Archive of Agile Articles

December 30th, 2008

Stakeholders in a Barrel

There’s really only one way to travel down a waterfall – in a barrel.  A lot of people died this way, but some survived.  Software projects have been predominantly waterfall projects since the start of software projects.  And stakeholders rode down those projects, basically in a barrel.  The people riding Niagara Falls 100 years ago didn’t know if they would survive until they got to the end.  Stakeholders in waterfall projects don’t know if they will succeed until the end.

An agile project is dependent upon tight interaction (and feedback) with stakeholders.

If you’re running an agile project, and your stakeholders are old-school barrel-riders, how do you make it work?

Read the rest of the article…

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December 11th, 2008

ProductCamp Austin Winter 2009

The second productcamp for Austin is just around the corner!  Are you going to be there?  You should.

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December 3rd, 2008

Simple Agile Model Example

A picture is worth a thousand words.  Agile values working software over comprehensive documentation, and it values customer collaboration over contract negotiation.  With that in mind, how much is a picture of a model worth?  Check out a simple example, how it helped, and what we didn’t do.

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November 12th, 2008

Satisficing Sprints

Satisficing probably makes more sense than perfecting your product.

Can?  Open.

Worms?  Everywhere.

Are we really saying “don’t make it perfect?”  Yup.

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October 20th, 2008

Plan Your Next Sprint By Bang For The Buck: Part 2

Planning by ROI.  Hmmm.  Isn’t that impractical?  In an econometric way, yes.  But you can still estimate the relative value of the capabilities / stories you’re planning for your scrum sprints.  The point is – don’t look only at value – also look at costs.  While “ROI” may be a poor choice of terms, “bang for the buck” is not.

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October 16th, 2008

Plan Your Next Sprint By ROI: Part 1

You’ve got a giant backlog of user stories and product capabilities.  How do you determine which stories to implement right now?  By the estimated value of each story?  Pick the ones the developers want to build next?  How about picking the stories that maximize the ROI of the sprint?  To do that, you need to estimate both value and cost.  While remaining agile.

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October 1st, 2008

Agile Product Management: Providing Context

Agile development methodologies succeed because they help development teams be as effective as possible.  Development teams do not, however, work in complete isolation.  The company they work for has a strategy.  The company manages a portfolio of products, and targets a particular product at specific market problems.  Within that context, an agile team can thrive.  What’s the best way to provide that context?

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August 26th, 2008

Market Driven Competitive Advantage

mostly full glass

Your strategy should be driven by the needs of the market.  Becoming market-driven is critical to intentional product success.  But it is not enough to understand your market.  You have to sustain your understanding, and take advantage of it, competitively.

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June 2nd, 2008

Good Enough For Now

crystal

Adam Bullied wrote a really good article about not losing motivation in the face of challenges. His closing quote spun us off on a philosophical tangent about being “good enough.”

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May 19th, 2008

Successful Products: Lucky or Intentional?

headstails

Is your product successful because you were lucky, or because you were methodical and intentional?

Do you want to build a plan where you are dependent on good fortune, or do you want to make your own “luck?” Both approaches work, but only one makes sense as an intention. Slide 3 of your presentation to a venture capitalist should not say “And then we get lucky!”

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