, Release Successful Products, and Increase Agility. I wrote it because I'm concerned about what I see in too many supposedly agile teams: Crazy-long backlogs and roadmaps. A focus on a “standard” agile approach, regardless of how much agility is in that approach.

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Johanna Rothman

AUGUST 19, 2021

So when does it make sense to customize your agile approach to gain a strategic advantage? They want an agile approach, so they started with Scrum. We don't think we need to be “religious” about our agile approach as long as we get the benefit. Then, they Built their agile approach based on their needs.

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Johanna Rothman

AUGUST 26, 2021

They think agile approaches are tactics and agile tools are part of their strategy. That's why they want to Buy an agile approach. Not realizing a standard agile approach is an oxymoron. Teams need to experiment and change their agile approach. Address the cultural changes necessary for agility.

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Agile Tools Culture Strategy 95

Johanna Rothman

DECEMBER 2, 2022

On the ANE panel last night, an agile coach asked, “What's my path forward as an agile coach? Focus on business results, not agility per se. Nobody wants to “be agile.” ” People want the results agility offers them. Agility can help achieve these results. What do I do next?”

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Johanna Rothman

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

Several of my clients want to use some sort of maturity assessment for their agile transformations. For agile transformation, an assessment can help people see how they change—how they innovate the products and the culture. Is agility even possible?) Some of those practices and processes work for my clients now.

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Johanna Rothman

NOVEMBER 19, 2021

Daniel Vacanti and Prateek Singh graciously invited* me to be on an episode of Drunk Agile: Episode 37 Johanna Rothman Part Deux More Bigger Aging. Ordering the work by value, even though agile approaches hope the value changes. (Re)defining That's why agile approaches emphasize “finish something and get feedback on it.”

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Harvard Business

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

Leaders today know that they need to be agile — to change direction quickly in the face of changing or uncertain conditions. But a byproduct of agility is churn: The confusion and demotivation that comes from many such pivots. This can cause inefficiency that bogs down innovative projects and strategies.

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Johanna Rothman

MARCH 23, 2021

I had a terrific time with Chris Williams on his Badass Agile podcast. How managers need to collaborate to achieve agility. The post Enlightening Conversation on the Badass Agile Podcast appeared first on Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant. We discussed the Modern Management Made Easy books. We had a terrific discussion.

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Johanna Rothman

FEBRUARY 4, 2021

We often hear that agile is a mindset. That we need to change our thinking to use agility. We need behaviors if we want an agile culture. Which behaviors do we need for an agile culture? These are my definition of the minimum, necessary behaviors that promote agility. Behaviors Create an Agile Culture.

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Agile Culture Financial System 101

Johanna Rothman

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Those outcomes can help teams decide which agile approach(es) to start with and adapt. Let's start with who wants the teams to use an agile approach. Who Wants the Teams to Use an Agile Approach? Before I had the “agile” word, I discussed iterating over feature sets and delivering small increments. Oh, please.

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Johanna Rothman

MAY 18, 2021

I had the pleasure of being on the Agile Uprising Podcast: Modern Management Made Easy with Johanna Rothman. How trust, empathy, and creating a safe environment are what allows us to use agile approaches. The post Fun Discussion with the Agile Uprising appeared first on Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant.

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Johanna Rothman

JULY 31, 2023

I had a terrific time speaking with Jeff and Chad on the Agile Wire: Successful Independent Consulting with Johanna Rothman. The post Deep Dive into Successful Independent Consulting with the Agile Wire appeared first on Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant. That's the video link.)

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Johanna Rothman

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

More of my clients say they want business agility. Yet, we don't share a common definition of business agility. Actions matter when it comes to business agility. Since managers create and refine the culture, they can create an environment that supports business agility. An Environment that Supports Business Agility.

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Johanna Rothman

JANUARY 20, 2021

Jeffrey, Squirrel, and I continued our conversation on the Troubleshooting Agile Podcast, with Part 2. If you have not yet read their book, Agile Conversations , I suggest you do. The post More Fun on the Troubleshooting Agile Podcast, Part 2 appeared first on Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant. We had a great time. (If

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Johanna Rothman

MARCH 9, 2021

I said that when we focus on individual achievements and deliverables, we ignore the agile system of work. Worse, when we reward individual achievements we prevent an agile culture. That's because agile teams learn together as they create the product. Agile Behaviors for Learning and Working Together.

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Johanna Rothman

MARCH 29, 2021

How should agile coaches work? I've heard several questions and problems around what agile coaches should and should not do. Should agile coaches focus on: How well the teams use their pre-determined agile framework. Enroll (or somehow persuade) the managers in an agile mindset. (As I offered questions there.

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Johanna Rothman

AUGUST 15, 2023

After I spoke with Chad and Jeff on the previous podcast, Deep Dive into Successful Independent Consulting with the Agile Wire , we spoke all about the idea of building products, starting with consulting-based products. The post Product Discussion with the Agile Wire appeared first on Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant.

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Clarity Consultants

OCTOBER 19, 2023

Continuous Learning = An Agile Workforce LinkedIn’s 2023 Workplace Learning Report looked at the factors most important to job seekers when evaluating a new career opportunity. When viewed in the context of an unstable or uncertain job market, continuous learning is essential to creating and maintaining an agile workforce and operations.

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Agile Trends Training Training 57

Johanna Rothman

JUNE 3, 2020

The processes don't have sufficient agility to deliver the necessary results. Yet, people who want to use agile approaches don't want to apply agile thinking to their processes. Some clients want to create their custom agile process— and then standardize it across the organization. My Processes and My Agility.

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Johanna Rothman

JANUARY 14, 2021

I had a great time with Jeff and Squirrel on their podcast, Troubleshooting Agile. The post Great Fun on the Troubleshooting Agile Podcast, Part 1 appeared first on Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant. They focus on what our conversations can tell us about ourselves. We had a wide-ranging and fun discussion.

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Consulting Success

APRIL 1, 2024

[podcast_headshot url=”/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/cathy-gillespie.jpg”] In this episode with Cathy, you’ll learn how to: – Grow your firm while maintaining your small, agile, and resourceful essence. – Utilize mentors to elevate and expand your consulting empire.

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Johanna Rothman

FEBRUARY 9, 2021

I had a terrific conversation with the two Jeffs at the Agile Wire. The post Management Learning with the Agile Wire appeared first on Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant. See Modern Management Made Easy with Johanna Rothman for our recording. We touched on many topics in the Modern Management Made Easy books: The system of work.

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Johanna Rothman

APRIL 8, 2021

See Behaviors Create an Agile Culture with Johanna Rothman. We had a delightful discussion on Behaviors Create an Agile Culture with Johanna Rothman. The post Behaviors Create an Agile Culture with Gregory Miller appeared first on Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant. We spoke about the Modern Management Made Easy books.

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Johanna Rothman

MARCH 11, 2021

Worse, most career ladders assume we can assess what a person can do, not on their contributions to an agile team. That means most career ladders don't fit agile teams or an agile culture. Instead of individual achievements, we can reward the types of agile leadership we want to see in agile teams.

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Johanna Rothman

OCTOBER 15, 2020

Isn't every iterative and incremental approach an agile approach? We often hear agile approaches are a mindset. An agile approach requires a change in culture at the team level, at the portfolio level, and in management. Agile approaches change what we discuss, how we work together, and what we reward. Release trains.

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Johanna Rothman

OCTOBER 20, 2020

I discussed the origins of the agile approaches in Part 5. In this post, I'll discuss how you can create an agile approach that fits your context. Why should you create your own agile approach? You deserve an agile approach that helps you achieve the business outcomes you need. What do you need? Start with the Team.

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Johanna Rothman

OCTOBER 12, 2020

Opportunities for More Agility. Because we release every time we finish a feature set, we have these opportunities for agility: Re-rank the remaining feature sets. If your company can't create an agile culture, consider an incremental lifecycle, especially if you have schedule risks. Part 5 Agile Approaches.

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Johanna Rothman

MAY 24, 2023

Brandon, a senior leader, asked, “What is all this hype about agile frameworks and models and practices? That's a reinforcing feedback loop that encourages management agility. In turn, management agility creates the environment for team agility. Do I really need all that stuff?” “Nope.

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Johanna Rothman

APRIL 14, 2020

Let me address a little about business agility and innovation. Business agility allows us to create a culture where we plan to change. Too many people think business agility is about the ability to do more of the same, faster. Instead of optimizing for a team's agility, we can encourage management agility with flow efficiency.

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Agile Efficiency Culture Resources 83

Johanna Rothman

JULY 9, 2019

Now that agile teams stay together, we can change the kickoff to more project-specific work. I wrote an article several years ago, Keys to Chartering an Agile Project. In Create Your Successful Agile Project , I suggested a reframe for the charter. Many new-to-agile-thinking teams want everything defined upfront.

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Johanna Rothman

MARCH 4, 2019

I just finished a series for my Pragmatic Manager newsletter about Agile Transformation Secrets: Part 1: Manage for Change. I wrote this series because I find that many people get a little confused about an agile transformation. They think an agile approach will work because they can predict and commit better. Please join us.

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Johanna Rothman

JULY 23, 2020

See Who's Playing Agile Schedule Games? ). No More Agile Death Marches. Agile approaches are all about collaboration. If you see an agile death march in your organization or in your team, let me know if you've tried these ideas and what happened. Here's how Clare's team worked: Every person started their own story.

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Johanna Rothman

DECEMBER 18, 2018

I've met a number of agile coaches recently. Even though the client asked for agile coaching, that might not be what the client needs. Even though the client asked for agile coaching, that might not be what the client needs. These questions have nothing to do with a “better agile” or “better Scrum.”

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Johanna Rothman

FEBRUARY 14, 2020

They've started to use agile approaches. Capitalization for Agile Work. Let me walk you through an example of a 5-person agile team. But, what happens if you don't have an agile project? How can they manage their capitalization if some projects use an agile approach and some use a waterfall approach?

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Johanna Rothman

MARCH 18, 2024

That part discusses why managers see agile coaches and Scrum Masters as staff positions, not line jobs. This post is about your deep domain expertise, first in product, then in agility. Assess Your Product Subject Matter Domain Expertise There are at least two kinds of domain expertise: the product itself, and agile/lean expertise.

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Agile How To Metrics Productivity 80

Johanna Rothman

FEBRUARY 4, 2021

I had a great time on the Agile Coffee podcast, 75. We discussed several ideas from the Modern Management Made Easy books: How performance reviews make an agile culture difficult, if not impossible. The post Enjoy an Agile Coffee About Modern Management appeared first on Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant.

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