What to Focus On in 1-on-1s
Managers know they should do 1-on-1s with their direct reports, but they don’t often get much guidance about how to make those 1-on-1s worthwhile. Read More
Key Ideas of the Week
Unsplittable Stories—Myth or Reality?
Hey, it’s Richard again… In 2007, when I wrote the original “Patterns for Splitting User Stories” article, I ended with a challenge: “Bring me your… Read More
Are POs Responsible for Strategy?
In larger orgs, the Product Owner (PO) role is often split between more than one person. We can have a separate conversation about whether that’s… Read More
From Intuitive to Instructive in 3 Steps
Hey, Richard here… Ever tried to teach someone else a thing that you’re good at? Maybe it’s a physical skill like hitting a tennis ball. Read More
3 Course Formats for Different Kinds of Learning
When you choose to level up your skills with training, you’re faced with a bunch of decisions. One of the most important (and… Read More
A Sprint Review Is More Than a Demo, But It’s Not Less
There are a few common mistakes people make when it comes to reviewing work-in-progress. One is to treat it as simply a demo. “Here it… Read More
How Long Should Backlog Refinement Take?
A common question we get from Scrum course participants: “How long should backlog refinement take?” The latest Scrum Guide says this about backlog refinement:… Read More
5 Principles for Org & Team Structure
The 5 principles we use to help our consulting clients think through their org structure Read More
No More Bad Meetings!
We hear it all the time: “We just have too many meetings!” And we’ve seen the crazy calendars to prove it. Knowledge workers… Read More
Get to Done Every Day
“How’s that feature coming?” “I’m working on it.” On many teams, work items take several days or even weeks to go from start to finish. Read More