Tips for Effective Discovery Sessions

When it comes to digital projects, strategic ideas require a lot of planning before a team can even begin to write code, let alone release the new feature to customers. Developers are notorious for asking many questions about the product requirements: What is and isn’t included in the scope? What do competitors do in this area? Which platforms or devices will need to be supported? What happens when customers use the digital product in unpredictable ways? What security vulnerabilities might the new product create?

Leaders may rush to start projects, but skipping these crucial questions can create future problems. A … Read more >

Effective Sprint Planning

Sprint planning is one of the key events in Agile methodology. It’s a meeting when the team aligns on what business value will be delivered in the next sprint, which tasks will need to be completed, and who will do the work. While agile methodology is most commonly used by software development teams, other fields can benefit from effective and frequent planning sessions too … Read more >

The Optimal Size of a Team—And Why It Matters

At the beginning of my career, I didn’t pay too much attention to the size of the team – it came with the job and wasn’t something I could easily change. After being in a variety of work environments over a number of years, I noticed that a team’s size has an impact on its productivity, effectiveness, and happiness. I worked on teams that consisted of five or six people and teams that had 20 people or more … Read more >