I’m a big fan of having goals that are measurable. That’s usually in what I call a value statement, and it doesn’t just have to be done with numbers, either, … Continue reading There’s value in a measure without measuring

I’m a big fan of having goals that are measurable. That’s usually in what I call a value statement, and it doesn’t just have to be done with numbers, either, … Continue reading There’s value in a measure without measuring
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
It’s a constant bugbear of software teams that deadlines are often just wishes. “You need to deliver it by this date” can be largely the same as a manager donning … Continue reading Seemingly impossible goals can change reality
I was speaking to friend the other day who had worked on a procurement project for a piece of machinery for his organisation. His role was to lead the requirements … Continue reading Minimising “must have”s
I often work with product teams who have conversations—sometimes very difficult ones with stakeholders—that are full of unstated assumptions, subjectivity, and a lot of unsubstantiated “I think…” comments. For a … Continue reading Moving from subjective to objective discussions
I’ve worked with a few organisations that wanted to create a framework for reporting on and governing projects or programmes. The intention is generally good: we have lots of projects … Continue reading Granularity of project governance frameworks
Sometimes a development team has to make a technical decision. Actually, a development team has to make techical decisions all the time, and 99% of the time those decisions are … Continue reading Product owners and technical decisions
I’ve been having fun this week watching some conference talks about my current favourite language, Elm, at Elm Europe 2017. And I enjoyed seeing an important idea discussed—important not just … Continue reading Always build for real people’s real problems
I’d love to say all the projects I’ve ever worked on have run perfectly smoothly, but that would be a lie. There are plenty of times I’ve been involved with … Continue reading Lightening the delivery balloon
Earlier this year I was involved in a talk led by Gayatri Kamath in which she discussed a serious incident at the Apollo Theatre in London in 2013. A large … Continue reading Avoiding the unexpected