Many years ago I worked with a team that seemed to be delivering software only very slowly. There were multiple causes, as is usual in these situations, and part of … Continue reading Simplifying estimation
Category: Agile
You don’t need just one green light for a project
Every so often someone asks me, “So, have we got the green light for Project Blah?” There is always some project that’s particularly exciting, and anticipated by team members, and … Continue reading You don’t need just one green light for a project
What makes a good value statement?
I often talk to people about their “value statement”—a statement of the value of their programme or project. But how do we make our value statement most effective? From my … Continue reading What makes a good value statement?
Stakeholder commitments on a sliding scale
One of the challenges with speaking to senior stakeholders—and really I mean the stakeholders who sign the cheque that pays for our work—is being able to promise them something that … Continue reading Stakeholder commitments on a sliding scale
The development/ architecture feedback loop
I was asked recently about the ideal relationship between the architecture and development functions within an organisation. In some sense the ideal relationship can take many forms, because the shape … Continue reading The development/ architecture feedback loop
Running like clockwork allows improvement
Last week I was speaking to someone who asked what I considered the most important aspects of agile that I would seek in a team. One of the items on … Continue reading Running like clockwork allows improvement
Putting things on walls aids collaboration
I once worked on a project where the key sponsor was particularly keen to get our work in progress up on the office walls. He had more significant wishes, too … Continue reading Putting things on walls aids collaboration
The emotional cost of having options
There’s a principle in modern project management called “the last responsible moment”. Or, more precisely, delaying a decision until the last responsible moment. There’s sometimes some semi-mathematical talk around this … Continue reading The emotional cost of having options
Learning to work with user stories
A short time ago I was talking to friends about teams who struggled to create “good” user stories. One friend talked about an organisation where most teams understood what a … Continue reading Learning to work with user stories
Shorter show and tells are better
The other week I was at a show and tell with—thankfully—not the usual suspects. The team and key stakeholders were present, but also some other curious people from around the … Continue reading Shorter show and tells are better
