To Cohn’s point, outcomes are a trailing indicator, while outputs are a leading indicator. It would be foolish to only try to measure based on outcomes. We don’t need to pick “sides”.
Category Archives: Agile
Wardley Maps for product development
Wardley Mapping is most commonly associated with higher level business strategy. When I’ve talked to people familiar with Wardley Mapping, they’ve been quick to dismiss it as a tool for the C-level suite, not for mere mortals developing products. I disagree. The following will attempt to explain why I find Wardley Maps not only relevant …
Not about school
Consider this a parable of sorts for those building products. I’ll leave it up to the reader to determine its meaning. Carl is a senior in high school and has a D in Algebra II heading into the last semester. He wants to bring his grade up to a B so that he can qualify …
A remote retrospective
It’s been a while since I last facilitated an all remote retrospective. Below is an email I sent out to the team I’m currently working with to help us prepare for our first “retro” together. We’ve since held the retro and it went well overall, so I thought this prep and guidance might be useful …
Agile project management in 2017
The Agile Manifesto turns 16 this year. Scrum turns 22 years old. The grandfather of Agile and Scrum – Lean Manufacturing – has been around much longer, nearly 70 years with the advent of the Toyota Production System (TPS). Put in that perspective, Agile project management is not the new kid on the project management …
Everyone is doing Agile and Lean
Agile and Lean are old news. Everyone uses and abuses the lexicons. Have a short daily meeting? Call it a daily Scrum. Trying to deliver something in a relatively short period of time? Call it a Sprint or iteration. Have a board with post-it notes in swim lanes? Kanban at your service. Writing some tests? …
Bitter Scrum: A Task Board Gone Wrong
I remember reading Bruce Tate’s books on Java and EJB, which were all about anti-patterns, years ago and enjoying them. It was refreshing to read about how NOT to apply certain technologies. While there were plenty of books out there on how to do great things with Java and EJB (stop laughing), many of us …
Agile – Culture or Characteristic?
Jeff Patton says agile is a culture. Rob Lally says no it’s not, it’s a characteristic. Both make compelling arguments. Jeff points out that agile is ultimately a culture which promotes certain processes and practices, whereas Rob argues that agile isn’t a culture unto itself but a quality an organization can adopt and make part …
Review The Tests, Then The Code
Last week I was talking with one of the developers at work and he was telling me about improvements his team was making in regards to (informal/desk check) code reviews. I told him that was great and then followed that up with a recommendation on how to improve even more. Next time there is a …
The Customers Disappear Right Before Our Eyes
Tonight I was foolish enough to think my family and I could waltz into a restaurant on Valentine’s and get a table without much trouble. We were trying a restaurant we hadn’t been to before and I realized as soon as we pulled into the parking lot this probably wasn’t the best night to experiment. …
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