Food For Thought #79: Agile Tribes, Overcoming Waterfall, Prototype, Learn, and Iterate, Fear of Failure

Age of Product’s Food for Thought of February 19th, 2017 focuses on how to create agile tribes by building great teams in a simple yet compelling framework, and thus overcome the waterfall legacy of established organizations.

We also dive deep into how to identify the right product, product increment, or feature: from hypotheses, via validation, to delivery.

Last but not least: We learn that failure itself is no longer an option but the goal. That the fear of failure is the enemy of innovation, and how the universal income thus might help becoming more innovative. (Star Trek. Finally.)

Agile Tribes and Transition

Jimmy Janlén (via Crisp): 4+3+2+1 Team Success Factors

Jimmy Janlén presents ‘4+3+2+1 Team Success Factors’, a model that captures and describes what you can do to help your team become strong and successful.

Source: Crisp: 4+3+2+1 Team Success Factors

Author: Jimmy Janlén

(via Shane Parrish): Tribal Leadership: The Key To Building Great Teams

Have you ever wondered about internal organization dynamics and why some groups of people are more successful than others? Learn more on the hidden ‘tribal’ aspect of organizations.

Source: Farnam Street: Tribal Leadership: The Key To Building Great Teams

(via Front Row Agile): Agile Transition Strategy

James Sywilok suggests aligning your transition strategy with the three principle organizational groups: early adopters, the silent majority, and finally the resistance.

Source: Front Row Agile: Agile Transition Strategy

Yvette Francino (via TechBeacon): Why hybrid agile-waterfall projects fail

Yvette Francino reports on a recent survey of 403 Development and IT professionals, which revealed that pure agile projects are more successful than those that use a combination of agile and waterfall approaches.

Source: TechBeacon: Why hybrid agile-waterfall projects fail

Author: Yvette Francino

Jurgen De Smet: Large-Scale Scrum Adoption at BASE Company

Jurgen de Smet shares a presentation on how the BASE Company started its agile adoption, how they made bold changes, removed the PMO, and the middle management.

Source: Large-Scale Scrum Adoption at BASE Company

Author: Jurgen De Smet

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From the Blog: How to Make Agile Work in Fast-Growing Startups

From 2010 to 2017, I was working several years in three Berlin-based, fast-growing startups in my capacity as Scrum Master, agile coach, and Product Owner. These are my lessons learned on how to make ‘agile’ work in a fast-growing startup, and what anti-patterns to avoid at all costs.

Read more: How to Make Agile Work in Fast-Growing Startups

Product Discovery and Creation

Alex Osterwalder (via Strategyzer): Prototype, Learn, & Iterate

At each stage of your innovation journey, you should use different tools with varying levels of granularity to prototype your ideas. Alex Osterwalder walks you through that journey.

Source: Strategyzer: Prototype, Learn, & Iterate

Author: Alex Osterwalder

Eric Siu (via OpenView Labs): 6 Elements of a Successful Product Launch

In Eric Siu’s experience, successful product launches usually have the same few ingredients: the right timing, the right product, and the right customers.

Source: OpenView Labs: 6 Elements of a Successful Product Launch

Author: Eric Siu

Yassal Sundman (via Crisp): Feature Verification Funnel

You have a feature to implement. How do you choose the best way of implementation? Yassal Sundman shares her method?—?the verification funnel.

Source: Crisp: Feature Verification Funnel

Author: Yassal Sundman

Brian Donohue (via Intercom): 6 weeks: why it’s the Goldilocks of product timeframes

Brian Donohue details why Intercom opted for a six-week long product building cycle.

Source: Intercom: 6 weeks: why it’s the Goldilocks of product timeframes

Author: Brian Donohue

(via First Round Capital): Amazon’s Friction-Killing Tactics To Make Products More Seamless

Kintan Brahmbhatt, Director Product Management and Engineering PMO at Amazon, on how to detect and anticipate points of friction in a customer’s journey with your product.

Source: First Round Capital: Amazon’s Friction-Killing Tactics To Make Products More Seamless

The Essential Read

Scott Santens (via Evonomics): Universal Basic Income Accelerates Innovation by Reducing Our Fear of Failure

Scott Santens explains why failure itself is no longer an option but the goal. And the fear of failure is the enemy of innovation.

Source: Evonomics: Universal Basic Income Accelerates Innovation by Reducing Our Fear of Failure

Author: Scott Santens

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