Mike Bowler
@mikebowler.ca
Helping organizations improve how they deliver value for over 25 years. Using a mix of agile technical practices (XP), workflow design, and applied psychology/neuroscience.
When not doing any of that, he can often be found in the woods with a camera.
When not doing any of that, he can often be found in the woods with a camera.
It was three years ago today that I took this photo. It's one of my favourite sunset photos and is also a sharp reminder of a mistake I made that could have had serious consequences. It’s a time that I should have quit and didn’t.
unconsciousagile.com/2025/05/20/k...
unconsciousagile.com/2025/05/20/k...
January 29, 2026 at 5:08 PM
It was three years ago today that I took this photo. It's one of my favourite sunset photos and is also a sharp reminder of a mistake I made that could have had serious consequences. It’s a time that I should have quit and didn’t.
unconsciousagile.com/2025/05/20/k...
unconsciousagile.com/2025/05/20/k...
Nothing quite like digging into a poorly designed API to bring out the sarcasm. Today, I dig into the Jira API to get sprint data.
agiletechnicalexcellence.com/2026/01/29/j...
agiletechnicalexcellence.com/2026/01/29/j...
January 29, 2026 at 3:07 PM
Nothing quite like digging into a poorly designed API to bring out the sarcasm. Today, I dig into the Jira API to get sprint data.
agiletechnicalexcellence.com/2026/01/29/j...
agiletechnicalexcellence.com/2026/01/29/j...
Goodhart’s Law says that “when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.”
Frequently when I talk about that, everyone nods their heads and then immediately makes a target out of the measures they’re looking at.
Continued at improvingflow.com/2026/01/20/g...
Frequently when I talk about that, everyone nods their heads and then immediately makes a target out of the measures they’re looking at.
Continued at improvingflow.com/2026/01/20/g...
Goodharts Law
Goodhart’s Law says that “when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.”
improvingflow.com
January 20, 2026 at 2:15 PM
Goodhart’s Law says that “when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.”
Frequently when I talk about that, everyone nods their heads and then immediately makes a target out of the measures they’re looking at.
Continued at improvingflow.com/2026/01/20/g...
Frequently when I talk about that, everyone nods their heads and then immediately makes a target out of the measures they’re looking at.
Continued at improvingflow.com/2026/01/20/g...
As you've undoubtedly picked up by now, I talk a lot about neuroscience, psychology, hypnosis, body language, etc as they relate to Agile methods. I'm frequently asked what books I recommend as an introduction, so I maintain a list, and I've just updated it again
unconsciousagile.com/2021/06/13/r...
unconsciousagile.com/2021/06/13/r...
Book recommendations for Agile Coaches
I talk a lot about neuroscience, psychology, hypnosis, body language, and other topics as they relate to Agile methods and I’m frequently asked: “What books do you recommend as an introduction?” There...
unconsciousagile.com
January 8, 2026 at 4:25 PM
As you've undoubtedly picked up by now, I talk a lot about neuroscience, psychology, hypnosis, body language, etc as they relate to Agile methods. I'm frequently asked what books I recommend as an introduction, so I maintain a list, and I've just updated it again
unconsciousagile.com/2021/06/13/r...
unconsciousagile.com/2021/06/13/r...
When faced with the question of “when will we be done?”, the most factually accurate answer we can give is one from a probabilistic forecast. Yet counter-intuitively, despite being the most correct answer, it’s not what people want. They want a deterministic answer, even if it’s less accurate.
January 6, 2026 at 3:45 PM
When faced with the question of “when will we be done?”, the most factually accurate answer we can give is one from a probabilistic forecast. Yet counter-intuitively, despite being the most correct answer, it’s not what people want. They want a deterministic answer, even if it’s less accurate.
Reposted by Mike Bowler
Here's a deal for you:
My book, Software Estimation Without Guessing - Effective Planning in an Imperfect World
40% off with code INSIGHT at checkout.
pragprog.com/titles/gdest...
My book, Software Estimation Without Guessing - Effective Planning in an Imperfect World
40% off with code INSIGHT at checkout.
pragprog.com/titles/gdest...
January 4, 2026 at 8:36 PM
Here's a deal for you:
My book, Software Estimation Without Guessing - Effective Planning in an Imperfect World
40% off with code INSIGHT at checkout.
pragprog.com/titles/gdest...
My book, Software Estimation Without Guessing - Effective Planning in an Imperfect World
40% off with code INSIGHT at checkout.
pragprog.com/titles/gdest...
Growth vs Fixed mindsets and how AI is reinforcing the wrong one.
unconsciousagile.com/2026/01/05/g...
unconsciousagile.com/2026/01/05/g...
January 5, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Growth vs Fixed mindsets and how AI is reinforcing the wrong one.
unconsciousagile.com/2026/01/05/g...
unconsciousagile.com/2026/01/05/g...
Today, January 4, is World Hypnosis Day. If you’re like most people, all you know about hypnosis is what you’ve seen on TV or in movies, and while entertaining, that’s mostly wrong.
January 4, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Today, January 4, is World Hypnosis Day. If you’re like most people, all you know about hypnosis is what you’ve seen on TV or in movies, and while entertaining, that’s mostly wrong.
The things I write about here are a great examples of Explicit Knowledge. They're things that can be easily taught through the written word or perhaps in a video. Then there is Tacit Knowledge that can only be learned through experience and I wrote about that: unconsciousagile.com/2025/12/05/t...
Tacit knowledge
When I was a teenager, I read a book called Juggling for the Complete Klutz, which seemed just perfect for me. It came with three bean bag balls, and instructions on how to use them.
unconsciousagile.com
December 7, 2025 at 6:22 PM
The things I write about here are a great examples of Explicit Knowledge. They're things that can be easily taught through the written word or perhaps in a video. Then there is Tacit Knowledge that can only be learned through experience and I wrote about that: unconsciousagile.com/2025/12/05/t...
Who had "adversarial poetry as an attack vector for AI" on their 2025 bingo card?
arxiv.org/html/2511.15...
arxiv.org/html/2511.15...
Adversarial Poetry as a Universal Single-Turn Jailbreak Mechanism in Large Language Models
arxiv.org
November 20, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Who had "adversarial poetry as an attack vector for AI" on their 2025 bingo card?
arxiv.org/html/2511.15...
arxiv.org/html/2511.15...
Social media is often a firehose. If you like the things I write and don't want to miss any of them, then sign up for my free email newsletter at the link below. As a bonus, you'll get a copy of my video course Flow Metrics Basics.
funnel.gargoylesoftware.com/newsletter
funnel.gargoylesoftware.com/newsletter
improvement newsletter
Gargoyle Software
funnel.gargoylesoftware.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Social media is often a firehose. If you like the things I write and don't want to miss any of them, then sign up for my free email newsletter at the link below. As a bonus, you'll get a copy of my video course Flow Metrics Basics.
funnel.gargoylesoftware.com/newsletter
funnel.gargoylesoftware.com/newsletter
I heard “It’s easier to get things done when there is a deadline”, and that tells me something about motivation, or more specifically, lack of it.
November 18, 2025 at 6:49 PM
I heard “It’s easier to get things done when there is a deadline”, and that tells me something about motivation, or more specifically, lack of it.
If you've ever taken one of my classes then there's a good chance you know what I mean when I say "sometimes we just need to pick up the fax machine". If you haven't heard this one yet, then buckle up for a crazy story.
unconsciousagile.com/2025/11/18/j...
unconsciousagile.com/2025/11/18/j...
Sometimes we just need to pick up the fax machine
My friend Dave once got brought in to help with a large project. The company was purchasing a large fax system from a vendor and then planned to extensively customize it to work in their environment.
unconsciousagile.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:29 PM
If you've ever taken one of my classes then there's a good chance you know what I mean when I say "sometimes we just need to pick up the fax machine". If you haven't heard this one yet, then buckle up for a crazy story.
unconsciousagile.com/2025/11/18/j...
unconsciousagile.com/2025/11/18/j...
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) released a great case study on how they used LEGO® Serious Play® to do threat modeling around digital identity. I've written about that here: unconsciousagile.com/2025/11/11/L...
November 12, 2025 at 4:43 PM
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) released a great case study on how they used LEGO® Serious Play® to do threat modeling around digital identity. I've written about that here: unconsciousagile.com/2025/11/11/L...
More waterfalls, today in Naramata, BC, Canada
August 17, 2025 at 4:48 AM
More waterfalls, today in Naramata, BC, Canada
In the days that we wrote user stories on physical cards, we deliberately handed out small pieces of paper and large sharpies. We deliberately wanted fewer words on the card.
People who write stories in systems like Jira often miss that point. Those tools allow us to write novels, and so we do.
People who write stories in systems like Jira often miss that point. Those tools allow us to write novels, and so we do.
August 7, 2025 at 6:35 PM
In the days that we wrote user stories on physical cards, we deliberately handed out small pieces of paper and large sharpies. We deliberately wanted fewer words on the card.
People who write stories in systems like Jira often miss that point. Those tools allow us to write novels, and so we do.
People who write stories in systems like Jira often miss that point. Those tools allow us to write novels, and so we do.
I wrote about risk management, illustrated with a hike through grizzly bear country. improvingflow.com/2025/07/27/r...
Risk Management
Yesterday I went on a guided hike to teach people how to safely hike through bear country. Specifically grizzy bear country. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any bears, but we did learn an amazing amount ...
improvingflow.com
August 6, 2025 at 4:32 PM
I wrote about risk management, illustrated with a hike through grizzly bear country. improvingflow.com/2025/07/27/r...
One of the mistakes we make is assuming that people will make logical and rational decisions to optimize for the perfect overall outcome.
I wrote about this, with an example from a recent hiking trip at unconsciousagile.com/2025/08/05/o...
I wrote about this, with an example from a recent hiking trip at unconsciousagile.com/2025/08/05/o...
August 6, 2025 at 4:28 PM
One of the mistakes we make is assuming that people will make logical and rational decisions to optimize for the perfect overall outcome.
I wrote about this, with an example from a recent hiking trip at unconsciousagile.com/2025/08/05/o...
I wrote about this, with an example from a recent hiking trip at unconsciousagile.com/2025/08/05/o...
Helmcken Falls in #WellsGrayProvincialPark. One of the tallest in Canada, with a drop of 140m
August 3, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Helmcken Falls in #WellsGrayProvincialPark. One of the tallest in Canada, with a drop of 140m
All great adventures start with a warning.
We did a guided bear biology hike yesterday, at #GlacierNationalPark. Highly recommended, even if we didn’t see any actual grizzlies.
parks.canada.ca/pn-np/bc/glaci…
The first 17 photos here are from this hike.
flickr.com/photos/mbowler/
We did a guided bear biology hike yesterday, at #GlacierNationalPark. Highly recommended, even if we didn’t see any actual grizzlies.
parks.canada.ca/pn-np/bc/glaci…
The first 17 photos here are from this hike.
flickr.com/photos/mbowler/
July 27, 2025 at 1:46 PM
All great adventures start with a warning.
We did a guided bear biology hike yesterday, at #GlacierNationalPark. Highly recommended, even if we didn’t see any actual grizzlies.
parks.canada.ca/pn-np/bc/glaci…
The first 17 photos here are from this hike.
flickr.com/photos/mbowler/
We did a guided bear biology hike yesterday, at #GlacierNationalPark. Highly recommended, even if we didn’t see any actual grizzlies.
parks.canada.ca/pn-np/bc/glaci…
The first 17 photos here are from this hike.
flickr.com/photos/mbowler/
July 13, 2025 at 3:09 AM
When I talk to teams about their goals, I'm continually surprised how often the answer is framed as "meets our deadlines" rather than "delights our customers".
We get what we focus on. Perhaps we should have better goals.
We get what we focus on. Perhaps we should have better goals.
July 11, 2025 at 12:59 PM
When I talk to teams about their goals, I'm continually surprised how often the answer is framed as "meets our deadlines" rather than "delights our customers".
We get what we focus on. Perhaps we should have better goals.
We get what we focus on. Perhaps we should have better goals.
Whenever the subject of identifying birds comes up, someone will recommend Merlin (I use it too), however I don't see many recommendations for apps to identify plants, and other animals. Let me recommend iNaturalist, which I use for identifying everything else. www.inaturalist.org
iNaturalist
iNaturalist is a social network for naturalists! Record your observations of plants and animals,
share them with friends and researchers, and learn about the natural world.
www.inaturalist.org
July 5, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Whenever the subject of identifying birds comes up, someone will recommend Merlin (I use it too), however I don't see many recommendations for apps to identify plants, and other animals. Let me recommend iNaturalist, which I use for identifying everything else. www.inaturalist.org
Sometimes when we facilitate a meeting, it's impossible to get anyone to talk, and this makes the meeting a complete waste. I was asked again this week how to deal with this situation.
unconsciousagile.com/2024/03/11/p...
unconsciousagile.com/2024/03/11/p...
My people aren’t participating
I frequently hear “my people won’t speak up during standup” or “they aren’t participating in retro” or other activities. Unfortunately, there are many different reasons why this might be so it’s not a...
unconsciousagile.com
July 5, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Sometimes when we facilitate a meeting, it's impossible to get anyone to talk, and this makes the meeting a complete waste. I was asked again this week how to deal with this situation.
unconsciousagile.com/2024/03/11/p...
unconsciousagile.com/2024/03/11/p...
It was apparently four years ago today that I took this baby picture in the forest. #GreatHornedOwl #Kelowna
June 28, 2025 at 4:18 PM
It was apparently four years ago today that I took this baby picture in the forest. #GreatHornedOwl #Kelowna