Creating a Sprint Goal Template

Every two weeks at the beginning of a new sprint, I collaborate with my development team to create the sprint goal. This goal is aligned to strategic priorities and briefly discusses the why and what we will be delivering in clear business terms over the next sprint. It also explains briefly how we will measure … Read more Creating a Sprint Goal Template

Free and Simple Agile Planning Poker Tool

I have used multiple agile planning poker tools with my product development teams. The one I continue to use most often is called Firepoker. Not only is this tool free but I find that it’s very user friendly and simple. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Do you have another … Read more Free and Simple Agile Planning Poker Tool

Improving User Story Conversations and Outcomes

During a retrospective, as a product development team working in a complex matrix organization, we discovered a number of problems including: Delayed work in a sprint due to dependencies that could have been discovered earlier Missing key documentation for downstream data reporting teams Missing the opportunity to use feature toggles Not clearly defining and/or capturing … Read more Improving User Story Conversations and Outcomes

A Declaration for Organizational Agility

Our world is constantly changing and businesses are struggling to adapt. This is a declaration for organizations to support long term prosperity through agility, the ability to move quickly and easily: Decentralized organizational structures over traditional structures Cross functional teams over functional silos Servant leadership over command and control management Product focus over project focus … Read more A Declaration for Organizational Agility

Determining Priority and Value with Business Stakeholders

As a Product person, have you ever had difficulty prioritizing work and deciding which items hold the highest value? Try having a session with your respective business stakeholders prior to starting development to prioritize work based on business value. This means having stakeholders from groups such as marketing, operations, sales, etc. assign a point estimate … Read more Determining Priority and Value with Business Stakeholders

Agile/Scrum?

I see a lot of postings by organizations stating they are Agile/Scrum. The words are almost used interchangeably in many industries. What do these words mean? When I think of the word Agile for an organization, in simplest terms, I think of being able to move quickly and learn quickly. In terms of software, how … Read more Agile/Scrum?