Episodes

Dec. 2, 2024

Are Scrum Masters Overrated?

#157. Rethink the role of the scrum master. Two recent events—a thought-provoking article by agile coach Maarten Dalmijn and a leave of absence by Matthew, a beloved scrum master in my team—prompted me to question if scrum m…
Aug. 4, 2024

Improving Your Scrum Practice - Mastering Professional Scrum - chapter 1

#156. Neil Benson dives into the essentials of continuously improving Scrum practices in this episode of the Amazing Apps podcast. Drawing on the book "Mastering Professional Scrum" by Stephanie Ockerman and Simon Reindl, Ne…
April 14, 2024

Do We Need to Rethink How We Build Power Platform and Dynamics 365 Apps?

In this episode of Amazing Apps, host Neil Benson explores the importance of rethinking our approach to building business applications. Join us as we delve into the benefits of questioning our assumptions and adapting to new…
Feb. 26, 2024

The Power of Learning Through Experiments in Power Apps Development

#154. Neil Benson takes us on a journey of learning through experimentation. Starting with the historical origins of smallpox inoculation, Neil discusses the importance of conducting experiments to drive innovation and probl…
Jan. 8, 2024

Should .NET Developers Stick or Switch to Power Platform?

#153. Neil Benson is joined by Keith Atherton, a proper pro developer. Keith shares his journey from developing custom apps using .NET, C# and SQL Server to embracing and mastering the development of enterprise business app…
Nov. 6, 2023

Unpacking User Stories and Backlog Refinement with Dani Kahil

#152. Host Neil Benson is joined by the talented Dani Kahil for an insightful discussion on managing backlogs and enhancing user stories in Azure DevOps and Jira. Neil shares his experiences with Jira, highlighting some con…
Oct. 2, 2023

Super CRM: a case study

#151. Amazing Apps host, Neil Benson, dives into a case study from one of his team's own projects: "Member Super", a financial services organisation in Australia. With over a million members, they needed a CRM application th…
Sept. 19, 2023

A Big Bang? Going Live with Dynamics 365 or Power Platform with Andrew Bibby

#150. What does it take to have a successful go live event for your Dynamics 365 or Power Platform application. Neil Benson sat down with Andrew Bibby, a seasoned expert in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform business …
Sept. 6, 2023

Breaking Free from the Tyranny of the Deliverable with Andrew Welch

#149. Andrew Welch is the Chief Technology Officer at HSO. Andrew is an expert in IT strategy and has a wealth of experience advising customers on their big strategic technology decisions. He is also an author, Microsoft MVP…
Aug. 21, 2023

Amazing CRM & ERP Apps in Manufacturing with Shawn Tabor

#148. Get ready for another captivating episode of Amazing Apps! In this episode, Neil Benson engages Shawn Tabor, Director of Consulting Services at Hitachi Solutions, in an insightful conversation about the dynamic realm o…
Aug. 21, 2023

Power Platform pipelines or Azure DevOps pipelines for ALM? with Benedikt Bergmann

147. When should you use Power Platform pipelines and when should you use Azure DevOps pipelines to deploy your Power Platform or Dynamics 365 applications? That's the question that Benedikt Bergmann answers in this episode …
Aug. 1, 2023

Can you really gain competitive advantage with Dynamics 365? with Martin Hinshelwood

146. In this episode, we're thrilled to have Martin Hinshelwood from naked Agility join host, Neil Benson. Martin shares his perspectives on improving the success of agile engagements through the role of a consulting product…
July 20, 2023

Chris Huntingford Doesn't Believe in Citizen Developers

145. We're back with another incredible episode of Amazing Apps, and this time we have an amazing guest on board. Neil Benson is joined by the Low Code Lead & Platform Evangelist at ANS Group, Chris Huntingford. Chris spills…
July 5, 2023

Joining an existing team as a new scrum master with Matthew Venamore

#144. Neil Benson is joined by Matthew Venamore, a scrum master with extensive experience coaching Dynamics 365 teams. Matthew shares valuable insights into the challenges faced by new scrum masters when joining existing te…
June 23, 2023

Who do we need in our Business Apps team?

143. On this episode of Amazing Apps, we discuss resourcing agile teams using the Scrum framework. Neil Benson talks about who we should have on our teams as product owner, developers and scrum master. Should Microsoft partn…
June 2, 2023

Smaller Teams, Bigger Wins: how to split your enterprise apps teams

141. Neil Benson discusses the challenges of organizing a large Scrum team to maximize efficiency. He suggests rotating developers between teams and organizing teams around specific components or external systems they need t…
May 19, 2023

Navigating the role of an architect in a Dynamics 365 Scrum team with Allan de Castro

#141. On this episode of Amazing Apps, podcast host Neil Benson is joined by Allan de Castro, a senior technical consultant for the Power Platform at Avanade France. They discuss their experience applying Scrum to recent pro…
April 27, 2023

Running experiments to build Dynamics 365 and Power Platform apps

Today, it’s just me, and I’d like to discuss what EMPIRICISM means to teams building complex, enterprise Dynamics 365 and Power Platform applications. In this episode, I’ll break down what empiricism is and its importance in…
March 29, 2023

Agile Testing for Dynamics 365 with Emma Beckett

#139. Today’s guest is Emma Beckett, an experienced test professional who runs her own company, Fortitude 17, in London, UK. A professional footballer, Emma pursued a career in software testing, even though her first role in…
March 21, 2023

Deep dive into Dynamics 365 Marketing with Malin Martnes

#138. My guest today is Malin Martnes, a Microsoft MVP and MCT who runs her own company MaCoTra AS in Oslo, Norway. As you’ll hear, Malin doesn’t have any technical background on Dynamics 365 and Power Platform but she focus…
Feb. 22, 2023

What's Next for Customery Academy?

137. Customery Academy is my online business through which I coach and train Microsoft customers and partners to build amazing, agile business applications. In this episode, I share a short history of Customery Academy, wher…
Feb. 15, 2023

Professional Scrum and DevOps with Richard Hundhausen

136. My guest is Richard Hundhausen, a former Microsoft MVP and Regional Director, Scrum.org Professional Scrum Trainer, and co-creator of the Nexus Scaled Professional Scrum Framework. As you’ll hear, Richard doesn’t have a…
Feb. 8, 2023

I'm Beginning to Hate Scrum

Remy is starting to hate Scrum. He thinks we should use Kanban. And get rid of Product Owners. It's a shame, then, that Remy doesn't understand Scrum. And doesn't want to understand Scrum. Don't be like Remy. Resources Kanba…
Jan. 31, 2023

Is Power Fx really low code? with Rishona Elijah

#134. Today’s guest is Rishona Elijah, a Microsoft MVP (Business Applications) and Microsoft Certified Trainer who works as a Power Platform Trainer and Evangelist at Barhead Solutions in Sydney, Australia. She spends most o…