TL; DR: Decision Making, Technical Debt Explained — Food for Agile Thought #268
Welcome to the 268th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 28,041 peers. This week, we delve into the dirty secrets of decision making; we refresh our memory regarding eight agile estimation practices, and we take appreciation beyond the usual Kudo cards.
We then welcome eleven lessons on how to escape the build trap; we come back Lean’s four phases of a product’s lifecycle, and we learn more about the results of evaluating an app in a real-life context.
Lastly, we embrace another approach to understanding technical debt.
TL; DR: Psychopaths and Narcissists, Get Your Brain Back — Food for Agile Thought #267
Welcome to the 267th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 27,937 peers. This week, we learn how to deal with psychopaths and narcissists as a change agent; we move away from command & control to bring back creativity, and we figure out how agile contracting with customers works at an agency.
We then address eighteen product management paradoxes; we learn about eight avoidable mistakes when running experiments, and we get an overview of the results of a recent survey on OKRs and how organizations apply them in practice.
Lastly, we enjoy listening to Mary and Tom Poppendieck, sharing their thoughts on Lean as “a way of thinking that values people.”
TL; DR: Popular Component Teams, Team Morale in WFH Times — Food for Agile Thought #266
Welcome to the 266th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 27,841 peers. This week, we attempt to understand the why and how of popular component teams; we choose new practices to build team morale remotely, and we confront our anxiety of having to deal with emotional reactions at work.
We then mourn the passing of product roadmaps (just kidding, they’re alive and well); we have a look at Spotify’s new platform supporting product discovery, and we gain a better understanding of how to determine the pricing of a SaaS product.
Lastly, we enjoy reading another free chapter of “The Art of Agile Development, Second Edition.”
TL; DR: Predictability, Team Alignment — Food for Agile Thought #265
Welcome to the 265th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 27,728 peers. This week, we delve into why large organizations undertake agile transitions; it’s predictability, stupid! We also embrace the importance of team alignment, and we apply the concept of critical core components to self-organization.
We then come back to (strategic) planning with two helpful tools: the Futures Wheel and the ‘alternative futures analysis.’ Also, we support the idea that our main objective should be solving problems instead of focusing on adhering to previously defined processes if those distract from the solutions.
Lastly, we applaud Dolly Chugh for pointing at 15 ways to make our virtual meetings better and more inclusive.
TL; DR: PM-PO Delta, Lead-Squad Protocol — Food for Agile Thought #264
Welcome to the 264th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 27,603 peers. This week, we delve into the PM-PO delta, the difference between product managers and Product Owners. We also revisit the Agile Manifesto’s notion that working software is the primary measure of progress, and we learn how to avoid becoming a lonesome servant leader.
We then come back to critical issues of the practical use of user stories; we create an evidence-based Product Backlog, and we consider quitting saying ’no‘ but asking a question instead when it comes to prioritizing the Product Backlog.
Lastly, we applaud Crisp for sharing the Lead-Squad Protocol, a lightweight attempt to align several teams collaborating on joint projects, products, or initiatives.
TL; DR: Engineering Sanity, Skill Mapping — Food for Agile Thought #263
Welcome to the 263rd edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 27,516 peers. This week, we delve into how UX can support engineering sanity; we study a recent survey among CIOs on technical debt, and we learn about options of remote engineers if they want to be noticed.
We then enjoy an audio guide to product discovery; we take it beyond the usual ‘output vs. outcome’ discussion, and we learn how to ask better questions when we need to decide what to measure on our quest to create value for customers.
Lastly, we are grateful for a downloadable template that supports skill mapping to identify educational needs.
