Agile development and its related methodologies and practices have long been viewed as something that “developers do” with no consideration given to the broader impacts of those processes on the organization as a whole. This, incidentally, is also the primary cause of failures on the part of organizations who attempt to implement Agile practices — […]
Dropbox: The Most MVP of All MVPs
It’s constantly surprising to me that people seem to have such widely different ideas of what the term “MVP” or “Minimally Viable Product” really means. Perhaps it’s a result of the term becoming an industry buzzword, or perhaps it’s because it’s used in some very different contexts, but it always baffles me that people focus […]
Product Manager or Product Owner – What’s the Difference?
In the search for a Product Management role, many people become confused by the deceptively similar descriptions, expectations, and requirements that they find for Product Owner and Product Manager roles in various organizations. I’m sorry to say, this is another reflection of the inability of our Product Management culture and discipline to adopt a clear […]
You’re not Agile Unless You’re “agile”…
Probably the single most common question that I run into nowadays is which process is the “best” one to be Agile, with a capital “A”. And people are often surprised when I tell them there’s no right or wrong answer here, but that they’re focusing on the wrong thing if they’re trying to be Agile […]
Accept Ambiguity — Then Drive it Out
I’ve worked in a lot of companies where the direction or vision that we were shooting for was in question or even in transition. And, when that happens, the natural result is a lot of chaos and uncertainty. I recall in one very contentious meeting regarding a new direction one company was taking, a very […]