So you’ve installed Ubuntu Studio 16.04 on one of your aging laptops in hopes of realizing your long-lost dream of becoming a rock musician given up some years back to wrack up significant student loan debt earning a Bachelor’s degree in early 20th Century Russian Theater. Congrats on the bold move there Konstantin Sergeyevich. Now…
A more Pedestrian Path to User-Centered Product Management
tl;dr: How not to be a stubborn jerk when behaviors reveal user paths you didn’t initially anticipate. User Story As an end-user, I want the software to work for me; not the other way around. Description The internet is replete with images of inefficient park and greenway designs where users have beaten their own, more…
When Cultures — and gym members — Collide.
My almost-daily reminder to consider culture when developing user personas. tl;dr: Neglecting to ‘bake-in’ i18n into our products is a bad idea. Failing to consider cultural practices could cook your goose. h1.User Story As an end-user, I want an application that takes into consideration my culture. h2.Description The W3C offers an easy-to-read and understand explanation…
An epic idea walks into a JIRA backlog …
TL;DR: Good ideas sometimes come in the form of epics. Here’s a “Five Ws & an H” “approach to getting them initially prioritized right. User Story As a product manager, I need a way to initially prioritize new epics. Description An idea walks into a JIRA backlog. The product owner says, “Hey, we have an…
A Cure for Sprint Demo Sleepy Heads
TL;DR: The better the sprint planning, the better the demo that follows. User Story As a product manager, it would be awesome if people didn’t fall asleep during sprint demos. Description When was the last time you spotted someone in your organization energetically skipping and hopping their way through the office singing “Whoo Hoo, it’s time…
You might be a HyperScrumDamentalist if …
tl;dr: A little hump day humor at the expense of cargo-cult agileistas everywhere. User Story As a product manager, I want to avoid prescriptive approaches to Agile. Description This past April at the TriAgile conference in Raleigh, I had the pleasure of listening to David Hussman give warning to the perils that await those who…
If complexity is the enemy, then ‘No’ is your best friend.
TL;DR: Avoiding worthless hodgepodges of complexity is why product managers need the ability & courage to reply with an ROI-driven ‘No.’ User Story: As a software product manager, I need to be able to say no to complexity. Description I love the above Scott Adams offering in the banner image from February 25, 2013 where…