In this Scrum.org Community Podcast episode, host Dave West speaks with Nathaniel Davis, CEO of Barrel One Collective, and PST Yuval Yeret about applying Agile principles beyond software — into the heart of business operations.

Nathaniel shares his journey from working in a large brewing company to leading Barrel One Collective, a brewing group where he’s working to make Agile the foundation for innovation and entrepreneurialism. Together, they explore how Agile thinking can balance experimentation and consistency, drive outcome-oriented leadership, and shape company culture as a product.

Tune in to hear how organizations can expand their definition of “product” — from beverages to behaviors — and how agility helps leaders continuously learn, adapt, and deliver value.

In this episode, Dave West sits down with Darrell Fernandes, executive advisor at Scrum.org to explore the The AI Teammate Framework: A Four-Step Framework for Product Teams, featured in a new whitepaper. They discuss how to treat AI like a true teammate—onboarding it with context, guiding interactions through user stories, and establishing governance to manage performance.

Darrell emphasizes the importance of structured AI adoption, comparing it to onboarding human team members, and highlights how a disciplined approach can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and even protect jobs. From writing AI job descriptions to building prompt libraries and governance strategies, this episode offers actionable insights for teams navigating the evolving AI landscape.

Listen now to learn how to bring AI onboard as a true teammate.

For more, there is a live webcast coming up next week that will also be available as a recording. Learn more.

Topics covered:

Introduction to the AI Teammate Framework

• Why a framework?
• The need for a structured, holistic approach to AI in teams

AI as a Team Member

• Treating AI like a teammate rather than a tool
• The importance of onboarding and providing context
• Comparing AI onboarding to human onboarding

The Four Steps of the Framework

1. Identify AI’s Role – defining the problem and writing an AI “job description”
2. Onboard with Context Management – giving AI access to product, customer, and process context
3. Interact Using User Stories – structuring collaboration through clear, outcome-based interactions
4. Governance and Performance Management – ensuring accountability, compliance, and efficiency

Challenges of Working with AI

• Context management and maintaining prompt libraries
• Balancing AI experimentation with structure
• Cost, scalability, and efficiency concerns

Lessons from the Early Days of Cloud Computing

• Parallels between the AI adoption curve and cloud evolution
• The shift from unregulated enthusiasm to disciplined governance

Future of AI in Product Teams

• The importance of a disciplined, thoughtful approach
• How structured AI collaboration can enhance — not replace — human work

Actionable Next Steps for Teams

• Read the white paper
• Assess current onboarding and management practices
• Apply the four-step framework to integrate AI effectively

On this episode of the Scrum.org Community Podcast, Dave West welcomes Professional Scrum Trainer Bogdan Onyshchenko to explore the Agile Product Operating Model (APOM). They discuss how APOM offers a holistic, principle-based approach for product organizations—going beyond Scrum to address team motivation, vendor management, strategic decision-making, and more.

Bogdan shares insights on the importance of transparency, frequent delivery, and self-organization. The episode also gets into balancing prescriptive advice with flexible principles, understanding the “why” behind agile practices, and using APOM as a practical tool for improving outcomes and value delivery.

Listeners will gain practical guidance on applying APOM in their own organizations and learn how this evolving model continues to support teams and leaders in delivering value effectively.

Learn more about APOM.

Topics covered:

Defining the Agile Product Operating Model (APOM)

Practical Applications of APOM

Balancing Prescriptive and Principle-Based Approaches

The Importance of Understanding the "Why"

Operating Models vs. Frameworks

Building on last week’s episode on AI and Operating Systems in SMBs, Dave West and PST Yuval Yeret dive into the challenges of scaling small and medium-sized businesses.

Dave shares lessons from growing an organization from a small team to over 100 people—navigating silos, new stakeholders, and keeping teams outcome-focused. Yuval highlights common scaling pitfalls and explores frameworks like EOS, Scaling Up, and D4X, emphasizing vision, strategic goals, and evidence-based management.

Learn how to maintain agility at scale, build cross-functional teams, and create an operating system that drives sustainable growth.

Resource - Mastering Organizational Traction Trail Map

AI is forcing organizations to rethink how they operate. In this insightful conversation, Dave West and Yuval Yeret discuss the emerging need for a new organizational “operating system” that integrates AI into strategy, structure, and execution. They highlight the role of product thinking, OKRs, and continuous improvement in turning AI from hype into real business value.

In this special episode of the Scrum.org Community Podcast, Dave West sits down with Ken Schwaber, co-creator of Scrum, to celebrate 30 years since the initial introduction of Scrum at OOPSLA 1995, based on the paper, The Scrum Development Process.

Ken reflects on the origins of Scrum, the cultural challenges faced during early adoption in large organizations, and the critical importance of transparency, honesty, and teamwork. He shares insights into how Scrum has influenced software development practices such as DevOps and continuous delivery, and offers his perspective on AI as a tool to support—rather than replace—human teams.

From early pioneers to the modern evolution of Scrum, Ken shares stories, lessons, and hopes for the future: that Scrum will continue helping people and organizations achieve fulfillment, innovation, and success.

Join us for a thoughtful, candid conversation with one of the foundational voices of Agile.

In this episode of the Scrum.org Community Podcast, host Dave West is joined by Dr. Alan Brown—professor, executive advisor, and expert in AI and digital technologies—to explore how Agile teams can adapt and thrive in a rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Dr. Brown discusses the current state of AI adoption across industries and the need for thoughtful integration of AI into knowledge work. From model and prompt engineering to context and governance, he outlines the four key engineering disciplines that Scrum teams must understand. The conversation also highlights five critical pressure points organizations face—complexity, change management, alignment, value delivery, and people—and how Scrum can help teams respond to these challenges.

Rather than replacing Agile, Dr. Brown argues, AI augments it—opening up new opportunities for delivering value, improving decision-making, and accelerating learning.

Listen now to learn how to harness AI responsibly while staying true to Agile principles.

In this episode of the Scrum.org Community Podcast, Dave West and Dimitrios Dimitrelos, Business Agility Lead, Accenture Greece, PST, explore the powerful role incentives play in Agile transformations and the Agile Product Operating Model (APOM). Dimitris shares a striking story of QA teams inflating bug counts to meet performance metrics, highlighting how poorly designed incentives can undermine collaboration.

They discuss strategies for balancing individual and team incentives, the limits of financial motivation, and how organizations can redesign performance management to support true Agile behaviors. Listen to learn practical insights for fostering collaboration, transparency, and sustainable motivation across your teams.

Key Takeaways:

• How misaligned incentives can derail Agile transformations
• Balancing individual vs. team incentives for collaboration
• Understanding motivation beyond money using Herzberg’s theory
• Practical steps to redesign performance management systems