The magic of agile development

1. The Magic of Agile
Development
Geoff Watts

2. First of all...
...some appreciation

3. mason cooley
“To make people disappear, ask them to fulfil
their promises”

4. The Grandmother necklace
’s
“A magician is an actor playing the part of a
magician”
Robert-Houdin

5. why magic???

6. Magic as a bad analogy
Manipulation
Deception
Sleight Of Hand
Trickery
Fooling The
Audience
No Such Thing
Overtaken by science

7. Magic as a bad analogy
Let me see if I can
prove a point

8. Houdini

9. How is magic relevant?
People are left thinking “how the..?!” as a
result of something very simple
Agile done well is simple & can feel like magic

10. My Magic Journey
is like
An Agile Journey

11. people
over
process

12. principles of magic
“Continuous attention to technical excellence and
simple trick design enhances ability”

13. people over process

14. Will it make the boat go faster?

15. collaboration
over
contracts

16. principles of magic
“Entertainers and producers must work closely
together to ensure that all aspects of the
performance deliver delight”

17. principles of magic
“Good entertainers set out to please, not to fool
their audience. Treat volunteers with courtesy and
humour, do not make fun of them”

18. collaboration over contracts

19. software
over
documentation

20. Magic has had to evolve
“Our highest priority is to entertain the audience
through thought provoking and continuous
surprises”

21. software over documentation
“The secret impresses no-one, the trick you use it
for is everything”
- The Prestige

22. GUARDING AN EMPTY SAFE

23. It’s pointless

24. beware...

25. RESPONDING TO CHANGE
over
FOLLOWING A PLAN

26. principles of magic
“At regular intervals, the magician reflects on how
to become more entertaining, then adjusts and
tests the presentation accordingly”

27. RESponding to change over
following a plan

28. principles matter
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in
matters of principle stand like a rock”
- Thomas Jefferson

29. Abstraction

30. TECHNOLOGY
Technology has led
to great opportunity
But also greater
skepticism
Same with tools?

31. A Little BIT about
greatness

32. some things look magical but aren’t

33. some things look magical but aren’t

34. Some times it’s the little things
A good ScrumMaster says what needs to be said
A great ScrumMaster knows the power of silence

35. WHAT IS impossible?
A good magician can take a simple principle and
wow the crowd
A great magician can seemingly achieve the
impossible

36. WHAT IS impossible?
A good Scrum team can take a simple principle
and wow management
A great Scrum team can seemingly achieve the
impossible

37. WHAT IS IMPOSSIBLE?
Magicians think of something completely
impossible, then figure out a way to
APPARENTLY accomplish it
You need to figure out ways of actually
accomplishing things that are SEEMINGLY
impossible

38. limiting beliefs

39. LOcus of control
“Most of what happens in life is controlled by
forces that we don’t understand and are outside of
our control”
Strongly Agree
1
Strongly Disagree
2
3
4

40. LOcus of control
“Success hinges on being in the right place at the
right time”
Strongly Agree
1
Strongly Disagree
2
3
4

41. LOcus of control
“Whether I work hard or not, it won’t affect how
people assess my performance”
Strongly Agree
1
Strongly Disagree
2
3
4

42. LOcus of control
“Leaders are born and not made”
Strongly Agree
1
Strongly Disagree
2
3
4

43. LOcus of control
4-7
High External Locus of Control
8 - 12
Variable Locus of Control
13 - 16 High Internal Locus of Control

44. limiting beliefs
Cliff Jones
61 year old toothless sheep farmer
1981 Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon (544 miles)
150 world class, trained athletes
Conventional wisdom = 18/6
The “Cliff Shuffle”
Broke the record by 9 hours

45. Who are you?
I am the kind of person who takes the stairs
instead of the elevator
I am the kind of person who asks the team a
question instead of giving an answer
I am the kind of person who sets off ten
minutes early so I get places on time
I am the kind of person who finds practical
and useful nuggets from every session I go to

46. J.K.Rowling
“We do not need magic to transform our world.
We carry all of the power we need inside
ourselves already.”

47. terry pratchett
“Scientists have calculated that the chances of
something so patently absurd actually existing
are millions to one.
But magicians have calculated that million-toone chances crop up nine times out of ten.”

48. Johann von goethe
“Magic is believing in yourself. If you can do
that, you can make anything happen.”

49. ONE LAST TRICK

50. THANK YOU!
geoff@inspectandadapt.com
@geoffcwatts
+44 7717 11 11 99