Brambles are thorny vines that only through careful navigation can you obtain the great fruit they contain. The Agile community has its own brambles such as always estimate vs no estimates, certifications have value vs certifications have no meaning, or Agile can be used everywhere vs Agile won’t work here. Such binary positions aren’t useful and actually can stop work until one side wins. There are more options available than two for any particular work environment. This talk will hopefully inspire you to try some techniques to get out of the bramble and find a path to some useful fruit. --- Paul Boos Paul Boos serves as a IT Executive Coach with Excella Consulting supporting executives and manager in their transformation to Agile and Lean software development approaches. Prior to becoming a coach, he has lead Agile and Lean efforts inside the Federal Government, in contractors, and in the commercial software product industry over his 30 year career to include serving as a naval officer. Paul is active in the Agile community and is the author of The Tiny Field Book to Facilitating Meetings, which can be found on http://LeanPub.com.

2. What are Agile Brambles?
Brambles are –
Topics that end rational discussion, and
progress into entrenched binary positions;
often leading to –
lost productivity
-and-
a reduced ability to work together.
The effects can be long-term.

3. Agile Brambles History
2015 –
• Endless debates over #noestimates/always estimate, top-
down/bottoms-up, etc.
• Agile Dialogues unconference on #noestimates/always estimate
2016 –
• Paul & Derek facilitate ACCUS session on other
“thorny topics”
• Host discovery game that evening
• Develop facilitated intervention approach based
on Appreciative Inquiry & Action Science
• Launched agilebrambles.org
2017 –
• Created Agile Brambles Parlour Game
for GALE-DC and Audacious Salon
(prototype)

4. If you’re in this Bramble…
•A topic that often shuts down dialogue
•You’ll notice people tend to quickly take sides
…you might hear these Thorns.
•“Sound bites” that signal entrenchment
•Saying these just might make things worse!
Try some different Paths…
•Interventions you can share aloud (or think to yourself)
•Be disruptive to clashes, be conducive to curiosity
…until you hear some Fruits.
•Indicators of a shift toward true dialogue
•You’ll notice people starting to explore middle ground

5. Problem
Symptoms
Interventions
Signs of Progress
#NoBinary

6. The Brambles (so far…)
Current
• Always Estimate | #NoEstimates (added 11/4/2016)
• Do Agile | Be Agile (added 2/2/2017)
• Everywhere | Not Here (added 2/2/2017)
• Invited | Imposed (added 2/2/2017)
Seeds in Final Curation…
• Co-located Teams | Distributed Teams
• Initiated from Top-Down | Led through Grassroots Motivation
• Hierarchies | Networks
• Certifications Are Meaningful | Worthless
So what have you seen?