“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson Let me ask you a question: As a product manager or scrum master, do you feel there is a tipping point where consistency devolves into tyranny? I posed this question to some poor unsuspecting peeps at…
Tag: Agile Methodology
A Product Owner’s Office Party Survival Guide
TL;DR — Here are 7 tips to help product managers & product owners navigate some common pitfalls associated with corporate holiday parties. 1. Don’t skip it I know that sometimes corporate Christmas parties can be a pain, and to some, they even seem spurious, but the managers and executives who are stakeholders and sponsors for your initiatives will…
Dear Product Manager, have empathy for the symptoms, but cure for the cause
Not understanding the difference in addressing the cause vs. the symptoms is what leads to bad solutions, such as bloodletting for nosebleeds. Falling into the trap is easy. You get a call from a customer or an account executive where somebody needs a ‘red button’ on ‘screen 123’ because it’s slowing their ability to complete…
Scrum Master, is your team merely singing the notes, or are they making music?
source: The Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bach © 1976, Prof. Peter Schickele TL;DR — Standards are important, but not so much that we shift our focus from the rapid & continuous delivery of value to merely getting Scrum right. It’s that time of year again. No, I’m not talking about the 10 pounds of ‘Christmas Cheer’ we’ll…
7 Things That Drive Your Product Manager Crazy
Here’s a list of 6 things your product person hates, 7 that drive them crazy. Please try and use this list for good rather than evil. Weather permitting, this weekend I am going to record a set of 12.25-minute podcasts for a series I’m calling “Software Product Therapy.” Topics I’m covering come from a list…
Product Managers, do you know how much your bugs cost?
TL;DR — Not knowing the cost of bugs is about as wise as learning to juggle using chainsaws. Sure, you learn from your mistakes, but at what cost? Counting the Cost Yesterday I wrote why it’s important to know how much your teams cost per sprint. Today I’d like to build on that conversation by offering thoughts on…
Product Manager — CEO or Pirate Captain?
TL;DR: Below be the 7 Arrrrguments based on Black Bart’s Pirate Code of 1722 that suggest that a product manager is more pirate king/queen than CEO. Some CEOs exercise their power to dictate priorities by virtue of possessing the Highest Paid Person’s Opinion. According to the 1st Article of the Pirate Code: “Every man…
Behold, the Product Management Prioritization Menagerie
TL;DR — Folks, it’s a zoo out there, especially when it comes to feature prioritization. Below is my own O’Rly bookshelf to prove my point … … each followed by at least one related blog post or news article on each of these 5 beasts that graze upon our prioritization process. QUICK UPDATE 01Dec20 — Thanks for the folks at…
The Orange Quarrel: A Product Manager’s tale of Compromise over Collaboration
Photo Credit of Nick Jr. and Yorgos probably not wrestling over an orange: Wikipedia As product managers, we are sometimes confronted with “feature hostage negotiations.” Here are some conflict resolution tips for such times. You know what I’m talking about, those emotional instances where the tug between sales needing shiny objects and stakeholders seeking strategic…
V is for Valuable - Part 3 of 6 of why it pays to INVEST in your user stories.
TL;DR: Why INVEST in a user story that’s not valuable? Good question. Here’s a pragmatic how-to guide to making the Value magic happen in your PBIs. Step 1 — Avoid Mission Statement Metrics One of my favorite quotes about corporate mission statements comes from Vincent Flanders, who reminds us that most can be summarized generically as “All…