Being an Agile Coach is challenging in many ways. You have to balance many things (see Olaf Lewitz recent post Spotting the Balance) as you work with different teams and stay true to your own values. You are a catalyst for change, helping the teams you work with see how they can work differently and supporting them on their agile journey. To do this you will need a solid understanding of agile principles and plenty of experience in how to put them into practice. When Liz and I wrote our book on "Agile Coaching" we filled it with stories and...

Some words of advice on when to write the acceptance tests for our user stories.

Summary of summery events for Agile Coaches in UK

As an agile coach, you're bound to encounter a few skeptics in the teams and organisations you work with. Although sometimes it seems that skeptics are doomsayers bringing a cloud of negativity to the team and it's tough to see ideas shot down before they've been given a chance. In my experience, skeptics are to be embraced. I've been coaching agile teams for a few years and had plenty of exposure to naysayers and cynics. What has surprised me is how many of former skeptics are now agile advocates. I started my own agile jouney as a skeptic about XP...

A good craftsman needs to take care of his tools, to keep them oiled and sharp. As an Agile Coach, you don't have any obvious physical tools apart from your trusty notebook and pen (and perhaps some super sticky notes, index cards and markers in your bag). You are the diagnostic instrument that both senses and perturbs in coaching situations. You use your eyes and ears to notice what's happening. You trawl through your pool of past experiences to help identify underlying issues. You rely on your heart to empathise with people you work with and reflect your values in...

One of the questions we explore in my "Agile Coaching Skills" training course is when to adapt your coaching style. I draw an arrow running from Directive to Non-Directive, like the middle arrow in the sketch below, to represent one important aspect of coaching style. I explain that the coaching style you adopt depends on the experience of the team members (topmost arrow) and your own experience (bottom arrow). A heavily directive approach would be one where people are firmly told to follow a specific set of agile practices, as in Shock Therapy popularised by Jeff Sutherland. There's no choice...