Remember the last time you joined a new team or organization. What was it like? Was it awkward? Did you make decisions easily? Were expectations clear? Did the team gel immediately? You probably answered “No” to these questions. High-performing teams do not form quickly or […]
Well facilitated brainstorming sessions are amazing. A creative, sharing atmosphere is built. Numerous ideas are generated. Participants feel productive, valued, and are enthusiastic. By contrast, poorly run meetings are horrible. Little is accomplished. People feel frustrated and that they wasted their time. Brainstorming is a […]
Many organizations struggle with project portfolio management (PPM). On the face of it, portfolio management should be easy. We want to align our fi\unding decisions to the organization’s strategic objectives. Since budgets are limited, this becomes a constrained optimization problem, which most easily performed in […]
Go to Boston. In the Beacon Hill neighborhood, you will find the Paramount Restaurant. The Paramount is both a great eating experience and a fine example of Lean production. The restaurant was opened in 1937. Its unusual service policy that is prominently posted on the […]
Organizations starting their Agile journey are confronted with an array of choices. One early decision is, what methodology and process to follow? The authors of the Agile Manifesto represented many approaches, methodologies, and frameworks. The common theme was that they had uncovered better ways of […]
Many of us are “knowledge workers.” We do not physically create a product. We work in areas that are important to our enterprise, but do not directly serve customers. We work in finance, marketing, technology, or similar functions. As knowledge workers it is hard to […]
Agile is an effective software development framework. Teams using Agile deliver value in short, iterative, increments. The starting point of the delivery cycle is the Product Backlog. The Backlog is the single, prioritized list of everything wanted for the product, including: New business or user […]
Effective communications are the cornerstone to successful projects and productive teams. The Agile Manifesto extolls the virtues of collaboration, individual interactions, and face-to-face communications. Projects represent our ability to coordinate the work of many people to accomplish a goal. It is no surprise that project […]
Adopting a product mindset is critical when transforming to an Agile development methodology, like Scrum. Shifting our thinking from project to product expands our view beyond the confines of the triple constraint—scope, cost, and time. The product mindset forces us to consider the larger, strategic […]
When teaching classes on Agile and DevOps, I am always presented with the comment, “We’ve been Agile for years, but…” The student then continues to describe an organization rife with Agile ant-patterns. Agile and DevOps are primarily cultural transformations. To “be Agile,” we need to […]