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Agile Coaching
Discover how to coach your team to become more Agile. Agile Coaching de-mystifies agile practices--it's a practical guide to creating strong agile teams. Packed with useful tips from practicing agile coaches Rachel Davies and Liz Sedley, this book gives you coaching tools that you can apply whether you are a project manager, a technical lead, or working in a software team.
To lead change, you need to expand your toolkit, and this book gives you the tools you need to make the transition from agile practitioner to agile coach.
Agile Coaching is all about working with people to create great agile teams. You'll learn how to build a team that produces great software and has fun doing it. In the process, you'll grow a team that's self-sufficient and skillful.
This book provides you with deeper knowledge of how agile practices work and how to inspire your team to improve. Discover how to coach your team through the agile lifecycle, from planning to writing software. Learn the secrets of running effective agile meetings and how to get your team following a consistent approach to creating software. You'll find chapters dedicated to introducing Test-Driven Development, designing Retrospectives, and making progress visible.
Find out what works and what to avoid when introducing agile practices to your team. Throughout the book the authors share their personal coaching stories from experience with real teams, giving you insights into what works and what to avoid. Each chapter also covers hurdles that you and your team may face and what to do to clear them.
To lead change, you need to expand your toolkit, and this book gives you the tools you need to make the transition from agile practitioner to agile coach.
Agile Coaching is all about working with people to create great agile teams. You'll learn how to build a team that produces great software and has fun doing it. In the process, you'll grow a team that's self-sufficient and skillful.
This book provides you with deeper knowledge of how agile practices work and how to inspire your team to improve. Discover how to coach your team through the agile lifecycle, from planning to writing software. Learn the secrets of running effective agile meetings and how to get your team following a consistent approach to creating software. You'll find chapters dedicated to introducing Test-Driven Development, designing Retrospectives, and making progress visible.
Find out what works and what to avoid when introducing agile practices to your team. Throughout the book the authors share their personal coaching stories from experience with real teams, giving you insights into what works and what to avoid. Each chapter also covers hurdles that you and your team may face and what to do to clear them.
230 pages, Paperback
First published September 18, 2009
42 people are currently reading
1667 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
September 2, 2014
I was an agile coach at Google for 18 months, starting in 2008. I figured I should check out this book and compare notes.
The book is directed specifically at agile coaches: people whose role it is to turn development teams to agile methodologies. The authors are trying to mentor the mostly junior coaches in how to deal with their team. There are three layers of experience: teams have limited knowledge of agile, coaches know agile principles and are passionate about them, but lack skills to transfer their knowledge and enthusiasm to their team, and the authors who have it all.
The authors cover many situations that can occur with teams new to agile and some of the ways to get them past obstacles. In doing so, they often drop into you vs. them language. This emphasizes the adversarial aspect of the relationship between team and coach and makes the job of the coach that much harder. Teams can emit enough negative energy on their own without muddying the channel further. Coaches really need to cultivate their sense of being part of their team, not apart from it. Even if the assignment is temporary, for its duration their fate is tied to that of the team.
There is a lot of material for junior coaches dealing with novice teams. One thing that I found missing was more advanced material. Agile books in general are good at bootstrapping a self-adjusting team, saying that over time they will find individually optimal processes. But what are the stumbling blocks of intermediate or advanced teams? What are some other techniques that more experienced coaches use? The basic stuff is great, but more original material would have been even better.
The book uses an interesting device. Most of the book is written in the joined voices of both authors. But every once in a while, one author relates a personal anecdote or opinion. So the text breaks off and the lone author is either offset from the margin or put in a sidebar. So it's always clear who's talking.
The last chapter about self-learning opportunities for coaches was excellent.
Here are some selected useful bits of advice that stuck with me.
During stand up meeting, make sure each team member is reporting to the team and not to one individual in particular. This is not a status reporting meeting but an opportunity for the team members to coordinate their day's work. At Insidr, we have the scrum master take notes during the meeting and it can very easily devolve into each member reporting status to the scrum master, each in turn, while nobody else pays attention. This is the opposite of what the stand up meeting is meant to be.
Have the stand up meeting at the task board, or bring the task board to the stand up meeting. The meeting is more meaningful if the tasks being discussed are right in front of everybody.
Approach reading a book like building a jigsaw puzzle: peruse all the pieces, find the edges, work out the easy parts of the interior, and keep the most difficult pieces for last. When dealing with a book, scan all the headings and illustrations to get the overall message, then read the parts that provide the overall structure, skipping hard passages to focus on breadth over depth, then coming back to parts of interest.
The book is directed specifically at agile coaches: people whose role it is to turn development teams to agile methodologies. The authors are trying to mentor the mostly junior coaches in how to deal with their team. There are three layers of experience: teams have limited knowledge of agile, coaches know agile principles and are passionate about them, but lack skills to transfer their knowledge and enthusiasm to their team, and the authors who have it all.
The authors cover many situations that can occur with teams new to agile and some of the ways to get them past obstacles. In doing so, they often drop into you vs. them language. This emphasizes the adversarial aspect of the relationship between team and coach and makes the job of the coach that much harder. Teams can emit enough negative energy on their own without muddying the channel further. Coaches really need to cultivate their sense of being part of their team, not apart from it. Even if the assignment is temporary, for its duration their fate is tied to that of the team.
There is a lot of material for junior coaches dealing with novice teams. One thing that I found missing was more advanced material. Agile books in general are good at bootstrapping a self-adjusting team, saying that over time they will find individually optimal processes. But what are the stumbling blocks of intermediate or advanced teams? What are some other techniques that more experienced coaches use? The basic stuff is great, but more original material would have been even better.
The book uses an interesting device. Most of the book is written in the joined voices of both authors. But every once in a while, one author relates a personal anecdote or opinion. So the text breaks off and the lone author is either offset from the margin or put in a sidebar. So it's always clear who's talking.
The last chapter about self-learning opportunities for coaches was excellent.
Here are some selected useful bits of advice that stuck with me.
During stand up meeting, make sure each team member is reporting to the team and not to one individual in particular. This is not a status reporting meeting but an opportunity for the team members to coordinate their day's work. At Insidr, we have the scrum master take notes during the meeting and it can very easily devolve into each member reporting status to the scrum master, each in turn, while nobody else pays attention. This is the opposite of what the stand up meeting is meant to be.
Have the stand up meeting at the task board, or bring the task board to the stand up meeting. The meeting is more meaningful if the tasks being discussed are right in front of everybody.
Approach reading a book like building a jigsaw puzzle: peruse all the pieces, find the edges, work out the easy parts of the interior, and keep the most difficult pieces for last. When dealing with a book, scan all the headings and illustrations to get the overall message, then read the parts that provide the overall structure, skipping hard passages to focus on breadth over depth, then coming back to parts of interest.
June 28, 2013
It's obvious to compare this one to Adkins Coaching Agile Teams. This book is more appropriate to someone newer to agile and doesn't dig as deep into the coach role as Adkins. While I got a couple of new ideas from it, for me there was a lot of rehash. I would recommend this to someone starting off in the Scrum Master role (is there a good book for those folks?).
March 24, 2018
Let me just start with saying I regret not finishing this sooner. I wish this post was about a re-read rather than a first read. Because there is so much good advice in this book. It’s a collection of useful information for anyone interested in agile coaching.
There are many things in this book that are not new for me. Yet it is good to see them written down. What I thought was great is how the authors added personal stories to help point out certain practices. A lesser thing were the grey boxes. They were at almost every page and sometimes split the story. I started to feel bad about those.
Read the full review at my blog.
There are many things in this book that are not new for me. Yet it is good to see them written down. What I thought was great is how the authors added personal stories to help point out certain practices. A lesser thing were the grey boxes. They were at almost every page and sometimes split the story. I started to feel bad about those.
Read the full review at my blog.
February 25, 2017
um, not really new insights (for me). If you're new to agile it may be worth reading. I needed to force me to continue reading it and step over to the next chapter.
May 5, 2018
This is a well-organized book related to Agile Coaching not only for Agile Coaches; but also for the people who want to be a part of a result-oriented, creative and productive team at work.
The best thing about the book is, the theory is given with real-life examples. The topics are not so long and easy to understand. In "Hurdles" section of each Chapter, the possible difficulties that we can come across are explained. All chapters include a "Checklist" section in which the topic is summarized well. I think this book can be used as a reference book. Time to time, we can have a look at "Checklist" and "Hurdles" sections.
The best thing about the book is, the theory is given with real-life examples. The topics are not so long and easy to understand. In "Hurdles" section of each Chapter, the possible difficulties that we can come across are explained. All chapters include a "Checklist" section in which the topic is summarized well. I think this book can be used as a reference book. Time to time, we can have a look at "Checklist" and "Hurdles" sections.
May 30, 2018
This book packs a lot of knowledge. I recognised stuff I’m already practicing myself, and also found new interesting things to try out. As other reviewers said, I’ll probably try to re-read it every year in order to pick up new things, find things I overlooked this time or something that can help in the situation I am at that moment. Thanks for bundling so much information in one book.
August 1, 2018
Eigentlich gute Lektüre für angehende und fortschreitende Scrum Master. Warum dennoch nur 3/5 Sterne? Die Autorin liefern viele Ratschläge, aber wenig (wissenschaftliche) Hintergründe, die ihre Behauptungen untermauern. Auch finde ich es etwas übertrieben bei der bloßem Wiedergabe von Best, bzw. Good Practices von Coaching zu sprechen.
June 6, 2017
More information about Agile Development , How to become Agile coach , How to use Agile tools, How to use test driven development, How to Building an agile team,How to invest in team, How to growing you, and More fantastic and important things to produce a great product.
June 30, 2019
Excellent book for people beginning their career as an Agile Coach.
December 2, 2019
Clear, simple, practical and useful.
September 11, 2020
I was hoping for more new ideas in this book.
January 4, 2021
Ikke meget nyt. Læs Lyssa Adkins i stedet for.
March 24, 2022
Very basic techniques to be applied for newbies teams. A little bit outdated. Most techniques to be applied for teams working from the office - which after Covid happens less often.
April 2, 2018
A couple of interesting thoughts, tips, hints and (most important) examples :)
June 24, 2012
I read this book when I started on a new project as team lead for one of my clients. The client is in the process of adopting agile but the team was very inexperienced with agile practices. Having worked in agile teams at other clients, the task of coaching the team to be more agile fell upon me.
As such, I feel I'm the ideal audience for this book. The authors assume basic knowledge of agile practices and focus on techniques to help a team apply them better. It's very practical, more a collection of tips from the trenches than a theoretical treatise. I found many of the tips to be immediately usable in my situation. Don't expect any life-changing eye-openers though, most of the tips are pretty basic, like the importance of having an iteration demo (and the required preparation) and retrospective.
The book is pleasant to read. The main text is interspersed with examples and stories from a typical project, which make it light reading.
All in all a very practical and readable book for the agile practitioner that aspires to do more or better coaching of teammates. For experienced agile coaches or scrum masters there may be too little new information in it, but I liked it.
As such, I feel I'm the ideal audience for this book. The authors assume basic knowledge of agile practices and focus on techniques to help a team apply them better. It's very practical, more a collection of tips from the trenches than a theoretical treatise. I found many of the tips to be immediately usable in my situation. Don't expect any life-changing eye-openers though, most of the tips are pretty basic, like the importance of having an iteration demo (and the required preparation) and retrospective.
The book is pleasant to read. The main text is interspersed with examples and stories from a typical project, which make it light reading.
All in all a very practical and readable book for the agile practitioner that aspires to do more or better coaching of teammates. For experienced agile coaches or scrum masters there may be too little new information in it, but I liked it.
July 29, 2012
Agile Coaching is the book I wish I had read when I started coaching my first team. While agile is spreading fast, a lot of people take on coaching roles, these people finally have a book to find the answer for their questions.
The book Rachel & Liz wrote is not only good for people new to coaching, as a seasoned coach, I found some new idea's (Standup Checkov), it refreshed rusted idea's (ping pong programming), and challenged some other (no comments). This is one of the books I know I will at least skim (probably read) once a year. Liz and Rachel assembled an enormous amount of tips to help you coach (agile) teams.
If you read one book about coaching it should be this one. If you want to read more, you will find in the book the necessary info on where to find more detail about a topic. (Although they have found a way to explain most idea's at least as good as the original author.) On top of all this, while reading the book, it was as if Rachel and Liz where right beside me to help me with all their experience.
This was a book I was waiting for.
The book Rachel & Liz wrote is not only good for people new to coaching, as a seasoned coach, I found some new idea's (Standup Checkov), it refreshed rusted idea's (ping pong programming), and challenged some other (no comments). This is one of the books I know I will at least skim (probably read) once a year. Liz and Rachel assembled an enormous amount of tips to help you coach (agile) teams.
If you read one book about coaching it should be this one. If you want to read more, you will find in the book the necessary info on where to find more detail about a topic. (Although they have found a way to explain most idea's at least as good as the original author.) On top of all this, while reading the book, it was as if Rachel and Liz where right beside me to help me with all their experience.
This was a book I was waiting for.
December 27, 2009
This book is a great introduction to introducing agile methods to a project as an agile coach. Unfortunately, it's written entirely from the perspective of an formalized role as an agile coach. This means that the book is not well suited for people who wants to introduce agile methods (or just agile practices) without a official role.
Still, even if you don't have the official role, there are a lot of things one can gain from this book (e.g. dos and don'ts) - it just can't stand alone, but has to be read together with books such as "Fearless Change" (about introducing change).
Still, even if you don't have the official role, there are a lot of things one can gain from this book (e.g. dos and don'ts) - it just can't stand alone, but has to be read together with books such as "Fearless Change" (about introducing change).
February 13, 2014
Finally picked this gem back up. Agile Coaching is an excellent overview of the elements critical to Agile software development. It is easy to read and highlights important concepts with hurdles and checklists.
Emphasis is placed on working with people and leading change in dynamic environments. It covers how to prioritize, plan and structure meetings. They demonstrate keeping the process visible and adhering to best coding practices. This book subtly introduces the techniques of experimentation and continuous improvement vital to success in software.
Emphasis is placed on working with people and leading change in dynamic environments. It covers how to prioritize, plan and structure meetings. They demonstrate keeping the process visible and adhering to best coding practices. This book subtly introduces the techniques of experimentation and continuous improvement vital to success in software.
December 24, 2015
This is a really good book for any Scrum Master or Agile Coach. There was stuff in here I've 'stumbled on' over time and with experience and it would have been nice to have known some of it up front :) It is very comprehensive, so could perhaps be a little bit daunting to someone new to the role, but it does demonstrate just how broad the role is. For me, this is a great book to keep hanging around on your book shelf to dip into as you master one aspect and are ready to tackle a new area of learning/growth. Another plus is it's easy reading and comes with some nice quotes and examples.
September 27, 2009
This is a very lightweight book for someone who wants to get started with introducing Agile Software Development to a team. There are a lot of examples and side-stories for individuals in situations and how to deal with them from a coaching role. If you are just getting started with Agile, this is a great book. If you feel like you already have a mature Agile adoption, this book might seem a bit basic. There is a lot of focus on teamwork.
January 15, 2010
A lot of the agile information in here is quite basic. It's definitely geared towards the coaching aspects, and has some interesting psychology references. I think it can serve two purposes: an intro to agile from a people-centered view, or for someone more experienced with agile technical practices that wants to move into coaching a team. I lent it to a developer as a first agile book, and he got a lot out of it in the former sense.
September 10, 2014
Agile Coaching? Talvez Agile Guiding.
Apesar de alguns bons pontos espalhados pelo livro, muito do que é apresentado acaba tratando os problemas com soluções de prateleira, e não maneiras que ajudem ao aumento da maturidade da equipe e o surgimento de diferentes soluções.
Se você tem pouco experiência trabalhando com desenvolvimento ágil, pode encontrar aqui um atalho que ajudará a guiar seu time, mas não espere instruções de como realizar o coach de um time de desenvolvimento.
Apesar de alguns bons pontos espalhados pelo livro, muito do que é apresentado acaba tratando os problemas com soluções de prateleira, e não maneiras que ajudem ao aumento da maturidade da equipe e o surgimento de diferentes soluções.
Se você tem pouco experiência trabalhando com desenvolvimento ágil, pode encontrar aqui um atalho que ajudará a guiar seu time, mas não espere instruções de como realizar o coach de um time de desenvolvimento.
August 10, 2015
Agile Coaching is a good overview of the types of things that a scrum master can help teams do. There is some practical advice here that is quite valuable, although the book doesn't go into too much detail of any particular agile methodology. There are some nice refreshers of the human side of agile, and I found a few good a few ideas for enhancing already familiar practices that I'm looking forward to trying.
November 28, 2011
I feel that I should have loved this book. But I can't find any enthusiasm for it.
There's some good tips & good advice in it, but it feels shallow; just a reverberation in an echo chamber of good agile practice.
It might just be that I read it at the wrong time, earlier in my career I'm positive I'd would have found it packed with gold nuggets.
There's some good tips & good advice in it, but it feels shallow; just a reverberation in an echo chamber of good agile practice.
It might just be that I read it at the wrong time, earlier in my career I'm positive I'd would have found it packed with gold nuggets.
August 23, 2012
This is a quite good book for anyone working with agile even if you are not coaching agile as such. There are lots of good tips, tricks and lessons learned from applying the values and practices.
There is nothing revolutionary to be found, but good pointers on when to push, when to bend, and how to do it.
There is nothing revolutionary to be found, but good pointers on when to push, when to bend, and how to do it.
August 1, 2012
Brilliant book. It covers number of aspects every Agile Coach should be aware of bear in mind while working with teams. Also, the book provides real-life examples what I really like as that builds up the trust between author and reader.
November 9, 2017
This book is a must-have tool of an Agile Coach ! Highly recommended reading for every one in the agile team as well!
Read more about this book at
http://www.rgopinath.com/2011/10/27/b...
Read more about this book at
http://www.rgopinath.com/2011/10/27/b...
June 24, 2014
Good book about coaching agile teams. I really liked the last chapter "Growing You" that was not about helping others but helping yourself to grow as a coach and as a software professional. I think it's very important topic if you want to develop in your profession.
December 20, 2015
Excellent examples for all facets of agile development. Coaches need to careful in how they interact with the team, since they are coaches and not actual team members. The book is full of great recommendations and tips to get teams thinking more agile.
December 2, 2016
This is a good junior-level / intro-level text for agile coaching, rather more for scrum masters. If you haven't had any formal management trainings, this is a good starting point towards self-learning.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews