Tailored retrospectives take your team to the next level

If you're looking to improve your team’s processes and productivity, it’s a good idea to regularly get together to review how you're going and to come up with potential improvements.

That’s the Agile retrospective and, to be most effective, you want to tailor the meeting to what’s going on in your team, project or work programme. In Scrum terms, you want a retrospective that’s relevant to what happened in the last Sprint.

You also want a facilitation plan that makes it as easy as possible to gather insights and agree to goals.

With that in mind, our Agile team has put together a bunch of step-by-step retro plans designed for common events and dynamics.

Last chance to get the full package Agile training

We still have one seat available on our Agile Professional Foundation course starting Monday 11 October.

But you’ll have to book by Wednesday 6 October.

That’s because this virtual training comes with a real-world welcome package, and we need time to get the pack to you. The training kit includes resources, tools, treats and daily “do not open” surprises.

The pack that was sent to us made the virtual course a more engaging experience...You guys thought of everything! — Lichelle Evans

The result is a hands-on introduction to the principles and practices of Agile that lets you put what you learn into action the moment you get back to work.

“I came away with a much better understanding of the Agile approach and so many useful, practical tools.” Lichelle Evans, Manager Volunteer Strategy and Services, Mary Potter Hospices

Run via Zoom, this ICAgile-certified course takes place over four consecutive mornings.

Don’t panic if you can’t make October, we also have a course scheduled for December:

• Mon 11 Oct – Thu 14 October: Book now
• Mon 6 Dec – Thu 9 December: Book now

Free first taste of Agile this Friday

If you’re looking for a quick survey of the Agile approach and the methodologies you can use to put it into practice, why not join us for our free Friday afternoon Introduction to Agile.

Run online via Zoom, this 2-hour workshop is a fun and interactive way to get to know what makes Agile tick. The next one starts at 2.00pm on Friday 8 October.

NZ government legacy system guidance

Many organisations have legacy IT systems: software and platforms that are out of date but still in use.

A common problem is that, as systems gradually get more out of date, they also get harder to sort out. They become fragile and hard to update. Fewer staff or suppliers know what makes them tick. Upgrades are impossible and security issues can’t be fixed.

That means the bar to doing something with them gets steadily higher to the point where the legacy becomes a major liability. 

It is still possible to move away from legacy systems in a way that manages risk. You need to keep your projects small and iterative. Learn more about why you should keep projects small and how to do it.

So how do you manage legacy systems and, more importantly, manage systems to avoid getting lumbered with legacy millstones?