take5IRL Podcast

agilityIRL
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Our product vision for take5IRL is to provide members of the Agile community with an idea that they can incorporate into their daily lives to make them more effective. In every episode, Jeff Lee and Mike Stuedemann share Scrum wisdom that will enhance your Scrum Team, overall organization, and most importantly- your leadership skills. Tune in every week for Agile insights in 5 minutes and gain applicable tips to improve your organizations, teams, and life.

  1. 6d ago

    Stop Funding Projects. Start Funding Flow. | How Leaders Can Improve Delivery - Episode 113

    What if the way your organization funds work is actually slowing delivery down?In this episode of Take Five IRL, Mike Studeman and Pat Campbell tackle a potentially controversial idea: Stop funding projects. Start funding flow.They’re not arguing that projects should disappear. Instead, they explore what happens when organizations continually launch and fund new projects without increasing capacity. More work enters the system, WIP increases, teams context-switch, dependencies grow—and delivery gets slower.Mike and Pat discuss why leaders should shift the conversation from “Who can we put on this project?” to “What’s the most valuable thing this team should deliver next?” They also explore the value of long-lived, stable teams with deep customer knowledge and why leadership—not individual Agile teams—ultimately owns the funding model and the flow of work through the organization.In this episode, you’ll learn about project funding vs. flow, the impact of too much work in progress, why being busy doesn’t necessarily mean delivering value, how stable teams can improve customer outcomes, and the flow metrics leaders should pay attention to—including cycle time and throughput.The Take Five Challenge: At your next leadership meeting, list every project currently underway and ask: Which are continuously delivering value? Which are consuming capacity? And if you paused one tomorrow, would something else get delivered faster?Because sometimes the bottleneck isn’t your people. It’s your portfolio.Learn more about agilityIRL at agilityirl.com.#Agile #ProductDevelopment #Leadership #ProductManagement #PortfolioManagement #Flow #AgileLeadership #BusinessAgility #TakeFiveIRL

  2. Sep 1

    Compliance Isn't Slowing You Down. This Is.

    Does compliance really slow down innovation in medical device product development?It can certainly feel that way. But the real problem often isn't compliance itself—it's when and how quality and regulatory work gets done.In this episode of Take 5 IRL, agilityIRL partners Pat Campbell and Mike Studeman challenge the common belief that regulated product development forces organizations to choose between speed and compliance.When documentation, traceability, verification, risk controls, Quality, and Regulatory are pushed toward the end of development, teams can find themselves caught in the dreaded pre-release scramble—reconstructing decisions, finding evidence, repeating tests, completing documentation, and discovering gaps just when everyone thought the product was ready.Pat and Mike discuss a different approach: build quality and compliance into product development from the beginning.In this episode, you'll learn:Why late compliance work creates delays and unnecessary reworkHow to make Quality and Regulatory part of iterative product developmentWhy your Definition of Done should include technical, quality, documentation, and regulatory expectationsHow outdated Quality Management Systems (QMS) can unintentionally create bottlenecksWhy Engineering, Quality, Regulatory, Product, and leadership need shared accountabilityHow moving compliance activities earlier can make delivery more predictableA simple Take 5 Challenge your team can try immediatelyPat and Mike also share a real-world example in which a company's submission-documentation effort dropped from 27 weeks to just 8 weeks after changes were made to its process and workflow—a 19-week improvement with implications not just for the business, but for how quickly therapies can reach patients.The takeaway?Compliance doesn't have to slow innovation. Late and disconnected compliance does.When quality and regulatory expectations are built into the delivery system, teams can reduce rework, eliminate surprises, improve visibility, and create a smoother path to release.If your organization is trying to make Agile work in a regulated medical device environment, agilityIRL helps teams align iterative product development with quality systems and regulatory expectations.Learn more at agilityIRL.com👍 Like this episode if you found it helpful🔔 Subscribe for more practical conversations about leadership, product development, Agile, AI, and regulated medical device development💬 Tell us in the comments: At what point in your development process do Quality and Regulatory get involved?#MedicalDevice #MedTech #FDACompliance #Agile #ProductDevelopment #QualityManagement #RegulatoryAffairs #QMS #AgileMedicalDevice #Take5IRL

  3. Aug 25

    Want To Get More Done? Start Doing Less. Episode 111

    Sometimes the best thing a leader can say is: “No, not right now.” It sounds simple. In practice, not so much. Leaders want to support their teams, satisfy stakeholders, and deliver more value. So when someone asks, “Can we just squeeze this one thing in?”, the instinct is often to say yes. Every additional priority has a cost. More work in progress can mean: → Work piles up → Deadlines slip → Teams slow down → Morale suffers → Your highest-priority work takes even longer to finish. In the newest episode of Take Five IRL, Mike Studeman and Jeff Lee talk about one of the most overlooked leadership skills: knowing when to say “no, not right now.” They dig into WIP limits, prioritization, Little's Law, and why keeping everyone at maximum capacity can actually make the entire system slower. The big takeaway? Organizations don't get better by starting more work. They get better by finishing the work that matters most. 🎧 Watch the newest episode of Take Five IRL and ask yourself: What could your organization finish faster if you were willing to put something else on pause?#Leadership #Agile #ProductDevelopment #Prioritization #WorkInProgress #TakeFiveIRL

  4. Aug 18

    If AI Doubled Your Capacity Tomorrow, What Else Would It Double?Episode 110

    What if AI doubled your organization's capacity tomorrow?Would you create twice as much customer value, or twice as much waste, rework, technical debt, and inconsistency?In this episode of Take 5 IRL, agilityIRL partners Jeff Lee and Pat Campbell explore a critical idea for organizations adopting AI:They are referencing AI as a multiplier, not a solution.Strong systems combined with AI can create tremendous value. But when AI is layered onto weak workflows, unclear priorities, poor data, or ineffective decision-making, it can simply help those problems scale faster.Jeff and Pat discuss why successful AI adoption requires organizations to look beyond the technology itself and examine the system AI is being asked to amplify.In this episode:• Why AI amplifies both organizational strengths and weaknesses• What happens when AI increases capacity without increasing customer value• Why leadership and governance are critical to successful AI adoption• The additional considerations for AI in regulated industries• Why organizations should understand their workflows before applying AI• How data quality and decision-making affect AI effectiveness• Why business outcomes should come before technology decisions• How to experiment with AI before scaling it across the enterprise• Why becoming a learning organization matters more than simply adopting new toolsTake the Take 5 IRL Challenge:At your next team or leadership meeting, ask everyone this question:"If AI doubled our capacity tomorrow, what organizational problems would it also double?”Have everyone write down their answers independently. Then compare the lists.If the same issues appear repeatedly, you've identified some of the areas worth addressing before AI amplifies them.Rather than applying AI everywhere at once, choose a focused experiment. Observe how AI changes the system, learn from the results, and adjust before scaling.How AI-ready is your organization?AI effectiveness isn't just about having access to the latest tools. Your workflows, leadership, governance, quality practices, data, and ability to learn all influence the value AI can create.Take the **agilityIRL AI Effectiveness Assessment** found in our resources tab on our website to better understand where your organization stands and identify areas to focus on as you expand your use of AI.👉 Visit **agilityirl.com** to learn more about this assessment and also check out our AI Effectiveness White Paper.---**About Take 5 IRL**Take 5 IRL from agilityIRL delivers practical perspectives on product development, organizational agility, leadership, AI, and creating better business outcomes—all in conversations designed to get you thinking differently about how work actually gets done.If this episode gave you something to think about, **like the video, subscribe to the channel, and share it with someone who's helping lead AI adoption in their organization.**#ArtificialIntelligence #AI #AITransformation #ProductDevelopment #Leadership #BusinessTransformation #OrganizationalAgility #Agile #DigitalTransformation #agilityIRL

  5. Aug 11

    Scrum Masters: Back To The Future. Episode 109

    Is the Scrum Master role dying, or is it evolving back into what it was always intended to be?Over the years, the Scrum Master accountability has sometimes drifted far from its original purpose. In some organizations, Scrum Masters have become meeting schedulers, note-takers, status reporters, or even a way for leadership to keep tabs on the team.But great Scrum Mastery was never supposed to be about simply coordinating meetings and reporting on the work.In this episode of Take Five IRL, agilityIRL partners Mike Stuedemann and Jeff Lee jump in the DeLorean and go back to the future of Scrum Mastery. They discuss why the Scrum Master isn't disappearing, what organizations have gotten wrong about the accountability, and why the future may require Scrum Masters to get back to the original intent of the role.Mike and Jeff explore what separates a great Scrum Master from a meeting facilitator, including the ability to coach teams, identify organizational impediments, empower others, facilitate meaningful change, and improve the system around the team.They also challenge Scrum Masters to think beyond the team level.Where can you help leaders improve? Where can you facilitate conversations across teams? What organizational obstacles are getting in the way? And most importantly: How are you creating—and demonstrating—real value?In this episode, you'll hear about:⚡ Why the Scrum Master accountability isn't dying⚡ How organizations have unintentionally diminished the role⚡ Why meeting facilitation alone isn't Scrum Mastery⚡ What great Scrum Masters were originally intended to do⚡ How Scrum Masters can demonstrate their value⚡ Why Scrum Masters should look beyond their individual teams⚡ The relationship between Scrum Masters and Agile coaches⚡ How Scrum Masters can help teams, leaders, and entire organizations improveAs Jeff says in the episode:“Your future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one.”Maybe the future of Scrum Mastery isn't about inventing an entirely new role.Maybe it's about going back to what made the Scrum Master valuable in the first place.🚗⚡ Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads.

  6. Aug 5

    When Platform Teams Become The Bottleneck: Episode 108

    Platform teams are designed to help other teams deliver faster. But what happens when the platform team becomes the bottleneck everyone is waiting on? In this episode of Take Five IRL, agilityIRL partners Jeff Lee, Mike Studeman, and Pat Campbell explore the role of platform teams and the challenges they can create for product development organizations. Platform teams can provide valuable expertise, consistency, and shared capabilities across an organization. At the same time, they can introduce dependencies that slow delivery and make it harder for teams to complete valuable work. In this episode, the team discusses: • Why platform teams sometimes become organizational bottlenecks• How to identify and make dependencies visible• Why organizing teams around value can increase autonomy• How service-level expectations can affect delivery within a Sprint• Why Scrum may not always be the right approach for platform teams• When Kanban or another flow-based approach may work better• Why understanding the entire system is essential for improving delivery The goal is not to eliminate platform teams. In many organizations, they serve an important purpose. The key is to understand how they fit into the larger value stream, reduce unnecessary dependencies, and choose a way of working that supports flow. If your teams are frequently waiting on shared services, infrastructure, environments, or specialized expertise, this episode will help you look at the system behind those delays. Subscribe to the Take Five IRL podcast for more practical conversations about Agile, product development, organizational design, and improving the flow of value. Learn more about agilityIRL: https://agilityirl.com Take Five IRL is also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. #Agile #PlatformTeams #ProductDevelopment #Scrum #Kanban #TeamDesign #OrganizationalDesign #AgilityIRL

  7. Jul 28

    Can Agile Be Used Outside of Software?

    Can Agile Work Outside of Software? Absolutely. Here's Why.When most people hear the word Agile, they immediately think of software development. But Agile isn't about software, it's about better ways of working.In this episode of Take 5 IRL, Mike Studeman is joined by Agility IRL partners Jeff Lee and Pat Campbell to explore how Agile principles can improve work across industries, including marketing, hardware development, legal, HR, and beyond.The discussion covers:Why Agile principles matter more than Agile practicesHow fast feedback loops improve decision-makingThe importance of customer involvement throughout the processWhy short iterations and experimentation drive better outcomesReal-world examples of Agile in marketing, hardware, legal, and servicesHow concepts like digital twins are changing hardware developmentCommon misconceptions that keep organizations from adopting Agile outside of softwareWhether you're leading product development, managing a marketing team, working in operations, or looking to improve how your organization delivers value, this episode will challenge the idea that Agile belongs only in software.Subscribe for more conversations on agility, leadership, innovation, AI, and product development from the team at Agility IRL.🌐 Learn more about Agility IRL: https://www.agilityirl.comFollow Agility IRL:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/agilityirl/Website: https://www.agilityirl.com#Agile #Leadership #ProductDevelopment #Innovation #Marketing #HardwareDevelopment #BusinessAgility #ContinuousImprovement #Lean #MedicalDevices #AgilityIRL

  8. Jul 15

    Agile and Medical Device Can Work Together!

    # CARS™ for Teams: Bringing Agile to Medical Device Development Without Compromising Compliance | Take 5 IRL PodcastCan Agile and medical device regulations actually work together?In this episode of Take 5 IRL, agilityIRL partners Mike Studeman and Jeff Lee tackle one of the biggest misconceptions in medical device software development: that regulatory compliance and Agile are incompatible.They introduce CARS™ for Teams (Certified Agile Regulatory Specialist for Teams), a practical one-day workshop designed specifically for developers, testers, Scrum Masters, and cross-functional product teams working in regulated medical device environments.Whether you're new to medical device development or you've spent years working within a Quality Management System (QMS), this conversation explains how teams can deliver faster, improve product quality, and remain compliant without unnecessary bureaucracy.In this episode, you'll learn:* Why Agile is not only compatible with medical device regulations, but often a better approach.* The difference between regulatory requirements and company-specific QMS processes.* How delaying documentation until the end of a project creates costly bottlenecks.* Why "documentation is part of the product."* Common misconceptions developers have about FDA and EU regulations.* Practical ways teams can improve flow while maintaining traceability and compliance.* How one medical device organization reduced its post-development release timeline from **27 weeks to just 8 weeks**.If you're a:* Software Developer* Test Engineer* Scrum Master* Product Owner* Quality or Regulatory professional* Engineering Leader...this episode will give you practical insights you can apply immediately. More About CARS™ for TeamsOur **CARS™ for Teams** workshop helps medical device development teams understand regulations, Agile practices, and how to work effectively within a regulated environment without sacrificing speed or quality.Learn more about upcoming classes and AgilityIRL training opportunities:🌐 https://www.agilityirl.comSubscribe for MoreIf you enjoy practical conversations about Agile, medical device development, product delivery, AI readiness, and organizational agility, be sure to subscribe.🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.---**About AgilityIRL**AgilityIRL helps medical device organizations improve product development through better flow, stronger collaboration, practical Agile approaches, and regulatory excellence. We work with organizations to accelerate delivery while maintaining the quality and compliance patients depend on.#MedicalDevice #MedTech #Agile #ProductDevelopment #FDA #MedicalDeviceSoftware #QualityManagement #Scrum #HealthcareInnovation #EngineeringLeadership #RegulatoryAffairs #SoftwareDevelopment #ContinuousImprovement #AgilityIRL

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About

Our product vision for take5IRL is to provide members of the Agile community with an idea that they can incorporate into their daily lives to make them more effective. In every episode, Jeff Lee and Mike Stuedemann share Scrum wisdom that will enhance your Scrum Team, overall organization, and most importantly- your leadership skills. Tune in every week for Agile insights in 5 minutes and gain applicable tips to improve your organizations, teams, and life.

Information

  • Creator
    agilityIRL
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    113
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © agilityIRL
  • Show Website
    take5IRL Podcast