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Level-up Engineering

Screw SCRUM: Guide to Building a Truly Agile Organization

Interview with Tyler Hartley, Director of Software Engineering at Johnson & Johnson. He talks about the philosophies, habits and challenges of truly agile organizations.

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In this interview we're covering:

  • The definition of agile
  • Characteristics of agile organizations
  • Truly agile practices
  • Behaviours to encourage
  • When not to choose agile
  • Agile products at J&J
  • Challenges of agile organizations
  • Common mistakes
  • Becoming an agile organization - J&J's story
  • Measures of success in an agile environment

Excerpt from the interview:

"Our team was working on a video recording feature, and we thought that including a passcode would be useful. Surgeons would have exclusive access to the recording tool, and they could ensure that they were the only ones who could start and stop the video.

The feedback we got was an unequivocal no. They told us that they wouldn't care about pushing buttons in that high-stress environment, and that they would probably put the passcode on a sticky note on the device, making it pointless.

We removed the feature because it didn’t add value. It only created friction."

Click here to read the full interview!

Episode source