I’ve written previously in my weekly tip how I get weary of the animosity between agile frameworks. I don’t understand having a rivalry between methods, when most people using them want the same thing: To be more productive, do better work, and feel fulfilled (and respected) by the work they do.
It makes me think of choosing somewhere to go out and eat. The ultimate goal is to enjoy a meal out with good food (and probably good company). You might have a favorite restaurant that you know you’ll enjoy... but you probably don’t eat every meal there. Perhaps you love an Italian restaurant, but sometimes you’re in the mood for Thai food. Or some nights you’re in the mood for some live music but on others, a quiet atmosphere is what you need.
I’m not saying choosing an agile framework is the same as choosing somewhere to eat, the point is that it’s doubtful we want exactly the same approach every single time.
Increasing Your Agile Toolset
With today’s pressures of ever-changing, time-pressured work, you really need to understand more than one agile framework if you want to be a valuable agile team.
I write a lot about Scrum here on the blog, but ultimately, I want to help you succeed with agile so I’m always thinking about what content you might need to do that.
When I sent a weekly tip about the rivalry between frameworks, a lot of people got in touch to say it really resonated with them. In fact many people mentioned exploring different agile methods and one that was mentioned more than most was Kanban.
Reader challenges with Kanban
A quick survey showed that a lot of people were interested in introducing Kanban (or had been using it for a while), but there were challenges in doing so.
Challenges which meant they weren’t getting the results they wanted. These included:
- Getting buy-in from the team (and management)
- Explaining Kanban so that others could understand the value
- Setting (and sticking to) WIP limits
- How to stop people hiding work
- Showing teams that Kanban was much more than just a board
Now, Kanban isn’t my specialty but I’m lucky enough to have met some amazing people over the years doing what I do, and so I reached out to my good friend, Brendan Wovchko, who is a great Kanban trainer.
He’s smart, gives practical advice and we’ve even taught together, so he’s pretty much my go-to-person for all things Kanban related.
Asking for Help…
So I reached out to Brendan and asked if he could help by answering the kind of questions we were getting in. His response? He did more than I was expecting and instead of just answering questions, he asked if he could do some FREE Kanban training specifically for Mountain Goat Software readers.
I know Brendan’s quality of teaching. And I love free. So I said yes.
Over the next couple of weeks we’re going to be shining a light on Kanban here on the blog by introducing the Kanban Crash course he created just for you.
(If you do want to take the training further after completing this course, I know Brendan has a number of ways you can do that and you’ll find more details about that at the end of the free course.)
Introducing (for a Limited Time): The Kanban Crash Course
It all starts today with the release of video #1 of the Kanban Crash Course.
One of the reasons people struggle to get results with Kanban is because they either skip over, or find themselves confused with some of the basic principles and mindset you need to make Kanban work for you. In this first 15-minute video, Brendan will show you:
- The 3 key elements of Kanban you need to understand before even thinking about using a Kanban board
- The qualities and values a team needs to do Kanban well
- Some critical mistakes that can plague your team (but he’ll help you sidestep)
And he’ll also be taking questions in the comments.
Note: While this training is free, it will only be available until Wednesday 16th October, so don’t miss out.
What’s your Experience with Kanban?
Is your team using or experimenting with Kanban? What are some of the challenges you’ve faced? Let me know in the comments below.
