Food for Agile Thought #211: Feature Factory Reloaded, Scrum’s Hamster Wheel, PM First Principles, Product Owners Required?

Food for Agile Thought’s issue #211—shared with 23,728 peers—celebrates John Cutler’s Feature Factory Reloaded; we bust the myth that not having a Sprint Goal would be okay, and we learn how to maximize collaboration time with distributes teams.

We also ask: Is it time to eliminate Scrum’s specialized role of the Product Owner? We then delve into how to gain a competitive edge, and we consider basing our product thinking on a set of fundamental propositions.

Lastly, we enjoy Shane Parrish’s excursion into the mental model behind root cause analysis.

Did you miss last week’s Food for Agile Thought’s issue #210?

Food for Agile Thought #211: Feature Factory Reloaded, Scrum’s Hamster Wheel, PM First Principles, Product Owners Required?

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Scrum Guide 2020 — Download the new edition of the Scrum Guide Reordered — Age-of-Product.com

🏆 The Essential Read: The Feature Factory Reloaded

John Cutler (via Amplitude): 12 Signs You’re Working in a Feature Factory—3 Years Later

John Cutler revisits his landmark article on anti-patterns of product discovery and development.

Agile & Scrum

Christiaan Verwijs (via The Liberators): Myth: Having A Sprint Goal Is Optional In Scrum

Christiaan Verwijs points at the importance of having a Sprint Goal every single Sprint to avoid running Zombie Scrum in the long run.

Shane Parrish (via Farnam Street): Proximate vs Root Causes: Why You Should Keep Digging to Find the Answer

Shane Parrish reflects on the mental model of proximate vs. root causes to improve your creative and innovative thinking.

Mark Kilby and Johanna Rothman (via AgileConnection): Creating Time for Collaboration with Distributed Teams and Agile Approaches

Johanna Rothman and Mark Kilby list ways how to visualize when your distributed team works, thus creating more collaboration time.

📅 Just 2 Seats Left: Professional Scrum Master Training PSM I — Berlin, October 8-9, 2019

Join your peers for this hands-on Scrum Master training, including up to two attempts at the Professional Scrum Master® I certification by Scrum.org. Learn everything about empiricism, self-organization & the ‘Definition of Done’ in two energizing days in Berlin, Oct 8-9, 2019.

📅 Professional Scrum Master Training PSM I — Berlin, October 8-9, 2019

Learn more: 📅 Professional Scrum Master Training PSM I — Berlin, October 8-9, 2019.

Product & Lean

Mike Cohn: Has the Scrum Product Owner Role Run Its Course?

Mike Cohn continues rocking the {Scrum) boat and asks: Should the PO indeed be a specialized role?

Melissa Perri and Marissa Fong (via Agile Alliance): 📺 Product Innovation

In this Agile 2019 talk, Melissa Perri and Marissa Fong delve into how to achieve a “competitive edge” when creating innovative products.

Jens-Fabian Goetzmann (via Medium): Product Management from First Principles

Jens-Fabian Goetzmann suggests basing your product thinking on a set of basic propositions.


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📅 Scrum Training & Event Schedule

You can secure your seat for Scrum training classes, workshops, and meetups directly by following the corresponding link in the table below:

Date Class and Language City Price
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 October 9, 2024 GUARANTEED: Hands-on Agile #65: The Lean Tech Manifesto with Fabrice Bernhard (English) Live Virtual Meetup FREE
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 October 15-16, 2024 GUARANTEED: Professional Scrum Master Advanced Training (PSM II; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇩🇪 November 6-7, 2024 GUARANTEED: Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 🇬🇧 November 18-19, 2024 Professional Scrum Master Advanced Training (PSM II; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 🇬🇧 November 21, 2024 Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills Class (PSFS; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €749 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 🇩🇪 December 4-5, 2024 Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM I; German; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,189 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 🇩🇪 December 10-11, 2024 Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 🇬🇧 December 18-19, 2024 Professional Scrum Master Advanced Training (PSM II; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
Professional Scrum Training by PST Stefan Wolpers, Berlin  Product People

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.


Scrum Guide Reordered Free Download Age-of-Product.com

📺 Join 1,675-plus Agile Peers on Youtube

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✋ Do Not Miss Out and Learn about the Feature Factory Reloaded: Join the 6,075-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.

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Scrum Master Interview Question: free download of the most popular ebook on Scrum Master job interviews — by Age-of-Product

🗞️ Last Week’s Food for Agile Thought Edition

Read more: Food for Agile Thought #210: Customer Journey Teams, Anti-Agile Personalities, Team Health Check, Product Team Mistakes.

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