Food for Agile Thought #359: UX & Engineering, Product for Truly Agile Teams, 4 Major Issues w/ Lean Startup, Discovery’s Toughest Questions

TL; DR: UX & Engineering, AI in Product — Food for Agile Thought #359

Welcome to the 359th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 35,852 peers. This week, we delve into UX & engineering, detailing how product discovery benefits from including engineers early in the process, from timely feasibility discussions to designing minimum viable experiments (MVE). Also, we reflect on the many aspects of velocity, “if you are planning for a stable team with high morale that can consistently deliver,” and explore a vital character trait of any trainer, coach, entrepreneur, or artist — tenacity — with Jerry Colonna and Jules Pieri.

Then, Allan Holub explores the importance of product management for agile teams, from C-level buy-in to empowering people w/o leaving them to JIRA’s perils, while dissing Scrum. Moreover, Ryan J. Salva shares the success story of Copilot, GitHub’s OpenAI’s ML engine, while Martin Spinnangr asks: Continue, pivot, kill, or charge ahead?

Finally, Sachin Rekhi points to four Lean Startup issues, from agnostic experimentation to over-focusing on MVPs to incrementalism, and we dig into the benefits of journaling for decision-making. Also, we explore the effects of limiting beliefs on change, from anchoring to selection bias. PS: Can I interest you in Dr. Laurence J. Peter explaining some of the observations leading to his theory?

Food for Agile Thought #359: UX & Engineering, Product for Truly Agile Teams, 4 Major Issues w/ Lean Startup, Discovery’s Toughest Questions — Age-of-Product.com

Did you miss the previous Food for Agile Thought’s issue 358?

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🏆 The Tip of the Week: UX & Engineering

(via epicpeople): User Research & Engineering: Better Together During Discovery

Julia Tan and Carolina Aldas delve into UX & engineering, detailing how product discovery benefits from including engineers early in the process, from timely feasibility discussions to designing minimum viable experiments (MVE).

➿ Agile & Scrum

(via Stack Overflow): Does high velocity lead to burnout? That may be the wrong question to ask.

Ben Matthews reflects on the many aspects of velocity, “if you are planning for a stable team with high morale that can consistently deliver.”

Jerry Colonna and Jules Pieri: 🎙 The Other Side of Fear

In this podcast, Jerry Colonna and Jules Pieri explore a vital character trait of any trainer, coach, entrepreneur, or artist: tenacity.

Michael Küsters: Dealing with limiting beliefs

Michael Küsters explores the effects of limiting beliefs, a “belief confining us, or reducing our options in some way,” on change, from anchoring to selection bias.

🎓 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Master Training w/ PSM I Certificate — Live Virtual Class: October 4-5, 2022

Discover Scrum’s four success principles in this guaranteed official Scrum.org Professional Scrum Master training class, leading to and including the industry-recognized PSM I certification. The training will be offered in English.

Professional Scrum Master Training w/ PSM I Certificate — Live Virtual Class: October 4-5, 2022 — Berlin Product People GmbH

Learn more: 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Master Training w/ PSM I Certificate — Live Virtual Class: October 4-5, 2022.

“Great class. Probably the best training I ever attended. Extremely driven and productive class, with interactive exercises that challenge you to think in Agile manner. Keeps the focus on the point regardless of the remote session. Stefan for sure goes above and beyond to teach you how to be a real Scum master.”

(Link.)

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🎯 Product

Jason Knight and Allen Holub: 🎙 The Role of Product Management on Truly Agile Development Teams

Allen Holub at his best, exploring C-level buy-in, empowering people w/o leaving them, JIRA’s perils, and dissing Scrum.

(via UX Collective): The toughest question of product discovery

Martin Spinnangr asks: Continue, pivot, kill, or charge ahead?

Lenny Rachitsky and Ryan J. Salva: 🎙 The role of AI in new product development

In this podcast, Ryan J. Salva shares the success story of Copilot, GitHub’s OpenAI’s ML engine.

📯 Retrospective First Principles

What is your take on the Retrospective: A routine exercise at the end of a Sprint, supported by standard operating procedures? Or a critical part of a Scrum team’s journey of continuous improvement? As you may assume, I advocate for the latter. In my experience, Scrum teams start utilizing Retrospectives to their full potential when they embrace a short set of Retrospective first principles, outlining the essence of the Why, the What, and the How.

Retrospective First Principles — Age-of-Product.com

For classic nerds: “Molon labe (Ancient Greek: μολὼν λαβέ, romanized: molṑn labé), meaning ‘come and take [them][…]’

Learn more: Retrospective First Principles.

🛠 Concepts, Tools & Measuring

Sachin Rekhi (via Reforge): 4 Major Problems With The Lean Startup Methodology

Sachin Rekhi points to four Lean Startup issues, from agnostic experimentation to over-focusing on MVPs to incrementalism.

Shane Parrish (via Farnam Street): How a Decision Journal Changed the Way I make Decisions (Template Included)

Shane Parrish digs into the benefits of journaling for decision-making. Moreover, he also provides a template for your start.

🎶 Encore

Tim Higgins and Gennaro Cuofano: 🎙 The History of Tesla

In this podcast, Gennaro Cuofano interviews author and WSJ reporter Tim Higgins about the rise of Tesla.

(via BBC Archive): 📺 1974: Are YOU at your level of INCOMPETENCE? | The Peter Principle

In this classic video, Dr. Laurence J. Peter explains some of the observations leading to his theory.


📅 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
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 April 2-30, 2024 GUARANTEED: Product Backlog Management Cohort Class (English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €499 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 April 9, 2024 GUARANTEED: Hands-on Agile #60: A Q&A on Dynamic Reteaming with Heidi Helfand (English) Live Virtual Meetup FREE
🖥 💯 🇩🇪 April 10-11, 2024 GUARANTEED: Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 April 23-24, 2024 GUARANTEED: Professional Scrum Master (Advanced) Training (PSM II; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 May 7, 2024 GUARANTEED: Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills Training (PSFS; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €749 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 May 7, 2024 GUARANTEED: Hands-on Agile #61: Toyota Kata Coaching for Agile Teams & Transformations with Fortune Buchholtz (English) Live Virtual Meetup FREE
🖥 🇩🇪 May 14-15, 2024 Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 🇬🇧 May 28-29, 2024 Professional Scrum Master (Advanced) Training (PSM II; English; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,189 incl. 19% VAT
🖥 💯 🇬🇧 June 6, 2024 GUARANTEED: Hands-on Agile #62: From Backlog Manager to Product Manager: From Outputs to Outcomes w/ David Pereira (English) Live Virtual Meetup FREE
🖥 🇩🇪 June 25-26, 2024 Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German; Live Virtual Class) Live Virtual Class €1,299 incl. 19% VAT

See all upcoming classes here.

Professional Scrum Trainer Stefan Wolpers

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.

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🗞️ Last Week’s Food for Agile Thought Edition

Read more: Food for Agile Thought #358: Scaling Innovation, #NoBacklogs, Studies on Cross-Functional Teams, Product Health Check.

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