Scrum

Psychologists, including Harvard’s Ben-Shahar, say that one way to analyze how people approach the world is by asking whether what they’re doing makes them happy today, and whether it will make them happier tomorrow.

The first step is just putting together a Backlog and a team. Think about the vision you have for your product or service or whatever, and start breaking down the things you need to do to execute that vision. You don’t need a whole lot—just a week’s worth of Backlog. And while the team members are holding their Daily Stand-up meetings and running t

There is a mnemonic I always use to tell whether a story is ready. It was created by Bill Wake, who’s a deep thinker on software design. Bill says that for any story to be ready it needs to meet the INVEST criteria: Independent. The story must be actionable and “completable” on its own. It shouldn’t be inherently dependent on another story. Negotia

Two, the Product Owner has to be empowered to make decisions. Just as management shouldn’t interfere with the team, the Product Owner should be given the leeway to make decisions about what the product vision will be, and what needs to be done to get there.

In their original paper that described what became Scrum, “The New New Product Development Game,” Professors Takeuchi and Nonaka described the characteristics of the teams they saw at the best companies in the world: 1. Transcendent: They have a sense of purpose beyond the ordinary. This self-realized goal allows them to move beyond the ordinary in

Three, the Product Owner has to be available to the team, to explain what needs to be done and why. While the Product Owner is ultimately accountable for the Backlog, there needs to be a constant dialogue with the team. Often the team’s expertise will inform the decisions the Product Owner needs to make. The Product Owner has to be reliable, consis

It’s the system that surrounds us, rather than any intrinsic quality, that accounts for the vast majority of our behavior. What Scrum is designed to do is change that system. Instead of looking for blame and fault, it rewards positive behavior by focusing people on working together and getting things done.

All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. —T. E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom

Don’t focus on delivering a whole list of things—everything and the kitchen sink—focus on delivering what’s valuable, what people actually want or need.