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?
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🏆 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
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🎯 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.
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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.
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🗞️ 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.