TL; DR: Identifying New Ways of Working, Burnout in Product Teams — Food for Agile Thought #333
Welcome to the 333rd edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 34,749 peers. This week, we reflect on signs of failed self-management and explore how to improve the identification of new ways of working instead. Also, we share a comprehensive take on tech debt, from the term’s coining to cost to inherited debt to, finally, keep it under control. Moreover, we follow Joost Minnaar when he delves into his favorite management fads, turning into religions attracting missionaries and apostles, and we follow Ben Thompson’s analysis on the long-term impact of Putin’s war on Ukraine on the tech industry.
We then explore product management practices that can lead to burnout, and we dive into product strategy, the “connective tissue between what a product team is doing day-to-day and the company’s ambition.” Additionally, we share Joni Hoadley’s recipe for managing stakeholders and how to ‘say no’ without losing their support or trust, and we learn more about user stories as a concept from Bill Wake.
Lastly, we list seven common reasons why stakeholders ignore your team’s Sprint Review, from a lack of progress to ignored feedback to conflicting obligations. On top of that, we answer ten popular questions regarding the Monte Carlo method to help you better forecast your team’s throughput for a future period.
Did you miss the previous Food for Agile Thought’s issue #332?
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🏆 The Tip of the Week: Identifying New Ways of Working
(via Medium): Installing, abdicating, and unleashing
Lisa Gill reflects on signs of failed self-management and explores how to improve the identification of new ways of working instead.
➿ Agile & Scrum
: Technical Debt - Good or Evil?
Andy Cleff shares a comprehensive take on tech debt, from the term’s coining to cost to inherited debt to, finally, keep it under control.
(via Corporate Rebels): Agile, Lean Startup, Holacracy: Stop Surfing The Management Fad
Joost Minnaar delves into his favorite management fads, turning into religions attracting missionaries and apostles.
: How to Diagnose and Correct Poorly Attended Sprint Reviews
Mike Cohn lists seven common reasons why stakeholders ignore your team’s Sprint Review, from a lack of progress to ignored feedback to conflicting obligations.
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🎯 Product
(via Mind The Product): Burnout in Product Teams
Rachel Hamlin explores product management practices that can lead to burnout, probably triggered by an external effect but ultimately a personal experience.
(via First Round Capital): Set “Non-Goals” and Build a Product Strategy Stack
Ravi Mehta delves into product strategy, the “connective tissue between what a product team is doing day-to-day and the company’s ambition.”
: How product managers can say no and not lose their job
Joni Hoadley shares her recipe for managing stakeholders and how to ‘say no’ without losing their support or trust.
📯 How Do You Identify a Successful Scrum Master?
How would you know that your Scrum Master is competent? What are indicators for Scrum Master success? Is the regular use of the Confluence retrospective template one of the desired signals? Or is the quest to understand contributing factors futile, as success reasons are so diverse? Probably, there is no direct connection between a Scrum Master, not having authority anyway, and the overall Scrum team’s performance.
Read on and learn more about how Scrum Masters can contribute to the success of a self-managing team in nine simple lessons.
Learn more: Scrum Master Success: How Do You Identify a Successful Scrum Master?
🛠 Tools & Measuring
and : 📺 User Stories
In this talk, Bill Wake joins James Shore to delve into user stories as a concept, from templates to story splitting.
(via Nave Blog): Monte Carlo Simulation Explained: Everything You Need to Know to Make Accurate Delivery Forecasts
Sonya Siderova answers ten popular questions regarding the Monte Carlo method to help you better forecast your team’s throughput for a future period.
✂️ Cutting Room Floor
(via The Stratechery): Tech and War
Ben Thompson analyzes the long-term impact of Putin’s war on Ukraine on the tech industry.
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