In an earlier blog post, we compared the WBS Dictionary to the Agile Definition of Done. However, we never reviewed any connection between conventional project management Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and the decomposition of the product backlog to produce the sprint backlog.  Before we can describe what completion of the item looks like, we must first […]

I am writing this post after a discussion with some people on product development and project management processes.  The discussion took a turn to process intensive approach or not to use a defined process.  There are many ideas of how this can work, for example the Capability Maturity Model Integration is an example of the […]

  I have recently had an exchange with Thomas Cagley on LinkedIn in response to an article “The Agile Mindset“.  Comments around emotional and organizational maturity were made and Thomas Cagley asked the questions about which one comes first. I said I think emotional maturity must come first.  Without the ability to handle the “real” […]

Project Prioritization  There are two levels of prioritization for agile. The first is the product backlog – the prioritization of the scope of the project.  The second prioritization is how we populate the sprint contents.  The top priority product backlog items are used for the decomposition for the sprint, but there may be prerequisites that […]

  Personally, I find connecting what I already know to some new thing I am learning facilitates and understanding of that new thing.  We have frequently compared agile and conventional project management on our blog, for example, Epic Project Management Battle: Retrospective vs. White Book.  Today we are going to compare the WBS dictionary with […]