Food for Agile Thought #343: Why Teams Estimate, Sales Team Prevents Customer Contact, The HiPPO Effect

Welcome to the 343rd edition of the ‘Food for Agile Thought’ newsletter, shared with 35,304 peers. My name is Stefan Wolpers.

This week, we point to good reasons why teams estimate: ‘credibility, deeper thinking, prioritization, and insight.’ Also, we explore six ways of avoiding the 💩 sandwich when providing critical feedback, and we watch a classic: Henrik Kniberg visualizes the cost and consequences of moving from single-piece flow to simultaneously working on multiple jobs.

Then, we suggest dealing with resistance from stakeholders, such as the sales folks, who fear meeting their quotas, and we highlight some of the ‘dysfunctions around decision making and offer ways to overcome them.’ Moreover, we delve into the strange effects of the highest-paid person’s opinion, from manifestations to impact to suggestions on how to deal with them. (High impact release notes may be one helpful tactic; learn how to author them.)

Also, we enjoy Sachin Rekhi’s take on Jeff Bezos’ June 2004 instruction: ‘From now on, your presentation software is Microsoft Word, not PowerPoint. Get used to it.’ Finally, ‘Programmers are also human’ celebrates McBoston’s Josh Doe, formerly Agile Consulting, Inc.

PS: 🗞 Did you miss past issues? No worries, here we go: 341, 342.

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📅 Join 275-plus peers on May 30, 2022: The Skinny on Lean Roadmapping and OKRs w/ Janna Bastow.

🏆 Tip of the Week

📺 YouTube: ‘Programmers are also human’ celebrates McBoston’s Josh Doe, formerly Agile Consulting, Inc.: "Interview with an Agile Coach in 2022 - Sprint 1."

➿ Agile & Scrum

• Mike Cohn points to ‘four good reasons to estimate: credibility, deeper thinking, prioritization, and insight:’ "Four Reasons Agile Teams Estimate Product Backlog Items."

• Get Lighthouse: Jason Evanish explores six ways of avoiding the 💩 sandwich when providing critical feedback: "The 6 Best Ways to Give Feedback to Your Team."

• Parabol Focus shares a guide on how to create Sprint Goals: "How to Write and Use a Sprint Goal (With 5 Templates)."

🎓 🖥 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Master Training w/ PSM I Certificate — Live Virtual Class: June 20-23, 2022

Discover Scrum’s four success principles in this official Scrum.org Professional Scrum Master training class, leading to and including the industry-recognized PSM I certification. The training will be offered in English.

👉 New in 2022: Free refresher classes by appointment.

Enjoy the benefits of an immersive class of four sessions with like-minded agile peers in the morning hours from 09:00 – 13:00 o’clock CEST.

Learn more: 🖥 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Master Training w/ PSM I Certificate — Live Virtual Class: June 20-23, 2022.

👉 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

• Teresa Torres suggests dealing with resistance from stakeholders, such as the sales folks, who fear meeting their quotas: "My Sales Team Won’t Let Me Talk To Customers. What Now?"
  
  

• 📺 Mind The Product: In this video, Ellen Gottesdiener ‘highlights some of the dysfunctions around decision making and offers ways to overcome them:’ "How to Make Product Decisions with Transparency and Trust."

• Atomic Spin: Tammy Pearson delves into the strange effects of the highest-paid person’s opinion, from manifestations to impact to suggestions on how to deal with them: "The HiPPO Effect on Customers and Product Teams."

🛠 Concepts, Tools & Measuring

• 📖 Sachin Rekhi on Jeff Bezos’ June 2004 instruction: ‘From now on, your presentation software is Microsoft Word, not PowerPoint. Get used to it:’ "The Power of Amazon's Written Narratives."

• 📺 A classic: Henrik Kniberg visualizes the cost and consequences of moving from single-piece flow to simultaneously working on multiple work items: "Multiple WIP vs One Piece Flow Example."
  
  

• Department of Product: Richard Holmes advocates that ‘high impact releases deserve high impact release notes:’ "How to Write Impactful Release Notes as a Product Manager."

✂️ Cutting Room Floor

There are no posts in this category.

📅 Training Classes, Meetups & Events

Upcoming classes and events:

• 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 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

• David Burkus: Hands-on Agile #40: The Best Team Ever.

Your Opinion Matters

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Best,