The year passed by quickly, and it’s challenging to come up with a list of my accomplishments over the past year. Aside from some other minor achievements that I won’t bother listing, only a little stands out about 2022. In any case, I’m proud of the work that I did. Workshops Since the pandemic started,…
Last time, we discussed a team where, to secure funding, they needed to present a strategy of where and how to invest. The team began by holding a series of workshops that I facilitated. In those workshops, I introduced the concept of Mental Model Diagrams that helps to match users’ needs with features that support…
Recently, my client asked for my help facilitating a series of strategic planning workshops. In order to secure funding for the next fiscal year, they needed to develop and present a strategy for their platform for the next ten years describing where to invest. To create that strategy, each workshop in the series would focus…
I spent some time experimenting with OpenAI’s ChatGPT product to ask it some questions about agile and was blown away by the results. Using this tool made it feel like I was getting a sneak peek into the future. I asked it a series of increasingly challenging questions. I started with some straightforward questions, asking…
In an earlier post, Quick Jira Control Chart Aging WIP Hack, I walked through the process of using Jira’s control chart report to get a view of a team’s aging work in progress. Aging work in progress is a simple and effective tool to help manage a team’s work. Soon after publishing that article, I…
One practice I often see organizations adopt but struggle with is Gemba Walks. Gemba Walks, sometimes called “go and sees,” originated from the Toyota Production System, and the principle behind them is that to truly understand what is going on, you have to go where the work gets done and see what is happening. The…
I’ve never been a fan of any of the reports you get from Jira, but I’ve especially felt like the control chart should be more useful for all the information it provides. A few weeks ago, I created a new custom filter that changes what information is displayed, which helps me quickly visually scan a…
When I work with teams who have undergone Agile or Product training, these teams often have large backlogs of work and boast about the importance of prioritizing work based on value. I’m currently helping a team that went through such training years ago, but these practices of having a backlog and focusing on customer value…
Boards of Canada – Reach for the Dead (from Tomorrow’s Harvest) – YouTube. I can’t express how excited I am for Boards of Canada’s new album, Tomorrow’s Harvest to come out. Ever since Graham introduced me to Boards, their music has been an anchor for me. I listen to them if I ever need to…
It may be difficult to notice at the moment, but Facebook Home could lead the next big evolution of mobile phones. The last big evolution came when Apple opened up iOS to third party developers and that decision ended up accelerating the adoption of the smartphone market, filling it with app stores worth about $15…