Story splitting is the act of examining a large backlog item and splitting it into smaller backlog items that provide value and can be delivered in a short time frame.
You can consider story splitting to be a planning technique that helps you organize your backlog into manageable chunks. You can also think of it as an analysis technique that helps you understand a particular backlog item through the act of splitting it into smaller, valuable backlog items.
Example Mapping is a backlog refinement technique that helps you structure your team’s conversation around a backlog item. The conversation focuses on drawing out all of the relevant acceptance criteria (or rules), related scenarios and pertinent questions associated with the backlog item you are discussing.
Usability testing is a way to test how intuitive the design, user flows and content is in your product, app or website. Usability testing consists of asking real people who are similar to potential users to perform various tasks on your product. You can use the information gained from this exercise to identify opportunities for improvement in your product’s design, user flows and content.
Sprint Reviews exist primarily to get feedback from your stakeholders when you can’t get feedback from them during the course of a sprint.
A product roadmap is a statement of intent for how you are going to implement your strategy. The product roadmap is a living thing that indicates your best understanding at the point that you last updated it and it also reflects whatever uncertainty you faced when you last put it together.
When you're starting to look forward to the next year, do a personal retrospective to identify the outcomes you seek and the habits you'll start and stop.
Outcome based metrics are a way to quantitatively tell whether you’ve delivered an outcome and to avoid measuring progress and success based on output.
The context diagram shows how your product interacts with outside people, organizations, and/or systems. The context diagram helps you to identify the interfaces you need to account for, helps you to identify scope, identify potential stakeholders, and build a better understanding of the context in which you are working.
A process model describes the flow of work or activities, usually in a graphic format, that contribute to accomplishing a specific goal. Process models are typically used to represent and analyze a series of activities that occur repeatedly and on a regular basis. Process models model the flow of work in or between people and departments in an organization, or the flow of activities in a computer system or application. The models have a clear beginning and end, intended outcome, order of activities, and different results based on the decisions that you make through the course of the process.
Action focused retrospectives are a way for your team to reflect on your past cycle of work, discuss what you’ve learned, identify specific action items to pursue, and follow through on those action items.
A parking lot diagram is a way to visually communicate status of work on a product in the context of major blocks of functionality intended to deliver a specific outcome. The parking lot diagram uses boxes to indicate the relationship between the different levels in a product functionality hierarchy, and uses color to indicate the status of significant functionality.
A delivery board is a way for a team to visualize their process for delivering functionality in a sprint. The best delivery boards consist of a whiteboard or wall divided into columns that reflect the various steps a team takes to develop and test backlog items in a sprint. The backlog items are represented by sticky notes or cards that move across the board as the team gets closer to having functionality to deliver.
A definition of ready is an agreement on the set of conditions that need to be true in order to consider a backlog item ready to be included in an iteration for delivery.
The definition of done is an agreement on the set of conditions that need to be true in order to consider a backlog item done and at a point where it can deliver value to stakeholders.
System documentation is information about an as-built solution and acts as a reference for future maintenance or update efforts. It is organized based on system functionality rather than when changes were made to the system, making it easier for people who maintain the solution to find the information they need quickly.
An internal product is software that your organization does not offer for sale to others, but uses to support its various business activities. Internal products generally satisfy the needs of users internal to your organization or enables your organization to satisfy the needs of its customers.
Discovery boards are ways for teams to visualize their backlog refinement process. The best discovery boards consist of a whiteboard or wall divided into columns that reflect the various steps a team takes to get product backlog items ready to be delivered (developed and tested) in an iteration. The backlog items are represented by sticky notes or cards that move across the board as the team builds a better understanding of the specifics of each story.
Examples are concrete descriptions of the expected behavior of an aspect of a solution using real-life data. Examples are useful for describing a solution and providing guidance on ways to validate it.
A story map is a visual representation of a backlog that provides additional context regarding how backlog items are related to each other and when the team is planning to deliver them. This context is typically presented in terms of the personas that will use specific features, and the particular user stories that are associated with the features.
Teams use impact mapping to discuss assumptions, align with organizational objectives and deliver only the things that lead directly to delivering outcomes.
The internal product opportunity assessment is based off questions in Inspired by Marty Cagan. They help product people determine if a product is worth it.
The Context Leadership Model is a tool for determining the appropriate project leadership style given a product’s uncertainty and complexity.
The six questions help you to understand your organization's strategy by identifying its differentiating activities. This can then guide product decisions.
A persona defines a typical user of a product. They help you understand the context in which people use the product to help guide your design decisions.
