Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant
Expert in Managing Product Development
When Mark Kilby and I wrote From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams, we suggested teams add a text backchannel. Even when the backchannel is asynchronous, the information in it increases the value of all the team’s communication. The backchannel helps everyone see all the information. That helps all the team’s communication. Some of my …
Continue reading “Backchannel Discussions Might Create Serendipity”
As we move to more remote work, especially in these pandemic times, how do we integrate people so they can succeed? See Hiring Geeks That Fit for all the new employee checklists and how to use them. (Want to preview the checklists and templates? Download the HiringGeeksThatFitTemplates for yourself.) I updated the checklists with a …
Yesterday, you worked in an office with everyone else. Today, you’re supposed to work from home—and so is the rest of your team. And not just for the next few days, but for the next few weeks. What tools do you need? My list of the most important tools: A good microphone and headset so …
Continue reading “7 Tool Tips for Your Newly Distributed or Remote Team”
I’m stoked to do a webinar with Tom Henrickson, 8 Principles for Successful Distributed Agile Teams. My slides are all ready. And, I bet Tom will ask me a question that sets me off on a rant. If you want to listen to me rant in real time, please join us. We’ll be live on …
Continue reading “Geographically Distributed Agile Teams Webinar Dec 17, 2019”
Dave, the tech lead, was trying to use an agile approach with his team. Four of the people worked together in a team room in Waltham, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb. Two people worked from their homes in New Hampshire, and one person, the product owner, worked from her home in Indiana. Their agile approach wasn’t …
Continue reading “Distributed Team Workspaces Start With Hours of Overlap”
Summary: Many managers and distributed team members think that if they just had the right tools, they could make some agile approach work. Maybe, but tools only enhance the work of a collaborative agile team. Before you select tools, make sure you have people who can work together and have enough skills and capabilities for …
Continue reading “For Distributed Agile Teams, It’s Not All about the Tools”
I’ve been pair-writing a book with Mark Kilby, From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams: Collaborate to Deliver. We hit a big milestone today: We published the first complete draft today. We’ve been working on this book for a year. It’s much better because of our collaboration. We reflected a little on our success to …
Continue reading “Successful Geographically Distributed Agile Teams Book Milestone”