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Balanced Teams

Janice Fraser FEBRUARY 2015

Keep in touch!

@clevergirl

Today’s Assumptions

1. You understand Lean Startup. 2. You’re already working Agile.

3. It’s not always smooth.

FutureWearables, fashion, devices

Mobile-first software

Multipart products and services

Complex supply chains

New constraints

Lean Startup

Empathize with customers

Understand product/market risks

Decide which risks are important

Devise experiments to validate your risk-reducing solutions

Product Teams

Prioritize the work

Imagine the experience

Foster improvement

Execute the plans

Understand the people

Reconcile the details

Untangle the architecture

Disambiguate everything

Product Teams

Future Lean Startup

“No matter what the client says the problem is, it is always a people problem.”

—Kent Beck

Ergo, to succeed here we need to evolve our people processes.

The Olden Days (circa 2011)

Product Owner

Dev

Dev

Dev

Dev

DevDev

Dev}Rest

of the

World

LUXR.CO MAY 2012

LUXR.CO MAY 2012

The Olden Days (circa 2013)

HERO DESIGNER guru

unicorn jason pitorti

product manager “CEO OF THEIR OWN STARTUP”

AGILE DEVELOPERS egalitarian

pairing group wisdom

Kent Beck knows why that didn’t work.

“The courage to speak truths, pleasant or unpleasant, fosters communication and trust. !“The courage to discard failing solutions and seek new ones encourages simplicity. !“The courage to seek real, concrete answers creates feedback.”

KENT BECK EXTREME PROGRAMMING EXPLAINED

UX

& D

esig

nDev & Eng

blah blah blah

PRODUCT IDEAS

WE NEED SHARED OWNERSHIP

Biz/PM

•

DES + PM + DEV = 1 product team

WHAT IS “BALANCED TEAM”?

DESIGN “Empathizer-in-Chief” !Obligation to the Team 1. Understand the customer at an expert level. 2. Translate high-value needs into product. 3. Hone your craft. 4. Facilitate balance within the team. !One Important Authority Prioritize customer problems.

DEVELOPMENT “Raise High the Roofbeams” !Obligation to the Team 1. Envision the best possible solutions based on available technology. 2. Commit to the customer outcome. 3. Facilitate balance within the team. !One Important Authority Measure outcomes over time.

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT “The Scales of Justice” !Obligation to the Team 1. Make fast, concrete decisions despite inadequate evidence & conflicting priorities. 2. Identify the business the value in customer needs. 3. Act in service to the team. !One Important Authority Delegate decisions to the appropriate person.

securitytech ops

customersupport

marketing & advertising front end

business operations

tech supportsales

PMD

esig

n

Development

PMD

esig

n

Development

When things go wrong, no one is to blame but ourselves.

Agile is a beautiful thing.

But organizing the backlog isn’t where the process will get better.

We need to evolve our mindset.

LeadershipNot ownership

Differential diagnosisNot process implementation

Group facilitation

Not heroism

Product Teams

Future Lean Startup

Gratuitous Venn Diagram

IT’S PEOPLE

LUXR.CO MAY 2012

Thank you!

@clevergirl