Managing Product Development

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Managing Product Development

Management, especially good management, is hard to do. This blog is for people who want to think about how they manage people, projects, and risk.

Chess Pieces or Domain Expertise? Your Choice

Blog Post

by Johanna Rothman

Jun 18 2013 - 9:36am

Many years ago, I started a job as a contract manager, and it became clear I had a big problem. I had developers who knew one area of the code well. I had testers who knew not much of any area of the code well, even though they had worked for the organization for many years. Why? They had been shuffled from one project to another almost every month for years.

Slides from Exploding Management Myths Posted

Blog Post

by Johanna Rothman

Jun 10 2013 - 8:24am

I gave a talk last week at Better Software/Agile Development, called Exploding Management Myths. This is my first talk based on some of my management myths. Yes, the ones I’ve been writing for the last 18 months. Yes, I have more in me :-)

Servant Leadership Needs Influence

Blog Post

by Johanna Rothman

Mar 7 2013 - 8:02am

I’m at AgileIndyConf today and tomorrow. Today, I’m leading a tutorial about Agile Project Management. Tomorrow is my keynote about Agile Management. And, that got me thinking about agile management, again.

Organizing an Agile Program: Part 2, Networks for Managing Agile Programs

Blog Post

by Johanna Rothman

Mar 5 2013 - 8:51am

In Organizing an Agile Program: Part 1, Introduction, I discussed the difference between hierarchies and networks. I used Scrum of Scrums as an example. It could be any organizing hierarchy. Remember, I like Scrum as a way to organize a project team’s work. I also like lean. I like XP. I like unbranded agile. I like anything that helps a team deliver features quickly and get feedback.

Organizing an Agile Program, Part 3, Large Programs Demand Servant Leadership

Blog Post

by Johanna Rothman

Mar 4 2013 - 8:47am

In Organizing an Agile Program, Part 1, Introduction, I suggested you think about the communication paths of your programs. Instead of hierarchies, I suggested you think of networks of teams.

Speaking at an AgileConnection Meetup Feb 28

Blog Post

by Johanna Rothman

Feb 26 2013 - 10:37am

Want to ask me questions about anything agile? Are you available Thursday Feb 28 at 12:30 pm Eastern? We’re doing our first Online AgileConnection MeetUp. Since it’s the first, and we don’t know what you want, we thought we’d do a lean startup approach to it. We’re doing questions-and-answers.

Organizing an Agile Program: Part 1, Introduction

Blog Post

by Johanna Rothman

Feb 25 2013 - 8:40am

If you want to organize an agile program, so you can manage the stream of features in your agile program, you have some options. It depends on the size of your program. The communication structures in your agile program matter.

Interview About Pragmatic Ways to Manage Technical Debt

Blog Post

by Johanna Rothman

Feb 22 2013 - 10:23am

I had a great time recording an interview last week with Carolyn Seaman for OnTechnicalDebt.com. The interview is over at Pragmatic Ways for Your IT Team to Deal with Technical Debt. Alexandra queued us up. Carolyn and I had a great time discussing technical debt.

Hiring Geeks That Fit is Available at the Pragmatic Bookshelf

Blog Post

by Johanna Rothman

Feb 21 2013 - 10:45am

Drum roll please… I am very pleased to announce that Hiring Geeks That Fit is also available at the Pragmatic Bookshelf!

Bumping Into Manager Rules

Blog Post

by Johanna Rothman

Feb 19 2013 - 10:03am

You might have met a manager on a bad manager day. Equally as frustrating is when you work for a manager who has rules about problem solving. I once worked for a manager who proudly said to me, “Don’t bring me a problem without bringing me a solution.” I blinked once and said, “Why would I bring you a problem I could solve?”