Agile Transition — learn from success, failure on Age-of-Product.com

The Inverted MoSCoW Framework: Stop Building What You Do Not Need

by Stefan Wolpers | 2024-11-25 Agile and ScrumAgile Transition

TL;DR: Inverted MoSCoW

The inverted MoSCoW framework reverses traditional prioritization, focusing on what a product team won’t build rather than what it will. Deliberately excluding features helps teams streamline development, avoid scope creep, and maximize focus on what truly matters.

While it aligns with Agile principles of simplicity and efficiency, it also requires careful implementation to avoid rigidity, misalignment, or stifling innovation. Used thoughtfully, it’s a powerful tool for managing product scope and driving strategic clarity.

Read on and learn how to make the inverted MoSCoW framework work for your team.

The Inverted MoSCoW Framework: Stop Building What You Do Not Need and Focus on Creating Value — Age-of-Product.com

Why Leaders Believe the Product Operating Model Will Succeed Where Agile Initiatives Failed

by Stefan Wolpers | 2024-11-18 Featured Agile and ScrumAgile Transition

TL; DR: Why Leaders Support the Product Operating Model Despite Agile’s Failure

Why might leaders turn to the Product Operating Model (POM) after a previous Agile transformation, for example, based on SAFe, failed?

This article uncovers the psychological, organizational, and strategic reasons behind this seeming contradiction, exploring what motivates leaders to believe that a new approach will succeed where others have not.

Why Leaders Believe the Product Operating Model Will Succeed Where Agile Initiatives Failed — Age-of-Product.com

Product Washing: The Pitfalls of a Superficial Product Operating Model Transformation

by Stefan Wolpers | 2024-11-11 Agile and ScrumAgile Transition

TL; DR: Product Washing

By all means, the “Product Operating Model” (POM) has surged in popularity, especially among traditional organizations keen to prove their adaptability. (And, of course, among the McBostonians who, now that ”Agile” is dead, need a substitute to bill their junior consultants.) Which brings us to the problem of Product Washing.

On the surface, the product operating model promises a more customer-focused, outcome-driven approach. Empowered teams create value iteratively rather than following rigid, output-focused roadmaps. Best of all, they do so autonomously, well-aligned with the organization’s overall strategy and the possibly myriad other teams working on different initiatives. Think of SAFe done right.

Yet, for all its promise, the product operating model risks becoming another buzzword rather than an actual driver of transformation. Organizations that tout a “product-led” philosophy often do so without making the profound changes needed to live by it. This hollow adoption of product practices, or what we might call “Product Washing,” leaves companies stuck in the same old dynamics but with a new vocabulary: transformation by reprinting business cards. (Does this sound familiar?)

Product Washing: The Pitfalls of a Superficial Product Operating Model Transformation — Age-of-Product.com

Transformation to Agile Primitives: Rebuilding Agility from the Ground Up

by Stefan Wolpers | 2024-10-07 Agile and ScrumAgile Transition

TL;DR: A Guide to Escape Agile Framework Fatigue

Undergoing a transformation to Agile Primitives from a botched [insert your failed agile framework of choice here] isn’t about adopting another framework; it’s about returning to core principles that empower teams and deliver real value. (Please note: If you haven’t read the article on Agile Primitives, please do so now.)

This journey requires leaders to model desired behaviors, embrace vulnerability, and foster a culture where failure is a learning opportunity. Middle management should be engaged as enablers, not obstacles. It’s not a quick fix but a commitment to genuine agility through people-centric practices.

By focusing on the Agile Primitives, organizations can reignite the spirit of agility and achieve meaningful, lasting transformation. Start today with this comprehensive sketch of what you need to address in your organization to overcome dysfunction, create value, and become competitive and profitable again.

Transformation to Agile Primitives: Rebuilding Agility from the Ground Up — A Guide to Escape Agile Framework Fatigue. By Age-of-Product.com.

Agile Primitives — Beyond Frameworks

by Stefan Wolpers | 2024-09-30 Agile and ScrumAgile Transition

TL;DR: Agile Primitives

Are we losing sight of what truly matters in Agile? The future isn’t about rigidly adhering to or outright dismissing frameworks like Scrum or SAFe. Instead, it’s about returning to the fundamental principles — the Agile Primitives — that genuinely empower teams to adapt, innovate, and deliver real value. By refocusing on these core elements, organizations can move beyond mere methodological compliance and embrace authentic agility.

Dive in to explore how the Agile community is coming full circle, rediscovering the essence that made Agile transformative in the first place.

Agile Primitives: Come full circle beyond applying frameworks and rediscover the core principles of agility — Age-of-Product.com.

Founder Mode: The Dark Side of a Hyped Model

by Stefan Wolpers | 2024-09-16 Agile and ScrumAgile Transition

TL;DR: The Perils of Founder Mode

This article delves into the darker aspects of Founder Mode, popularized by Paul Graham and others. It offers a critical perspective for agile practitioners, product leaders, startup founders, and managers who embrace this paradigm and probably fall victim to survivorship bias; the Jobs and the Cheskys are the exception, not the rule.

The article explores how resulting tendencies, such as micromanagement, lack of strategic transparency, team devaluation, and reckless risk-taking, can undermine organizational health, stifle innovation, and conflict with agile principles. These can jeopardize long-term success while making work in organizations with a failed founder mode application miserable for everyone below the immediate leadership level and the founder himself.

Founder Mode: The Dark Side of a Hyped Leadership Model at Odds with First Principles of Agile Practices — Age-of-Product.com