
AI Alignment Is the Agile Coach's Next Frontier — Using Throughput Accounting and Pull-Based Transformation to Prove Value | Peter Merel
From Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches by Vasco Duarte, Agile Coach, Certified Scrum Master, Certified Product Owner
May 6, 2026 · 19 min
About this episode
Peter Merel discusses the challenges of AI alignment in Agile coaching and introduces concepts like throughput accounting and pull-based transformation.
Peter Merel: AI Alignment Is the Agile Coach's Next Frontier — Using Throughput Accounting and Pull-Based Transformation to Prove Value Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes . "Our jobs ARE about alignment. Alignment is how do we get all of the people and all of the tools to work together for mutual benefit." - Peter Merel Peter Merel brings a provocative perspective on the biggest challenge facing agile professionals today: AI and agile alignment. With AI rapidly advancing, Peter observes that everyone in the agile community is afraid for their jobs — but argues this fear is misplaced. The real challenge isn't replacement; it's alignment. How do we get biological and electronic entities to work together for mutual benefit? Peter's answer begins with pull-based transformation — building a thin steel thread from business through to DevOps, proving it works with a small group, then growing it. He connects this to Goldratt's throughput accounting , arguing that throughput (operating expense plus net profit) is the only metric immune to…
People in this episode
Host: Vasco Duarte
Guest: Peter Merel
Topics covered
- AI alignment
- Agile coaching
- Throughput accounting
- Pull-based transformation
- Value metrics
Keywords
- AI alignment
- Agile coaching
- throughput accounting
- pull-based transformation
- value flow
- workflow
- learning flow
- pirate metrics
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast, DevOps, Goldratt
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