Are Sprints Just a Way to Organise Releases?
I’m increasingly convinced that some teams cling to Sprints / Timeboxes because they facilitate release planning. A Sprint = a mini-Release = real simple. However, continuous delivery means these “Sprints” are not real Sprints.
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Author Archives: Steven Thomas
Five Reasons Why Decision Makers Don’t
I’m rather impatient with people who can’t or won’t make decisions. Here are five reasons for failing to make decisions. This is not an exhaustive list – there are more.
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Contracts do not fix incompetence
“Contracts are the least powerful in getting people to do something. A contract does not fix incompetence.” Not my words, they come from Rajesh Mathur, but I completely agree.
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Programmes are more than Big Projects
Some projects deliver products and some programmes also deliver products. The difference is the goal. The goal of those projects is to deliver the product. However, the goal of these programmes is to deliver benefits deriving from the new product. I’ve written about the difference between programme, project, portfolio and product management before, but feel in need of a new rant – a rant brought on by DAD.
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Albert Einstein would have liked Retrospectives
I believe Albert Einstein would have liked retrospectives.
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Focus – “If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one”
Whether a Russian hunter or a software/project/programme team the proverb “If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one” offers useful advice.
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Shaping a team – Get good people and put them in the right role
“When will Stu stop playing with code?” The question was about Stu Fieldhouse, a Technical Project Manager working on my programme. My answer was “Never”. I had brought Stu in exactly because he plays with code. Or, more constructively, he fixes problems and lets us move on. Fast.
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Unfortunately Corporations Equate Weight of Paper with Safety
I believe in barely sufficient documentation but Corporations equate paper weight with safety.
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User Stories are Experiments
Mini-experiments are a key aspect of the Lean Startup movement, so I like the idea of user stories as experiments.
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How to describe your Big Idea in a succinct and compelling way
Having identified “Three-Market-Forces” that highlight an opportunity, you can use the “Big Idea” format to articulate your new product development concept.
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