Cesario Ramos
Bio
To be clear, Cesario Ramos, is not an official supporter of Evolved; no support should be assumed. At the same time, we think curious people should be aware of their work.
Personal or Business or Community websites:
More Publications
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Here are references and descriptions for books and important articles authored or co-authored by **Cesario Ramos** (creator of Creating Agile Organizations):
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## Books
### 1. **Creating Agile Organizations: A Systemic Approach**
**Authors:** Cesario Ramos, Ilia Pavlichenko
**Description:**
This comprehensive guide presents a systemic approach to designing organizations for strategic agility and successful large-scale agile transformation. Drawing on years of experience scaling Scrum and organizational change, Ramos and Pavlichenko offer proven techniques for leaders, Scrum Masters, and trainers to align organizational design with strategy, optimize adaptability, and foster high-performing teams and groups.
The book covers systems thinking, organization design principles, team and group design, product definition, agile processes, and rewards alignment. It includes practical tools such as Product Definition Guides and Feature Heat Maps, as well as step-by-step guidance for launching and coaching product groups, facilitating large-scale Scrum meetings, and measuring capability development, not just outcomes.
The book is praised for its actionable frameworks, real-world case studies, and focus on continuous improvement and strategic alignment, making it a valuable resource for anyone leading agile transformation at scale.
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### 2. **A Scrum Book: The Spirit of the Game**
**Authors:** Jeff Sutherland, James O. Coplien, Cesario Ramos, et al.
**Description:**
This definitive guide to Scrum compiles foundational patterns and best practices from leading Scrum experts worldwide. Co-authored by Cesario Ramos, the book distills the essence of Scrum into practical patterns, enabling teams and organizations to deepen their understanding and mastery of Scrum principles. It serves as both a reference and a source of inspiration for Scrum practitioners, coaches, and leaders seeking to foster high-performing, resilient teams.
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### 3. **Emergent: Lean Agile Adoption for an Innovative Workplace**
**Author:** Cesario Ramos
**Publication Date:** 2014
**Description:**
In this book, Ramos explores lean and agile adoption strategies to foster innovation in the workplace. It provides practical advice, frameworks, and real-world examples for organizations embarking on their agile journey, with a focus on creating an environment that supports continuous learning and improvement.
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### 4. ** Creating Agile Organizations. “The CAO Guide.” CreatingAgileOrganizations.com. Accessed April 19, 2025. https://creatingagileorganizations.com
Description:
The CAO Guide is a free, practical resource for leaders and practitioners seeking to design organizations for strategic agility using the Creating Agile Organizations (CAO) approach. The guide provides a systemic, context-driven path to align organizational design with strategic goals, emphasizing capability-driven design, value-focused product groups, and adaptability. It outlines key principles—including loosely coupled product groups, system-wide performance optimization, and emergent coordination—and offers actionable steps for identifying capability gaps, structuring teams, and evolving operating models. The CAO Guide is grounded in real-world experience and supports organizations in building resilience, enhancing responsiveness, and achieving better strategic execution.
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Here are references and descriptions for books and important articles authored or co-authored by **Cesario Ramos** (creator of Creating Agile Organizations):
---
## Books
### 1. **Creating Agile Organizations: A Systemic Approach**
**Authors:** Cesario Ramos, Ilia Pavlichenko
**Publisher:** Pearson Education (US)
**Publication Date:** October 2022
**ISBN:** 9780135853191
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### 2. **A Scrum Book: The Spirit of the Game**
**Authors:** Jeff Sutherland, James O. Coplien, Cesario Ramos, et al.
**Publisher:** Addison-Wesley Professional
**Publication Date:** 2019
**ISBN:** 9781680506716
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### 3. **Emergent: Lean Agile Adoption for an Innovative Workplace**
**Author:** Cesario Ramos
**Publication Date:** 2014
### 4. ** Creating Agile Organizations. “The CAO Guide.” CreatingAgileOrganizations.com. Accessed April 19, 2025. https://creatingagileorganizations.com
Description:
The CAO Guide is a free, practical resource for leaders and practitioners seeking to design organizations for strategic agility using the Creating Agile Organizations (CAO) approach. The guide provides a systemic, context-driven path to align organizational design with strategic goals, emphasizing capability-driven design, value-focused product groups, and adaptability. It outlines key principles—including loosely coupled product groups, system-wide performance optimization, and emergent coordination—and offers actionable steps for identifying capability gaps, structuring teams, and evolving operating models. The CAO Guide is grounded in real-world experience and supports organizations in building resilience, enhancing responsiveness, and achieving better strategic execution.
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Selected Articles
### 1. **Agile™: Now Available in 17 New Colours**
**Reference:**
Ramos, Cesario. "Agile™: Now Available in 17 New Colours." Creating Agile Organizations, 2024.
**Description:**
Ramos critiques the proliferation and superficial rebranding of agile frameworks. He argues that genuine agility requires context-driven adaptation rather than simply adopting the latest “flavor” of agile, urging organizations to focus on principles and outcomes over labels.
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### 2. **From Value Dimensions to Organizational Design**
**Reference:**
Ramos, Cesario. "From Value Dimensions to Organizational Design." Creating Agile Organizations, 2024.
**Description:**
This article explores how organizations can use value dimensions as a foundation for effective organizational design. Ramos introduces new tools and frameworks to help leaders align structure and strategy for better value delivery.
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### 3. **Evolving Agile Frameworks**
**Reference:**
Ramos, Cesario. "Evolving Agile Frameworks." Creating Agile Organizations, 2024.
**Description:**
Ramos discusses the necessity of evolving agile frameworks to fit the unique context of each organization. He emphasizes that change is natural and that frameworks should be adapted—not rigidly adopted—to support continuous improvement.
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### 4. **Stop Fixing Symptoms – Fix Your Organizational Design Instead**
**Reference:**
Ramos, Cesario. "Stop Fixing Symptoms – Fix Your Organizational Design Instead." Creating Agile Organizations, 2024.
**Description:**
Ramos argues that many organizational challenges are symptoms of deeper design issues. He advocates for addressing root causes through systemic organizational redesign rather than applying superficial fixes.
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### 5. **8 Principles to Creating Agile Organizations**
**Reference:**
Ramos, Cesario. "8 Principles to Creating Agile Organizations." Creating Agile Organizations, 2024.
**Description:**
Ramos outlines eight foundational principles for building truly agile organizations, grounded in systems thinking and practical experience. These principles serve as a guide for leaders seeking sustainable agility.
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### 6. **HR’s Role in Agile Success**
**Reference:**
Ramos, Cesario. "HR’s Role in Agile Success." Creating Agile Organizations, 2024.
**Description:**
This article highlights the critical role of HR in enabling and sustaining agile transformation. Ramos discusses how HR practices must evolve to support self-managing teams and continuous learning.
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### 7. **Requirement Areas vs. Value Areas: Different Perspectives, Both Essential**
**Reference:**
Ramos, Cesario. "Requirement Areas vs. Value Areas: Different Perspectives, Both Essential." Creating Agile Organizations, 2024.
**Description:**
Ramos clarifies the distinction between requirement areas and value areas in organizational design, explaining why both perspectives are vital for effective product development and delivery.
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### 8. **5 Easy Steps to Creating Agile Organizations**
**Reference:**
Ramos, Cesario. "5 Easy Steps to Creating Agile Organizations." Creating Agile Organizations, 2024.
**Description:**
Ramos presents a concise, actionable roadmap for leaders embarking on agile organizational transformation, focusing on practical steps for lasting change.
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### 9. **Outcomes Are Overrated: Build Capabilities That Deliver Every Time**
**Reference:**
Ramos, Cesario. "Outcomes Are Overrated: Build Capabilities That Deliver Every Time." Creating Agile Organizations, 2024.
**Description:**
Ramos argues that while outcomes are important, building the right organizational capabilities is the key to delivering consistent value and achieving strategic goals.
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### 10. **Agile Promises Improvements, But Why Do We Keep Adding People?**
**Reference:**
Ramos, Cesario. "Agile Promises Improvements, But Why Do We Keep Adding People?" Creating Agile Organizations, 2024.
**Description:**
Ramos examines why organizations often respond to challenges by increasing headcount rather than addressing systemic issues, and offers advice for achieving real agility without unnecessary growth.
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### 11. **Capability-Driven Transformation: The Key to Sustainable Agility**
**Reference:**
Ramos, Cesario. "Capability-Driven Transformation: The Key to Sustainable Agility." Creating Agile Organizations, 2024.
**Description:**
This article explores how focusing on capability development, rather than just outcomes, enables organizations to sustain agility and adapt to change.
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### 12. **How Frequency and Type of Dependencies Shape Your Team Structure**
**Reference:**
Ramos, Cesario. "How Frequency and Type of Dependencies Shape Your Team Structure." Creating Agile Organizations, 2024.
**Description:**
Ramos explains how understanding the frequency and nature of dependencies can inform more effective team design, reducing bottlenecks and improving flow.
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### 13. **Agile Organization Design: Moving Beyond Size Logic**
**Reference:**
Ramos, Cesario. "Agile Organization Design: Moving Beyond Size Logic." Creating Agile Organizations, 2024.
**Description:**
Ramos challenges the traditional focus on team size in agile design, advocating instead for structures based on value delivery and adaptability.
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### 14. **Redefining Agility: Evolving Our Operating Model as a Scrum Master**
**Reference:**
Ramos, Cesario. "Redefining Agility: Evolving Our Operating Model as a Scrum Master." Creating Agile Organizations, 2024.
**Description:**
This article explores the evolving role of Scrum Masters in shaping and adapting the agile operating model to support organizational goals more effectively.
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### 15. **Don’t Confuse Product-Level and Organizational Adaptability in Agile Organizations**
**Reference:**
Ramos, Cesario. "Don’t Confuse Product-Level and Organizational Adaptability in Agile Organizations." Creating Agile Organizations, 2024.
**Description:**
Ramos differentiates between adaptability at the product and organizational levels, explaining why both are necessary for true business agility.
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### 16. **Product Definition Explained in 10 min**
**Reference:**
Ramos, Cesario. "Product Definition Explained in 10 min." Creating Agile Organizations, 2024.
**Description:**
Ramos provides a concise, practical guide to defining products in agile organizations, emphasizing clarity and alignment with strategic objectives.
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### 17. **Measure Transformation, Not Conformation**
**Reference:**
Ramos, Cesario. "Measure Transformation, Not Conformation." Creating Agile Organizations, 2024.
**Description:**
Ramos advocates for measuring the real impact of agile transformation—encompassing capability development and adaptability—rather than merely complying with frameworks.
