Phillip Starke
Dealing with split heads in product teams – 6 best practices
Split heads are people that are assigned to multiple teams. A team of split heads has many negative effects but there are ways around those.
Category Scrum Master
A comprehensive guide to stakeholder management – how to do it effectively
Stakeholder management is a core activity for anyone working in product development. It is key to building a successful product in the confines of a company. Also, it is rarely a topic of conversation.
Unfinished stories in Scrum – the easy way to handle sprint spillover
One of the most frequent questions I get from teams new to Scrum is how to deal with unfinished stories after the sprint. More often than not, my recommendation surprises the teams. It is very simple and often seems counterintuitive…
Why agile coaches should strive to be product coaches
Many believe that agile coaches can't be product coaches. I disagree. A good agile coach and product coach want the same: great products.
How to convince a skeptical team to give Scrum (or other methods) a chance
It can be difficult to get buy-in from the team members for a new approach like Scrum. The most effective way to create an open mind is showing what is in it for them. Making the daily work of the team easier and building a relationship on eye level are the key. These eight best practices are aimed at doing exactly that.
Brainstorming doesn’t deserve its bad reputation – how to make it work
There are ways to conduct effective brainstorming sessions. It’s just not the way they are typically done. Psychology is key.
Enhancing product clarity: the why, how, and what of User Story Mapping
A user story map visually depicts the entire backlog along the user journey while simultaneously showing the priority of user stories associated with each step. User story mapping is an excellent communication aid getting everyone on the same page and it allows for easy definition of releases. It is where you can clearly see the steps from MVP to fully fledged solution.
How to deal with an organization that has no interest in helping a new (Scrum) team succeed
5 ways to deal with the challenge of attempting to establish a Scrum team (actually any new team) within an existing organization.
The two keys to building a successful, empowered Scrum team
Let’s be honest, many companies do not implement the best practices of agile, lean, or other frameworks as they were intended. Organizations, human nature, and processes get in the way of the best intentions. Thus, companies often end up with…
Why typical product roadmaps fail – how to overcome their flaws
Roadmaps are ubiquitous. Everybody working in product development has encountered one. If you are a project manager, product owner, or product management professional you probably maintain one that you are using regularly to communicate timelines, priorities, and strategy. Also, you are likely unable to predict the future.