I hate part time assignments – when I see people being asked to split their time across projects. Where ever possible I try to get people full time on one thing at a time.
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I always work with a “Product Owner”; never a “Scrum Product Owner”
I’ve previously had a poke at the Scrum Product Owner role when I called it Scrum’s Uber-Pig. Now I have to admit that, although I always work with a “Product Owner”, I never work with a “Scrum Product Owner”. In fact, given my own responsibilities, I can never work with a Scrum Product Owner.
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Don’t use the Formal User Story Format for Minor Modifications
Kim Daubney asked what to do when the story isn’t a new requirement but a UI change. Kim wanted to know if the “as a, i want, so that” format is still required? Short answer is “no”.
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ERIC Grid – Blue Ocean Strategy for Departmental Transformation
It is always interesting to see how other people approach a task that in other circumstances I would be doing. So I was quite interested to see the ERIC Grid used to shape a transformation initiative.
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Trust Needs to be Earned
Jim, a previous boss of mine, once said to me “You don’t trust anybody”. It isn’t true. I do trust people but I don’t give my trust away easily. People have to earn it. And I don’t trust categorically – there is always a limit to my trust. As the programme manager I can’t afford to offer more.
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What does a Programme Manager do?
I’m a programme manager, an Agile Programme Manager. Some people don’t know what programme management is or what programme managers do. So, for those who are wondering, I thought I’d described what I do.
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Seven Things to do When Starting Specification by Example with Cucumber
I was asked “What to do in terms of training and practice when starting to use gherkin to define requirements?” Although I’ve written quite a lot of material on Specification by Example I haven’t written about how to start doing it.
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I shall call him ‘Kanban,’ and he shall be mine, and he shall be my Kanban
“I shall call him ‘Kanban,’ and he shall be mine, and he shall be my Kanban.” I am outrageously paraphrasing Dory from Finding Nemo. My point is that everybody seems to want a piece of Kanban. As the authorities, and a few others, tear Kanban apart in definition wars and vying claims of ownership, a few flavours of Kanban are emerging with even more competing names. I thought I’d run through them.
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3 Million Pound Budget Cut! Don’t Panic and Go Look for Help
When dealing with major crisis, like the 3 million pound budget cut I faced once, the first you have you have to remember is: Don’t panic, you are not alone.
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I always work with a Technical Lead. Always
They might be called an Architect or a Tech Lead or just “Bob” but I always work closely with a senior technical person.
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