Dealing with Dependencies

Dependencies in software development is an inevitability, especially when it comes to complex projects involving multiple teams, components, or external vendors/systems. As a technical program manager, managing these interdependencies is what makes or breaks you, and leadership look to you to ensure a timely delivery and maintain agility. In this article, I explore strategies to […]

Continuously Improve your Projects by always asking ‘What?, So What?, Now What?’

As an agile evangelist, ensuring my teams continuously improve is a pinnacle component of sprint planning and executing. I always insist on having one story dedicated process and operational improvement each sprint to ensure we constantly evaluate and improve our methods and practices to achieve better results and outcomes. There are many ways to evaluate […]

What is Evidence-Based Management and how can I leverage it in Scrum Projects

Evidence-Based Management (EMB) “is an empirical approach that helps organizations to continuously improve customer outcomes, organizational capabilities, and business results under conditions of uncertainty“, according to the EBM Guide, a framework for delivering value through strategic goals through intentional experimentation and evidence (measures) in order to improve organizational performance over time. Goals Through a series […]

Writing User Stories for Every Phase of the Development Lifecycle

There is this preconceived notion that authoring user stories is confined to the requirements gathering phase. In fact, user stories post a critical role in communication between stakeholders and development teams throughout the development lifecycle. I will explain in this article how you employ user stories as the vehicle of communication between stakeholders continuously across […]

5 Reasons to becoming a more self-aware Technical Program Manager

In the realm of effective program management, self-awareness stands as a crucial attribute that can transform average managers into exceptional leaders. Self-awareness encompasses a deep understanding of one’s strengths, weaknesses, emotions, and the impact they have on others. This powerful quality empowers managers to make better decisions, build stronger relationships, and create thriving work environments. […]

Using Personas to unlock a better understanding and engagement of your internal stakeholders

What are Stakeholder Personas? Stakeholder personas are fictional, yet representative, profiles that depict different types of stakeholders involved in a project. These personas are created by analyzing and synthesizing information about the various individuals or groups who have a stake in the project’s outcomes. Personas help organizations gain deeper insights into stakeholders’ motivations, goals, needs, […]

The Art of Splitting User Stories

User stories are a key element of Agile project management, as they help to define and prioritize the requirements of a project. User stories are brief, concise statements that describe a particular feature or functionality from the perspective of the end user. However, creating user stories can sometimes be a challenge, especially when the requirements […]

Working Backwards at Amazon

Amazon’s catalyst for innovation lies in its perspective to always think from the customer backwards. That’s how most successful projects get done, and it all starts with the commonly used Amazonian phrase, working backwards. Before building a charter, a project plan and setting out timelines, the first artifact that a customer-centric project entails is the […]