TL; DR: Product Discovery Tool, Vanity Metrics — Food for Agile Thought #350
Welcome to the 350th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 35,507 peers. This week, we introduce the ‘Confidence Meter,’ a product discovery tool. Plus, we ask a seemingly simple question: how do we define team longevity, and is it indeed a helpful approach? Moreover, we enjoy an introductory guide to understanding and using Product Goals to your team’s advantage and point at waste at all levels in our software shops.
Then, we share ‘empirical evidence for the [usefulness of the] Double-Diamond model’ and applaud Jason Yip, who sketched use cases of user stories, from 😞 to 🤔 to 😀 practices. And in case you plan your next career step: Roman Pichler sheds light on the responsibilities of a head of product. Moreover, Janna Bastow talks about being lean while creating and maintaining your roadmap and how objectives and key results (OKR) may help meet that challenge.
Finally, we share John Cutler’s ultimate guide to fighting vanity metrics, from understanding their appeal to identifying and overcoming them. And while we are at it: Agile Uprising provides a guide to helpful metrics in various environments, from flow efficiency to work item age to time to market.
Did you miss the previous Food for Agile Thought’s issue 349?
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🏆 The Tip of the Week: Product Discovery Tool
: How Much Product Discovery Is Enough?
Itamar Gilad addresses a common problem in product discovery, getting lost in yet another discovery activity, by introducing the ‘Confidence Meter’ tool.
➿ Agile & Scrum
: How long should we keep the team together?
Jeff Gothelf asks a seemingly simple question: how do we define team longevity, and is it indeed a helpful approach?
(via Parabol Focus): Product Goals: How to Write and Use Them (With Examples)
Parabol shares an introductory guide to understanding and using Product Goals to your team’s advantage.
(via Industrial Logic): Waste Snake
Tim Ottinger points to various forms of waste at all levels in our software shops and what we can do about it.
🎓 🖥 🇬🇧 Advanced Professional Scrum Master Online Training w/ PSM II Certificate — September 6-9, 2022
Discover Scrum’s four success principles in this official Scrum.org Advanced Scrum Master training class including the industry-recognized PSM II certification. The PSM II training class is designed as a live virtual class and will be offered in English.
Enjoy the benefits of an immersive class of four sessions with like-minded agile peers in the morning hours from 09:00 – 13:00 o’clock CEST.
Learn more: 🖥 💯 🇩🇪 Advanced Professional Scrum Master Online Training w/ PSM II Certificate — September 6-9, 2022.
“Very hands-on class with lots of concrete takeaways to help in real world scenarios. Reinforced practices and highlighted things that helped in passing the PSM II exam but that was merely a bonus as the content of the class is so useful – certifications or not. Stefan Wolpers is an excellent trainer with broad practical and theoretical knowledge on the subject and his classes seem to have very good working atmosphere (this was a second class by him that I have taken).”(Link.)
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🎯 Product
(via Medium): How do product design teams converge on an idea?
Sharon Ferguson shares ‘empirical evidence for the [usefulness of the] Double-Diamond model.’
(via Medium): Some sketches about using User Stories to facilitate shared understanding: bad, better, best
Jason Yip sketches use cases of user stories, from 😞 to 🤔 to 😀 practices.
: What Should a Head of Product Do?
Roman Pichler sheds light on the responsibilities of a head of product, a career aspiration for many product managers and Product Owners.
📺 Janna Bastow: Lean Roadmapping and OKRs — Hands-on Agile #42
In this energizing 42nd Hands-on Agile Lean Roadmapping session, Janna Bastow, the go-to-authority on product roadmaps, talked about being lean while creating and maintaining your roadmap and how objectives and key results (OKR) may help meet that challenge.
📺 Watch the video now: Janna Bastow: Lean Roadmapping and OKRs — Hands-on-Agile #42.
🛠 Concepts, Tools & Measuring
(via Amplitude): What Are Vanity Metrics and How to Stop Using Them
John Cutler shares his ultimate guide to fighting vanity metrics, from understanding their appeal to identifying and overcoming them.
(via Agile Uprising): Actionable Agile Metrics For Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, or ANYTHING! How to get started!
Agile Uprising shares a guide to helpful metrics in various environments, from flow efficiency to work item age to time to market.
✂️ Cutting Room Floor
: The 3-Hour Fields Medal: A Slow Productivity Case Study
Cal Newport explains why three hours of work per day may not be painfully slow but massively productive — when you zoom out and take a long-term perspective.
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📺 Join 4,000-plus Agile Peers on Youtube
Now available on the Age-of-Product Youtube channel to improve learning:
- 🆕 Hands-on Agile 42: Lean Roadmapping and OKRs with Janna Bastow.
- 🆕 Hands-on Agile 40: The Best Team Ever with David Burkus.
- Hands-on Agile 38: The Product Owner with Roman Pichler.
- Agile Camp Berlin 2021: The Power and Pains of Autonomy with Jimmy Janlén.
- Hands-on Agile 31: The Zones of Value Framework with Valerio Zanini & Zeina Zeitouni.
- Hands-on Agile 35: Designing Powerful Questions to help you Coach & Create with Daniel Stillman.
- Hands-on Agile 34: Core Protocols for Psychological Safety with Richard Kasperowski.
✋ Do Not Miss Out and Learn more about the Product Discovery Tool — Join the 12,000-plus Strong ‘Hands-on Agile’ Slack Community
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