Mike Bowler
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mikebowler.ca
Mike Bowler
@mikebowler.ca
66 followers 43 following 130 posts
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.
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mikebowler.ca
The Self-Determination Theory (SDT) motivation model identifies six different stages of motivation ranging from Amotivation (not motivated at all) all the way through to Intrinsic (the work is enjoyable for it's own sake).
November 18, 2025 at 6:49 PM
mikebowler.ca
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...
Small clusters of LEGO representing different ideas, all linked by different kinds of physical connectors.
November 12, 2025 at 4:43 PM
mikebowler.ca
More waterfalls, today in Naramata, BC, Canada
A single waterfall that splits into multiple smaller falls as it comes down the hill.
August 17, 2025 at 4:48 AM
mikebowler.ca
Helmcken Falls in #WellsGrayProvincialPark. One of the tallest in Canada, with a drop of 140m
August 3, 2025 at 4:38 PM
mikebowler.ca
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/
Warning sign with a picture of a Grizzly Bear and the text: “Group access. By law, you must hike in a group of four or more beyond this point”
July 27, 2025 at 1:46 PM
mikebowler.ca
So many butterflies in Black Mountain today. #kelowna #canada
July 13, 2025 at 3:09 AM
mikebowler.ca
It was apparently four years ago today that I took this baby picture in the forest. #GreatHornedOwl #Kelowna
Juvenile great horned own sitting on a branch. The white baby feathers are still visible, making it look soft around the edges. It's looking straight at the camera.
June 28, 2025 at 4:18 PM
mikebowler.ca
This week I was at Agile Open Canada in Banff, for another spectacular open space event.

This picture was from dinner one evening, looking down at the town of Banff, where the event had been held.
The town of Banff, Canada, surrounded by rugged, snow capped mountains. The photo is taken from the top of one of the mountains looking down towards the town.
May 30, 2025 at 3:27 PM
mikebowler.ca
I see black bears maybe three or four times a year and this may be the largest one I’ve ever seen.
Brown coloured black-bear looking at the camera.
May 27, 2025 at 3:42 AM
mikebowler.ca
The photo below is one of my favourite sunset shots. It’s 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.

Full story at unconsciousagile.com/2025/05/20/k...
Colorful sunset over a snowy scene. Burned trees still standing from a forest fire, 20 years earlier.
May 20, 2025 at 4:20 PM
mikebowler.ca
Ruddy duck in Carney Pond. Yes, that’s really the normal colour of its beak. #kelowna #wildlife
The ruddy duck has a brown body with a white and black head and the oddest blue beak.
April 23, 2025 at 2:53 AM
mikebowler.ca
One of my favorite lookouts, in Crawford Canyon. This canyon is the division between Myra-Bellevue Provincial Park (left) and the Gillard trail system (right). Although it's hard to tell from this shot, I'm on the Myra-Bellevue side and probably 200m above the river that goes through the canyon.
Looking down a canyon with a river at the bottom and multiple levels of rock walls coming up on each side.
April 19, 2025 at 4:29 PM
mikebowler.ca
Making new friends on Black Mountain
Brown squirrel posing on a bed of moss. His tail is up and curved like a question mark.
April 7, 2025 at 2:43 AM
mikebowler.ca
Black Billed Magpie. Carney Pond, Kelowna BC, Canada.
Black and white bird with blue tail feathers.
April 4, 2025 at 12:26 AM
mikebowler.ca
A surprising number of large feline prints in the snow today. Most likely a Canada Lynx, although we also have cougars and bobcats in the area. #SnowShoeing
Footprint in the snow with a label showing that the print is 10cm across.
March 30, 2025 at 12:48 AM
mikebowler.ca
We get hundreds at a time in Kelowna and they are certainly spectacular. Carney Pond is a good spot to find them.
A cluster of ten waxwings sitting together on the branches.
March 23, 2025 at 2:55 AM
mikebowler.ca
Last week I taught an in-person class for a client and got to pull out all the LEGO based exercises again. Why would I use LEGO to teach serious concepts around software development? To answer that, we need to look at some neuroscience and psychology. unconsciousagile.com/2024/06/03/l...
View of a round table with many LEGO builds on it. Most of the builds are of houses, although each is different. Loose bricks are scattered across the table and you can see the hands of the workshop participants at the edges.
March 5, 2025 at 3:25 PM
mikebowler.ca
Snowshoeing by moonlight. It was actually a lot darker than you would guess from these photos. #kelowna #KelownaNordic
Trail across a frozen pond in the foreground. The forest at the edge of the pond and the night sky filled with stars. Snow in the foreground with a forest behind. The night sky is filled with stars.
February 9, 2025 at 5:27 AM
mikebowler.ca
It's been a couple of years since I've seen any owls. This one used to be in my area fairly frequently.
Great Horned Owl sitting on a branch and looking down at me.
February 7, 2025 at 8:58 PM
mikebowler.ca
Always great to be the first person on the trails after a fresh snowfall. #snowshoeing #kelowna
Trees almost completely covered by snow Trail through the woods. The trees heavy with snow.
February 1, 2025 at 11:54 PM
mikebowler.ca
Here's a three-toed woodpecker for #WoodpeckerWednesday #Kelowna #birds #WildlifePhotography
Small black and white woodpecker on the side of a pine tree.
January 29, 2025 at 3:39 PM
mikebowler.ca
One of the charts built into JiraMetrics is WIP by Parent, which can give us an idea of how focused we are at completing units of actual value. Are we focused on getting larger pieces done or is our focus scattered all over the place?

More at improvingflow.com/2025/01/29/w...
Chart showing total work in progress up the Y axis and days along the X axis. The colour coding indicates that this team is jumping from one thing to another, without any real focus.
January 29, 2025 at 2:06 PM
mikebowler.ca
Not sure what animal made these. We have both Elk and Moose in the area but this doesn’t look like either. Each one is as big as my outstretched hand.
Footprints in the snow from a large hoofed animal. Footprints in the snow from a large hoofed animal.
January 27, 2025 at 10:55 PM
mikebowler.ca
Snowshoeing up Thunder Mountain. #KelownaNordic
January 16, 2025 at 1:05 AM
mikebowler.ca
The Nordic Mountain Lookout has warnings about how hard it is and how it should only be attempted by “advanced snowshoers” so I figured I should take others with me when I attempted it. Today, a dozen of us climbed up to the top and it was a good decision to not do this solo. Great hike!
January 13, 2025 at 12:13 AM