⚡ The fast edition: why agile ruins your product, and why you suck at time management // PM Snacks #23
Why agile can ruin your product, how to adjust your method, starting with user flows & 7 cognitive biases that make you struggle with your time
1️⃣ Agile Is Ruining Your Product • Jan 2019 • 6 min read
This article explains why the quest for autonomous and empowered teams can lead to create fragmented & confusing experiences for the users, thus hurting the business. Beyond delivering faster increments, you want to deliver coherent pieces. So:
1/ don't measure progress only by operational speed (= velocity)
2/ clearly differentiate bad dependencies (= slowing down the team) & good ones (= opportunities to collaborate & create a seamless solution)
#execution #agile
2️⃣ Help Your Team Find Its Own Way • Jan 2021 • 2 min read
Whatever agile method you will use, it should resolve your internal problems while keeping your users in mind. Don't copy blindly what works elsewhere:
1/ Spot your team's problems and the outcomes you seek (be sure to check the checklist)
2/ Research what others are doing
3/ Implement a MVP (= minimum viable process) to fix your issues
4/ Iterate
Btw, IMHO, it's more than okay to have teams working with different methods in the same company #execution #agile
3️⃣ Fast/Slow in 3X: Explore/Expand/Extract • Oct 2019 • 2 min read
One of the main benefits of agile methods is usually to deliver faster... but there is always a moment when velocity fluctuates. Then comes the obvious question from your manager: why are we slowing down? Many answers are possible but according to the author you should first assess the phase you are in: exploration, expanding or extracting. If you are looking for some strategies to accelerate, read this thread.
// Talking about speed, I need to share this page by the CEO of Stripe, Patrick Collison, referencing people achieving ambitious projects fast. Did you know that the first visa credit card was launched in 90 days, the iPod in 290 days or Amazon Prime in 6 weeks? #culture
4️⃣ User flow is the new wireframe • Oct 2018 • 6 min read
Stop designing pages/wireframes right away and start designing flows. Our job is to embrace complexity by building simple coherent experiences. The best tool I know is the user flow: a map of all the steps required to achieve a goal in your product. It's the quickest way to assess your solution and iterate #ux
5️⃣ 7 Cognitive Biases That Make Us Suck at Time Management • Oct 2020 • 16 min read
We are deeply irrational beings... But predictable irrationality can be studied, and maybe avoided. If you struggle with time management, be sure to read about these cognitive biases, and some workarounds. Btw, I just learned about a promising new calendar app called Daybridge. #manageyourself
👋 Make your voice heard, fill this form 🙌 • Jan 2021 • 3 min
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Olivier Courtois
10y+ in product, currently freelance, coach & advisor