I talked about setting a goal in my last article, and also referred to an approach called "GQM," or "Goal - Question - Metric". I thought that this time I would drill a little deeper into coming up with a goal. How does the goal fit with the Question and the Metric The focus I… Continue reading Setting goals if you are using GQM

Sometimes my approach to coaching is to pay attention to what is going on, form hunch and then act on it. Similarly I sometimes just enter into conversations with people to hear their views and then discuss whether we should act on their hunches. I believe that doing this can lead to some good insights… Continue reading Should I replace my hunch with data?

In my last article, I gave some thought to using data. Rather than saying you should use data, which you should, I looked briefly at the limitations and dangers of using data. This time though I thought I would start looking at how to use data for coaching teams and finding ongoing improvement. I use… Continue reading Hunches, spirals, data and ongoing improvement

A lot of product teams use a lot of data and I think that is great. I am even in the process of helping some teams better use the data that is available to them. However, doing so has reminded me that "using data" and "benefiting from using data" are different things. This article is… Continue reading Using data is good but watch out

I spoke to someone about being a Product Manager and what made them successful in the role. Of course, whole books have been written about the topic so I don't think I can do it justice on one blog article. One topic stood out for me though - the value of a wise and experienced… Continue reading Ignorant and curious or worldly and wise

I was re-reading a book called The Speed of Trust and it had some reminders in it that are both energising and scary. The book starts by setting a challenge that it should provide advice that is Timely, Relevant and Actionable. Great I thought, I can apply that to any coaching advice that I give… Continue reading Trusting agile coaches

I just heard the quote "the obstacle is the way," which I have heard more than once. I think it was originally said by Marcus Aurelius about 2,000 years ago. He probably actually said something similar in Latin and may have stolen the quote from someone else. Either way I think the idea is that… Continue reading The obstacle is the way .. or not

I was retrenched a few years ago (maybe 20) and one of the benefits I got was working with a coach who helped me work out what I wanted to do and also some "boring things" like writing resumes, going to interviews and other skills that I actually lacked. Applying for a job was something… Continue reading Staying in the game is winning too

A lot of people I talk to are working with legacy code - old clunky systems that are hard to work with. These systems are slow to change, poorly understood and often fragile. The often seem to rely on one or two gurus, who know the tips and traps for working with them. What is… Continue reading If legacy code is the excuse, legacy thinking is the cause