Selected Chapters from Amplio Development: The Path to Effective Lean-Agile Teams

Systems Thinking . In this section, we discuss the importance of systems thinking. Understanding the system in which organizational transformation occurs allows you to anticipate the effects of change. It helps you determine where best to start in a particular context. It also provides a more holistic approach where you consider the entire ecosystem, not just one part.

Systems thinking is the foundation of Flow, Lean, and the Theory of Constraints.?

First Principles, Mental Models, and Values . The first principles of knowledge work are like the laws of what makes knowledge work efficient. First principles stand on their own. They are not defined but are discovered through observation and relentless evaluation. Violating them has consequences, typically creating waste and lost opportunities. They can be used to provide guidance as to what individuals, teams, and organizations should do or avoid. Those listed are Amplio’s best discernment of the most useful first principles.

Factors for Effective Value Streams. Factors for effective value streams provides list the primary aspects of what makes value streams effective. While theoretically, just knowing first principles could guide people, using them is a bit abstract for many people. The factors for effective value streams provide a concrete way to see?if the workflows in value streams are effective.

Minimum Valuable Increment - MVI. An MVI is a clear description of the minimum amount of business value that can be realized from a business perspective. It also details all the steps and people required for its release and realization.

How to turn Scrum feature factories into innovation factories. Sometimes trying to be simple causes unanticipated side effects. Scrum's simple model and having product owners be the "one wringable neck" often results in what many Scrum aficionados call "feature factories. Here's how to avoid them and create innovation.

Amplio Team Estimation. People are biased toward underestimating the time it takes to accomplish something. The "planning fallacy" is a term used by psychologists to describe our tendency to underestimate how long it will take to complete a task. Amplio Team Estimation is a relative estimation method that can create better estimates. It includes a link to a video on how to use it as well.

Sprints, Daily Flow, and Cadence. Scrum and Kanban use different methods of planning. Neither are always correct. This article describes how to decide which to use.

The Risk of Starting Agile at the Team Level. While it's popular to start Agile at the team level, it runs the risk of making it harder to get Agile to work across the organization. Inter-team dynamics are quite different from intra-team dynamics. Learning to focus on teams often sets up sub-optimizations that are hard to overcome.