process metrics

Ignore the Data at Your Own Risk

At work, the evidence of something worth paying attention to is often front and center, and yet we dismiss it. If you ignore the data—negative survey results, team member absences, an increase in bugs, stakeholders who repeatedly miss meetings, etc.—you could be overlooking signs of trouble.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Overcoming the Challenges of Integrating Configurator Software

A configurator can automate quotation documentation, streamline workforce efficiency, reduce errors, and improve customer satisfaction. However, introducing a configurator requires a considerable investment of time and resources. This story examines some common problems and suggests solutions.

Ron Mouw's picture
Ron Mouw
Figuring Out What to Measure: Metrics for Agile Teams

For agile to work, it's important to evaluate how your team and your project are doing. Qualitative feedback, such as from reviews and retrospectives, can be valuable. But at some point you may need more quantitative information to improve your project. How do you decide what metrics to gather?

Steve Berczuk's picture
Steve Berczuk
How Visual Thinking Can Solve Project Management Problems

After launching a project, have you ever found yourself without a clear vision of the next steps? The solution is to adopt visual thinking from the very beginning: Imagine your finished concept and work toward it. Read on to learn how to apply visual thinking to the flow of product development.

Dmytro Svarytsevych's picture
Dmytro Svarytsevych
You Shouldn’t Scrap Business Plans—Just Make Better Ones

Many people currently advocate against the use of business plans. They want entrepreneurs to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty at the very start, with the goal of monetization as quickly as possible. However, the right business plan empowers the team to build the best possible product.

Mukesh Sharma's picture
Mukesh Sharma
Make Sure Measuring Agile Metrics Is Really Leading to Improvement

In your quest to figure out how your team is doing with its agile process, gathering data can be useful—as long as it does not add significant overhead to your project or get in the way of delivering customer value. Don't let the desire to quantify your improvement get in the way of improving.

Steve Berczuk's picture
Steve Berczuk
The Three Pillars of Agile Quality and Testing: Crosscutting Concerns

The Three Pillars is a framework for establishing a balanced strategic plan for effective quality and testing. But beyond the individual pillars themselves, the real value resides in crosscutting concerns. It requires a balance across all three pillars to implement any one of the practices properly.

Bob Galen's picture
Bob Galen
“So, How’s It Going?” Thoughts on Reporting Project Progress

People near the top of your org chart often want project status updates to be short and sweet. But oversimplified measures risk miscommunication. Be thoughtful when someone asks, “So, how’s it going?” If you summarize too much, you can lose context, and these managers may feel misled later.

Payson Hall's picture
Payson Hall