If you had to guess, how long would it take you to… I’m convinced the dishwasher takes a minimum of half an hour. Making a cup of coffee is easy, that’s a two minute task, no problem. Folding and putting away a load of laundry? This is one of my most hated tasks, so give me […]
Agile Mindset for Manufacturers: Meetings
If you poll your office, it turns out many people absolutely despise meetings. (Raise your hand if you’ve laughed at – and considered purchasing – the coffee mugs that say “this meeting could have been an email.”) Now reflect back on how many times you’ve attended a meeting where you were absolutely not needed. Maybe […]
Agile Mindset for Manufacturers: Impediments
Impediments are anything that hinders the team’s productivity. Many things can slow down a team: software not working, overcommitment, an out-of-office teammate, or lack of team empowerment. Adapting to working from home has likely created a few impediments for all of us! Agile teams address their impediments head-on so they can work as effectively as […]
Agile Mindset for Manufacturing: Agile in a Virtual Environment
While face-to-face conversations are the most rich communication channels, we have to pivot in this remote working world where we can’t physically be in the same space. Things to think about: what are the advantages and disadvantages of being co-located? How can we take the super awesome parts of co-location and achieve the same result […]
Agile Mindset for Manufacturers: Retrospectives
No matter how awesome a team is, there is always opportunity to improve. Although a good Scrum team will be constantly looking for improvement opportunities, the team should set aside a brief, dedicated period at the end of each sprint to deliberately reflect on how they are doing and find ways to improve. The simplest […]
Agile Mindset for Manufacturers: Stretch Goals
Picture this. You’re a Product Owner, working on your backlog. You’re writing a user story, nailing down the acceptance criteria, and you get to a nice-to-have. The team think it’s a great idea; they’re all for it. You kind of see where they’re coming from, but you know that it’s not strictly necessary. What if you […]
Agile Mindset for Manufacturers: Working Agreement
This week we wanted to touch on the team working agreement. When forming a new Agile team, it takes some time to develop optimal productivity flow. In Tuckman’s stages of group development, a team must adapt through several phases before they find their “groove.” Creating a working agreement can make the team aware of ground […]
Agile Mindset for Manufacturers: Daily Stand-Ups
As the Action team continues advancing our Agile & Scrum practices, we’re sharing a weekly topic for discussion. Our goal is to collaboratively improve our practices with an open dialogue about what is working well (or could be improved!) in our teams. DAILY STAND-UPS At Action Engineering, because we have team members working remotely, we […]