Gil Aires

Why AI Needs Scrum Masters, Project Managers & Program Managers More Than Ever ? AI is evolving faster than organizations can manage. Every week, there’s: ▪️ A new model ▪️ A new tool ▪️ A new big promise But here’s the truth → AI success isn’t about algorithms alone. It’s about people, processes, and decisions that shape the future. And that’s where roles like Scrum Masters, Technical Project Managers, and Program Managers step in: ▪️ Ensuring the right data flows into the right models ▪️ Aligning researchers, engineers, and business leaders (who often speak different “languages”) ▪️ Spotting risks that won’t show up in any Jira board ▪️ Asking the hard questions: - Should we build this? - What’s the impact if this fails? - Do we have the right guardrails in place? Without us → AI projects turn into silos of smart people running in different directions. With us → AI becomes strategic, ethical, and scalable innovation. In a world where speed without direction is chaos, we make sure AI actually lands where it needs to go—safely, purposefully, and with impact. The future isn’t just AI. It’s AI + Scrum Masters + TPMs + PMs who know how to guide it. What’s the one skill you think will define these roles in the AI era? Checkout the AI toolkit here - https://lnkd.in/gpS_qQ8r

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Stop preaching the Agile Manifesto to your clients. Yes, I love it. It's brilliant. But using it as your primary coaching tool is lazy – and sometimes even dangerous. Here's why:  The Agile Manifesto was written to describe what works in agile teams. It was never meant as a blueprint to transform corporations. The Manifesto assumes a certain culture. A certain view of people. A leadership style that creates trust and psychological safety. In that soil, its values and principles make perfect sense. But drop the same Manifesto into a Tayloristic culture – with rigid hierarchies, performance rankings, annual budgets, risk aversion… – and what happens?  👉 It gets ignored as "hippie talk"  👉 Or worse: it gets deliberately misunderstood and weaponized So if you're an agile coach pointing to the Manifesto as *the* solution, you're skipping the real work. You have to help leaders unlearn their old assumptions about people and management first. You have to build the cultural foundation.  Only then does the Agile Manifesto stop being "hippie stuff" – and start becoming a powerful guide. The Manifesto is not the beginning of the journey. It's the destination. #agile #leadership #AgileCoaching #AgileTransformation #culture

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🔥 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐬, 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛—𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐮𝐩. After months of research, experimentation, and real-world validation, I’ve put together an AI Playbook for BAs working in Scrum projects. 🎯 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲): 🧠 Prompt Engineering for BAs → Write user stories, acceptance criteria, test cases & stakeholder summaries in seconds ⚙️ Sprint Planning & Prioritization with AI → Use AI to estimate story points, apply WSJF/RICE models, and justify product decisions with data 📈 Daily Stand-ups & AI Notes → Let tools like Otter, Fireflies, and Notion AI take your meeting notes & summarize blockers 🔗 API Requirements & Sequence Diagrams → Draft full REST APIs, create Mermaid sequence diagrams, and define integration flows via prompts 📊 Backlog Grooming to Post-Release Insights → Turn raw stakeholder input into refined stories and convert usage data into actionable dashboards 🧩 Case Studies included: HealthTech: AI for Feature Prioritization E-Commerce: AI-generated API Specs SaaS: AI-powered Sprint Review Demos Insurance: AI-assisted Story Refinement HR Tech: AI in Post-Release Analytics 🎓 And yes, I’ve added a full Career Roadmap—skills, certifications, tools, and prompts to future-proof your BA journey. 💡Whether you’re just starting out or leading cross-functional Agile teams—this guide shows how AI + BA = Amplified Value. Link to access: https://lnkd.in/e49Hp5t6 BA Helpline

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I'm excited to share the first module of my "Leading Agile" training—the Agile House. This is the initial of six modules that build a complete picture of Agile leadership. The document brings together different approaches I’ve studied. I have a knack for spotting patterns, and sometimes I see how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together, creating a surprising new view. I also know that leaders and HR professionals don’t always talk about Agile the same way. So, I use my language skills to speak their language and make concepts more accessible. This module isn’t about giving you all the answers—it's about guiding you in the right direction and highlighting what to focus on. What are the key components ("bricks") of the Agile House? 1️⃣. Agile@Scale approach by BCG — It's often called "product-driven organization" or the "ING Model." I’ve worked on this during an Agile transformation project for BNP Paribas. This model combines OKRs, Spotify-like teams, and SAFe, and was developed by experienced agile coaches, not big consulting firms. 2️⃣ Requisite Organization or Requisite Agility 3️⃣ Peter Kruse’s approach to leading in complex environments I hope you like it, or have been inspired by it. For further insights, peruse the slide deck shared, and don't hesitate to engage by challenging the concepts and offering feedback. The primary goal remains simplification and continuous improvement. Join the community here: https://lnkd.in/edTkkY73

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“I’m a new Scrum Master — what do I actually do every day?” Every new Scrum Master asks this at some point. You’ve passed the certification. You’ve landed the role. And now it’s Monday at 10:15 a.m. — the Daily Scrum just ended — and you’re staring at your laptop wondering: “Okay… now what? What do I actually do for the rest of the week?” Spoiler: the real work of a Scrum Master happens outside the ceremonies. Those 15–60 minute meetings? That’s maybe 10% of your week. The other 90%? That’s the invisible work no one tells you about: 🛠️ The Invisible Work That Matters Most: 👉 Coaching ✅ Coaching the developer who “forgot” (again) to update their story status — and helping them understand why visibility matters. ✅ Helping a Product Owner slice that monster story into smaller stories the team can actually finish within the sprint. 👉 Resolving blockers (including the ones Jira never shows you) ✅ Facilitating the removal of blockers. ✅ Identifying blocker patterns that keep coming back. 👉 Protecting the team’s focus ✅ Saying “no” (politely but firmly) when leadership tries to sneak in “just one quick thing.” ✅ Guarding space so the team can finish work instead of context switching every 24 hours. 👉 Getting to know your team one-on-one ✅ Ask meaningful questions: what excites them about their work? What frustrates them? What does “a good day” look like for them? ✅ Use one-on-ones to uncover hidden tensions — not tasks, but energy, motivation, or confidence barriers. 👉 Observing the dynamics nobody else notices ✅ Who interrupts who in meetings? ✅ Who’s always quiet but might be sitting on the best idea? 👉 Identifying bottlenecks early ✅ Noticing where work always gets stuck in the flow. ✅ Helping the team redesign how work moves so progress doesn’t stall. 👉 Ensuring the team is healthy ✅ Creating a psychologically safe environment where people feel valued, not just measured. ✅ Championing sustainable pace over short-term speed. 👉 Making work human again ✅ Checking in on morale. ✅ Reminding the team they’re not “resources” — they’re people. ✅ Bringing humor, perspective, and relief into high-pressure weeks. 💡 Here’s the truth: Scrum Masters aren’t busy because they’re running ceremonies. They’re busy because they’re removing friction — human, technical, and organizational. Sometimes that looks like coaching. Sometimes it looks like protecting. Sometimes it looks like asking hard questions. And sometimes it looks like just being there so the team feels seen, supported, and safe to do their best work. ⚡ So if you’re a new Scrum Master wondering what you “actually do”? You do the quiet, invisible things that help teams thrive. And that’s the part that makes you indispensable. 👉 If you’re a new Scrum Master, save this post. 👉 If you’re an experienced one, drop in the comments: What do you spend the majority of your week doing outside of ceremonies?

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Norman Kerth has profoundly shaped the heart and soul of agile retrospectives through his Prime Directive—the foundational mindset that transforms team reflection into an atmosphere of trust and learning. As he articulated in Project Retrospectives: A Handbook for Team Reviews (2001), the Prime Directive states: “Regardless of what we discover, we must understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job they could, given what was known at the time, their skills and abilities, the resources available, and the situation at hand.” This guiding principle has become a universal touchstone across agile teams worldwide—spoken at the start of retrospectives, posted on meeting walls, and ingrained as a non negotiable element of psychological safety. What makes the latest Agile Growth Podcast episode exceptionally meaningful is that it features one of the rare interviews with Norman Kerth himself, recounting not only his insights but also this enduring mindset in his own words. It is nothing short of a small miracle that such a conversation could even take place. In 1999, Norman suffered a disabling brain injury in a serious automobile accident caused by a distracted driver using a cell phone. He sustained both front and rear brain injuries and continues to live with significant cognitive and physical limitations, including balance and vision challenges, limited stamina, and profound exhaustion after intellectually demanding interactions. Despite these immense obstacles, through rehabilitation, therapy, and unwavering personal resilience, Norman has returned—briefly but powerfully—to the conversation that shaped the fabric of agile retrospectives. That the Agile community has the privilege to hear his voice again—and bear witness to the origin of the Prime Directive—feels deeply poignant and inspiring.

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