Author name: Johanna

I help you identify and solve the problems that prevent you from releasing systems, hiring the right people, deciding which project to work on next. I take a pragmatic approach: what will work best for you, now? Some people call me a focuser. Some call me an accelerator. When I work with people, first we define our goal together. Typically, it's to get a better product out the door faster. I work with my clients to help managers figure out how to do the managing better, and how the technical contributors can contribute better, not to create a by-the-book system. I work with you, your staff, and your current product development practices. Together, we learn what works well for you and what doesn't. I believe in changing only what needs to be changed at the current time, to maximize your success. We work together to develop a blueprint for the future, and to build in capacity to recognize and implement change.

MPD

2026.20 Opportunity Costs Are Not the Same as the Costs of Delay

This week’s podcast is from the Continual Planning book. I embed the podcast as a frame in these posts. If you cannot see the podcast, please click through to the post itself. (Or, get the RSS feed and listen in the podcast player of your choice.) The Podcast: The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of […]

MPD, podcast

2026.19 The Sigh Test

This week’s podcast is from the Continual Planning book. Enjoy! (I embed the podcast in a frame just below the Podcast heading. If you do not see the frame, please click through to hear it. Or, check out the YouTube video below.) The Podcast: The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with

newsletter

Drowning in Work? Three Tips to Help You Choose Your Single Focus

This is Johanna Rothman’s July 2026 Pragmatic Manager Newsletter. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this newsletter. (Looking for the video? I post the video within a few days of publication on my YouTube channel.) Are you drowning in work? While I mostly speak with project and program managers, or “people” managers, everyone

MPD, podcast

2026.18. Plan Confirmation Bias

My podcast this week is from the Continual Planning book. While I do embed the podcast into this post, you might not see it. Or, you might see a black or white box, depending on whether you read directly or from my RSS feed. You can always click through to the podcast, or subscribe in

MPD, podcast

2026.17. Starting Questions for Alternative Plans

My podcast this week is from the Continual Planning book. Enjoy! (You might not see the podcast in the frame below, depending on how you read my feed. If you see a blank space or a white box, do click through to the post itself. Thanks.) The Podcast: The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of

agile, MPD

How to Diagnose the Bottlenecks In Your Team to Reduce Cycle Time, Part 2

In How to Use Value Stream Maps to See Where AI Creates Bottlenecks Part 1, I described three teams that used LLMs. However, those teams only used LLMs as individuals, reinforcing resource-efficiency thinking instead of flow-efficiency thinking. (Resource efficiency makes everything take longer because of the focus on the individual. Flow efficiency allows the work

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