Agile communication: dialogue

Transcript: Exercise — Dialogue

Listen now to this short conversation between Elsa and Jim, two members of a team that has started using the agilehier: das agile Projektmanagement betreffendagile approach to project management. As you listen, try to answer the following three questions. You might want to make a note of these questions before continuing.

• Who is the more positive about the agile approach — Elsa or Jim?
• Which aspect of agile project management do both Elsa and Jim really like?
• Which aspect of agile project management causes the most disagreement between Elsa and Jim? OK? Here’s the conversation.

Jim: So what do you think about this agile stuff then?
Elsa: It’s kind of (ifml.)ziemlichkind of interesting. It’s certainly a very dynamic approach.
Jim: You can say that again!Das kann man wohl sagen!You can say that again! It’s fun, too. But it can feel a bit chaotic.
Elsa: Hmm. Perhaps, but I really like the very short meetings and the visualization of our progress on that Kanban boardKanban-TafelKanban board on the wall.
Jim: The short meetings are a real bonus, I must say. And I quite like the visualization, too, although I find it to be a bit of a hassleetwas lästig seina bit of a hassle to keep checking the board to see where we are. I prefer written reports.
Elsa: Also, I think the way we are encouraged to have new ideas and to disagree with each other — and with our team leader — helps our decision-making.
Jim: That may be true. I just find the approach a bit short-term.
Elsa: What do you mean?
Jim: We concentrate on these two-week blocks of work and maybe we lose the the bigger picturegrößerer Zusammenhangbigger picture sometimes.
Elsa: Oh, I don’t think that’s right. We’ve got our overall goals stated very clearly to keep us on trackauf Kurs; hier: im Planon track.
Jim: Well, it just seems like that to me. That’s all I’m saying.
Elsa: But generally, you like the approach, don’t you?
Jim: Yes, I do. I think our short, sharp meetings are great. It’s just the overallGesamt-overall control of the project that worries me.

OK, let’s go through the three questions and see if you agree with my answers. The first question was, who is the more positive about the agile approach — Elsa or Jim? In my opinion, both of them accepted the approach but Elsa seems more positive than Jim, who has a couple of criticisms. The next question was, which aspect of agile project management do both Elsa and Jim really like? And the answer is that they both agreed that they really like the short, sharphier: klar strukturiertsharp meetings. OK, and the third question was, which aspect of agile project management causes the most disagreement between Elsa and Jim? I think the main disagreement was over Jim’s worry that the agile approach is too concerned with short-term results and that there is a danger of losing the bigger picture. Elsa didn’t agree with this. So, did you agree with my answers? You might like to go back and listen to the dialogue again. Agile project management is an interesting approach to teamwork. If you want to learn more about the approach, read Bob Dignen’s article in the latest issue of Business Spotlight. You might find agile project management and agile communication useful in your workplace.