This week’s podcast is from the Writing Secrets book. While I did collect all the writing secrets, I did not “just” collect them and stuff them into this book. Instead, I cycled, writing forward for more clarification so they make more sense as a book. Then, I edited them. Yes, I practice what I preach. […]
In Part 1, I wrote about what the value stream map looked like for expert-focused “cross-functional” teams. While those teams are cross-functional, they are not collaborative. However, these expertise-focused “teams” are not the only type of non-collaborative agile teams. There are also cooperative teams. Cooperative teams still tend to work sequentially, focused on each person’s
We talk about cross-functional agile “teams” as if they are the norm. That’s what I show in this image: some responsible person creates a ranked backlog that the cross-functional, collaborative team works on. That team delivers increments of value on a regular basis. At some point, the team will demo their work and retrospect on
My podcast this week is from the Writing Secrets book. (I think this is the last secret, but we will see.) Enjoy! Note: If you read these posts in an RSS reader or via my Feedblitz feed, you might not see the player below the heading “The Podcast.” In that case, please either navigate to
This is Johanna Rothman’s March 2026 Pragmatic Manager newsletter. The unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email. Most of us have heard of—or suffered through—schedule delays. That’s when the project or program feels tremendous pressure to deliver some specific value by a specific date. To achieve those dates, we often heard lies such
This week’s podcast is from a new book: Nonfiction Writing Secrets: How to Write Better, Finish Faster, and Publish More Often. I had an opportunity to offer an exclusive book in a Storybundle later this spring. Because I use continual planning for my business, I realized I could offer this book. That means I have
Let’s assume that your team does have a definition of Ready. And that they (possibly with a product leader) have shaped the work. But the team still says they don’t know how to start—they don’t have the right people to think through the problem and finish it. If you have component teams, the team is
This week’s podcast is an early part of the Continual Planning book. I thought this was the Introduction when I wrote it. Maybe, maybe not. (Insert laughter here.) The Podcast: The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for March 13, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a
Maybe your team does have Ready criteria for their backlog. But they look at the backlog item, and they say, “Oh, this is way too big. We have no idea how to start.” That “no idea” often means the work is too large, unclear, or not based on a specific customer with a specific need.
The Writing in Public podcast returns! Life, including many travel changes, etc, interrupted my normal schedule. But I’m back and starting a new nonfiction book about continual planning. Enjoy! The Podcast: The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for March 6, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just