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.

Articles

Agile Alternatives for a Geographically Distributed Team

If you’re the project manager for a geographically distributed team, you have likely encountered time zone challenges in running your meetings: 7 a.m. New York time is 8 p.m. in Singapore. Meetings at these times can exhaust everyone. Here’s a common scenario faced by managers of distributed teams: “We’ll have our next standup tomorrow, same

MPD, program management

Agile and Lean Program Management is Done

I sent my newsletter, Scaling Agile and Lean to Programs to my subscribers yesterday. (Are you one of them? No? You should be!) If you are trying to use agile for several projects that together deliver value (a program), you might be wondering what the “right” approach is. You’ve heard of frameworks. Some of them

newsletter

Scaling Agile and Lean to Programs

Scaling Agile and Lean to Programs Using agile or lean for one project can be a challenge. What happens when you want to extend agile or lean to multiple projects or across the organization? Many people try frameworks. Frameworks assume you have the same context and challenges as other efforts–even inside your organization. You have

Articles

The Value of Taking Breaks

For me, writing has four main parts: researching or deciding what to write and organizing it, writing, editing, and publishing. You might think of these steps as analysis and design, coding, testing, and release. I like to keep my writing chunks small so that my editing occurs soon after my writing. Small chunks also means

Agile Job Search, HTP

Five Tips to Combating Ageism in Hiring, Part 3

In Part 1, I described your job search planning. In Part 2, I discussed what you can do to help your resume. In this part, I’ll talk about the interview. Any candidate needs to prepare for the interview. If you are worried about ageism, consider these tips for these challenges: Specify your value, first to

Agile Job Search, HTP

Five Tips to Combating Ageism in Hiring, Part 1

About a year ago, I wrote “Hiring Trap: Don’t Hire Anyone Older Than….” Unfortunately, ageism is still rampant. If you are a candidate over the age of 40, you have encountered ageism. If you are also unemployed while you are looking for a job, you might feel as if you are up the proverbial creek.

newsletter

Build Your Agile Leadership

Build Your Agile Leadership In your organization, agile has helped your teams improve their value delivery. Although the teams retrospect, you expected more improvement. You think your agile journey might be stuck. Maybe it’s time for you to build a culture of agile leadership. Tip 1. Make your work transparent. Do other people know what

agile, MPD

How Agile Changes Testing, Part 4

In Part 1, I discussed the agile project system. In Part 2, I discussed the tester’s job in agile. In Part 3, I discussed expectations about documentation (which is what the original question was on Twitter). In this part, I’ll talk about how you “measure” testers. I see a ton of strange measurement when it

agile, MPD

How Agile Changes Testing, Part 3

In Part 1, I discussed how an agile approach changes testing. In Part 2, I discussed how the testers’ job changes. In this part, I’ll talk about expectations. Since the developers and testers partner in agile, the testers describe their approach to testing as they work with developers on the code. (This is the same

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