We're an Agile Family!

Agile family
A colleague sent me this TED talk, Agile Programming for your Family. I know of companies that have used agile methodologies outside of technology including marketing, construction, and operations. But to be an agile family with a scrum board, and family retrospectives?

It actually makes sense if you can avoid becoming a "tiger" agile family and don't catch any backlash from your teenage daughter for bringing a geeky process from the office into the home.

I like the agile family manifesto suggested by Bruce
  • Adapt all the time - This is fully aligned with agile principles that support prioritization with every sprint. The bottom line is that kids and family life are highly volatile - kids get sick, trouble in school, birthday parties, and all kinds of events and behavioral changes that are out of parental control. Adapt = reassess and prioritize.
  • Empower your children - Again, this is in line with agile principles of self-organization, though it might feel counter-intuitive with kids especially when they are young. Bruce suggests starting early when they are young, which makes sense given today's environment and the choices kids have to make on their own.
  • Tell Your Story - This is equivalent to setting your vision. Tell your team who you are, who you want to be, and what are your core values.

But my favorite line, and why Bruce says this works is "You can't underestimate the power of making a checkmark." Done.

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About Isaac Sacolick

Isaac Sacolick is President of StarCIO, a technology leadership company that guides organizations on building digital transformation core competencies. He is the author of Digital Trailblazer and the Amazon bestseller Driving Digital and speaks about agile planning, devops, data science, product management, and other digital transformation best practices. Sacolick is a recognized top social CIO, a digital transformation influencer, and has over 900 articles published at InfoWorld, CIO.com, his blog Social, Agile, and Transformation, and other sites. You can find him sharing new insights @NYIke on Twitter, his Driving Digital Standup YouTube channel, or during the Coffee with Digital Trailblazers.