Johanna Rothman

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

I have a new book: Project Lifecycles: How to Reduce Risks, Release Successful Products, and Increase Agility. I wrote it because I'm concerned about what I see in too many supposedly agile teams: Crazy-long backlogs and roadmaps. See Manage Unplanned Feedback Loops to Reduce Risks and Create Successful Products.)

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Business Consulting Agency

APRIL 9, 2024

This is where professional consulting services for startups come into play, offering invaluable assistance to entrepreneurs and investors aiming to maximize success and achieve sustainable growth. Let’s explore how consulting services can enhance startup businesses and deliver better results for entrepreneurs and investors alike.

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Consulting ROI Efficiency Financial 96

Johanna Rothman

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

More of my clients say they want business agility. Yet, we don't share a common definition of business agility. Instead, let's consider how to see management's adaptable and resilient actions. Those actions show that managers change their actions in the face of new information or feedback. That's a good thing.)

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Johanna Rothman

MARCH 13, 2024

Every day, I hear more stories of agile coaches or Scrum Masters losing their jobs. Several reasons: No manager cares about “agile” even if they care about agility. So, selling “agile” into the organization doesn’t create any traction for change. You might not like these ideas.

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Johanna Rothman

AUGUST 19, 2021

So when does it make sense to customize your agile approach to gain a strategic advantage? Example 1: Startup/Small Organization with Few Products. They offer their product in two versions: Pro and Lite. (No They want an agile approach, so they started with Scrum. Let's start with a couple of examples. Others mob.

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Johanna Rothman

JUNE 5, 2023

That's because each project offers different value over the product's lifetime. See Product Roles, Part 4: Product Orientation and the Role of Projects for images of why we want ever-increasing product value, but why we might space the projects out.) See Manage It! However, that does not always work.

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Johanna Rothman

DECEMBER 11, 2019

I spoke with a project manager recently. I used to facilitate project teams as a project manager. Why a project manager? We had (and still have) too many products to keep the same teams on them for a long time. We could move to a new product and/or a new team. Now, they want to call me a Product Owner.

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Johanna Rothman

AUGUST 26, 2021

They think agile approaches are tactics and agile tools are part of their strategy. That's why they want to Buy an agile approach. Because the managers don't realize that when they create a “standard” board, they demand every team follow the same workflow. They can manage the cost of the tools.

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Johanna Rothman

DECEMBER 2, 2022

On the ANE panel last night, an agile coach asked, “What's my path forward as an agile coach? I said that if the coach wanted to move up the hierarchy in the organization, the coach needed some form of management experience. Focus on business results, not agility per se. What do I do next?” Most cannot.

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Business Consulting Agency

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Whether implementing new technologies, restructuring operations, or fostering a culture of innovation, the role of change management, facilitated by adept business consulting services, is pivotal for companies of all sizes.

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Johanna Rothman

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

Several of my clients want to use some sort of maturity assessment for their agile transformations. For agile transformation, an assessment can help people see how they change—how they innovate the products and the culture. These are about the product development behaviors I see in the organization.

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Johanna Rothman

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

The managers don't believe the teams need product owners, so the teams don't have POs. The managers think a Scrum Master can support at least four teams. The managers (often with the assistance of a consultancy) decided Scrum was the answer. However, the managers didn't define the problem(s) they want to solve.

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Johanna Rothman

MARCH 18, 2024

That's why Part 1 of this series discusses your value and what managers want and need. That part discusses why managers see agile coaches and Scrum Masters as staff positions, not line jobs. I assume you have some sort of functional product development expertise. If not, why are you in technical product development?

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Johanna Rothman

APRIL 18, 2024

(See Flow Metrics and Why They Matter to Teams and Managers for why this happens.) Remember this: If your customers want to use your product, make it easy for them to do so. Because product problems cause several other problems: The customers have to decide if the aggravation of using this product outweighs the defects.

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Johanna Rothman

MARCH 14, 2024

And even if you can find an agile coaching or Scrum Master job, the pay is so terrible, you don’t want to take it. Your previous managers and potential managers don’t see the value of someone in your position. That’s because these managers think agile coaching and Scrum Mastering is a staff job, not a line job.

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Johanna Rothman

FEBRUARY 4, 2021

I had a great time on the Agile Coffee podcast, 75. Managing with Coffee. We spoke about a variety of issues that managers, teams, and people encounter, such as: Culture and how that plays out at all levels. How we might ascribe value to seeing customer situations vs sitting in the office working on the product.

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Johanna Rothman

JANUARY 6, 2023

Several people on social media have denigrated the terms “project manager” and “program manager.” ” These people claim there is no need for either role in an effective team, especially an agile team because the team can manage its own deliverables. Facilitating the team's collaboration.

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Johanna Rothman

JANUARY 21, 2021

When I think about agile approaches to work, I think about how fast we can change and the cost of those changes. That's why an agile approach with deliverables every day or week doesn't fit with some kinds of projects, such as events. Here, I assume you want multiple releases for your product.

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Business Consulting Agency

JANUARY 11, 2024

Creating a skin care product line is a nuanced endeavor that demands a blend of creativity, scientific precision, and industry knowledge. Business consulting services, particularly those specializing in the beauty and skincare sector, play a crucial role in navigating the complexities of bringing a new brand and product line to life.

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Johanna Rothman

NOVEMBER 19, 2021

Daniel Vacanti and Prateek Singh graciously invited* me to be on an episode of Drunk Agile: Episode 37 Johanna Rothman Part Deux More Bigger Aging. We didn't address this as much because I wrote about this in Manage Your Project Portfolio. Ordering the work by value, even though agile approaches hope the value changes. (Re)defining

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Johanna Rothman

MARCH 11, 2021

That often creates a problem: great technical people become insufficient managers. Let's not blame these people—many of them didn't want to become managers However, if people want more responsibility, the career ladder often forces people into management. Separate the Kinds of Leadership. What about title-based influence?

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Johanna Rothman

MARCH 9, 2021

I said that when we focus on individual achievements and deliverables, we ignore the agile system of work. Worse, when we reward individual achievements we prevent an agile culture. That's because agile teams learn together as they create the product. Agile Behaviors for Learning and Working Together. Adaptability.

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Johanna Rothman

JUNE 7, 2022

What do teams need to know about the product now to focus their work? If I was the product leader, I would write which feature sets and which problems they solve in each of these various minimum boxes. Product leaders need the flexibility to replan. Teams use backlogs for the day-to-day tactical decisions. He didn't know.

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Johanna Rothman

JANUARY 6, 2020

In Costs of an Agile Approach for Hardware Products , I suggested that an iteration-based approach for hardware was too expensive. Agile software teams are cross-functional and interdependent. Many agile software teams have somewhere between four and seven people. This hardware team swarms on a product.

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Business Consulting Agency

MARCH 11, 2024

The critical role that consultants play in supporting e-commerce businesses cannot be overlooked. Leveraging consultants to gain critical digital support for any type and size business. Consulting services is smart business. Addressing the complexities with expert support.

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Johanna Rothman

OCTOBER 12, 2020

Once the team completes that highest priority feature(s), the team can release the product. When we release, we can regroup and figure out what to do next for this product. Fork another product. (I I did this with several Lite vs Pro products using this approach.). Opportunities for More Agility.

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Johanna Rothman

NOVEMBER 9, 2021

Strategy and Product Feedback Loops. Instead, what if managers told the team when the managers want to make a decision? The team could deliver enough to help the managers make those decisions. Let's assume the managers want to replan the project portfolio every quarter. What about product decisions?

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Business Consulting Agency

APRIL 5, 2024

Technology and digital consulting services have emerged as catalysts for business transformation, enabling companies of all sizes and types to upgrade, innovate, and enhance their digital infrastructure and footprint. Let’s explore how consulting services in technology and digital realms benefit businesses across the spectrum.

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Consulting Efficiency Agile Data 52

Johanna Rothman

APRIL 2, 2019

We have many words for people who shepherd the business value of a product. When we don't agree, we run the risk of not managing our strategy, not thinking in terms of problems, and not managing our tactics. Here's how I think of the various agile product roles: product managers, product owners, and business analysts.

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Johanna Rothman

MARCH 8, 2022

The larger your product, the more likely you have components teams. I often see component teams because of the architecture of the product. In this first image, the Integrated System Program, the rest of the product uses the Platform of Common Services as components. InterRelated Program Product.

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Johanna Rothman

JUNE 24, 2020

In a conversation about product quality, the product owner said, “If the testers found the problems faster, we would be done faster.” That's because product development is a system of work. If you pressure one piece of the system and don't accommodate that pressure elsewhere, you create bad products.

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Johanna Rothman

DECEMBER 13, 2021

Your team has product-focused work. And, the team also has “fast” response-required, ad hoc work: Production support, when something breaks. Answer questions about possibilities for new development from management and others. With all these interruptions, when are you supposed to finish your product work?

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Johanna Rothman

OCTOBER 20, 2020

I discussed the origins of the agile approaches in Part 5. In this post, I'll discuss how you can create an agile approach that fits your context. Why should you create your own agile approach? Because your context is unique to you, your team, project, product, and culture. Remember, an agile approach starts with a team.

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Johanna Rothman

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

For years, managers have been trying to find ways to make software product development faster and easier. “Agile” as a way to do much more work in much less time. (NO! AI to take the place of humans in product development. There is one silver bullet for product development—the speed of team learning time.

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Johanna Rothman

AUGUST 14, 2019

In Part 1 , I wrote about how “Agile” is not a silver bullet and is not right for every team and every product. This post is about how management fits into agile approaches. Too often, managers think “agile” is for others, specifically teams of people.

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Business Consulting Agency

MARCH 19, 2024

Technology consulting services have emerged as essential partners for retail brands seeking guidance and expertise in managing their online platforms effectively. Technology consulting enhances digital retail. Technology consulting enhances digital retail. Speak to a consultant about your retail business.

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Johanna Rothman

OCTOBER 15, 2020

Which levers does your team need to manage risk in your project? Isn't every iterative and incremental approach an agile approach? We often hear agile approaches are a mindset. An agile approach requires a change in culture at the team level, at the portfolio level, and in management. You might not have the time.

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