TL; DR: The Micromanager, Jeff’s HiPPOism — Food for Agile Thought #312
Welcome to the 312th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 33,158 peers. This week, we deep dive into the main culprit of many failed agile transformations: The micromanager. We also learn about the most underappreciated Scrum event, and we remember the late Ralph Stacey.
We then talk HiPPOism, referring to the “Jeff-wants-it”-Fire Phone of Amazon; we look at two frameworks to improve product interaction and the overall user experience, and we address a tricky and risky topic: Transferring a legacy product onto a new tech stack.
Lastly, we ask: Can we use story points for cost calculation? Also, we note that research efforts need to be represented in Product Backlogs to encourage continuous learning.
Did you miss the previous Food for Agile Thought’s issue #311?
🗞 Shall I notify you about articles like this one? Awesome! You can sign up here for the ‘Food for Agile Thought’ newsletter and join 33,000-plus subscribers.
🎓 Join Stefan in one of his upcoming Professional Scrum training classes!
📈 Join the Anonymous Poll for the Upcoming Free Scrum Master Salary Report 2022.
🏆 The Tip of the Week
(via Get Lighthouse): Are You a Micromanager? Avoid these Signs and Learn How to Stop Micromanaging
Lighthouse presents a deep dive into the main culprit of many failed agile transformations.
➿ Agile & Scrum
(via IT Revolution Press): Applying an Agile Mindset to Organizational Agility
Jonathan Smart points at the risk of imposing a uniform approach across an organization. Instead, he suggests trying the VOICE framework when transitioning to business agility.
: Scrum by Example: How Sprint Planning Mistakes Can Derail a Team
Mark Levison delves into the most underappreciated Scrum event, which leads to a whole spectrum of issues in the process.
(via Cognitive Edge): Ralph Stacey 10/9/1942 – 4/9/2021
Dave Snowden remembers the late Ralph Stacey.
🎓 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Product Owner Training w/ PSPO Certificate — Online: October 26-29, 2021
Discover Scrum’s four success principles in this guaranteed official Scrum.org Professional Scrum Product Owner training class, leading to and including the industry-recognized PSPO I certification. The class will be offered in English.
Enjoy the benefits of an immersive class of four sessions with like-minded agile peers in the morning hours from 09:00 – 13:00 o’clock CEST.
Mehr erfahren: 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Product Owner Training w/ PSPO Certificate — Online: October 26-29, 2021.
Customer review: “Excellent class, revealing more hands-on practices and strategies to find solutions in the role of PSPO than I expected.” (Link.)
👉 From time to time, we can offer last-minute seats for training classes at cost to individuals who do not have access to a corporate training budget. If you like to be notified about these opportunities, please register here.
🎯 Product
: The Highest Paid Person's Opinion
Jeff Gothelf talks HiPPOism, referring to the “Jeff-wants-it”-Fire Phone of Amazon.
: 📺 Using Psychology to Supercharge your Product
In this video, Joe Leech looks at two frameworks to supercharge product interaction and the overall user experience.
: Replatforming the cash cow
Jock Busuttil addresses a tricky and risky topic: Transferring a legacy product onto a new tech stack.
📯 📖 Product Owner Interview Guide Update: PO Anti-Patterns
If you are looking to fill a position for a Product Owner in your organization, you may find the following 76 interview questions useful to identify the right candidate. They are derived from my fifteen years of practical experience with Scrum and XP, serving both as Product Owner and Scrum Master and interviewing dozens of Product Owner candidates on behalf of my clients.
This latest update to the interview guide addresses Product Owner anti-patterns from Product Backlog management and refinement to the Sprint Review.
So far, this Product Owner interview guide has been downloaded more than 9,000 times.
Join 9,000-plus peers and get your copy now: Product Owner Interview Guide: PO Anti-Patterns.
🛠 Tools & Measuring
: Figuring the Cost per Story Point: Helpful or Hairy?
Mike Cohn analyzes whether using story points may translate into a feasible cost calculation method.
(via Nielsen Norman Group): Accounting for User Research in Agile
Rachel Krause notes that research efforts need to be represented in Product Backlogs to encourage continuous learning.
📅 Scrum Training Classes, Workshops, and Events
See all upcoming classes here.
You can book your seat for the training directly by following the corresponding links to the ticket shop. If the procurement process of your organization requires a different purchasing process, please contact Berlin Product People GmbH directly.
📺 Join 3,000-plus Agile Peers on Youtube
Now available on the Age-of-Product Youtube channel:
- 🆕 Agile Camp Berlin 2021: Adapt How You Lead for Agile Success with Johanna Rothman.
- 🆕 Agile Camp Berlin 2021: Linking Strategy to Everyday Work with John Cutler.
- Agile Camp Berlin 2021: Sustainable Agility at the Enterprise Level with Jorgen Hesselberg.
- Agile Camp Berlin 2021: How to Win with Agile Resistant Teams – A Case Study with Scott Weiner.
- Agile Camp Berlin 2021: Increasing the Velocity of Value with Dave West.
- Agile Camp Berlin 2021: Evidence-based Interventions with Viktor Cessan.
- Agile Camp Berlin 2021: Real Cross-functional Teams for Creating real and better Products with Jutta Eckstein and Maryse Meinen.
✋ Do Not Miss Out and Learn more about the Micromanager — Join the 10,000-plus Strong ‘Hands-on Agile’ Slack Community
I invite you to join the “Hands-on Agile” Slack Community and enjoy the benefits of a fast-growing, vibrant community of agile practitioners from around the world.
If you like to join all you have to do now is provide your credentials via this Google form, and I will sign you up. By the way, it’s free.
🗞️ Last Week’s Food for Agile Thought Edition
Read more: Food for Agile Thought #311: No More Deadlines, Shipping the Org Chart, Goodbye Managers, OKRs Are Networks.
