The High Stakes of Internal Products
Internal products often begin with a PO hearing, “here are the requirements,” and end with a user hearing, “you’re required to use this.” Of course,… Read More
Key Ideas of the Week
What do we mean when we say work is complex?
Ever had the experience of making what seems like a solid plan, getting into the work, and then quickly finding out reality doesn’t fit the… Read More
PI Planning Problems
PI Planning promised to solve the old tension between agile adaptability and business predictability. Neither too little planning like sprint-by-sprint work, nor too much like… Read More
CAPED for Better Agile
If you’re way into Agile Software Development (as we have been for the past 20+ years), CAPED (Complexity-Aware Planning, Estimation, & Delivery) may look distastefully… Read More
“Agile doesn’t work for…”
You’ve heard it. Maybe you’ve said it. “Agile doesn’t work for…” Big initiatives Regulated products Hardware Fixed-price contracts Safety-critical systems The problem isn’t that the… Read More
Stakeholder Management Doesn’t Have to Be So Painful
Most product owners and product managers find themselves constantly reacting to their stakeholders. Answer questions. Respond to emails. Prep for a meeting somebody put on… Read More
3 Ways to Reset a Stuck Team
Teams sometimes lose momentum. Collaboration gets harder. Work gets scattered across competing priorities. Interruptions keep things from getting done. Meetings start to feel like going… Read More
Give Instructions Your Meeting Participants Can Actually Follow
It's a classic facilitation blunder: You start giving instructions for an activity, and as you're talking, people begin the activity. You try to reel in those eager participants so you can get the rest of your instructions out. Then, as everyone starts, you realize you forgot something important and need to get the group back together for more instructions. The best facilitators are extremely deliberate about how they give instructions. Read More
2 Ways We Support Internal Coaches (And Why Everyone Benefits)
Internal coaches are spread way too thin. Teams need more help than coaches can give. And coaches often get stuck going through the basics again… Read More
Agile, Documentation, and the Emerging Role of AI
It’s one of the four values in the Manifesto for Agile Software Development: “[We value] working software over comprehensive documentation.” So, can Agile teams skip… Read More