Distributed agile teams have a terrible reputation. They don’t deliver “on time,” and too often, they don’t deliver what the customer needs. However, most agile teams, have at least one remote team member. And, agile approaches are here to stay. Don’t blindly apply agile practices designed for collocated teams. Instead, learn to use three mindset shifts and the agile and lean principles to create your successful distributed agile team. Use the tips and traps to help your team succeed. Leave the chaos of virtual teams behind. See how to help your distributed team succeed.

Can you have a meaningful, well-paid career without a daily commute to a physical office, and without burning out? Can your team or organization work well together and maintain team culture, even when physically apart? Can your organization's "work from home" policy be a competitive advantage--improving organizational resilience while also addressing important social, diversity, urban planning and environmental issues? If you find yourself asking questions like these, this book is for you. This updated second edition features best practices from over 28 years working in, leading, and coaching globally distributed organizations--as well as lessons learned helping organizations quickly shift to fully distributed during COVID-19 office closures. Each short easy-to-read chapter has practical takeaways on what did--and did not--work from my own hard-learned lessons, along with a wide range of interviews with company founders, hedge fund managers, government agency leaders, software developers, accountants, political organizers, recruiters, military personnel, executive assistants and medical technicians.

Hiring a person for your team is the single most important decision you can make. It has long-lasting impact, whether you are the manager or a team member. Would you like to learn to hire great people? Not sure how? You need this book. Great geeks are not the same as skill-based staff. You need to analyze your culture, determine your problems, define the essentials you need in a candidate, and then you’re off and running. Great geeks adapt their knowledge to your context. One developer or technical manager is not interchangeable with another. Hiring Geeks That Fit takes the guesswork and cost out of hiring.

A Scrum Master's work is never done. The Development team needs your support, the Product Owner is often lost in the complexities of agile product management, and your managers and stakeholders need to know what will be done, by when, and for how much. Learn how experienced Scrum Masters balance the demands of these three levels of servant leadership while removing organizational impediments and helping Scrum Teams deliver real world value. Discover how to visualize your work, resolve impediments, and empower your teams to self-organize and deliver using the Scrum Values, Agile Principles, and advanced coaching and facilitation techniques. A Scrum Master needs to know when their team is in trouble and understand how to help them get back on the path to delivery. Become a better Scrum master so you can find the problems holding your teams back. Has your Daily Scrum turned in to a meeting? Does your team struggle with creating user stories? Are stakeholders disengaged during Sprint Review? These issues are common. Learn to use empiricism as your guide and help your teams create great products. Scrum is so much more than a checklist of practices to follow, yet that's exactly how many organizations practice it. Bring life back to your Scrum events by using advanced facilitation techniques to leverage the full intelligence of your team. Improve your retrospectives with new formats and exercises. Ask powerful questions that spark introspection and improvement. Get support and buy-in from management. Use Scrum as a competitive advantage for your organization. Create a definition of done that improves quality and fix failing sprints. Take the next step on your journey as a Scrum master. Transform your Scrum practices to help your teams enjoy their work again as they deliver high quality products that bring value to the world. What You Need: A moderate level of experience using the Scrum Framework.

The world has been facing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for over two years now. Daily life changed dramatically, and social distancing and remote working have become the new normal. Research about how people are facing these challenges points to common findings and concerns. The pandemic has enhanced inequalities, taken a toll on mental health, and increased the use of digital technologies. Many workers are suffering from “digital fatigue” and struggle to self-regulate their life/work balance, as the permanent digital connection to work is reinforced and they struggle with the blurred borders concerning privacy, leisure, and rest. In this context, it is vital to research how organizations have reinvented themselves to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and understand which of the reactive workplace communication practices and improvised solutions were considered advantageous. Perspectives on Workplace Communication and Well-Being in Hybrid Work Environments presents different approaches that explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on workplace communication, focusing specifically on internal communication, mapping new communication practices, and assessing their consequences, namely the well-being of the workers who are coping with these changes. The book combines a scientific exploration of these ongoing changes as we transition to a post-COVID-19 world with a collection of examples and best practices that help organizations in supporting their members through these transformations and in nurturing their well-being. Covering topics such as cross-department process dependencies, hybrid work environments, and wellbeing strategies, this premier reference source is a vital resource for business leaders and managers, IT managers, human resource professionals, students and educators of higher education, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

For those considering Extreme Programming, this book provides no-nonsense advice on agile planning, development, delivery, and management taken from the authors' many years of experience. While plenty of books address the what and why of agile development, very few offer the information users can apply directly.

You can't achieve business agility by copying practices from software/IT teams. This practical book, free of jargon and full of non-tech examples, will help you consider, design, start, grow, and sustain an Agile way of working that fits your unique context.