Food for Agile Thought #341: Adopting Agility, Failure to Scale Ideas, Measuring Success, ‘Great’ Product Manager

Welcome to the 341st edition of the ‘Food for Agile Thought’ newsletter, shared with 35,206 peers. My name is Stefan Wolpers.

This week, we learn about adopting agility with a research initiative of Thinkers 50 and Capgemini Invent, and we delve into the difficulties of answering a typical question: ‘What are the pros and cons of Agile?’ Moreover, we analyze the challenges of collaboration after switching to product-based funding, pointing at Conway and Brooks, and end with observations on how the subtleties of an organization influence the effectiveness of internal and external agile coaches, respectively.

We then identify five causes why some products peter out when they grow, from false positives to biased representation to cost traps, and outline three tactics for stakeholder collaboration and inclusion. Additionally, we share Jason Cohen’s framework for Product Management that defines what ‘great’ concerning product managers means in practical terms. We also shed light on the nature of the Scrum team regarding its product capabilities, namely its lack of stakeholder inclusion.

Then, we listen to Jeff Gothelf regarding his advice on adopting the goal-setting OKR framework to measure success, and we learn how Pendo practices continuous discovery, from recruiting interviewees to designing and running experiments. Finally, we are closing this edition with Tim Ferriss interviewing Tony Fadell, covering “Steve Jobs on ‘Vacation,’ Product Design and Team Building, Good Assholes vs. Bad Assholes, Investing in Trends Before They Become Trends, The Hydrogen Economy, [and] The Future of Batteries.”

🏆 May I ask for your feedback?

I am experimenting with a newsletter referral program. (See below; the section is above the class schedule.) Hopefully, you will be the first to try the prototype. At the moment, the program may feel a bit rough around the edges here and there. For example: will the sharing buttons work?

However, my main concern is that I picked rewards that make this whole endeavor worth everyone’s time. The prizes range from free ebooks to free events and coaching to free Professional Scrum classes. (See all rewards here.) Please let me know what you think of it! 🙏

PS: 🗞 Did you miss past issues? No worries, here we go: 339, 340.

📅 Join 250-plus peers on May 30, 2022: The Skinny on Lean Roadmapping and OKRs w/ Janna Bastow.

🥇 Tip of the Week

📖 Thinkers 50 and Capgemini Invent teamed up for a research initiative on the adoption of agile for organizational design and transformation: "Agility Inc.: Building Widespread Agility."

➿ Agile & Scrum

• Medium: Staffan Nöteberg delves into the difficulties of answering a typical question: ‘What are the pros and cons of Agile?’ Read more: "Agile ≠ Lean."

• Medium: Chris Combe analyzes the challenges of collaboration after switching to product-based funding, pointing at Conway and Brooks: "Untangling Organizational Dependencies."
  
  

• Bob Galen shares his observations on how the subtleties of an organization influence the two different approaches: "Key Differences for Internal vs. External Agile Coaches."

🎓 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Hands-on Agile #42: The Skinny on Lean Roadmapping and OKRs—Janna Bastow

This presentation will look at modern roadmapping best practices, including where lean roadmapping came from and how to put it to use in your organization. It'll cover practical tips on how to move away from old school feature and date driven roadmaps, and how to move your team on to a leaner, more objective-focused track of product management using OKRs (Objectives and Key Results).

Janna Bastow the inventor of the Now/Next/Later roadmap, and is co-founder of ProdPad, product management and roadmapping software for product people. Janna is also co-founder of ProductTank and Mind the Product, the global community of product managers. She often starts and stops conversations with the question: “What problem are you trying to solve?”

Learn more: 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Hands-on Agile #42: The Skinny on Lean Roadmapping and OKRs—Janna Bastow.

👉 From time to time, we can offer last-minute seats for Professional Scrum training classes at cost to individuals who do not have access to a corporate training budget. If you like to be notified about these opportunities, please apply here.

🎯 Product

• Harvard Business Review: John List identifies five causes why some products peter out when they grow, from false positives to biased representation to cost traps: "Why It’s So Hard to Scale a Great Idea."

• Itamar Gilad outlines three tactics for stakeholder collaboration and inclusion: "Three Advanced Techniques for Working with Stakeholders."

• Jason Cohen shares a framework for Product Management and defines what ‘great’ means in practical terms: "The Impossible Product Manager, a.k.a. the ‘Great’ Product Manager."
  
  

• Roman Pichler sheds light on the nature of the Scrum team regarding its product capabilities, namely its lack of stakeholder inclusion: "Product Teams in Scrum."

🛠 Tools & Measuring

• 🎙 Produx Labs: Melissa Perri interviews Jeff Gothelf regarding his advice on adopting the goal-setting OKR framework to measure success: "Shifting How We Measure Success."

• Melissa Suzuno talked to Steve Cheshire to figure out how Pendo practices continuous discovery, from recruiting interviewees to designing and running experiments: "Tools of the Trade: A Look at Pendo’s Discovery Tech Stack - Product Talk."

✂️ Cutting Room Floor

• 🎙 Tim Ferriss interviews Tony Fadell, covering “Steve Jobs on ‘Vacation,’ Product Design and Team Building, Good Assholes vs. Bad Assholes, Investing in Trends Before They Become Trends, The Hydrogen Economy, [and] The Future of Batteries:” "Tony Fadell of iPod, iPhone, and Nest Fame."
  
  

📯 Product Owner Anti-Patterns — 33 Ways to Improve as a PO

No other role in Scrum can contribute to mediocre outcomes like the Product Owner—garbage in, garbage out.

Therefore, the following list of some of the most common Product Owner anti-patterns might be a starting point to reflect on the role; maybe, there is room for improvement?

Learn more: Product Owner Anti-Patterns — 33 Ways to Improve as a PO.

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📅 Training Classes, Meetups & Events

Upcoming classes and events:

• 🖥 💯 🇩🇪 May 17-20 — Live Virtual Class: Advanced Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO II; German)
• 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 May 30 — Live Virtual Meetup: Hands-on Agile #42: The Skinny on Lean Roadmapping and OKRs w/ Janna Bastow (English)
• 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 May 31-Jun 1 — Live Virtual Class: Advanced Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM II; English)
• 🖥 💯 🇩🇪 Jun 7-10 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM I; German)
• 🖥 🇬🇧 Jun 20-23 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM I; English)
• 🖥 💯 🇩🇪 Jun 28 - Jul 1 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German)

See all upcoming classes here.

📺 Youtube Channel

• Roman Pichler: Hands-on Agile #38: The Product Owner.

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