Skip to main content
Blog Post

Agile for Hardware: A Case Study

January 7, 2025
In this episode of the Take5IRL podcast, PST Jeff Lee is joined by Peter Borsella, co-founder of Big Orange Square, and a leading expert in Agile for hardware. Together, they uncover the fascinating story of a company struggling to keep up in a competitive market.
Blog Post

Agile for Hardware: The Principles

December 27, 2024
In this episode of the Take5IRL podcast, PST Jeff Lee is joined by Peter Borsella, co-founder of Big Orange Square with Hubert Smits and a leading expert in Agile for hardware. Together, they dive into the unique challenges of applying Agile in hardware development—a world where traditional software practices don’t always translate smoothly.
Blog Post

Using Agile with Firmware and Hardware

November 7, 2024
Complex product development requires an adaptive approach. In our latest podcast, join our hosts Jeff Lee and Patrick Campbell as they dive into the tools and practices that can help you improve your product delivery, even when firmware and hardware changes are involved.
Blog Post

Agile Assessment at CAPITAL Services

November 3, 2024
In this podcast, we dive into a transformative case study with CAPITAL Services, a leading credit card servicer. Once reliant on traditional waterfall methodologies, they sought a faster way to innovate and maintain a competitive edge. By adopting Scrum, they set out to deliver the best work and get real-time feedback on their progress.
Blog Post

Why Quality and Regulatory Care About Agile

October 8, 2024
Why should Quality and Regulatory teams care about Agile? Agile isn't just for development—it improves product quality by integrating checks throughout. Kelly and Jeff explain, among other benefits, how early involvement of quality experts speeds up compliance and approvals.
Blog Post

Agile in Med Device: TIR45 Changes

October 1, 2024
This week on the take5IRL podcast, Jeff Lee welcomes Kelly Weyrauch to discuss the latest updates to TIR45, the guide for applying Agile in medical device software. Kelly covers key topics like signatures, boosting regulatory compliance with Agile, and defining "done" to avoid last-minute surprises. A must-listen for anyone in the med device space!
Blog Post

Agile in Medical Device: A Case Study (Part 2 of 2)

September 24, 2024
In part 2 of this powerful medical device case study, our hosts, PST Jeff Lee and Patrick Campbell, continue the journey from where we left off in episode 62. After hands-on Agile training, we moved into coaching the team as they executed their first sprints. Tune in to hear about the cultural shift that took place—a big change for the company that allowed them to see improvement in real-time and track progress like never before. Curious about the results? Listen in to see the tangible improvements and what they were able to accomplish as they embraced Agile in a regulated environment.
Blog Post

Agile in Medical Device: A Case Study (Part 1 of 2)

September 24, 2024
In this episode of the take5IRL podcast, PST Jeff Lee and his colleague Patrick Campbell take you behind the scenes of a transformative case study. They dive into the challenges faced by a struggling product group in the medical device industry. Faced with the urgent need for change, they turned to Agile, but how do you implement Agile in a regulated environment? Tune in to hear how our team at agilityIRL brought fast-paced, hands-on Agile training to this team, guiding them through a steep learning curve to achieve remarkable results.
Blog Post

Agile in Medical Device

September 17, 2024
In this episode of the take5IRL podcast, Jeff Lee and Kelly Weyrauch break down what the FDA expects from your systems and reveal how adopting an Agile approach can give your company a competitive edge. Don't miss out on these game-changing insights!
Blog Post

Agile in Regulated Environments

September 10, 2024
Ready to navigate the complexities of Agile in regulated environments? Join Jeff and his guest, Kelly Weyrauch—the go-to expert for Agile in the medical device world—as they dive deep into the challenges and breakthrough strategies for integrating Agile in regulated industries. Tune in to discover how you can master the balance between compliance and agility, transforming your processes into models of efficiency and effectiveness.
Blog Post

Charting Your Course

August 27, 2024
In this episode, Jeff and Pat will delve into the value of assessing your product delivery flow. Understanding the unique challenges that your organization faces, as well as the outcomes you are looking to achieve, will help you chart a course to business value. This will ensure that the changes you make are both effective and sustainable.
Blog Post

Why Start With Assessments?

August 22, 2024
In this episode, Jeff and Pat share why starting with an assessment is the best strategy for your agile journey. No matter where you are in your agile journey, knowing the state of your organization with clarity will lead to data-driven recommendations. Most importantly, your organization will be able to measure growth. Learn how you can get started today.
Blog Post

Too Much WIP

August 20, 2024
Are you fed up with productivity clichés that don't deliver? Discover a simple, effective strategy: reduce Work-in-Progress (WIP) and focus on finishing rather than starting. Dive into this approach on the latest episode of the take5IRL podcast, featuring insights from Jeff, Mike and Pat on how doing less can achieve more—essential listening for anyone wanting to cut through the noise and enhance their work life. Don't miss this game changing discussion!
Blog Post

What Happens When the Scrum Master Goes Away?

August 15, 2024
Are you faced with budget constraints?  Do you have a high-performing team that believes it's outgrown the need for a dedicated Scrum Master? Don't worry; you don’t have to compromise on your team's success or bid farewell to Scrum. Even without a dedicated Scrum Master, you can adopt plenty of strategies to maintain, or even enhance, your team's performance.
Blog Post

What Are You Measuring?

August 13, 2024
In recent episodes, we discussed the importance of tracking metrics to measure the effectiveness of your work. Sounds great, right? But what metrics are important to measure? In this episode Jeff and Mike share some of their favorite metrics to measure.
Blog Post

Engage Your Stakeholders

August 8, 2024
Jeff and Mike discuss getting stakeholders actively involved, from product definition to delivery. They are probably less involved than you think. Hear how to ensure you have the right people involved, at the right time, and doing the right things.
Blog Post

Stakeholder Mapping - Why and How

August 6, 2024
Are you confident that you have alignment across the organization on your product’s direction? If not, you might benefit from a stakeholder mapping exercise. In this week’s episode, Jeff and Pat talk through two simple tools to group your stakeholders, allowing you to answer “YES!”
Blog Post

Supporting Business Outcomes with Agile Practices

July 31, 2024
In our recent episodes, we emphasized the need to focus on business outcomes in successful Agile organizations. Once business outcomes are prioritized, good Agile coaches focus on the agile practices that support those business outcomes. In this episode, we share some concrete examples of how to do it.
Blog Post

From Project Management to Product Management

June 18, 2024
In our recent episodes, we've explored Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) and its pivotal role in optimizing value delivery for both businesses and stakeholders. LPM shifts from the traditional Project-oriented management to more impactful Product-oriented management. In this episode, Jeff and Patrick discuss the key disparities between Project- and Product-mindsets, and why that is important for Agile delivery.
Blog Post

Delivering Value - Think Products, Not Projects

June 18, 2024
From our previous episode, you now know what Lean Portfolio Management is. The next question is: how do you maximize value with LPM to achieve your business objectives? Tune in to explore how Lean Portfolio Management uses products to deliver value.
Blog Post

What is Lean Portfolio Management?

June 18, 2024
How do you prioritize and allocate resources across various projects to ensure optimal outcomes? How do you ensure alignment between these outcomes and your organization's strategy and business objectives? Tune in to this episode to learn how Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) can help executives, project/product managers, PMO leaders, and key stakeholders bring the most value to business objectives.
Blog Post

Should Companies Outsource Product Development?

April 16, 2024
Should companies be outsourcing their product development? Join us as we explore the potential solutions for developing core product development. We also explore if it is possible to maintain agility while outsourcing. Tune in to discover the verdict!
Blog Post

Building Psychological Safety with Offshore Teams

April 2, 2024
Psychological safety is foundational in the success of any team, and it becomes even more challenging to establish when work is sent abroad. In this episode, your hosts share their experiences working with dynamic offshore teams, and some tips on increasing that psychological safety.
Blog Post

How to Stay Agile While Outsourcing

March 29, 2024
A difficult question for organizations is how to maintain an Agile approach while outsourcing development. In this episode, the agilityIRL team discusses challenges with outsourcing and some ways to make it work better.
Blog Post

Prioritizing Outcomes over Practices

February 12, 2024
Before changing their way of working, organizations should know first what business outcomes they want to achieve - which will be unique to each organization. Discover why focusing on Agile practices alone could lead you astray from the ultimate goal: achieving tangible and strategic business success.
Blog Post

It's Still About the Team

January 23, 2024
When using Scrum for a single team, it's important to prioritize Agile principles, business outcomes and team success. The same is true when scaling to include multiple teams. Learn more in this week's podcast!
Blog Post

How to Explain Definition of Done

January 18, 2024
Definition of Done is one of the most misunderstood concepts for people attending our Scrum training classes. It’s probably also understood by people in your organization. In this episode, we share how two Scrum trainers explain it in their classes.
Blog Post

Stakeholder Management for Product Owners

January 16, 2024
Not all stakeholders are the same. To be a great Product Owner, you must understand their needs and segment them accordingly. Tune in to this episode as Jeff and Mike share strategies in ways Product Owners can manage and build relationships with their stakeholders, delivering more value with less friction.
Blog Post

Essential Skills for Product Owners

January 11, 2024
It’s more than just ordering the work for a team. A great Product Owner must have hard skills to make them more effective at working with stakeholders and managing a Product Backlog.
Blog Post

Breaking Down Work

December 12, 2023
Create focus for your team and get more done by breaking down work. In this episode, Jeff and Mike explore the transformative impact of aligning teams to a Product Vision and creating incremental goals that bring your product toward that vision.
Blog Post

Should Scrum Masters Be Technical?

December 7, 2023
Scrum Masters need to have technical skills, but they aren't the same skills that the Developers on their Scrum Teams need. Discover the benefits of a Scrum Master's technical toolkit.
Blog Post

MVP - What it is Supposed to Mean

November 9, 2023
The term Minimum Viable Product means different things to different people.  Is your company using it to define the first of a series of fixed scope, fixed date projects?  If so, you're probably not using it right.
Blog Post

The Spike Dilemma

November 7, 2023
Join Jeff and Mike as they unravel the complexities of spikes, transitioning from uncertainty to wisdom in Agile, and the essential mindset shift needed for teams to “get things done”.
Blog Post

Increase Your Product Backlog's Transparency

September 28, 2023
Product Owners are accountable to provide stakeholders have a clear understanding of the product's direction. In this new episode of the take5IRL podcast, Jeff and Mike explore methods for enhancing transparency. Discover how providing transparency to the Product Backlog can foster a shared vision and facilitate meaningful collaboration with stakeholders.
Blog Post

Will Kanban fix my Scrum?

September 11, 2023
We have seen many Scrum teams attempt to resolve challenges by giving up and moving to Kanban. However, the decision to switch from Scrum to Kanban typically arises not from Scrum shortcomings, but rather from challenges in its implementation. In this episode, Jeff and Mike explore misguided reasons to move away from Scrum and things to consider before making that move.
Blog Post

Stop Starting, Start Finishing!

July 27, 2023
Does your Scrum Team often find itself with carryover work from the previous Sprint? Does that make your team an unproductive one? Whose fault is it? In this episode, Jeff and Mike share how to limit sprint-to-sprint carryover.  Listen and share with your team so things get DONE.