The Challenges of Changing Requirements Adding, removing, or altering user stories during an ongoing sprint can disrupt team velocity, reduce efficiency, and make accurate planning and estimation difficult. However, changing business needs or shifting product priorities often necessitate changes in scope or requirements mid-sprint. When new requests arrive, the product owner must decide whether to…
Identifying Defects The identification of defects is a critical first step in handling them appropriately within a Kanban workflow. Teams should establish clear policies and procedures to detect defects early and consistently throughout the development process. Using Acceptance Criteria to Flag Defects Early Well-defined acceptance criteria provide a mechanism to detect defects at the start…
Understanding Resource Allocation in JIRA JIRA provides robust tools for resource management and capacity planning across multiple projects. The software allows managers to view capacity and allocation across teams, set velocity rates for sprints, and track progress to budgets and schedules. However, optimizing allocation across competing priorities can be challenging. JIRA coordinates resource distribution by…
Why Research Gets De-Prioritized The pressurized environment of sprint planning often leads product teams to deprioritize open-ended research in favor of feature development. Two primary factors contribute to research taking a back seat: The Pressure to Show Progress Iterative frameworks like agile Scrum focus heavily on tangible artifacts as markers of progress. The sprint review…
Improving Your People Skills as a PM As a project manager, your technical skills and ability to plan and execute projects are crucial. However, your people skills—your ability to connect with, lead, and inspire teams—are equally vital for success. Honing your people skills allows you to foster the open communication, trust, and collaboration that transforms…
Leveraging Expertise Through Strategic Delegation Delegation is the process of assigning tasks and projects to capable team members in order to utilize their expertise and skills. Effective delegation enables managers to focus on more strategic responsibilities while empowering team members to take on new challenges and develop new competencies. However, improper or overdelegation can lead…
The Challenge of Accuracy in Story Point Estimation Agile estimation using story points has become a common technique for predicting effort and delivery capability in software development. By assigning a dimensionless story point value to each user story in the backlog, agile teams estimate the overall relative level of effort required to complete each item….
Hard Truths About Sprint Success The software development team celebrated an unexpected sprint success. The development velocity increased 30% over the last sprint. New feature requests flooded in from enthusiastic customers. Morale skyrocketed as developers met aggressive goals. However, the dynamics that enabled short-term sprint success conceal systemic flaws that foreshadow future failures. This article…
Defining Change Control Change control is a formal process used to manage alterations to the originally agreed scope, schedule, or resources of a project. The change control process provides a framework for proposing, evaluating, approving, and implementing changes in a controlled manner. It enables structured decision-making regarding changes to ensure they are properly assessed for…
Overcoming Blockers in Kanban The Kanban process relies on the smooth flow of work through the Kanban board. However, teams often encounter issues that block progress and create bottlenecks. Common blockers in Kanban include: Lack of priorities – Without clear priorities, teams struggle to sequence work and ensure smooth flow. Unclear requirements – Vague, incomplete…
