Deliver It Cast

Finishing up Season 6 with a Q&A session. Any/all questions on PO, Product, Agile, Podcast, anything really. Thank you everyone who stuck with the show through this crazy season with all the changes going on in your life and work. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - seek taiju Douglas Squirrel and Jeffery Fredrick - Agile Conversations Joshua Kerievshy - Why are component Teams still so popular?    

EP117 [117] - Speaking in Percentages? When Product Owners start asking questions or talking about an activity, what type of questions do we ask? Are they open-ended, exploratory or curious ones, or are they binary quick answers with little to no requests for information? In this episode, we'll explore a small section of David Marquet's latest book and the implications it might have on how the PO's can change the way we search for better connections and data with our teams, customers, and products. Would it help if we starting looking for more probabilistic or percentage-based answers? Could we really make some impactful changes by rephrasing our questions? Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - seek taiju David Perira - Why many companies will never hire a good Product Owner Janna Bastow - Reframing backlogs and roadmaps for good David Marquet - How to Avoid Groupthink - Leadership Nudge 228 David Marquet - Quality Questions - Leadership Nudge

It's time for an updated look at a PO Maturity index. In this episode, Bob Galen returns to review the recent changes he made to his Agile Journey Index Maturity Model" and discuss why some of those changes happened. There's some feedback, some challenges, and some learning that we discuss along the way. Grab a sufficiently mature whisky and follow along. Maybe you and your organization can learn a thing or two about Product Ownership. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - seek taiju Bob Galen - Twitter - Blog - www.rgalen.com Bob's Model - Scrum Product Ownership AJI Scotch Whisky - How do you define maturity in whisky? Jim, Kim, Bob - Organizational Agility Unleashed - Getting work done in an increasingly Complex Digital World Marty Cagan - Discovery - Judgment

  How much time do you, as a Product Owner, spend thinking about your user's core problem? How much time does the rest of the team spend exploring ideas and different approaches to solving them? Why don't you spend more time doing that? In this episode, we talk with Ant Murphy about some of the reasons that we need to spend more time, effort, and energy on the depth of our problem-solving. What would it look like if PO's and companies did go deep on understanding, iterating, and experimenting more? Our products will be better for it, users of our applications happier with it, and business will benefit more from it. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - seek taiju Ant Murphy - Twitter - Blog Ant's Sketch - "Depth of Problem" Joe Van Os - The Art of the Strategic Product Roadmap AilgeLeanLife - The 5 Whys technique – dig deep to find the root cause of any problem InfoQ - How Lean Problem Solving Increases Agile Team Productivity: a Mobile Applica

  The Product Owner's brain is a complicated thing. Some of the practices and patterns that we try to make it easier, can also cause us to miss some key elements or information. These Cognitive Biases show up in our shortcuts or established ways of thinking every day. It's important to understand, acknowledge, and find ways to counter those biases when needed. In this episode there are some of the main ones PO's might have themselves, see in others, and deal with during your work. Have one that you struggle with? Send it in. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - seek taiju Very Well Mind - 10 Cognitive Biases That Distort Your Thinking Buster Benson - You are almost definitely not living in reality because your brain doesn’t want you to  PhD Insights - 4 Cognitive Biases Every Product Manager Needs to Combat  Gil Bouhnick - 84 cognitive biases that will help you design better-converting products  Brad Wray - Cognitive Bias Song  Jeff Payne -

A common career path when companies start to become more agile is Business Analysts looking to become Product Owners. Sometimes that's by choice and sometimes that is how the organization and teams first move towards using agile methods and practices. In this episode, we welcome Lisa Williams to the show to talk about how she went through that transition and how she has worked with teams and companies to move other BA's into the PO role. There might still be some places where BA's can work on agile or scrum teams successfully. Have any examples? Send them in. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - seek taiju  Lisa Williams - @lcw927 - LinkedIn  Jacqueline Sanders-Blackman - The Yin and Yang of the Business Analyst and Product Owner Roles IPL - Moving from a Business Analyst to a Product Manager role David Pereira- The road from Business Analyst to Product Owner  Angela Wick - https://www.ba-squared.com/ Simon Bates - Scrum in practice: the

A lot of PO's, teams, and organizations struggle with the principles of the agile manifesto. One in particular causes so many issues, that of simplicity. Adding instead of removing, more instead of less, trivial many over the essential few. In our products, systems, and structures you've seen the added parts that build more and more complexity and complications. Why do we collectively do that? What can you do to help simplify some of those items or start with a simple item to begin with. In this episode, there are some suggestions for how to engage your focus, some steps to work toward simplicity, and tips to keep it there. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - seek taiju Des Traynor - Product Strategy: Revisited Chris Davies - Simplicity — the least understood Agile Principle Ron Jeffries - YAGNI, yes. Skimping, no. Technical Debt? Not even. Cognitive edge - Cynefin framework introduction Christopher Laine - Advice to Product Owners from a

Another technical topic that PO's either get drafted into or need to know more about, is Security. In all its various forms, needs, and issues, Product Owners need more information about how to work with the team, organization, and users on having a solid baseline and making improvements. In this episode, Coveros CEO Jeff Payne joins to talk about how he has seen the PO help and hurt security efforts, some things to think about during planning and daily activities, and who to partner with to get better. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - seektaiju Jeff Payne - @jefferyepayne - Coveros Coveros - From Chaos to Successful Distributed Teams Coveros - Continuous Security in Agile Development LeanAgile Training - Question about the PO, vague requirements and team members HBR - Develop Agility That Outlasts the Pandemic Zack Bonaker - Do you need an “Agile Coach”? Probably not.    

Even though you as a Product Owner are surrounded by teams, customers, and stakeholders, sometimes things can happen that leave you feeling like your all alone. It's a nasty feeling and not knowing who to turn to, who can help, and what to do next. A situation of isolation is something that POs can find themselves in for one reason or another. Todd Miller is back on this episode to share his stories and examples of when he was Lonely as a PO and what he did to find his way through that. We also talk about some studies and information on how some leaders find themselves or make themselves isolated and keys to eliminating that feeling of you against the world. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - seek taiju - http://seektaiju.com/index.html Todd Miller - @todd_miller11 - Fixing Your Scrum Craft Brewed Agile - YouTube Scrum.org - Lessons Learned from Implementing Evidence-Based Management  Forbes - Do You Feel Lonely As A Leader? Study Says Yo

Looking back at the scrum guide is a good idea for a Product Owner. One of the foundational elements of scrum is the philosophy that it is built on, that being empirical process controls. What is empiricism and how can POs and others benefit from it? In this episode, some of the ideas around empiricism are explored and why they are important. Also some of the related and competing concepts are recognized for thought. If you have any favorite stories or empirical examples please share so we can continue to learn. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - seek taiju Scrum Guide - Scrum Guide Mark Noneman - The Empirical Product Owner ThoughtCo - Philosophical Empiricism Jason Fried - Take a tour of Hey ScrumMaster Toolbox - The PO who threw the team under the bus (Steve Jaccaud)    

As Product Owners, we've helped to understand the customers' goals and found ways to collaborate with the team to build what is needed. One step that might have been overlooked is why would customers care? How do you let them know how amazing your product is for them? What you need is a great way to position your product in the market. That's where today's guest comes in, April Dunford has written an eye-opening and deep book on product positioning for you and your customers that PO's can greatly benefit from. Take a listen then grab the book so you can start winning in your market with her examples and methods. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - seek taiju Obviously Awesome Book  April Dunford aprildunford.com @aprildunford April Dunford, Ambient Strategy - Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning Holly MacDonald - April Dunford and Obviously Awesome Jiajia Hu - How to think systematically as a UX Researcher Christian Strunk -

Look at it, it's staring your poor Product Owner eyes down. It's relentless, unmoving, and completely in your way. You might be able to get around it some, but it's risky and could do something unexpected. That's right, it's another impediment. It's something that is stopping the team, the organization, or the customers from getting what they need to get done, done sooner, and without frustration. It's slowing you down so part of your needs, is to help remove it any way you can. In this episode, I'll share some hints, ideas, and strategies for dealing with, managing, and ultimately removing these pesky critters. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - seek taiju Ben Linders - Handling Impediments: Why it matters Ken Power - Impediment Busting: Designing an Impediment Removal Process for Your Organization Mike Cotteyer - https://www.leadingagile.com/2008/09/you-are-the-impediment/ Hans Samios - Why Hasn't Our Agile Implementation Lead to Cost S

As with most loops, things come back around. In this case, some of the research for an earlier episode led to the book called Loops by J Cornelius which is definitely something Product Owners need to crack open. J joins in this episode to discuss how his book can help POs and teams understand their customers needs better and ways to constantly research, prototype, and test for their ( and your ) benefit. If you want to understand how J measures business success then listen in, better yet go get the book and learn even more. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - seek taiju J Cornelius - JCornelius.com - NineLabs - @JC Loops: Building Product With Clarity & Confidence Loopsbook: LoopsBook-Resources Deliver It Cast Ep 94 - The Loop Marty Cagan - Spotify vs. Fitbit Mob Mentality - Rob Myers on the next “Extreme” Methodology        

When you think of all the things you need to do as a Product Owner, how do you structure your day, your systems, and your needs? For some POs, it's one of the harder aspects of the job. It's one of the things that you might need to look elsewhere for some tips and tricks to get and stay organized. The better you can organize yourself the better you can help with the team and organization. While it might be fun to go full Marie Kondo on your Product Backlog, start with something simple to help you first. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com Links: Inc. - How These 7 Entrepreneurs Stay Super Organized Unito - How to Stay Organized as a Product Manager Lean Smarts - The basics of 3S Baker Bettie - Mise En place for baking Cooking Light - How to Mise en Place Durango Herald - To cook like a pro, start with proper preparation Jeff Patton - The game has changed  John Culter - Journey to Product teams    

What do you think of when someone asks about your Product? How do you describe it to any new members of the team, potential customers, or even relatives? Are there common themes to other products you bring out, or ways you speak about the products you own? In this episode, we get into how products are defined and what are some of the ways to think about approaching it. Todd Miller is back with us to add his thoughts and experience around how to define a product. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - seek taiju Todd Miller - @todd_miller11 - Fixing Your Scrum: Marty Cagan - Defining Product Pragmatic Scrum - What is a Product? Roman Pichler - What is a Digital Product? Mike Cohn - What Is a Product? Modern Agile w/Richard Sheridan - Modern Agile Show #41 Richard Sheridan - Joy Inc. Jason Fried & David Hansson - Remote: Office not required    

Every so often the great debate, misunderstanding, or downright wrong theory is put forward about what do we have/call people, Product Owners or Product Managers. There's been a ton written and spoken to this particular topic and in this episode, I pulled together some of my favorites and explain my point of view as well. Sometimes the definitions and reasons are pretty simple, others, a bit more involved. No matter what your title or role may be, this show should help you think about how you can do it better. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com Links: Any Murphy - The Collision of Product Management and Product Ownership Melissa Perri - Product Manager vs. Product Owner Rich Mironov - We Don’t Hire Product Owners Here Marty Cagan - Product Manager vs. Product Owner Revisited Ron Jefferies - Names Remove Impediments Bob Galen - Scrum Product Ownership: Navigating The Forest AND The Trees Gabriel Steinhardt - Origins of the Product Manager vs Product Owner Dilemma (Video) H

Sadly a lot of attempts at using agile or scrum fail. In many of those cases, there were things a Product Owner, Scrum Master, team, or company could have done to prevent it from failing. Thankfully, Ryan Ripley and Todd Miller have written a new book detailing some of the ways they have successfully worked with teams and people to solve those underlying problems. In this episode, they join the show to talk about areas of particular interest to the PO and things we can do ourselves, encourage in others, and help fix our delivery. Get your copy of the book and let them help you!    Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - seek taiju Ryan Ripley - @ryanripley | Todd Miller - @todd_miller11 Ryan Ripley and Todd Miller - Fixing Your Scrum: Practical Solutions to Common Scrum Problems Scrum.org Webinar - Thursday March 26th 2020 Dave Wascha - Look to the Left Deliver It Cast [20] - Remote Ownership        

From time to time it's good to reset where you are at and see how the basics are doing. It is that time again for the show to reevaluate the first steps new Product Owners can take and for others to see if they are missing anything. Also a good way for anyone new to the show or missed a few to see what the last 50 topics were to see if going back and hitting one that has a particular interest for you for the first or second time. Great to be back.    Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - seek taiju Deliver It - [50] Back to Basics Favorite and recommended PO links & books - Taiju Consulting Links  Freakonomics - #397 How to Save $32 Million in One Hour (@28:24) Prochaska & Norcross - Change for Good  

  100 Episodes of Product Owner goodness are wrapping up with a retrospective and open questions. So much to be thankful for, so much amazing information shared this season with great guests and I want to thank all the PO and non-PO listeners for tuning in and helping make season 5 better than ever. The retrospective board will be open for feedback and ideas through the end of 2019, if you have anything you would like to share or suggest please drop by.        Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com   Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - seek taiju EP100 Retro/Question board - Contribute here! Tim Ottinger - Q&A on Velocity, Part I   Chris Voss - Never Split the Difference ( Negotiating as if your life depended on it )  

  Something that Product Owners have likely seen a substantial amount of in the last few months is the idea of "ProductOps". It appears there is a big push and it's time to learn some more about what it is, how it could help, and understand how different companies are using the idea successfully. For that, we go to the Director of Product Operations at Pendo, Christine Itwaru. Listen in as she informs, educates, and helpfully answers questions about what this means for PO's.      Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail.com   Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - seek taiju Christine Itwaru - @christineitwaru on twitter Pendo - The Rise of Product Ops - ebook Pendo / Sara Estes - How to hire a product ops manager Product Plan / Shaun Juncal - The Rise of Product Ops: the New Discipline Powering Product Excellence Nir Eyal - What it takes to repair a toxic work culture Ron Jeffries - No Software: No Agile, No Scrum EP100 Retro/Question board - Contribute here!