When planning a single user story in a software project it’s pretty common for someone to sit down and think about some details of how it should be done. There … Continue reading A handy by-product of estimation
Category: Agile
Is agile a methodology or a mindset?
I was asked this question recently, and after a little thought gave my answer as “both”. There are, of course, other views. To make a difference, or be in any … Continue reading Is agile a methodology or a mindset?
Interviewing users you know
Sometimes I find myself joining a team and introducing the idea of user research, a part of product discovery. I urge my teams to speak to users in carefully-planned interviews, … Continue reading Interviewing users you know
Earn more by delivering earlier
Recently I’ve been thinking about choices in planning—what options do we have around how to structure the delivery of a piece of work, and which should we choose? Often when … Continue reading Earn more by delivering earlier
Limiting WIP is supposed to be painful
When software teams start thinking about delivering faster one of the techniques they often try is limiting work in progress (WIP). The idea is that for each stage the work … Continue reading Limiting WIP is supposed to be painful
Stop starting and start finishing
Earlier this year someone used a lovely phrase in conversation which was new to me, even though I should have known it, and even though I am a long-time advocate … Continue reading Stop starting and start finishing
The show and tell hierarchy of needs
The sprint review, the sprint demo, the show and tell… that thing that happens at the end of each short iteration where we demonstrate our most recent work. Whatever we … Continue reading The show and tell hierarchy of needs
Small user stories: The gift that keeps on giving
I was speaking once to the CEO of a small company, saying how valuable I found it to have small user stories for teams to work through. Not only is … Continue reading Small user stories: The gift that keeps on giving
Uncertainty during transformation
I was speaking to friend recently, who had just taken on a new role leading a large-scale organisational transformation (only part of which involved IT change). Along the way, she … Continue reading Uncertainty during transformation
Self-organising teams need the skills and the context
I’ve often worked with teams that advocate “self-organisation”. If it can be done then it is wonderful thing—it brings together autonomy and motivation, and great results are very often achieved. … Continue reading Self-organising teams need the skills and the context
