Mik + One: The Official Project to Product Podcast by Dr. Mik Kersten

Episode 11: Dominica DeGrandis on Increasing Developer Happiness

In this episode of Mik + One, the official Project to Product podcast, Mik is joined by Dominica DeGrandis, Principal Flow Advisor at Tasktop and Author of “Making Work Visible: Exposing Time Theft to Optimize Work & Flow.”

In this episode, Mik and Dominica cover a variety of topics, including:

• Reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on organizations, and advice for leaders, teams and individuals to get through this time and find their own flow
• Exploration into how Dominica’s work in ‘Making Work Visible’ applies at the individual, team and organization levels
• Leadership’s role in acknowledging employee burnout and working to improve it in order to increase employee confidence, innovation and engagement during the Turning Point
• Getting Work in Progress (WIP) under control in order to improve flow
• The concept of Flow Safety, and why it is critical in making structural changes and seeing successful results
• The importance of experimentation when removing bottlenecks, and how it can help to increase team happiness and productivity
• Why exposing dependencies is critical in order to make fast decisions that produce results, reduce wait times, and reduce WIP

Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com

For more information about Dominica DeGrandis, to view the full list of resources featured in this episode, and to download the episode transcript, visit:
https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/dominica-degrandis/

Episode 10: Team Topologies on Relieving Mental Pressure on Teams

Recorded at the 2019 annual SEACON conference in London, Mik has two special guests, Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais, authors of Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow.

This episode of Mik + One discusses:

• Insights into the patterns and anti-patterns of how teams are structured and evolve, and why it’s important to focus on the cognitive load of teams
• Team specialization, the need for platform teams and how to manage the crucial dependencies between teams
• The need for a product value stream that’s supported by multiple teams, and the importance of flow in an organization’s software systems architecture
• Learnings on how to successfully organize teams of teams and if there is a perfect number of team members for an organization
• Advice for organizations on how to successfully structure teams based on cognitive load

Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com

For more information about Manuel Pais and Matthew Skelton, to view the full list of resources featured in this episode, and to download the episode transcript, visit:
https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/team-topologies/

Episode 9: Jon Smart on Why Agile is No Longer the Answer

Recorded at the annual 2019 SEACON Conference in London, today Mik’s plus one is Jon Smart, Partner, Business Agility at Deloitte.

In this episode of Mik + One, Mik and Jon discuss:

• The value and importance of focusing on “Better Value, Sooner, Safer, Happier” and why Agile is no longer the answer
• The importance of senior leaders implementing a mindset shift and focusing on outcomes instead of output
• Why leaders should be looking at the end-to-end flow, how it impacts business results and the need to identify what they are optimizing for and what they want to optimize for
• Employee incentivization and implementing recognition and rewards for motivating teams – not individuals – to reduce silos across the value stream
• The introduction of Flow Metrics on the product value stream

Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com

For more information about Jon Smart, to view the full list of resources featured in this episode, and to download the episode transcript, visit:
https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/jon-smart/

Episode 8: Dean Leffingwell on Measuring the Business Impact of SAFe®

In the eighth episode of Mik + One, the official Project to Product podcast, Mik’s guest is Dean Leffingwell, Co-founder and Chief Methodologist at Scaled Agile.

In this episode, Mik and Dean cover:

• SAFe 5.0 and the importance of having business agility in addition to technical agility
• The different types of customers and understanding why internal customers are just as valuable and important as external ones
• Abandoning organizational hierarchies to become more agile and survive digital disruption, as well as other paths for organizations to take to achieve business agility
• Why teams must have autonomy but not be autonomous to successfully work within an organization that is scaling
• Why establishing a common taxonomy is critical to get people to think in terms of outcomes and delivering business value
• Advice to help organizations ensure a successful SAFe transformation by focusing on outcome-based metrics and an end-to-end feedback loop

Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com

For more information about Dean Leffingwell, to view the full list of resources featured in this episode, and to download the episode transcript, visit:
https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/dean-leffingwell/

Episode 7: Dave West on Avoiding the Industrial Mindset Trap

In the seventh episode of Mik + One, Mik’s guest is Dave West, CEO and Product Owner of Scrum.org.

In this episode, Mik and Dave discuss:

• The digital age and how traditional enterprises can transform to become - software-driven businesses
• The risk of falling into an industrial mindset trap, and what organizations can do differently to avoid failures
• How digital natives have achieved the innovation cycle and why leadership at traditional enterprises have not internalized what it means
• The importance of placing small bets and MVPs, and applying continuous learning and feedback into the innovation cycle
• The four key things that large organizations can act on now to deliver value: Create alignment; Become people-centric; Fund correctly; Measure appropriately

Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com

For more information about Dave West, to view the full list of resources featured in this episode, and to download the episode transcript, visit:
https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/dave-west/

Episode 6: Sam Guckenheimer on Ignoring Tech Debt at Your Peril

Joining Mik for the sixth episode of Mik + One is Sam Guckenheimer, Product Owner for Azure DevOps at Microsoft, and a regular keynote speaker at industry-wide events, and the author of four fantastic books.

In this episode, Mik and Sam discuss:

• How the current situation parallels to previous installation and deployment periods, and the patterns organizations can implement to leverage and survive the Turning Point
• The importance of looking at investments in terms of core versus context, to better understand where the business needs to focus
• The importance of flexibility and business agility, in order to reduce technical debt and optimize the end-to-end idea
• Flow Metrics, and how they can help organizations to better understand end-to-end flow and optimize business outcomes
• Viewing regulations as constraints of doing business, as opposed to objectives, and acting customer-focused in a compliant way to deliver quality products and services

Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com

For more information about Sam Guckenheimer, to view the full list of resources featured in this episode, and to download the episode transcript, visit:
https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/sam-guckenheimer

Episode 5: Shelley Perry on How Leadership Can Handle Uncertainty

In this episode of Mik + One, Mik’s guest is Shelley Perry, Managing Partner & Founder of ScaleLogix, who has immense experience setting tech companies up for success.

The goal of ‘Project to Product’ is to help organizations prepare for the Turning Point in the Age of Software. As the world experiences an economic fallout triggered by COVID-19, it is key that organizations move quickly to adapt. Read more here: https://www.tasktop.com/blog/covid-19-triggered-the-turning-point/

In this episode, Mik and Shelley cover:

• Advice to organizations on how they can survive and thrive at a business level during the COVID-19 pandemic
• The importance of traditional enterprises leveraging technology to provide business value and navigate the pace of change amongst the economic environment
• The power of bridging communication between technologists and business leaders to make better, more informed decisions that achieve objectives and bring value to customers
• Examples of successful tech giants who understand their customers and are leveraging data to react faster to changes
• How business leaders should think and act about the uncertainty ahead, and how it differs from past economic downfalls and recessions

Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com

For more information about Shelley Perry, to view the full list of resources featured in this episode, and to download the episode transcript, visit:
https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/shelley-perry/

Episode 4: International Women‘s Day Special

In honor of International Women’s Day 2020, Mik is joined by three incredible women within the industry: Gail Murphy, Tasktop Co-Founder, and Professor of Computer Science and VP of Research and Innovation at the University of British Columbia, Nicole Bryan, Vice President of Product Development at Tasktop; and Naomi Lurie, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Tasktop.

Gail, Nicole and Naomi had an open, inspirational and thought-provoking conversation with Mik about:

• Why technology companies should not only focus on code and algorithms but should welcome a diversity of viewpoints to create products that people want to use
• Creating a work environment where women feel they can openly communicate their passion and show their emotion without feeling weak or judged
• Leadership’s responsibility to facilitate meetings appropriately, and ensure women feel that their voices are being heard
• Creating role model ladders and how women can support, educate and inform each other to foster gender equality in the workplace
• How we can inspire more women at an individual, organization and industry level

New episode every two weeks. Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don’t forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com

For more information about Dr. Gail Murphy, Nicole Bryan and Naomi Lurie, to view the full list of resources featured in this episode, and to download the episode transcript, visit:
www.projecttoproduct.org/podcast/international-womens-day

Episode 3: Carlota Perez on Surviving the Latest Technological Revolution

In another fantastic episode, Mik’s plus one is Dr. Carlota Perez, author of Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages.

In this episode, Mik and Carlota discuss:

• Where we are in the Turning Point of the Technological Revolution, and the challenges of achieving the Golden Age
• What leaders in organizations and governments can do to think and act differently to survive the Technical Revolution and Turning Point
• The lifestyle and characteristics of mass production and mass consumption, and the need to move from tangible products to non-tangible services
• Successful examples of traditional enterprises that are shifting in the direction of turning their products into services
• What Carlota is currently working on, including researching the historical context of the different revolutions, and the future of the Golden Age and how to stay optimistic

New episode every two weeks. Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don't forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com

For more information about Carlota Perez, to view the full list of resources featured in this episode, and to download the episode transcript, visit:
https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/carlota-perez/

Episode 2: Gene Kim on The Unicorn Project, The Five Ideals (Part 2)

In this episode of Mik + One, Mik continues the conversation with Gene Kim, best-selling author of The Phoenix Project and The Unicorn Project, as well as co-author of The DevOps Handbook for the second part of their discussion.

This episode centers around:

• Insight into the Third Ideal: Improvement of Daily Work - why focusing on the improvement of daily work is even more crucial than the daily work itself, and the implications this has on technical debt
• The increasing significance of the Fourth Ideal: Psychological Safety - and its impact on organizational culture and performance
• The ideation of the Fifth Ideal: Customer Focus - and why leaders must prioritize top-level business goals and what customers value over everything else in order to achieve success in a modern transformation

New episode every two weeks. Subscribe to the Mik + One podcast today so you never miss an episode and don't forget to leave your review.

Follow Mik on Twitter: @mik_kersten #MikPlusOne
www.tasktop.com

For more information about Gene Kim, to view the full list of resources featured in this episode, and to download the episode transcript, visit:
https://projecttoproduct.org/podcast/gene-kim-part-2/