This is Johanna Rothman’s August 2026 Pragmatic Manager newsletter. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email. Do you feel as if you’re in the middle of too-frequent change? I do. Even though I only have manageable and relatively small projects, I can’t quite see around the various corners to predict what I […]
How do you know when you finished a feature? You might have a checklist, to make sure multiple people looked at all the artifacts, and that everything is checked in. (This is easier if you work as a mob/ensemble, pair, or swarm.) In addition, a product leader might approve the feature. Finally, the team, a
In product development, we often use the words, “user” and “customer” interchangeably. But they mean different things depending on the type of product you create. I wonder if it’s time to stop talking about “customers” altogether. It’s time to clarify who we want to satisfy, so we can make better product decisions. Here are my
I spoke with a project manager recently. She told me her story. I used to facilitate project teams as a project manager. Why a project manager? Because the project had a beginning and an end. We had (and still have) too many products to keep the same teams on them for a long time. For
At the Influential Agile Leader workshop earlier this year, I led a session about scaling and how you might think about it. I introduced the topic and explained that “scaling” might not be the answer. My experience is that when people use frameworks for larger efforts, they experience these unexpected side effects: The framework actions
I have a new column up on projectmanagement.com, 3 Questions to Ask Before Estimating an Agile Program. Often, management wants an estimate for the program. I suggest that before a program manager ask the teams to estimate, she learn the answers to these questions from management: How much would you like to invest in time,
Note to my dear readers: As I write, I realize this series is growing. Thank you for your understanding in advance. In Defining “Scaling” Agile, Part 4: Sharing Agile Outside of Product Development, I wrote about an independent workgroup with one stream of work. I used Customer Support as an example. Support has one stream:
Here’s where we are so far in this discussion of what it might mean to “scale” agile approaches: Part 1: Creating Cross-Functional Feature Teams (Teams that can produce features on a regular basis) Part 2: Programs of Cross-Functional Feature Teams (Programs (multiple teams working together) that deliver features on a regular basis) Part 3: Agile Product
In the “Scaling” Agile: Part 1, I wrote about cross-functional collaborative teams. The cross-functional collaborative feature team is the basis for “scaling” agile. In “Scaling” Agile, Part 2, I wrote about programs. I realized I need another part before my original part 3 :-). This new part 3 is about creating agile product development capabilities.
The first post was about scaling functions to working as collaborative agile teams. See Defining “Scaling” Agile, Part 1: Creating Cross-Functional Teams. Now, let’s talk about moving to multiple teams working together, a program. The good news is that you have a few cross-functional teams. They’ve been delivering as project teams. And, now you have a