Food for Agile Thought #401: Product Thinking, Prioritization to Accountability, Product-Market Fit Game

Welcome to the 401st edition of the ‘Food for Agile Thought’ newsletter, shared with 47,937 peers. My name is Stefan Wolpers.

This week, we join Murray Robinson, Shane Gibson, and Jeff Patton to delve into product thinking. Also, we highlight misconceptions around Agile adoption, clarifying that the term “faster” is not mentioned in definitions of “Agile” or “agility” before we move to combine Wardley Mapping, Domain-Driven Design (DDD), and Team Topologies to develop “adaptive socio-technical systems.” Moreover, Peter Stevens created an informative and concise 15-minute animated presentation introducing Scrum.

Then, we explain why opting for agile coaches instead of product coaches as a cost-saving alternative often falls short, and John Cutler suggests that product leaders must establish their product’s investment and governance framework to avoid one being imposed on them. Moreover, we emphasize the importance of finding product-market fit in a startup, pointing to a comprehensive guide that provides valuable lessons from six pivots. Another goodie comes from Paweł Huryn, as he delves into the implications, exploring the distinction between product management and product marketing.

Finally, we highlight the importance of post-mortem meetings to uncover lessons from failed projects. Learn more about running them, including their definition, timing, benefits, conducting methods, etc. The DORA 4 metrics, derived from Accelerate, help engineering teams understand what it means to operate as an elite team. However, there is a problem with typical implementations. Lastly, Dean Peters explores how ChatGPT can aid product managers in formulating user stories, providing a fictional example of a product manager, and we take another shot at the perils of an oversized Product Backlog.

🏅 The most popular discussion on LinkedIn last week was: Introducing: The Minimum Viable Library — #Agile #Coaching edition!

PS: 🗞 Did you miss past issues? No worries, here we go: 400, 399.

PPS: 📖 Get notified when the Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide will become available.

👉 Es gibt für die Professional Scrum Master Schulung PSM I am 5. und 6. September 2023 Schulung ein Community-Ticket für “Food for Agile Thought”-Abonnenten mit 50 % Nachlass. Bei Interesse meldet Euch bitte bei mir.

🏆 Tip of the Week

🎙 Join Murray Robinson and Shane Gibson as they discuss product thinking and user story mapping with Jeff Patton. Jeff emphasizes the focus on outcomes, achieving product-market fit through understanding customer problems, and balancing desirability, value, and feasibility. Gain insights into the importance of prototyping and prioritizing user outcomes: "Product thinking and user story mapping."

🍋 The Lemon of the Week

We are lemon-free this week.

➿ Agile & Scrum

• 📺 Agile Alliance: Many individuals prefer working independently, and managers often assign tasks to their top performers, providing personal flexibility, autonomy, accountability, and predictability. However, if productivity is important, there may be better approaches, suggests Tim Ottinger: "If Productivity Matters (and it Probably Does), then Team Up!" [Requires membership.]

• Medium: Scott Duncan highlights misconceptions around Agile adoption, clarifying that the term ‘faster’ is not mentioned in standard definitions of “Agile” or “agility.” Achieving agility involves maintaining balance and stability while moving quickly. Learn more about balancing speed and stability in agile practices: "Implementing Agile Values and Principles: Faster, Cheaper, Better."

• InfoQ: Susanne Kaiser emphasizes a holistic approach when developing adaptive socio-technical systems, combining Wardley Mapping, Domain-Driven Design (DDD), and Team Topologies. This powerful toolset enables the design, construction, and evolution of systems optimized for sustainable change and resilience in dynamic environments: "Adaptive, Socio-Technical Systems with Architecture for Flow: Wardley Maps, DDD, and Team Topologies."

• 📺 YouTube: Peter Stevens’ ‘Inside the Scrum Team’ offers an informative and concise 15-minute animated presentation introducing Scrum. Part 1 explores the reasons for Scrum, the Scrum Team’s relationship with stakeholders, and the benefits of the Scrum approach. Part 2 delves into the relationships between Scrum Developers, the Scrum Master, and the Product Owner, along with common challenges: "Inside The Scrum Team - 15-Minute Introduction to Scrum."
  
  

🎓 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills Class — October 4, 2023

The Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills (PSFS) training by Berlin Product People is a guaranteed one-day official Scrum.org class for advanced Scrum practitioners and agile coaches, including the industry-acknowledged PSFS certification. This PSFS training class is in English.

Enjoy the benefits of an immersive class of two compact sessions with like-minded agile peers from 09:00 – 17:30 o’clock CEST.

👉 New in 2023: Refresher Classes: Attend a free refresher class as a former student upon arrangement and availability.

Learn more: 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills Class — October 4, 2023.

👉 From time to time, we can offer last-minute seats for 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 register here.

🎯 Product

• Petra Wille observes the rise of product coaches and their increasing influence in the industry. While recognizing the value they bring, companies often opt for agile coaches as a cost-saving alternative. However, the author explains why this decision not to spend money often falls short: "Why Agile Coaches Can't Be Product Coaches."

• John Cutler suggests that product leaders must establish their product's investment and governance framework to avoid one being imposed on them. Prioritization is insufficient; instead, implement a progressive funding model and hold yourself accountable for resource allocation: "From Prioritization to Accountability (and Autonomy)."
  
  

• PostHog: James Hawkins emphasizes the importance of finding product-market fit in a startup and compares the process to playing Snakes and Ladders. Based on the author's experience, this guide provides valuable lessons from six pivots and achieving product-market fit: "The Product-Market Fit Game."

• A few weeks ago, Airbnb made headlines by restructuring its product management function, leading to misconceptions about eliminating the PM role. In this article, Paweł Huryn delves into the implications, exploring the distinction between product management and product marketing: "Product Management vs. Product Marketing vs. Product Growth 101."

🛠 Concepts, Tools & Measuring

• The DORA 4 metrics, derived from Accelerate, help engineering teams understand what it means to operate as an elite team. For example, these metrics measure velocity and stability, enabling teams to improve and achieve better business outcomes. However, according to Ori Keren, a problem arises in their implementation: "DORA Metrics: We’ve Been Using Them Wrong."
  
  

• Parabol Focus: The author highlights the importance of post-mortem meetings to uncover lessons from failed projects. Learn more about running productive post-mortems, including their definition, timing, benefits, conducting methods, alternative approaches, templates, facilitator questions, and FAQs: "How to Run a Post-Mortem Meeting: Easy 6-Step Process."

• 280 Group: Dean Peters explores how ChatGPT can aid product managers in formulating user stories, providing a fictional example of a product manager. Discover the repeatable structure for future dialogues and leverage the paid version of ChatGPT to manage incoming ideas: "Harnessing ChatGPT to Generate User Stories: A Product Manager's Guide."

🎶 Encore

• Medium: Keith McCandless, Arvind Singhal, and Steven H. Cady look at the origins and principles of Liberating Structures (LS), an open-source repertoire of protocols and rules that free individuals from exclusionary patterns. With ten principles and 33 practical methods, LS is versatile and applicable to various group processes. Learn more about the liberating power of LS: "The Deliberate Irony of Liberating Structures."

• Mind The Product: Phani K Vuyyuru shares strategies for product managers to reignite their passion and overcome stagnation: introspect regularly, reprioritize initiatives, calibrate against competitors, and seek customer feedback. Learn more about reigniting passion in product management: "Unlocking your potential: Strategies to reignite passion for product managers."

📅 Training Classes, Meetups & Events

Upcoming classes and events:

• 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 August 17 — Meetup: Hands-on Agile #52: Jim Highsmith & the Agile Manifesto
• 🖥 💯 🇬🇧 August 29-30 — Live Virtual Class: Advanced Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM II; English)
• 🖥 🇩🇪 September 5-6 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM I; German)
• 🖥 💯 🇩🇪 September 26-29 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Product Owner Training (PSPO I; German)
• 🖥 🇬🇧 October 4 — Live Virtual Class: Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills Training (PSFS; English)
• 🇬🇧 October 24-25 — In Berlin: Advanced Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM II; English)

See all upcoming classes here.

📺 Youtube Channel

• Joe Justice: How Elon Musk Would Run YOUR Business — Hands-on Agile EXTRA.

Your Opinion Matters

Would you like to suggest a post for next week's edition or provide general feedback? You can reply to this email, or contact stefan@age-of-product.com.

If you like the newsletter, please forward it to a friend or colleague—it would mean a lot to me! 🙏

If you want to receive even more news, just follow @AgeOfProduct or @StefanW on Twitter for your daily dose.

Last, but not least: If you are a first time reader of this newsletter, click here to subscribe and join 47,937 peers.

Best,