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Ever faced this as a PM?
On one hand, the tech team is toiling away for a number of sprints but hasn't pushed anything to production since the build is unstable.
On the other, leadership is becoming impatient as they don't see anything shipped.
Tech protests that they're putting down inhumane efforts pulling all-nighters and instead of appreciating this, they're being unfairly pushed against the wall.
So who is at fault?
Well, here are 3 things the PM might have flubbed on:
1. The team hasn't been sold on what "progress" & "success" mean.
Shipping value via working software is ultimately what matters.
It sounds cruel but while effort is commendable, the business can't run on mere "potential".
2. No sprint goals were established.
A SMART goal keeps accountability and alignment across all parties.
Even if the sprint is dedicated for foundational work or tech debt with no visual evidence, a success criteria needs to be flagged & advertised.
3. The sprint backlog is not granular enough.
Ambitious epics have been loaded.
Or instead of iterating, a complex solution was opted for to begin with.
Other thoughts on what the PM can do?
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In an attempt to make this footer a bit interesting, here's a little PM joke:
A Product Manager tried walking into a bar...but couldn't when he realized the doorknob user story was still in the backlog.
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