In Project Charter Part 2: Clarify the Project Driver, Boundaries, and Constraints for This Project, I explained how project risks can affect the team’s approach to the work. But project risks are not the same as product risks. Product risks are about the need for product innovation. The more innovation this product needs, the more […]
Let me set the context for this post about the project charter: By now, the team knows what it has to accomplish because they have a product vision. The next question is: How will the team manage their risks to achieve those outcomes? That’s where I recommend a team define its project driver, up to
I’ve been working with several supposedly “agile” teams and their managers. Everyone knows their project is in trouble. And they have no idea what to do about it. The team members say, “We’re on a death march. We have no predictability. Everything takes longer than we think it will.” The managers say, “We have no
Is your team ever surprised by how long things take? Do you hear things such as: Team members say, “I’ve been waiting for code review for more than 2 days.” (See Measure Cycle Time, Not Velocity to see the various durations for solo, cooperative, and collaborative work. Cycle time is a team-based measure of feedback
If you are like most people I know, you have way too many meetings. That leads to an overcrowded calendar and delayed decisions. Worse, it means the time you spend in meetings prevents you from doing “your” work, whatever that work is. That’s especially important the more responsibility you have. The greater your responsibility, the
I had so much fun recording a podcast with the Product Confidential people, Evie Brockwell and Michael Palmer. See the episode: The Essence of True Agility with Johanna Rothman. Check out the episode on Spotify and on Apple. Note: I do not use Spotify, nor do I use Apple, but I found the podcast in
This is the April 2025 Pragmatic Manager Newsletter, from Johanna Rothman. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email.Early in the agile community, people referred to the Product Owner as the “single wringable neck.” Somehow, if the product owner didn’t define the stories well, or create acceptance criteria, or even represent what someone
In my most recent writing workshop, one writer, Suzy, had a little trouble staying focused for an entire 15-minute writing session. (For my recommended writing process, see Writing Secret 12: Subheadings Help Guide Readers Through Your Content for how I use 15-minute timeboxes.) Suzy realized she could not always write forward. Sometimes, she had to
I use many apps on my Mac, iPad, and iPhone. There is clearly something in the air because, during the past three weeks, most of them broke. Here’s a partial list: The password manager (on all three devices, with at least 4 failure modes) Two different health-based apps Various kinds of email-based apps What do
This is the January 2025 Pragmatic Manager Newsletter, from Johanna Rothman. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email. Several of my leadership clients have this problem: they feel overwhelmed by all of their work. Here’s how one technical leader, Peter, describes his problem: “I’m in the middle of all the work. Because