3 ms·

Exactly. Feature factories build features based on random assumptions, and not based on actual data. I just wrote about this yesterday (https://teamsuccess.io/

Exactly. Feature factories build features based on random assumptions, and not based on actual data. I just wrote about this yesterday (https://teamsuccess.io/hdd https://teamsuccess.io/hdd). I work as a consultant with lots of Scrum teams, and many devs feel like they're just sitting in the factory, cranking out features. Without knowing whether they're adding real value to the end-user. So what can you do to break free from the feature factory? Something that I recommend for the teams I work with, and noticed that actually works, is "Hypothesis-Driven Development". In short, replace the items in your product backlog with experiments rather than user stories. Instead of starting with a user story or epic, start with a testable hypothesis. Then run small experiments that will prove or disprove that hypothesis. My favorite question nowadays is "Wait, why are we building this feature again?" :)

bob33212 7y ago
In my experience people are afraid to ask that question. The answer to that question may lead to questions around total addressable market which could cause uppermanagement to question the viability of the product or at least the cost / benefit of having a big development and product management team in the first place.
- Super_Jambo 7y ago
  This is a terribly sad comment on the structure of our society, people worried they might be making something pointless. And the solution is to make sure the people paying for it don't realize.
- rhizome 7y ago
  Afraid with good reason. I think it's more likely that it would be seen as disrespectful to managment, product, bizdev, etc. who asked for it. That it's challenging their judgement.
- cerberusss 7y ago
  What were the circumstances that people were afraid like that? For example, was this an in-house development team, or hired consultants? And how did you find out that people were afraid to ask these questions?
megablast 7y ago
A big change we incorporated is working more closely with the data analysis team. It helped us create analytics that were more useful for them, and helped us answer some good user centric questions, like which features were used most, why were others not used, how long were they taking to load, etc...
cutemonster 7y ago
I like this idea. Instead of: "Add keyboard shortcuts", The Todo item could be: "Will keyboard shortcuts save time for the end users and result in [positive reviews from power users] that mention the shortcuts?" Then, one sees that actually implementing the shortcuts is just one step among many.

bob33212 7y ago

In my experience people are afraid to ask that question. The answer to that question may lead to questions around total addressable market which could cause uppermanagement to question the viability of the product or at least the cost / benefit of having a big development and product management team in the first place.

Super_Jambo 7y ago
This is a terribly sad comment on the structure of our society, people worried they might be making something pointless. And the solution is to make sure the people paying for it don't realize.
rhizome 7y ago
Afraid with good reason. I think it's more likely that it would be seen as disrespectful to managment, product, bizdev, etc. who asked for it. That it's challenging their judgement.
cerberusss 7y ago
What were the circumstances that people were afraid like that? For example, was this an in-house development team, or hired consultants? And how did you find out that people were afraid to ask these questions?

megablast 7y ago

A big change we incorporated is working more closely with the data analysis team. It helped us create analytics that were more useful for them, and helped us answer some good user centric questions, like which features were used most, why were others not used, how long were they taking to load, etc...

cutemonster 7y ago

I like this idea. Instead of: "Add keyboard shortcuts", The Todo item could be: "Will keyboard shortcuts save time for the end users and result in [positive reviews from power users] that mention the shortcuts?" Then, one sees that actually implementing the shortcuts is just one step among many.