TL; DR: Sales vs. Product, Minimum Viable Transformation — Food for Agile Thought #353
Welcome to the 353rd edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 35,651 peers. This week, we delve into Sales vs. Product, analyzing their conflicting worldviews. Additionally, we learn about the pre-requisites of cultural change, for example, ensuring that at least a quarter of your community supports the endeavor. Also, we detail why long-term software development plans do not work and critique an acclaimed book on DevOps, metrics, and effectiveness in software development.
Then, we reflect on Lean Startup’s “pivot or persevere” decision: scale, kill, pivot, or persevere, and we show practical ways to reduce our product’s risk of failure, from testing assumptions to data-informed decision-making. Moreover, we share eleven lessons on enabling product management with distributed teams, from the need to write more to embrace tools beyond Zoom and Google Docs.
Finally, we enjoy Avion’s bookmark-worthy guide on user story mapping and detail how product analytics can reduce churn if you learn to identify customers that share ‘specific characteristics and usage patterns.’ Lastly, Russ Roberts interviews the economist — and former chief economist of Uber and Lyft — John List on what determines scalability and ‘good ideas.’
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🏆 The Tip of the Week: Sales vs. Product
: ‘A Working Request Process Should End in YES’ (aka Incompatible Worldviews)
Rich Mironov analyses the context of different worldviews of sales on the one side and product/development on the other side, pointing to the inherent conflict between these views.
➿ Agile & Scrum
(via Medium): Minimum Viable Transformation
Daniel Stillman dives deep into the pre-requisites of cultural change, for example, ensuring that at least a quarter of your community supports the endeavor.
: Why long-term plans don't work and how to fix them
Lucas F Costa details why long-term software development plans are his favorite ‘genre of fiction.’
: A review of _Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps_
Keunwoo Lee critically dissects an acclaimed book on DevOps, metrics, and effectiveness in software development.
🎓 🖥 🇬🇧 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 Kromatic): How to Make “Pivot or Persevere” Decisions in Your Innovation Accounting
Tristan Kromer reflects on Lean Startup’s “pivot or persevere” decision, claiming that there are four possible outcomes: scale, kill, pivot, or persevere.
(via Department of Product): How to de-risk your Product Strategy
Richard Holmes shows practical ways to reduce your product’s risk of failure, from testing assumptions to data-informed decision-making.
(via Medium): Remote and Asynchronous Product Management
Jens-Fabian Goetzmann shares eleven lessons on enabling product management with distributed teams, from the need to write more to embracing tools beyond Zoom and Google Docs.
📯 Unengaged Stakeholders at the Sprint Review — Making Your Scrum Work #25
There are plenty of failure possibilities with Scrum. Given that Scrum is a framework with a reasonable yet short “manual,” this effect should not surprise anyone. For example, what if your Scrum team repeatedly faces unengaged stakeholders at the Sprint Review? How can the Scrum team stay on track in accomplishing the Product Goal when a vital feedback loop is missing?
Join me and delve into how to support your stakeholders in living up to their part of the collaboration with the Scrum team in less than two minutes.
Learn more: Unengaged Stakeholders at the Sprint Review — Making Your Scrum Work #25.
🛠 Concepts, Tools & Measuring
(via Avion): What Is User Story Mapping? Examples & Step-By-Step Guide.
Avion created a comprehensive guide on user story mapping worth bookmarking.
(via Amplitude): Cohort Analysis: Reduce Churn & Improve Retention
Darshil Gandhi details how product analytics can reduce churn if you learn to identify customers that share ‘specific characteristics and usage patterns.’
✂️ Cutting Room Floor
and (via Econlib): 🎙 John List on Scale, Uber, and the Voltage Effect
Russ Roberts interviews the economist — and former chief economist of Uber and Lyft — John List on what determines scalability and ‘good ideas.’
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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.
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