1. Lack of questions is the biggest symptom. It could mean that something is simple or obvious, but ofr anything more complicated, if there are no questions, that probably means you've refined it too much up-front without involving the team.
2. Story Mapping is great IMO, but I think you don't even need that. The key thing is collaborative writing of Product Backlog Items. That's where most of the value comes from.
Agree - and the big requirements up-front mentality lives on in big procurements.
It’s been striking after over a decade in cross functional software teams to recently see how bad things are for organizations pre-contract.
Endless rewrites in the fog of beforehand of procurement plans. Deep divisions between legal and teams involved. No actual learning from potential suppliers or customers. As if this somehow derisks the whole thing. Ugh!
I’m curious if you have seen collaborative procurement more focused on value and teamwork that is quick, gets results and a more humane experience for everyone involved?
I have worked a long time in software and feel the deepest impact of modern product approaches really needs to be applied earlier up the pipeline. Not just after contracts are signed: but to create them quickly and with wins for all.
(I think your actual article is insightful. Yes, I agree with pretty much everything you're saying. It would do the industry significant good to take your insights seriously on this.)
Provocative and useful, Maarten!
Two asks:
1. First, what concrete signals tell you a PM is already over the hill before a ticket hits refinement?
2. Second, which workshop moves help teams co-write just enough: story mapping, example mapping, or thin-slice prototypes?
I am also curious how you keep compliance and accessibility needs from bloating the scope. A checklist or before during after cadence would be gold.
Hi Stefan, I needed some time to think about it.
1. Lack of questions is the biggest symptom. It could mean that something is simple or obvious, but ofr anything more complicated, if there are no questions, that probably means you've refined it too much up-front without involving the team.
2. Story Mapping is great IMO, but I think you don't even need that. The key thing is collaborative writing of Product Backlog Items. That's where most of the value comes from.
Thank you for the clarification, Maarten!
Agree - and the big requirements up-front mentality lives on in big procurements.
It’s been striking after over a decade in cross functional software teams to recently see how bad things are for organizations pre-contract.
Endless rewrites in the fog of beforehand of procurement plans. Deep divisions between legal and teams involved. No actual learning from potential suppliers or customers. As if this somehow derisks the whole thing. Ugh!
I’m curious if you have seen collaborative procurement more focused on value and teamwork that is quick, gets results and a more humane experience for everyone involved?
I have worked a long time in software and feel the deepest impact of modern product approaches really needs to be applied earlier up the pipeline. Not just after contracts are signed: but to create them quickly and with wins for all.
[slightly off topic here, but ...]
I was so "inspired" by that AI generated image, that I posted about the image itself here:
https://mastodon.social/@JeffGrigg/115300798671852955
...
(I think your actual article is insightful. Yes, I agree with pretty much everything you're saying. It would do the industry significant good to take your insights seriously on this.)