Monthly News from Mike Cohn and Mountain Goat Software

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 03 Mar, 2013 Hi , I started a new project last month for which I'm the product owner. (You'll read more about it here soon.) This has got me thinking about product owners and wondering which one of these three quotes reveals who would be the best product owner: “Never leave till tomorrow that which you can do today.” - Benjamin Franklin "Never do today what you can do tomorrow. Something may occur to make you regret your premature action." - Aaron Burr “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.” - Mark Twain Let's consider who would be the best product owner. Ben Franklin would have me prioritize as much as possible into today, or at least into the current sprint. That sounds good. We'll get more value into the hands of our users that way. But what about Aaron Burr as our product owner? He makes a great point: If the product can get by another day without the new feature, why add it today? Something may change--maybe I'll think of an even better idea--and then I may regret my premature action. Hmm, but Mark Twain goes Burr one better. Putting action off even further could reveal even more information, and more information could indicate a different course of action. Sometimes action is called for--and we really should follow Franklin's advice to do today what we can. But sometimes a rush to act or to make a decision leads to the wrong result. After all, we are learning every day on our projects and some decisions deserve to be made tomorrow, when I'll be one day smarter. Or perhaps the day after tomorrow. One of the most important things in agile is a focus on continuous improvement. Here are three articles on continuously improving. How Do You Get from Here to Agile? Iterate. Historically, when an organization needed to change, it undertook a "change program." The change was designed, had an identifiable beginning and ending, and was imposed from above. Continue Reading... Best Practices Are Dangerous When Adopting Agile With most organizational change, after someone figures out the right or best way to do something, that way of doing it is captured as a “best practice” and shared with everyone else. For some types of work, collecting and reusing best practices... Continue Reading... There Is No End State When Transitioning to Agile None of the agile processes as described by their originators is perfect for your organization. Any may be a good starting point, but you will need to tailor the process to more precisely... Continue Reading... Mike Cohn of Mountain Goat Software has Certified ScrumMaster, Certified Scrum Product Owner, Succeeding with Agile, Effective User Stories and Agile Estimating & Planning courses scheduled in Boulder, Copenhagen, Dallas, London, Orange County, Oslo, San Diego, and Silicon Valley.

You're receiving this because you've subscribed via our site. Unsubscribe Now Update Subscription Preferences   Mountain Goat Software 1140 US Hwy 287 Suite 400-108 Broomfield, CO 80020 Add us to your address book