Co-creator of CAPED (Complexity-Aware Planning, Estimation & Delivery). I help leaders deliver high-stakes initiatives without late surprises. @HumanizingWork
Hotchkiss, CO
Joined January 2009
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15 years of experimenting, writing, and teaching on user story splitting, consolidated and updated in one comprehensive guide: humanizingwork.com/the-human…
“There’s nothing magical about story points. But if you’re not treating them as reference class forecasts, you’re just adding an extra layer of waste and frustration.”
humanizingwork.com/how-to-fi…
Too often, quarterly planning tries to impose certainty on work that’s naturally going to change as the team does the work.
humanizingwork.com/quarterly…
“Delegating a decision and then pulling back the decision when you disagree is what we call ‘delegation theater.’ Delegation theater breaks trust and leads to a culture of cynicism and disengagement.”
humanizingwork.com/when-and-…
“Items on a backlog function as implicit commitments to do the work at some point. Your stakeholders read them that way. So does your own subconscious. And we should avoid making commitments we don't intend to keep.”
humanizingwork.com/but-what-…
“It takes way less effort to think of something you could build than to actually build the thing. As a result, there will always be more ideas than capacity to implement them. Thus, you can’t sustainably buy your way out of the prioritization problem.”
humanizingwork.com/why-is-pr…
“The problem with framing it as Scrum versus Kanban is it misses what makes each approach valuable. It's like asking whether you should use a calendar or a to-do list. Yes, you should. You probably need both, just for different things.”
humanizingwork.com/scrum-or-…
“We all know that most detailed project plans for complex work are basically fiction.”
humanizingwork.com/agile-doe…
“Predictable work is easy to estimate, easy to staff, easy to put on a timeline, and easy to call progress, so that's what gets done first. The hard stuff waits.”
humanizingwork.com/why-proje…
“Most engineering managers got promoted into management by being good engineers. But the skills that made the promotion happen aren’t the skills that lead to success in the new role.”
humanizingwork.com/3-essenti…
“It wasn’t an unsplittable story. It was a story they didn’t know how to split yet.”
humanizingwork.com/unsplitta…
“Most Product Owner conflicts aren’t really about prioritization. They’re about authority.”
humanizingwork.com/how-much-…
“No sprint length makes complex work predictable. A longer sprint just delays the surprise.”
humanizingwork.com/why-longe…
“I have never been on a flight that arrived 24 hours early. But I’ve definitely been on flights that arrived 24 hours late—or never arrived because they were canceled.”
humanizingwork.com/estimatin…
If you're focusing on estimating and dependency mapping, you're analyzing a complex problem, and that's not going to have good results.
humanizingwork.com/pi-planni…
My favorite Humanizing Work Show episode we've done in a long time came out today: humanizingwork.com/deepening…
Richard Lawrence retweeted
In a special rebroadcast of 1 of our most popular & insightful episodes, Mark Ethier, founder & former CEO of audio tech leader iZotope, shares how he turned love for music & tech into a company known for creativity, empowerment, & purpose. buff.ly/M4xtMfl?utm_source=t
Richard Lawrence retweeted
Most #ProductOwner advice is for market-facing roles—guiding visionary products, delivering to paying customers. But what if your work is internal? This week, we unpack the unique role of internal POs + 3 three categories of practices they need to master. buff.ly/eMzxMTE
The @HumanizingWork team is doing research to learn more about how empowerment & delegation play out in the real world. If you have a manager and/or direct reports, please share your experience: tally.so/r/wQvp7A
Next week, I'm offering two sessions on lessons for coaches that I've learned from years of helping other people get good at story splitting. We tried to choose times that work for many time zones outside the US.
"Mapping learnings from the session into clear next steps has transformed my coaching—and our team." Only $79 to join us and gain valuable, practical insights you can apply to your work immediately. Register now 👉 buff.ly/3Dl9zGi
Really enjoyed this conversation, and I'm excited to share it.
How do leadership & regenerative farming intersect? Whether you're into wine, regenerative farming, or leadership, check out our inspiring conversation w/Steven Thompson of Analemma Wines for insights into sustainability, values-driven work, & org growth. buff.ly/4iOnxR5
