Weeknotes: 2022, Week 20

What did I achieve this week?

I think I achieved something that has taken years - I succinctly described User Stories and Epics and communicated what they are, why they are and what is in them to a team. So much so I've been asked to re-record it as a video to disseminate!

What made this more powerful on analysis was finally managing to communicate how to tackle where User-centred thinking disconnects with the task-based thinking that teams usually default to.

It's something Agile practitioners have been shouting about for years - but none of them have communicated it to m in these practical terms. I feel you really need to get into the weeds to make it work. I suppose that's why they have Agile Coaches

An insight from this - I seem to be building some level of trust in the new organisation, now the pressure is on to create some outcomes!

Another achievement this week is working with our awesome designer David to get a prototype. Seemingly mundane, but a big step in indicating the way my mind works on projects is changing - towards products, users and feedback instead of just ploughing ahead through projects.

What did I learn this week?

Presentation Coach

I tried out PowerPoint's presentation coach and was thoroughly impressed with the feedback it gave. One of the most useful tools I've seen in a while. If you haven't tried it, I recommend it - especially if you;re not all that confident a speaker. It gives you live feedback when practicing - particularly useful for me was getting nudged when I'm saying "ermmm".

“Errrmmmm”

- Me, quite a lot when presenting apparently

Kanban columns

I learned that you should have as many columns as you need in a Kanban board. I should have known this, but it's a piece of knowledge that has slipped through the cracks when absorbing the sheer amount of PM info out there. I have always fought against it to try and keep workflows as simple and flexible as possible. Yes - I've been doing it all wrong. The benefits of it already make sense - I wish to apply it in a workflow for Bugs as they probably need to be treat in the same way, with particular gates in the triage and handling of them.