Articles

Curated Reading

Article Recommendations.​

Articles offer timely insights and practical perspectives that help shape how we think, learn, and respond to change. At Ariel Partners, we believe in the power of high-quality writing to inform better decisions, spark innovation, and deepen expertise across strategy, delivery, and organizational performance. The articles featured on this page represent thoughtful analysis, proven frameworks, and actionable ideas that have influenced how we approach our work with clients in government and commercial sectors. We share these recommendations as trusted resources to support continuous learning, critical thinking, and real-world impact.

Human Centered Design.

The Potential Cost of … Zugzwang?

Charles Lambdin

Insightful, and concise article by Charles Lambdin on the trap that even successful agile teams can fall into if they do not pay attention to human centered design (UX/CX). As Henry Ford said: if I had just listened to customers, I would have designed a faster horse. Discovery Kanban and dual track scrum are attempts to address this issue.

Kanban.

Customer Kanban – From Customer Push to Customer Pull

Louis-Philippe Carignan

Discovery Kanban (Video)

Louis-Philippe Carignan

Highly informative article and video by Patrick Steyaert regarding customer kanban aka discovery Kanban. Patrick is the originator of this concept and he explains it beautifully. This is a must-read / must-watch for all agile practitioners, regardless of your agile method of choice.

Product Backlog Workflow

Louis-Philippe Carignan

Excellent article by Louis-Philippe Carignan on applying Discovery Kanban to Scrum in order to improve the product backlog grooming process. Going from fuzzy ideas to fully fleshed out user stories that meet the Definition of Ready can represent a significant amount of work, depending on the type of work we are considering (table stakes versus an enabler versus a delighter versus a differentiator).

Software Development.

Specification by Example, 10 years later

Gojko Adzik

Nice article from Gojko Adzik, author of Specification By Example. Given/When/Then is proving to be the most successful method for capturing acceptance criteria in tests.

Flight Levels.

Establishing agile interactions – but how?

Klaus Leopold

This article by Klaus Leopold breaks down how agile leadership with Flight Levels will really look like day-to-day.. Leopold addresses and answers his most often asked question – “Will changing to work with Flight Levels mean more meetings?” He breaks down three relevant activities that establish the way you approach agile interactions.

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