Acceptance Criteria – Is It Your Team’s Pain Point?

I have been hearing from so many Business Analysts, Product Owners, and teams that writing good acceptance criteria is a big challenge! And, if this resonates with you; you’re not alone! Why is this such a common pain for teams today? I see a lot of mediocre to...

The Top 10 Business Analysis Skills For 2020 and Beyond

Business Analysis Skills from 2012 to 2020 In 2012 I wrote a blog for the BA Times on the top 10 skills for BAs. It’s time to see how this has evolved and our roles have become more valuable and essential as a result! To begin, a clarification on the BA role from then...
Agile Teams Need More Than User Stories To Build Great Products

Agile Teams Need More Than User Stories To Build Great Products

A Tale of Two Teams Let’s take a look at backlog refinement from two approaches:  Team A  A customer provides the team with feedback on their website ordering process and says, “I want a button on my email receipt for my order to “view shipping details”. The team...
Common User Story Mistakes Teams Make and How to Fix Them

Common User Story Mistakes Teams Make and How to Fix Them

An error doesn’t become a mistake until you refuse to correct it. John F. Kennedy As a product ownership expert and coach, I see teams make a lot of the same mistakes that compromise the very progress they are trying to make. The paradox here is, these patterns...
Velocity & User Stories – Too Many Teams Are Looking At It Wrong!

Velocity & User Stories – Too Many Teams Are Looking At It Wrong!

Velocity – What Does It Really Mean? Ask just about any agile team what metrics they track, and “velocity” comes out. Teams rally around increasing their velocity, focusing on speed and hanging their team successes on this metric. Additionally, many teams report...