Category Archives: Transformation

Posted on

Agile is NOT a Methodology

As we all know, Agile has become a popular approach to software development and product development in recent years, but it’s often misunderstood.

Many people think of it as a methodology, and many call it a framework.

It is neither of it!

Agile is not a methodology.

Agile is not a framework.

Agile is Mindset!

The Agile movement, a movement which has been gaining increasing traction in today’s world, has its roots back in Feb 2001, with the weekend skip trip in Utah

The Agile Manifesto was born out of an incredible weekend-long journey, where a group of passionate individuals from different backgrounds came together, united by a common purpose.

As a result of their efforts, the Agile Manifesto was created, a set of values that we as agile practitioners strive to uphold and live by. These values are essential for a success of agile and form the bedrock of our approach to software development. We recognize that the Agile Manifesto is an ever-evolving document, providing the foundation for a continuous process of improvement and adaptation in our industry.

Agile Manifesto

Furthermore, this manifesto is backed by a set of 12 core principles that provide a strong foundation for its aims and objectives. These principles serve as a guideline for the manifesto, outlining the core values and principles that are essential for its successful implementation.

12 Agile Principles

The 12 principles provide a comprehensive set of guidelines that focus on the best interests of all involved, and ensure that the manifesto is implemented in a manner that is equitable and fair.

Remember, there are 4 core statements that define the agile values, and these are supported by 12 underlying principles.

These 4 value statements (agile manifesto) and 12 principles collectively form what I call Agile mindset!

It is a mindset that strives to embrace change and improvement, a way of living that encourages collaboration and open communication, and a way of building and delivering products in an incremental and iterative fashion, constantly striving for excellence and progress.

This mindset is based on the principles of agility, and by following these principles, teams and organizations can achieve remarkable success.

And, then, there are many frameworks that strive to live by these values and principles. Scrum and Kanban are two examples of such frameworks, that emphasize agility, collaboration, and iterative development, and have become widely adopted in the software development industry.

Agile is Aloha

Remember, Agile is a mindset!

It is not a methodology.

It is not a framework.

Agile is aloha!

Agile is a way of living!

It is a way of building and delivering products, incrementally and iteratively.

It is a mindset!

Posted on

Back from my mini retirement..

I wrote about “taking Sagmeister” in my earlier post last year. This is based on a book I read about two years back. In this book, Drive, author Daniel Pink talks about “taking Sagmeister”, inspired by designer Stefan Sagmeister. Essentially, it is about taking mini and micro retirements NOW rather than deferring the big retirement. 

https://instagram.com/p/BWFlH9WD7tq/

This year, I took about two weeks off from routine life, and was on European vacation. We went on to Portugal-Spain tour, and it was amazing! I highly recommend visit to these two beautiful countries, filled with lots of history, architecture, and natural beauty.

View this post on Instagram

Tree hugger in #Barcelona

A post shared by Nimesh Soni (@soni_nimesh) on

Now, snapping out of the vacation and back to work! Rather, start working towards the next mini-retirement!

Remember, we work for living, and not living for work. You got to have fun, so sprinkle the mini vacations in your year. Have fun!

No Hero

No Hero: The Evolution of a Navy Seal by Mark Owen and Kevin Maurer (New York: New American Library , November, 2015)

No Hero

No Hero: The Evolution of a Navy Seal

Just finished reading this book, and saw lot of similarities between ‘Agile culture’ that we seek to cultivate in an organization and what SEALs go through. The author mentions, Trust is the bedrock of any relation! For a team to function at its peak, they have to trust each other completely. It’s all about the TEAM and making the most of what has been dealt.

The author talks about AAR; the After Action Review, and it reminded me of the Retrospectives we do at the end of each sprint. He suggests:

Conduct AAR with an eye towards improving (the procedures, the team,..) and being honest and open at the AAR

Three Quotes from the book:

  • Only focus on your three-foot world,” he said. “Focus on what you can affect
  • When we make mistakes, we try again and again and again until we get it right. We’re not superheroes. We just commit doing what is right.
  • Rangers think and plan from the top down. The SEALs think and plan from the bottom up

Three Tips from the book:

  • Take what’s there, assess the situation, prioritize, and break it down into small tasks you know you can accomplish or eliminate or fix immediately.
  • Everyone has the right to bitch about a mission or job for five minutes. After those five minutes, you shut the f*** up and get to work.
  • You always want someone in your professional life who is going to be honest, who’s going to call you on your bullshit. [Who is your Swim buddy?]

Are you a SEAL or a Ranger? Are you an asset to your Team?

[bctt tweet=”When we make mistakes, we try again and again and again until we get it right. We’re not superheroes. We’re just committed” username=”beyondCSM”]

Posted on

True Catalysts of Change

True Catalysts of Change. At beginning of 2016, this was one of my goals. As we draw it to close, I am happy to look back to a list of books I have read. These are the true catalysts. They have the power to change your world!

When you review this list. Notice that I do not have agile/scrum related books on my list. That’s easier to learn. The harder part is shifting the mindset. These books will help you there. With the right mindset, you will go further than you can imagine now. You will surprise yourself!

I read about two books per month. And, spend almost $0 for reading those books. [Hit me if you want to know how]

For now, here are the top 5 books from my list with tremendous power to influence and change your world in 2017.

  1. Creativity Inc – Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace

Creativity Inc - Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

Creativity Inc – Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

2.Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Switch, Transformation,GetHyper, Agile, Get hyper

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

3.Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown 

Essentialism, Agile, transformation, getHyper

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

4.Onward: How to Starbucks Fought Its Life without Losing Its Soul by Howard Schultz 

agile, gethyper, transformation

Onward: How to Starbucks Fought Its Life without Losing Its Soul

5.The Rich Employee by James Altucher

True Catalysts of Change

The Rich Employee