The Agile Daily Standup - AgileDad

The 1-Minute Introduction That Makes People Remember You Forever

How to Craft Yours: A 15-Minute Exercise

Step 1: Start With Why (5 mins)

Answer: What problem do I help solve that I deeply care about?

• What makes you frustrated about your industry?
• What change do you wish you saw more of?

Step 2: Find Your Origin Moment (5 mins)

Answer: What personal moment explains how I got here?

• It could be a client you helped.
• A mist...

Why “Holding Space” Is the Most Underrated Leadership Skill

Leadership is usually associated with action — setting direction, making decisions, solving problems. We’re taught that the best leaders are the ones who speak with confidence, execute quickly, and always have a plan. But what if one of the most powerful things a leader could do… was nothing?

How to connect with AgileDad:

- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/

- [instagram] htt...

Agile Is Not Dead, Whether You Like It Or Not

Recently, there has been a flood of articles and videos claiming that agile is dead. The Agile Manifesto was created during my university years, so I witnessed firsthand how this topic gained traction in software development. As a result, I have a pretty strong opinion on the matter that I’d like to put out there.

How to connect with AgileDad:

- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/

- [instag...

The Future of Scrum: What Will Agile Look Like in 2030?

Agile methodologies, particularly Scrum, have dominated the software development and product management landscape for decades. However, as technology advances and workplace dynamics shift, Agile is evolving rapidly. By 2030, Scrum will be unrecognizable from its early iterations. Here’s how it will transform...

How to connect with AgileDad:

- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/

- ...

Surviving The Outback

Carolina Wilga, a 26‑year‑old German traveler, disappeared in Western Australia's harsh outback after a car accident on June 29, 2025. Suffering a serious head injury and stranded without supplies, she survived 12 days by finding shelter in caves, collecting rainwater, and drawing on sheer willpower.

On July 11, exhausted and barefoot, Carolina was discovered nearly 19 miles from her vehicle by a local farmer, T...

The RACI = The Team Killer

The RACI matrix, outlining who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed, seems like a logical approach for complex work. It seemingly makes clear who does what, and when.

Unfortunately, beneath its veneer of order lies a subtle but significant impediment to the very essence of high-performing IT teams: genuine teamwork.

I will describe that while the intent is to bring clarity, the RACI instead p...

What Seinfeld Taught Me about Iterative and Incremental - Mike Cohn

Agile is both an iterative and incremental process. I’ve taught this in classes for 25 years. Yet I’ve never felt like I had the right way to explain how they both differ and relate.
Until now.
I recently watched the documentary “Comedian,” about Jerry Seinfeld deciding to return to standup comedy after ending his long-running hit television series.
The fil...

Top 4 Ways to Eliminate Backlog Bloating

1. Stop putting every idea into the backlog.
2. Stop keeping things that will never happen.
3. Stop tolerating tickets with no impact or product hypothesis.
4. Stop micromanaging tickets like a project manager.

How to connect with AgileDad:

- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/

- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/

- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/

- [Linkedin] https...

The Best Retrospective You’re Probably Not Doing - The Introspective - Ro Fernandez

https://medium.com/@rociofernn/the-best-retrospective-youre-probably-not-doing-e2622c1ecd12

A few months ago, we kicked off a cross-functional project that had everyone excited — product, design, engineering, marketing… Energy was high. The goal was clear. At least, we thought it was.

Fast forward three weeks.

Things were already slipping.
Some teams...

Top 5 Ways to Be Better at Giving and Receiving Praise

1. Be Specific, Not Generic

• Giving: Instead of “Good job,” say “I really appreciated how you stepped up to lead the meeting today—it brought clarity and confidence to the whole team.”

• Receiving: Acknowledge it with gratitude and, if appropriate, reflect on what specifically helped you succeed.

  2. Be Timely

• Giving: Praise is most powerful when ...

Dedicated vs. Rotating Scrum Masters

I spent my first five years as a Scrum Master primarily dedicated to one team. As a result, I got to know team members deeply. Even 10+ years after I left, I’m still in close contact with some of them. Due to frequent changes in the team — people come and go — improving team dynamics was a continuous effort. However, after a while, our team understood Scrum, and I could shift my focus towards the...

Bring Focus to Your Refinement Meetings - Mike Cohn

Your team is spending too much time in product backlog refinement.
How can I make such a bold claim since I didn’t participate in your most recent refinement meeting? I can make it because the vast majority of teams spend too much time refining their product backlogs.
So I’m playing the odds, and betting your team is among them.
 

Teams spend too long in refinement because ...

10 Human-Centered Leadership Principles

1. Ask for forgiveness, not permission

Innovation rarely starts with approval.
Build what you believe in — and deal with the politics later.
You will be remembered for the rules you break.

2. Build teams first, then products

Good products are built by healthy teams.
Invest in trust, care, and clarity — and the product will follow.

3. People and interactions over processes...

Breaking Down The Spotify Engineering Culture Model

The Spotify Engineering Culture Model is one of the most widely referenced frameworks for scaling Agile and creating autonomous, innovative teams. Originally popularized by Henrik Kniberg and Anders Ivarsson in their internal videos (now public), the model describes how Spotify organizes and empowers teams to deliver software at scale while maintaining a strong culture of innovatio...

Can We Do 100% Scrum And SAFe Simultaneously? - NOPE...

This question emerged during a recent Scrum.org Professional Scrum Master Advanced training in Germany 🇩🇪. Some time ago, the company started an Agile transformation and hired me to learn more about Scrum and how it could benefit them.

How to connect with AgileDad:

- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/

- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/

- [facebook] https://www....

3 Powerful Questions I Love Asking My Team ~ Ro Fernandez

https://blog.novatools.org/3-powerful-questions-i-love-asking-my-team-and-why-you-should-too-ccb05111ad2f

1) What would make you feel genuinely prepared?

2) If you had to describe how things are going… like a weather report… what would you say?

3) What would you do if you were in my position right now?

How to connect with AgileDad:

- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/

- [instagram...

I Have NEVER Used Scrum 100% - Take It From The TOP!

Fifteen years ago, I stumbled upon Scrum. It gave a name to many things I was already doing and introduced me to new working methods. But here’s the thing:
👉 I’ve never used Scrum 100%.
👉 I’ve never developed a product without using parts of Scrum.

For me, Scrum — or any framework — was never the goal. The goal was always to build high-quality products that deliver value to...

You Don’t Need Agile... YES You Do Need Agile!

When Agile was introduced many years ago, it gave software delivery an option to do things differently. From there, many offshoots have come from Agile that come from Agile that provide even more options for Software Delivery.

How to connect with AgileDad:

- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/

- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/

- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgi...