Year: 2023
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The Team Dependency Matrix
In the large organizations I work with, dependencies are the number one blocker preventing fast flow. In these organizations that, for budgetary reasons, do annual planning, dependencies are the most significant determining factor to the success of their plans and the biggest afterthought. The tendency I see is for teams to plan their work as…
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Creating Focus Through User Needs Mapping and Core Domain Mapping
A team I’m coaching faced a challenge with the demand for their team’s services far exceeding the amount of work they could deliver. Here’s a look into an ongoing exercise I began with this team to help them get control of their work, and how I combined User Needs Mapping, Core Domain Mapping and Team…
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Just Enough Kanban
One of the most helpful things you can do when facing a problem is to visualize the situation. In software or service delivery, kanban is a handy method that lets teams visualize and better manage their business or workflows. If you don’t know what else to do, make it visual. Find some way to make…
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Mapping Options Using a Risk-Value Matrix
When it comes to dealing with all of the things competing for your attention, one habit I’ve picked up from practicing Getting Things Done for over ten years is to start writing down everything that’s on my mind and putting it all into an Inbox. The people I work with always have more work to…
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Experimenting With Controlling Cycle Time Instead of WIP
Limiting how many stories or tasks can occupy any particular activity in a team’s flow is a commonly recommended practice for teams using kanban systems. This way, the team can avoid overloading their system, reduce multitasking, and improve focus and quality. Applying work-in-progress (WIP) limits to kanban systems at the story or task level reveals…
Flow Focused 