Tag Archives: Agile

Is the impact of Agile just a Hawthorne Effect ?

Posted on February 20, 2013 by

The Hawthorne Effect is a human behavioural theory drawn by various social scientists from trials undertaken between 1927 and 1932 at Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works. The trials found that improvements in behaviour, and productivity changes observed after adjusting a workplace, … Continue reading →

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Genchi Genbutsu – Go and See

Posted on December 6, 2012 by

Taiichi Ohno was reputed to take new graduates at Toyota to the factory floor and draw a circle on the ground.  The graduate would then be told to stand there and observe; if upon his return they had not seen … Continue reading →

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WHY ?

Posted on August 18, 2012 by

At various times I’ve heard Fiona, Nigel and myself telling people “If you only adopt one Agile practice make it the retrospectives” … But why ? The boards are useful, but they are really just give you a prompt when … Continue reading →

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Documentation – is video an agile option?

Posted on April 11, 2012 by

Working software over comprehensive documentation – one of the tenets of the agile movement that was enshrined on the agile manifesto over 10 years ago. But it is often hard to convince grey-haired old men carrying sharpened stakes (aka the … Continue reading →

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Learning – yeah, yeah, we know. No, you don’t know!

Posted on March 15, 2012 by

As James and I have been building our fashionably lean Luna Tractor startup over the last 9 months, we’ve had many moments to pause and wonder why people just seem to despise reading, listening, and learning about strategy, culture and … Continue reading →

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From Insight to Strategy to Innovation – while standing at the Toyworld Checkout

Posted on February 23, 2012 by

Listen up lean and agile thinkers. This is a simple illustration of the kind of things that make innovation and strategy easy – a gift from someone on a toy shop counter that probably earns less than $20 an hour. … Continue reading →

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Challenger 1986: NASA’s most explosive retrospective.

Posted on February 16, 2012 by

As I read this week’s Telegraph obituary of a great American rocket scientist, I was moved to thinking about how we deal with the whistleblowers and truth-tellers in an agile world. How can we strike a balance between encouraging transparency … Continue reading →

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Great Engineering Lasts – The U-2 Spy Plane and the SR 71 Blackbird.

Posted on December 11, 2011 by

We spoke at YOW this year on the topic of innovation and agile over 6 decades, highlighting the Agile and Lean principles we see in space and engineering projects. From the 1930s we talked about the Cabinet War rooms and … Continue reading →

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Eating our own Dog Food

Posted on December 6, 2011 by

Some Luna friends, Horsham Colour – or I should say now HC Pro – are one of the largest professional photographic labs in Australia, situated in the charming country town of Horsham in the middle of the wheat belt of … Continue reading →

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Rugby and the origins of agile

Posted on October 5, 2011 by

A recurring challenge we face when discussing the transformation of 21st century organisations to more agile and lean ways of working might be paraphrased as: “My boss has never heard of it and thinks it must be a fad – … Continue reading →

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