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.

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3 Quick Project Portfolio Tips

3 Quick Project Portfolio Tips The second edition of Manage Your Project Portfolio is available now, in ebook and paper. I’m so excited. To celebrate, here are three tips to help you manage your project portfolio. Tip 1. Make your work visible. When I lead workshops to help people understand how to manage their project

Hiring Geeks That Fit, HTP

Interview About Hiring Posted

The nice folks over at Paysa interviewed me and posted the interview at: Expert Interview Series: Johanna Rothman of www.jrothman.com. I had a chance to wax eloquent about a number of topics: mistakes people make in recruiting and hiring, and the job search. Enjoy!  

Articles

When Can You Honestly Call Yourself Agile?

A project manager proudly told me he was agile. “We do standups every day. We work in iterations.” I asked, “How does the product owner like what you deliver every day or so?” “Oh, we only deliver once we have a hardening sprint, after our three development sprints.” He continued to describe what they do:

Articles

Three Tips for Removing Impediments the Agile Way

Impediments will occur on any project; agile projects are no exception to risks. Agile succeeds because you are more likely to see the problem before it becomes a disaster. Two developers got the flu. Your tester has jury duty. The team can’t figure out what the design should be for a specific feature and it’s

hiring strategy, HTP

Why You Want to Hire Older People

This morning, I read For Economy, Aging Population Poses Double Whammy (registration required). If you don’t read the WSJ, here are some interesting takeaways: On average, every 10% increase in the share of state’s population over the age of 60 reduced per capita growth in gross domestic product by 5.5%. … The authors note: “An older

agile, MPD

Board Tyranny in Iterations and Flow

I was at an experience report at Agile 2016 last week, Scaling Without Frameworks-Ultimate Experience Report. One of the authors, Daniel Vacanti said this: Flow focuses on unblocking work. Iterations (too often) focus on the person doing the work. At the time, I did not know Daniel’s twitter handle. I now do. Sorry for not

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