Dependencies are silent productivity killers that hinder value delivery, slowing the flow of work and creating unpredictable delivery timelines. While many organizations invest heavily in managing dependencies through coordination meetings, tools, and adding roles, these approaches often fail to address the root cause. This session dives into the dependency types and their cumulative impact on organizational agility and delivery predictability. Using real-world examples, we’ll explore how shifting the focus from managing dependencies to eliminating dependencies improves predictability, reduces risk, and accelerates delivery. We’ll challenge the “two-pizza team” rule, exploring when larger, well-structured teams can reduce external dependencies and outperform smaller teams. Attendees will gain practical, data-driven insights to design adaptable, high-performing teams and experiment with team size and structure. We’ll focus on embracing continuous improvement and adaptive practices to improve predictability, streamline delivery, and uncover better ways of working to deliver greater value.

Generative AI is transforming how Product Managers (PMs) contribute within Agile teams, enabling them to extend beyond their traditional roles. With tools like ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, and Balsamiq AI, PMs can write user stories, prototype UX/UI designs, code basic features, automate tests, and analyze data—becoming Super PMs who accelerate Agile workflows and reduce dependencies. This evolution presents significant opportunities for productivity, decision-making, and cross-functional collaboration. However, it also brings challenges such as team role redefinition, maintaining quality, and ethical use of AI. In this session, attendees will explore how to harness these tools effectively, address challenges around team dynamics and accountability, and establish a path forward into AI-driven product management. Learn actionable strategies to integrate AI into Agile practices while fostering collaboration and innovation, ensuring PMs thrive as empowered leaders in the AI era. This talk will inspire Agile teams to embrace the future of work.

In a world of constant change, sense-making and narrative inquiry equip leaders with tools to navigate complexity. This session explores how these methods uncover patterns and organizational dynamics through shared experiences. Sense-making blends data with qualitative insights, reducing bias by letting participants interpret their own stories. By connecting personal narratives to targeted questions, this approach provides authentic insights that drive cultural change and track progress. Patterns from these stories offer leaders actionable intelligence, highlighting trends and behaviors within organizations. This workshop demonstrates how to use sense-making and narrative inquiry to identify patterns, measure change, and guide interventions. Participants will learn to apply these methods for retrospectives or progress assessments, linking qualitative insights with data to support transformation.