process improvement

Learning An Agile Mindset: Learning Early, Not Failing Fast

Agile encourages teams to continuously improve through learning. One of the phrases associated with this process is "failing fast"—trying new things and taking lessons from mistakes as you go. But Johanna Rothman thinks "learning early" is a better phrase. That change in terminology can give you a happier mindset.

Johanna Rothman's picture
Johanna Rothman
Too many changes The Importance of Timing when Implementing Change

Too many changes at once can prolong upheaval and delay people's adjustment to the new norm. If you are planning to start a complex project, introduce a new tool, or undertake any other major initiative, and employees are still reeling from other changes, it may be wise to delay the planned change if you can.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Problem management Are You Problem Solving When You Should Try Problem Managing?

Usually in our projects, our goal is problem-solving. We find the root cause of a problem and experiment until we eradicate it. But is solving always the right path? Sometimes, our problems are temporary and only require a patch. In those cases, problem managing is probably the better choice.

Johanna Rothman's picture
Johanna Rothman
Iterations Apply Design Thinking and Agile Principles to Your Life Changes

The challenges people face when trying to make changes in their lives are similar to those faced by engineers and designers when developing novel products. Using design thinking, you can learn to work within limits, see how the choices you make affect your situation, and iterate until you find your direction.

Steve Berczuk's picture
Steve Berczuk
Poor performance review It’s Time to Evaluate Your Annual Performance Reviews

While annual performance reviews can add value when done right, they are often done in a way that does more harm than good. A helpful alternative to an annual review is more frequent feedback that focuses on successes in addition to areas for improvement. Reviews should be motivational and constructive.

Steve Berczuk's picture
Steve Berczuk
First draft with edits Tips for Writing a First (or Second or Third) Draft

Whether you’re writing for personal or professional purposes, a one-pager or an entire book, it's important to write several drafts. The initial draft doesn't have to be brilliant. It's simply raw data, and you’ll progress faster if you write it quickly so that you get out your ideas. Read on for more tips.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Team doing a project review 5 Questions to Ask in a Project Review

Project managers often dread doing reviews, but they're necessary to make sure the project is on the right track. Progress can be affected by unclear definitions, risk, schedules, and cost, so it's important to evaluate whether the project manager, sponsors, and team members are all on the same page.

Payson Hall's picture
Payson Hall
Feedback loop Shorten Your Feedback Loops to Build Better Software, Faster

When we have short feedback loops, we are still in the moment for that feature. We still have the context. The longer the feedback loop, the less likely we are to still have all the context for the feature because we are on to the next piece of work. How long are your feedback loops? Can you shorten them?

Johanna Rothman's picture
Johanna Rothman