For the last 20+ years we’ve all been diligently working to agile our way to product success. Indeed, developing iteratively and applying agile methodologies has helped our industry make huge strides. At times, however, It has also led us to focus on the wrong things… In this webinar we’ll discuss how inherent gaps in common agile methodologies have led to poor product strategy, flawed definition, and ultimately, subpar execution. We will highlight these gaps, hear real life stories of their impacts on organizations, and learn how to avoid falling into these traps when developing our products.

2. There’s a Gap in Your Agile Methodology
No One Talks About
Anne Steiner
anne.steiner@cprime.com
September 28, 2018

3. Intros
• About me…
• 10 years as a FE developer
• 7 years as a PO/PM
• 4 years in recovery
• About this webinar series…
• There is a gap in your agile methodology
• Creating the product backlog
• Managing the product backlog
3

4. Agenda
• Agile is more than process
• Looking at the gaps
• PO pain points
• Takeaways and next steps
4

5. Agile Is a Process, Right?

6. Agile Family Has Many Methodologies
Scrum SAFe Lean Startup
And more…

7. Agile Is More Than Process

8. From Agile to Agility
• Are you building the right thing in the
right way?
Process
Product Tech
• Are you building the right thing?
• Are you learning and adapting?

9. Let’s Look at the Gap

10. Scrum
Blended
Discovery
& Delivery
Product Strategy &
Early Discovery
?

11. Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
Product Strategy &
Early Discovery
Blended Discovery
& Delivery DevOps &
Technical Agility

12. Lean StartupProduct Strategy &
Early Discovery
Blended Discovery
& Delivery

13. The Pain of Being the PO

14. PO Pain Points
“I need three sprints of backlog by Thursday.”
“Just break the epics into features; PI planning is next
week.”
“Make these stories smaller; they don’t fit in the sprint.”
“Just <shut up and> write the stores; why is this so hard?”

15. PO Traps and Assumptions
• Handwaving our way to stories
• Idea to stories -> How?
• “Just brainstorm epics and stories on notecards”
• Bottom-up definition versus top-down definition
• Starting in the weeds
• Starting with the tech
• Putting the pieces back together?
• Big band definition with “agile” delivery
• Too much backlog too soon
• “I wrote the spec; now you write the stories.”

16. It’s Time to Make It Better

17. Key Takeaways
• Process matters but is only part of the equation
• Methodologies tell you what to do but now how
• Product > Progress > Process
• PO work isn’t trivial
• Effective discovery drives effective delivery which drives
product learning

18. Ready to Stop the Handwaving?
Check out our upcoming webinars
• Creating the product backlog
• From idea to stories
• Managing the product backlog
• Blending discovery and delivery for product learning
• www.cprime.com/product-category/webinars/ to register for
upcoming webinars

19. Anne Steiner
anne.steiner@cprime.com
www.cprime.com
@annesteiner7
linkedin.com/in/annesteiner