Age of Product’s Food for Thought of April 3rd, 2016 covers agile metrics and why some of those popular with bean counters are useless, Kanban maturity patterns, Agile and TPS (Toyota Production System), leading by OKRs, and how to live in a world we don’t understand. (Aka: antifragile.)
We also make customer development interviews easier, burn product requirement documents, and invite you to join GV’s design sprint week, starting April 18th.
Last, but least the myth of the single, heroic inventor gets rendered obsolete—spoiler alert: it’s a group effort—, and we urge you to have a look at an epic Oculus Rift review. (Yes, VR is closing in on becoming a trend.) And we share the secret sauce of talent hiring that all great tech companies use to their advantage.
Sunday Essays
(via The Verge): Oculus Rift review: Virtual reality is always almost here
The Verge reviews the latest Oculus Rift—fad or trend—and its impact on virtual reality.
(via Medium): Here are the Top Tech Companies’ Secrets to Hiring the Best People
Sarah shares the ultimate list of secret interview questions as used by Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Google, and Amazon—a must read for all HR people and future interviewees. (Be prepared!)
Agile Metrics & Scrum
: Do you want Crappy Agile?
Ron analyzes the metrics that VersionOne provides and suggest to just say no to useless bean counting to measure ‘agile success’.
(via Lean Kanban Services): Patterns of Kanban Maturity
David on why certain styles of board design, scales or implementation correlate to levels of organizational maturity.
(via Y Combinator): Agility Requires Safety
Yevgeniy on the technical requirements to be agile in software development.
(via Leading Agile): Is Agile a Subset of Lean Manufacturing?
Dan introduces the Toyota Production System (TPS) and compares it to agile.
: Tracking and Evaluating OKRs
Christina on how to lead by and grade your OKRs (objectives and key results), and plan for the next cycle.
: Antifragile: How to Live in a World we Don't Understand
Nassim offers a blueprint for how to live—and thrive—in a world we don't understand, and which is too uncertain for us to even try to predict.
Product & Lean
(via Medium): Good Question! — A complete collection of 150+ customer development questions for startups
Jason shares a great list of about 150 customer development questions in six categories.
(via Mind The Product): Product Requirement Documents Must Die
Martin shares seven reasons why requirement documents are a waste of money, brain and time.
(via Intercom): A/B Tests That Do More Than Validate
Scott on the importance of A/B tests for the prioritization of features and projects.
(via Google Ventures): Join 400 other Teams During "Design Sprint Week", Starting April 18th
Jake invites you to join 400 other team in the first-ever Sprint Week, starting Monday, April 18, with daily videos, and online Q&A.
(via Andreessen Horowitz): Mobile: The Universal Technology Product
Ben on ‘Mobile Eating the World’—pardon me: ‘Mobile Ate the World’—, an epic trend analysis of the Internet.
(via Inc.com): The Heroic Inventor Is a Myth: Great Ideas Are Group Efforts
Jessica on new study out of Harvard and the London School of Economics: "To be an innovator, it's better to be social rather than smart".