One of my mantras to product owners is “value first, risk first”. But at first blush there’s a conflict here. “Value first, risk first” is intended to guide people on … Continue reading Squaring “value first” with “risk first”
Category: Risk and uncertainty
A public example of risk and the fear of failure
There was a fascinating piece in Monday’s Guardian that tells a good story about risk and the fear of failure. By way of introduction: The employment minister Esther McVey was … Continue reading A public example of risk and the fear of failure
Handling showstopper risks
I’ve come across a couple of approaches recently to handling “showstopper” risks—the kind of risks that come from entirely outside a project and can invalidate the entire effort. An example … Continue reading Handling showstopper risks
Carrying risk has value
One of the many excellent presentations at QCon London last week was from Tim Lister, co-author of Peopleware and much else, who talked about risk. We’re conditioned to think risk … Continue reading Carrying risk has value
What they say and what we hear about risk
When CEOs and other leaders — such as Cabinet Secretaries — say “we need to take more risks”, they don’t really mean it. Or at least, they don’t mean it … Continue reading What they say and what we hear about risk
