Artful Making – Rob Austin & Lee Devin

 “A theatre company consistently delivers a valuable, innovative product under the pressure of a very firm deadline (opening night). That product, a play, executes with great precision, incorporating significant innovations every time, but finishing within 30 seconds of the same length every time.”

Wish your project teams could do this?

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking - Macolm Galdwell

Have you ever made a quick decision based on your first impression without really knowing why and with little or no hard information supporting it?  While we often think of this as jumping to conclusions prematurely, there is abundant research and precedent that tell us this type of unconscious decision making is often very much right on and mission critical to those involved.  Whether it is an art expert identifying forgeries that just don't "feel" right, or a fire chief suddenly getting his crew out of a burning building without explanation moments before the floor collapses underneath them, unconscious decision making is a key skill that we should all learn to trust and harness.  Malcolm Gladwell's Bink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking does a great job of explaining this phenomenon through an enlightening mix of storytelling and academic research.  Well worth the read the book can serve as a great guide to help agile teams and leaders come together to leverage their collective expertise to do what is right.

Fearless Change: Patterns for Introducing New Ideas - Mary Lynn Manns and Linda Rising

As a developer, analyst, and designer I have seen the rise of patterns that recognize common behaviors and advance learning of the craft.  I was therefore curious about this book; Fearless Change, Patterns for Introducing New Ideas by Mary Lynn Manns and Linda Rising.  Then after meeting Linda at a recent conference I was hooked and bought the book.

I had the pleasure of hearing Barry Rogers and Ken Howard speak at a recent regional conference and that lead me to read their new book Individuals and Interactions, An Agile Guide.  The book is a gem. With so many books focused on the practice side of agility, it is refreshing to see a new book focused on the people side. 

A recurring theme in the book is the DiSC framework to assess one's primary and secondary behavioral styles in the workplace.  I apparently am an "Si",  meaning my primary style is Steadiness with secondary style of Influence, and my priorities tend to focus on Enthusiasm, Collaboration, and Support.  I found the model intriguing and plan on learning more about it.

Even though the book deals with the messy, touchy-feely people side of agility, Ken and Barry take a very pragmatic approach toward discussing such things as team dynamics, communication, collaboration and team behaviors.  Their use of real world examples taken from their considerable experience is very helpful in framing their discussions, and I particularly like their convention of closing comments at the end of each chapter to restate their key points.

To cap things off, the authors include a "Workshop" as the final section of the book, providing a extensive set of exercises, complete with facilitator instructions, that ably demonstrate the discussions throughout the rest of the book.  The Bridge Building exercise has already become my favorite. Building bridges from plastics straws, rubber bands, paper clips and cellophane tape, teams get a firsthand, up close and personal look at the behaviors of self-organizing, self-directing teams in a way that no amount of discussion would close to matching.

Individuals and Interactions is a straightforward, plain language discussion of some very sensitive topics that I think anyone focused on growing agile teams will find to be a great resource.

Stand Back and Deliver - Pollyanna Pixton, Niel Nickolaisen, Todd Little, Kent McDonald

Differentiating, Partner, Parity, Who Cares.  Where does your project fall, and what might you do differently because of that? Is your project a Bull, a Colt, a Cow or a Sheep Dog?  Even just the names give you an idea that you are in for a different ride with each of these projects.  Using straightforward models and a good dose of common sense, Stand Back and Deliver will change how you view projects and help you utilize your organization’s resources to deliver just what is needed.

As a developer I learned early that the best solutions to complex problems are generally the simplest ones. There is a certain eloquence in simplicity. The eloquence of this book is its straight forward presentation of a simple set of tools through real-world examples of their worth and utility. Starting with a framework to show the interrelation between value-based decision making, purpose alignment, collaboration, and delivery, the authors share their considerable experience to help you invest the right resources in the right projects.

 Succeeding with Agile - Mike Cohn

There are three things I admire about Mike Cohn.  First, he is a master craftsman of agile software development; second, he is gifted in speaking about, promoting and growing the craft; and third, he does both of these with such grace.

His latest book Succeeding with Agile is a must read for anyone serious about agile software development. Building on his previous books, Mike provides in depth advice for initiating and sustaining agile adoptions.  Whether the topic is helping individuals understand how their roles may change; understanding the expectations placed on self-organizing teams and the leadership they require; or how agility permeates the organizational, Mike offers practical know-how based on experience and common sense.  His stories and anecdotes of real-world experiences bring home his points, and he provides abundant resources from other industry leaders for additional learning.  This is a book I will continue reference at length as I face the challenges he so ably describes.

The Software Project Manager's Bridge to Agility - Michele Sliger and Stacia Broderick

Co-authors Michele Sliger and Stacia Broderick do a great job of making agility more accessible to traditionally trained project managers.  Both PMPs and CSTs, Michele and Stacia have solid roots in both the traditional and agile worlds that serve as the foundation of this work.