Guess what. Toyota uses the waterfall method for software development – and now they’re trying to figure out how to go Lean.

Surprised? So was I!

Read on...

Read more...

On March 4-5 Tom & Mary Poppendieck will once again come to Stockholm and teach a lean course with me. "Leading Lean Software Development" is aimed at leaders in organisations that are serious about succeeding with Lean software development.



There are still a few spots left, more info and registration here:
http://www.crisp.se/leadinglean

Join us!

I'm happy to say that my Scrum Checklist has been translated to several languages:

• Russian (thanks Alexander Plutalov)
  
• Japanese (thanks Yasunobu Kawaguchi)
• German (thanks Marc Bless)
  
• Portuguese (thanks Demetrius Nunes)

Here are the slides from my breakfast seminar "Agile - ett verktyg inte ett mål" (= "Agile - a tool, not a goal"), hosted by DSDM Consortium. The presentation was in Swedish but the slides are in English.

This is more or less the same presentation as my keynote at Integration Agile 2009 conference in Holland.

I was interviewed by Mitch Pronschinske on Agile Zone, this turned into two articles:

• Kanban isn't better than Scrum, it's just smaller
• Scrum and XP are new - their principles are not

I think Mitch did a good job of turning the interview into coherent articles (not an easy job). 

Here's a video recording of my 10 minute lightning talk "Kanban vs Scrum, a practical guide" at Agila Sverige June 8, 2009. It is basically a 10 minute summary of my book "Kanban and Scrum - making the most of both".

NOTE - the recording is in Swedish.

My new book "Kanban and Scrum - making the most of both" is done!

The purpose of this book is to clear up the fog, so you can figure out how Kanban and Scrum might be useful in your environment.



The book includes:

• Foreword by Mary Poppendieck
• Foreword by David Anderson
• Updated version of my original “Kanban vs Scrum” article
• In-the-trenches case study by Mattias Skarin

You can read it online for free (InfoQ registration required though) or buy the printed version.

Translators: If you are interested in translating this book to your language, please get in touch with my editor Diana Plesa (diana AT c4media.com).

Merry X-mas!

Here's a Traditional Chinese translation of my book Scrum and XP from the Trenches (not same as Chinese translation). Thanks Ko Jen-Chieh!



The other 8 translations are listed on the InfoQ page for the book.

Feel free to email me (henrik.kniberg AT crisp.se) if you want to translate the book to your language.

If you are near Atlanta and want to meet me and the rest of the Agile Alliance board feel free to come to our Agile Alliance Board Reception on wednesday evening!

We’ll host a winter holiday networking reception for Agile Alliance members, partners and friends. We’ll provide refreshments, a preview demo of the new website, and a quick review of the Agile Alliance Roadmap. You’ll bring lively ideas, questions, and a hearty appetite for Agile.

When: Wednesday December 16, 6:30 to 9:00-ish pm
Where: Atlanta Marriott Perimeter Center.

Please let us know if you plan to attend. Send an email with: Your Name, your Company/Affiliation, your Daytime Phone Number, and your “reply to” email address. To: admin@agilealliance.org.

Here the the slides from my presentation "Kanban and Scrum - a practical guide" from QCon in San Francisco today. The presentation is mostly pictures. If you are curious about what I was saying, check out the free online book "Kanban and Scrum - making the most of both".

Great feedback! 77 green notes, 7 yellow, 0 red. Someone even wrote "there should have been a greener one!" Always fun with an enthusiastic audience, thanks everyone :o)



Take-away points:

• Know your goal
  • Hint: Agile/Lean/Kanban/Scrum isn’t it.
• Never blame the tool
  • Tools don’t fail or succeed. People do.
  • There is no such thing as a good or bad tool. Only good or bad decisions about when, where, how, and why to use which tool.
• Don’t limit yourself to one tool
  • Learn as many as possible.
  • Compare for understanding, not judgement.
• Experiment & enjoy the ride
  • Don’t worry about getting it right from start; you won't.
    
  • The only real failure is the failure to learn from failure.

Here is some of my other stuff that was referenced during the presentation:

• Kanban vs Scrum (article)
• Scrum checklist
• Kanban kick-start example
• One day in Kanban Land (cartoon)
• Cause-effect diagrams - a pragmatic approach to root-cause analysis (article)

Here is a detailed example of a fairly typical 2-tier Kanban board, for teams that know the basics of Kanban and are taking their first steps towards implementing it in practice.

Translations: German

It is sort of like a code example, or a condensed Kanban patterns repository. Print it out and use it as a source of ideas & inspiration as you evolve your own board.



If you know Scrum but are new to Kanban you might want to read Kanban vs Scrum first.

Here are the slides from my "What is Agile" keynote at Agile Tour 2009 in Grenoble.

Sample slide:



Take-away points:

• Agile is a set of values & principles that help you succeed with software development
  • Agile is not binary
  • Agile is not about specific methods or practices
  • Agile is not a goal
  • Agile is not complete
  • Agile is not a silver bullet
• Read the Agile Manifesto:

Here's a new article for you:

• Cause-effect diagrams: a pragmatic way of doing root-cause analysis

Cause-effect diagrams are a simple and pragmatic way of doing root cause analysis. I’ve been using these diagrams for years to help organizations understand and solve all kinds of problems – technical as well as organizational.

The purpose of the article is to show you how cause-effect diagrams work, so you can put them to use in your own context.

For those of you interested in Lean problem solving techniques, Tom Poppendieck and I have created an A3 problem solving example and template. Feel free to use as you please.

If you're interested in Kanban I can recommend this course in Stockholm, there are still a few spots left. If you don't know what Kanban is you might take a look at: http://www.limitedwipsociety.org/resources/

... or my article Kanban vs Scrum or (if you only have a minute) my cartoon One day in Kanban Land.



My philosophy is simple: life is short, time is the only truly limited resource. If you're ever going to attend a course, go to the source. That's why we enjoy working with people like Mary & Tom Poppendieck, Jeff Sutherland, Ron Jeffries, Michael Feathers, and David Anderson.

David Anderson is one of the leading pioneers of Kanban-style software development, so he counts as a Kanban source  :o)



See you there!

Check out Scrum Checklist version 2.0!

Here are the slides for my 90 minute session "Introduction to Scrum" at Agile 2009 in Chicago in a couple of weeks.

The slide deck is mostly pictures and intended primarily for presentation use, not reading. So this stuff will probably make most sense if you attend the session.

I was recently invited to run for the board of directors of the Agile Alliance. After some initial hesitation I decided to go for it!

The election will be held at the Agile 2009 conference on Tuesday, August 25 at 6:00 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago. Voting can be done online as well.

Here's my position statement:

Q: What do you do?

I optimize, debug, and refactor IT companies. I write books and articles, teach courses, and do on-site coaching; sometimes alone and sometimes with incredibly inspiring people such as Jeff Sutherland and Mary Poppendieck. I still code on a regular basis, to keep in touch with the practical realities of software development.

Q: What is your background?

I've founded several IT companies in Sweden and assumed diverse roles including manager, coach, developer, and teacher. I travel regularly and my background is pretty international; I spent the first half of my life in Japan, the second half in Sweden, and who knows where I'll spend the third half :o)

My approach to Agile software development and transitioning is illustrated in my books "Scrum and XP from the Trenches" and (forthcoming) "Kanban vs Scrum", as well as dozens of presentations and articles available on my blog.

For more info see http://www.crisp.se/henrik.kniberg

Q: What is your take on Agile?

Agile is a great set of thinking tools that increases the odds of succeeding with software development. In the face of increasing hype, however, we need to remember that Agile is not a silver bullet, not a religion, and should not be preached. There are other great thinking tools out there as well (for example Lean and Theory of Constraints).

Those of you who have heard my presentations or read my material know that my perspective is practical and process-agnostic. Values and principles are very important, but sometimes people just need someone to climb into the trenches with them and help figure how to get started!

Q: Why run for the board?

My primary channels for helping organizations improve are writing, teaching, and on-location coaching. Being on the Agile Alliance board will open up another channel for me to help the software industry improve.

Many organizations I meet are struggling with Agile adoption and need support. Yet, many people seem to think Agile Alliance is just a conference organizer. I hope to change that.

Q: How will you contribute to the board?

I have no specific agenda. What I bring to the board is passion and creativity balanced with a pragmatic, down-to-earth perspective. If nothing else, I hope to breath positive energy into the group.

Translations:

• Brazilian Portuguese
• French
• German

Here are the slides from my keynote at Integrating Agile 2009, Amsterdam.

First three slides are below, the rest are in the PDF document.







Take-away points:

• Know your goal
• Agile is a tool, not a goal
  • Tools don't fail or succeed. People do.
  • There is no such thing as a good or bad tool. Only good or bad decisions about when, where, how, and why to use which tool.
• Don't limit yourself to one tool
  • Learn as many tools as possible.
  • Compare for understanding, not judgement.
  • Focus on Why, not How.
• Experiment & enjoy the ride
  • Don't worry about getting it right from start. You won't.
  • The important thing is not where you are, but where you are going.
  • The only real failure is the failure to learn from failure.
    (but you can learn from that too...)