Feedback & Reviews

Agile or Not Agile: That Is the Question

This article discusses the challenges of working in the traditional healthcare sector, particularly in insurance, due to the lack of continual feedback and slow development cycles. To address this, the company adopted the Shape Up framework, which allowed for longer cycles, more resilience to the lack of data, and the ability to ship asynchronously to the code. The company also modified Agile to serve their needs and learned how to separate shipping from delivering features to customers. This allowed them to move onto the next thing while their program management and marketing teams worked on the actual deployment of the feature.

Adjusting Your Working Style to Agile Practices and Mindset

A non-linear thinker was tasked with writing a document management system in four weeks, using Agile/scrum methodologies. When a new priority came up, they had to ship what was done so far, even though it wasn't complete. After a difficult conversation with a chief architect, they learned to adapt their working style to the Agile model, and to be self-aware and humble when admitting mistakes. This lesson taught them to evaluate their personal working style, think through projects in advance, and be ready to ship something shippable when priorities change.

Stepping up and Dealing with an Employee Demonstrating Low Performance

When the author became manager of a team of nine, they were warned about a person who had been moved around teams for years due to performance issues. The author took action by increasing one-on-one conversations, documenting conversations, and putting together a performance improvement plan. Eventually, the person chose to leave halfway through the plan. The author learned that it can be difficult to be direct and honest with people, but it is valuable.

Head or Tail: What PMs Should Be After

This article discusses the importance of considering both head and tail customers when developing enterprise software products. It suggests that the head customers are solution-driven and the tail customers are problem-driven. The article also emphasizes the need to focus on core use cases and create delightful experiences rather than blindly building features for the biggest customers. Finally, it suggests that it takes determination from a PM to create an intentional tension between the needs and wants of the head and tail customers.

Coaching Your Direct Reports

This article discusses the approach to coaching taken by the author, which is focused on outcomes and helping reports reach their goals. It outlines the steps taken to achieve this, including inquiring about the personal vision of the report, developing a plan to get there, and providing skill-building and personal coaching. The article also emphasizes the importance of being passionate about people, not just work and products.

Managing People More Experienced Than You

Leaders must be aware of the different personalities of their team members in order to effectively lead them. The DISC Assessment can be used to understand the strengths and personality traits of team members. Goals should be set according to the personality of the team member, with more flexibility for senior members. Leaders should also be aware of the motivations of their team members before assigning tasks.