A blog for people in organisations.
With useful tips from experts.
Scrum Master and Agile Coach in comparison
Scrum Master and Agile Coach are two roles with parallels and differences. A comparison of tasks and knowledge during a conversation in the coffee kitchen.
Sustainability and open source
Why does it make sense to think about sustainability and open source together and what is the significance of digital sovereignty for companies and citizens?
Resilience is more than a buzzword
Resilience is suspected to be a buzzword, yet it is something that individuals and organisations should consider. Why and how?
The good old change of perspective
The change of perspective helps in change processes and makes it easier to let go of one’s own positions. But what can be done about systemic blockages?
Customer Experience in B2B – unnecessary or underestimated?
What is the importance of customer experience in business-to-business transactions? And how can the overall service be improved?
How does the True Leader bring the Agile Mindset into the team?
Is there such a thing as an agile mindset, why is it needed, why should it be changed and what role does a true leader play in this?
Decision-making techniques for self-organised project teams – Part 3
What does “making decisions” mean in a VUCA world? And what decision-making techniques help with complicated or complex decisions?
Team topologies in adaptive organisations
If you want to design modern software architectures, you have to adapt your organisation. The time is ripe for team topologies.
Respectful interaction
Respect is a subjective value. Successful communication is based on respect. And how can we deal respectfully with each other?
Value streams in DevOps
If you think about value streams in DevOps, you quickly end up with Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery. But that is usually too short-sighted.
Empowerment and self-organisation – good preparation is everything
Empowerment and self-organisation sound positive and promise numerous advantages. But the road is often long – what does it depend on in detail?
PMO and Uncertainty
At first glance, Project Management Offices (PMOs) and uncertainty contradict each other. How could the interaction of both issues work?
Hunting for key figures
Key figures are omnipresent in organisations. What are their purposes, what effects do they have and what blind spots loom?
Completeness of specifications – A new approach
Particularly in safety-relevant developments, the completeness of specifications is very important. A new approach helps here.
Team Secrets – The hidden patterns of team development
What are the secrets of successful team development? And how do dysfunctions complement the development phases of teams?
Constructivism in organisations
Constructivism says: objectivity is an impossibility because each individual constructs his or her own reality. What does this mean for organisations?
And he does play dice…
Can you imagine making decisions by dice or coin toss? What are the advantages, what are the flaws in thinking and what are the limits?
Spotlight on: Encourage!
Encouragement is a sign of attention that encourages others or oneself. How can we encourage in practice?
Dealing with change
Changes pose major challenges to people and organisations. Do models help normalise or predict responses?
Practical tips for SMART goals
People and organisations often find it difficult to achieve goals. One reason for this is the lack of formulation of SMART goals.
People are quite different, aren’t they?
People have different communication preferences. Those who know their own and their conversation partners’ preferences are at an advantage.
Home-Office-School Balance – is it possible?
Home Office and Home Schooling at the same time is a big challenge. How can a Home-Office-School Balance possibly be achieved?
Candidate Experience
Candidate Experience – just another term for buzzword bingo or what is behind it? What phases exist and how does it work in practice?
Dark Data
What is Dark Data? What are the prominent and lesser-known examples and should companies collect and monetise dark data?
Agile risk management – do we need it?
How can risks be addressed in an agile approach without setting up classic structures? A method proposal for agile risk management.
The Scrum Master as agile learning coach
How can a Scrum Master or agile learning coach support a team in learning? What are the consequences for refinement, planning, sprint and review?
Sokoban on a milk carton display
The computer game Sokoban can be played on various computer systems since 1982. And recently also on milk cartons. A guide to tinkering.
Silo mentality – no one likes it, everyone knows it
Silo mentality exists in many companies. How does it develop, what are the levels and what can organisations and employees do about it?
The consultant – the all-in-one solution?
How do companies look for reinforcement in requirements engineering? What is the role of the consultant and what skills are required?
A maturity model for agile requirements engineering
How can a maturity model be used to evaluate agile requirements engineering in cross-functional development teams? A field report.
Decision-making techniques for self-organised project teams – Part 2
What influence do values and principles have on decisions? Which decision-making techniques help with simple, complicated or complex decisions?
Effective management
Effective management provides a framework in which more performance can emerge in organisations. But how does a manager act effectively?
Why agile when there is antifragile?
How can companies develop into antifragile organisations? And what are the differences between antifragility and agility, robustness and resilience?
How to negotiate leadership
How does leadership in self-organisation work? What food for thought is useful for collaborative leaders and for self-organisation in a team?
Trojans in practice
What forms of Trojans are there? How can you build a Trojan yourself and why do you need to be particularly careful with construction kits?
Secure password wanted
There is no such thing as a secure password. What criteria and tips help to set a less insecure password?
Solving Cross-Cutting Concerns through patterns
Cross-cutting concerns relate to software architectures and all services required in an application.Which 4 patterns help to solve problems?
Working on the system? On people? Both!
Not the people but the systems in companies should be adapted. This is a frequent demand. Why is it an “either-or” at all?
Kamishibai and Kanban for (too) interdisciplinary teams
Balancing project work, support and maintenance tasks is a challenge. Kanban combined with Kamishibai allows a holistic view.
Consensus, consent or what?
What is the difference between consensus and consent? And how do a Red Circle Solution and the Morphological Matrix help in decision making?
What we can learn from starship Enterprise
The TV show about the Starship Enterprise presents knowledge from research into uncertainty, which even today is not very widespread. What can we learn from it?
Change projects work! – Part 2
Do you already use project parliaments and consensus workshops in your change projects? And what about decision-making by consent?
Decision-making techniques for self-organised project teams – Part 1
For self-organised project teams it is important to know and use decision-making techniques. How do they find the appropriate techniques?
Boost your backlog – Part 2
Do you want to optimise your backlog? Then practical tips on how to deal with specifications, documentation, story splitting, refinement and DEEP will help.
Giving better feedback with the EPIQ Model
The intention of feedback can be very different. And so can the quality, position and empathy. Time for a look at the EPIQ Model.
Change projects work! – Part 1
Change projects present organisations with major challenges, especially if they cling to old concepts. What is a sensible alternative?
Tips for online onboarding
Onboarding is important for the integration of new employees into an organisation. What are the challenges and tips for online onboarding?
Boost your backlog – Part 1
The daily work in and on backlogs is a challenge. Read 10 practical tips for dealing with user stories, story maps, acceptance criteria etc.
A buzzword is a buzzword
What is a buzzword? What effect does it have? Why is it subjective, what is behind the labelling of terms and what is the most secret buzzword?
Boom! School bus hits project manager!
Project managers can work in a project and on a project. This difference is very important in practice, as the “yellow school bus” test shows.
Agility 4.0 – seven points for agile projects
Many companies want to carry out projects in an agile way. Which seven points are important for agile projects and why is their interlinking necessary?
The sports metaphor as motivator
Sports metaphors are often used in companies to describe situations and to increase the motivation of employees. How useful is this?
Effective energy management for relaxed projects
Effective energy management is important for working in projects. 5 tips on perfectionism, impact, clarity, thoughts and feelings.
Learning to code in schools
The question of whether children should learn to code already at school is hotly debated. One point is often overlooked: We need a revolution!
Agility? We tried it! Does not work! – Part 5
There are many reasons why agility does not work in companies. Part 5 of the series deals with agility and learning in a crisis.
Specifications in the agile world
Customer and requirement specifications are classic tools that can also offer advantages in agile projects. Prerequisite: flexible requirements management.
IT Service Provider Berlin
The competition for IT service providers in Berlin is fierce. Many companies are facing a central challenge for which there is only one logical answer.
Speed as unfair advantage
Many companies underestimate the importance of speed in competition. Time for an appeal for more speed in organisations.
The organisational rebel – after all, a good idea?
The demand for organisational rebellion is generally considered nonsense. Could rebellious activities nevertheless be useful for organisations in certain areas?
Documentation in code – pros and cons
The discussion about documentation in code is not new. Time for pros and cons, and time for the question of what should actually be documented.
The human being in digitalisation
Our world is digital and many companies are engaged in digital transformation and digitalisation. What role does the human being play in this?
Making decisions right
It is very important for companies to make joint decisions quickly, sustainably and comprehensibly. The Z-Model process can help as an instrument.
Encouraging leadership
Encouraging leadership enables growth, development and potential unfolding. Why is this important from a business perspective?
Myth Session Duration
The session duration is considered an important indicator of the quality of a website. How important is the length of stay really? An opinion.
Letting go is the new way of planning
For a very long time planning was the basis for projects, developments and work in general. But now the process of letting go becomes important.
New Work or Zombie Apocalypse
Many organisations deal with New Work, but the transformation of the organisation becomes an apocalypse. What goes wrong and what can be done?
Smart Requirements Engineering
The present and future in dealing with requirements is called Smart Requirements Engineering. What are added values and which tools are already available?
Order clarification – first things first
Order clarification is also an important factor in agile projects. What practical tips exist and which questions help to clarify orders?
Diversity – farewell to monoculture in companies
Heterogeneous groups need more time to exchange their views and ideas, but make better decisions. An appeal for diversity in companies.
Text Analytics use cases simply explained
Text Analytics has developed into a powerful tool. What are the main use cases and who benefits from them?
No wonder that no software developer applies to you
Companies find it difficult to recruit software developers. They often place job advertisements, but the desired applicants stay away. No wonder.
Digital assistants and workers in requirements management
Digital assistants and workers can save a lot of time in requirements management. What tasks can they already take on today?
Online communication in recruiting
Companies often find it difficult to change their recruiting process. What should they pay attention to and how can they gradually improve their recruiting?
Parental leave – laws, feelings, chances of winning
What rules apply to parental leave? What needs and interests do companies and employees have? And how does the practice work?
Successful with learning stories in the backlog
How can agile teams learn parallel to product development? With learning stories in the backlog. A field report on implementation and success factors.
The time of New Leadership has come! Or hasn’t it?
New Leadership is a catchword that is increasingly being demanded. Why is New Leadership so important and what characterises it?
The culture code of organisational agility
If organisations want to become more agile, they have to change their culture. One approach to this is the TEC model of agile corporate culture.
Hidden German Podcast Champions
Are you looking for great podcasts about the future, leadership, transformation, digitalisation or goals? Here you will find a list of podcast recommendations.
Effective project leadership does not need heroes!
Project heroes are celebrated when they rescue endangered projects. But does it have to happen at all? How does project management succeed without heroes?
Movie or Movement – Moving big projects!
Spoiler Alert: YOU are the biggest success factor in a project. But only if you initiate change and not just watch like in a movie.
Beyond agile
Agility is considered the answer to an uncertain future, but agility does not master complexity. Something is needed that goes even further. Beyond agile.
