April 16, 2023

Backlog Feature Prioritization

This video demonstrates a walk through of a collaborative way to prioritize product backlog features. The “Prioritization Dojo”, as I like to call it in the office, has the participants creating Value Currencies, estimating those currencies across a set of features, then performing a Weighted Shortest Job First calculation to determine the backlog priority order. […]

June 12, 2022

Agile Coaching Stances

The world of agile coaching is incredibly diverse in its toolkits and approaches. An artful approach to agile coaching is knowing when to apply a specific stance in a specific circumstance. Great agile coaches will probe by asking questions and listening to the specific concerns of their client and apply the appropriate stance in that […]

January 16, 2022

DEEP Product Backlog

The product backlog in an agile context is the list of deliverables that the team needs to complete in order to deliver value for their customer. Teams starting their agile journey may have challenges forming their backlog ‘just right’. The DEEP acronym provides some advice that helps new teams on their way and acts as […]

July 29, 2020

Plan Do Check Adjust when Half A**ed

Plan Do Check Adjust is an approach for continuous improvement, but what happens when we skip steps in the cycle?

July 14, 2020

Coaching with a Business Analysis Technique

Professional coaching meets a business analysis technique to shape a coaching conversation.

April 10, 2019

Agile Catalyst Co-Creation Advanced Learning Experience Cube Coaching Block Toddler Interaction Session

My wife and 2-year-old son were playing with building blocks. A single adjustment to his construct was the genesis of this post. I made one adjustment to a toy and delighted myself on how the successive improvements flowed from one to another. My son was delighted that he had a new toy. If this post […]

July 3, 2018

Designing Better User Stories

It has been a while since I penned a post. Great User Story writing is an art. Just so I don’t fall into bad habits, a bit of therapeutic* writing can help keep my saw sharpened! Put the User at the Centre Our customer is the star of the show. They are the one we […]

January 27, 2018

Tips for High Impact Process Names

The first step in delivering a program of change is arriving at a common understanding of the terms and definitions we will use to describe the work we are trying to model. Done too fast without early conversations could have names and definitions being embedded into the code base and take years to reconcile. In […]

January 2, 2018

Value Chains – An Agile Perspective

From my “Lost Art of Concept Modeling” series. The purpose of this article is to present a modern view of value chains and how this communication tool can help teams discover insights into their product or service. This article will present the benefits of understanding the value chains within your business. My goals are to: […]

December 27, 2017

Layers of Progressive Detail in Concept Modeling

From the “Lost Art of Concept Modeling” Series. Concept modeling has been one of the best tools in my Business Analysis toolkit for understanding complex projects. Done well, the concept model facilitates necessary up front conversations needed for accurate delivery of projects. This series will provide the tools and techniques to help improve your product […]