Empirical Process Control is a foundational concept that emphasises decision-making based on observation and experimentation rather than assumptions. It is integral to Agile, Lean, and DevOps methodologies, enabling teams to adapt their processes and outputs through continuous inspection and transparency. By relying on real data and feedback, organisations can identify what works and what doesn’t, fostering a culture of learning and improvement.
This approach allows teams to deliver value predictably and sustainably, as they can adjust their strategies based on actual performance rather than theoretical models. It encourages a mindset of experimentation, where hypotheses are tested in practice, leading to informed decisions that enhance product quality and customer satisfaction.
Empirical Process Control is not merely a tactical tool; it is a long-term, systemic enabler of organisational agility. It cultivates an environment where teams can respond swiftly to changing conditions, ensuring that they remain aligned with customer needs and market dynamics. This adaptability is crucial in today’s fast-paced development landscape, where the ability to pivot based on evidence can significantly impact success. By embedding empirical practices into their workflows, organisations can achieve a more resilient and responsive operational model that prioritises value delivery and continuous improvement.
The strongest work on Empirical Process Control — ranked by substance, not recency. How this is ranked
Telling People What to Do Is Not Leadership. It’s a Failure of System Design
Explores why real leadership means designing systems that enable team autonomy, flow, and accountability, rather than relying on …
Flow of Value vs Flow of Work – Misnomer or Useful Shorthand?
Compares “flow of value” and “flow of work” in Kanban, explaining why only validated outcomes count as value and stressing the need for …
Rethinking Capacity Planning
Explores how effective capacity planning shifts focus from individual hours to system-level flow, using Lean and Agile principles to improve …
The Estimation Trap: How Tracking Accuracy Undermines Trust, Flow, and Value in Software Delivery
Tracking estimation accuracy in software delivery leads to mistrust, fear, and distorted behaviours. Focus on customer value, flow, and …
The Definition of Done is a Commitment to Quality
Defines the Definition of Done in Scrum as a clear, shared standard for quality, ensuring increments are releasable, transparent, and …
Why “Done” Only Counts When It’s Live: Moving Beyond Fake Finishes to Real Value in Software Delivery
Discover why “done” means live in production, not just code complete. Learn to deliver real value, close feedback loops, and drive outcomes …
Release planning and predictable delivery
Explores how agile teams can achieve predictable software delivery through quality focus, effective release planning, and continuous …
Engineering Excellence Isn’t Perfection: How Continuous Improvement and Fast Feedback Drive Real Agile and DevOps Success
Engineering excellence isn’t perfection, it’s continuous improvement, clean code, and fast feedback. Unlock true agility with modern Agile …
Every delay increases the risk of failure
Delaying software releases increases failure risk. Frequent, small releases improve success rates, adaptability, and recovery, as shown by …
Telling People What to Do Is Not Leadership. It’s a Failure of System Design
Explores why real leadership means designing systems that enable team autonomy, flow, and accountability, rather than relying on …
Flow of Value vs Flow of Work – Misnomer or Useful Shorthand?
Compares “flow of value” and “flow of work” in Kanban, explaining why only validated outcomes count as value and stressing the need for …
Rethinking Capacity Planning
Explores how effective capacity planning shifts focus from individual hours to system-level flow, using Lean and Agile principles to improve …
The Estimation Trap: How Tracking Accuracy Undermines Trust, Flow, and Value in Software Delivery
Tracking estimation accuracy in software delivery leads to mistrust, fear, and distorted behaviours. Focus on customer value, flow, and …
Getting Started with Objectives & Key Results
Learn how to successfully implement OKRs by aligning clear strategy, fostering transparency, empowering teams, focusing on outcomes, and …
The Definition of Done is a Commitment to Quality
Defines the Definition of Done in Scrum as a clear, shared standard for quality, ensuring increments are releasable, transparent, and …
Without Delivery, There Is No Value
Value in software is only realised through delivery. Frequent releases validate assumptions, reduce risk, and enable rapid feedback, …
The Scrum Master is accountable for Delivery
Explains how the Scrum Master is accountable for enabling effective product delivery, fostering team success, and ensuring each sprint …
You can't stop the signal! But you can ignore it!
Explores why teams ignore clear signals from Agile and Scrum, highlighting how culture and fear hinder continuous improvement and effective …
Why “Done” Only Counts When It’s Live: Moving Beyond Fake Finishes to Real Value in Software Delivery
Discover why “done” means live in production, not just code complete. Learn to deliver real value, close feedback loops, and drive outcomes …
Engineering Excellence Isn’t Perfection: How Continuous Improvement and Fast Feedback Drive Real Agile and DevOps Success
Engineering excellence isn’t perfection, it’s continuous improvement, clean code, and fast feedback. Unlock true agility with modern Agile …
Stop Guessing: How to Make Work Visible and Drive Real Improvement with Azure DevOps Flow Metrics
Stop guessing, start making data-driven decisions in Azure DevOps. Discover tools, tips, and insights to make your work visible and your …
Stop Chasing Tech Hype: How Evidence-Based Decisions Empower Real Leadership
Stop chasing tech trends. Learn how evidence, visibility, and clarity empower tech leaders to make confident, strategic decisions, beyond …
Maximising Product Value: The Power of Hypothesis-Driven Engineering
Explores how hypothesis-driven engineering helps teams maximise product value by testing ideas, measuring outcomes, and learning from …
Unlocking Success: How Small Experiments Transformed Feature Delivery from 25 to 150 in Software Development
Explores how breaking features into small experiments boosts software delivery, enabling teams to deliver more features, reduce risk, and …
Unlocking Continuous Improvement: How Metrics and Visualisation Drive Workflow Success
Explores how using metrics and visual tools enhances workflow transparency, helps identify improvement areas, and supports a culture of …
Are Your Teams Empowered to Change Requirements Based on User Feedback? If Not, You’re Probably Not Very Agile
Empowering teams to adapt requirements based on user feedback is key to true agility. Learn why backlog updates and team engagement drive …
The Fallacy of Equating Agility with Speed: What Agile Really Means
Explains why Agile is not about speed but about prioritising valuable work, adapting to feedback, and avoiding wasted effort to deliver …
The Evidence-Based Management Guide 2020: Improving Value Delivery under Conditions of Uncertainty
Kendall Guide - A System of Work for AI Adoption
88 resources, newest first
What Does the Assessment Phase of a Consulting Engagement Look and Feel Like?
Explains the assessment phase in consulting, highlighting continuous learning, agile adaptation, and the value of hands-on engagement over …
Best Scrum advice you ever received?
Emphasises the importance of flexibility and pragmatism in Scrum, encouraging teams to adapt frameworks to their context rather than rigidly …
Beyond the Rituals: Embracing the Core Principles of Scrum for True Agile Success
Explores how focusing on Scrum’s core principles, empiricism, transparency, and value delivery, leads to true agile success, beyond just …
Why is Scrum so easy to understand but incredibly hard to master?
Explores why Scrum is challenging to master, highlighting cultural barriers, the importance of transparency, and the gap between …
If you could teach just one thing about Scrum, what would it be?
The most important aspect of Scrum is empiricism, using transparency, inspection, and adaptation to navigate complexity and drive effective …
In high competition markets, how does scrum product development help acquire and retain customers?
Explains how Scrum supports customer acquisition and retention in competitive markets by enabling rapid delivery, feedback, and continuous …
Why are recessions a great time for organizations to evaluate the opportunity of agile?
Explains why recessions are ideal for organisations to adopt agile, highlighting adaptability, rapid learning, and customer-focused growth …
What is the hardest part of working with a brand-new scrum team?
The biggest challenge with new scrum teams is overcoming misconceptions about scrum and shifting focus from process mechanics to core agile …
Why is Satya Nadella a better example of agile leadership than Steve Jobs?
Compares Satya Nadella’s and Steve Jobs’s leadership, highlighting Nadella’s agile approach that fosters innovation, decentralised …
What will you learn on the professional scrum master course?
Gain practical skills and deep understanding of the scrum master role, scrum theory, empiricism, team dynamics, and delivering value in …
Embrace the Chaos: Transforming Scrum Learning Through Experience and Minecraft
Discover how hands-on Scrum training using Minecraft helps learners experience project chaos, apply agile principles, and gain practical …
Unlocking Agile Success: How Empirical Models Transform Project Outcomes
Explains how empirical Agile models improve project outcomes by increasing visibility, enabling change, reducing risk, and delivering value …
Story Points & Velocity are a sign of an unsuccessful team
Explains why relying on story points and velocity signals team immaturity in Scrum, and highlights better ways to build confidence and …
Product Goal is an Intermediate Strategic Goal
Explains how product goals serve as intermediate strategic goals, guiding agile organisations through uncertainty using experimentation, …
Professional Scrum teams build software that works
Professional Scrum Teams prioritise software quality, accountability, and continuous improvement, ensuring each release is reliable, …
Release planning and predictable delivery
Explores how agile teams can achieve predictable software delivery through quality focus, effective release planning, and continuous …
Embracing Change: Why Agile Evolution is the Key to Thriving in a Rapidly Shifting World
Explores why continuous organisational evolution, not fixed transformations, is essential for adapting to rapid change, fostering agility, …
Beyond the Agile Illusion: Embracing True Agility in a World of Taylorism
Explores the difference between true agility and superficial agile practices, highlighting the impact of Taylorism and offering steps to …
What my father taught me about Evidence-based Management (34 years before it was invented!)
Explores how evidence-based management uses data-driven practices to improve organisational agility, value delivery, and decision-making in …
I do continuous deliver, why should I Sprint?
Explains why Sprints are valuable even with continuous delivery, highlighting benefits for planning, feedback, communication, and …
Evolution not Transformation: This is the Inevitability of change
Change in organisations is a continuous, evolutionary process driven by experimentation and adaptation, not a one-time transformation or …
The fallacy of the rejected backlog item
Explains why rejecting individual backlog items at Sprint Review is a misconception, highlighting Scrum’s focus on learning, collaboration, …
Unmasking Agile: How to Spot Genuine Practices Amidst the Myths
Learn how to identify authentic agile practices, spot common myths, and understand cultural barriers that hinder true agility in modern …
The Evidence-Based Management Guide 2020: Improving Value Delivery under Conditions of Uncertainty
Can the Definition of Done change per Sprint?
The Definition of Done can evolve to improve quality but should not be weakened or vary per backlog item. Consistency ensures transparency …
Introducing Kanban for Professional Scrum Teams
Learn how Kanban practices can be integrated into Professional Scrum teams to improve workflow, transparency, and delivery using the new …
Metrics that matter with evidence-based management
Explains how evidence-based management uses reliable metrics and KPIs at team and organisational levels to drive better decisions, value …