A few weeks ago while I was teaching a CSM class, I got a Slack message from Ron Quartel pointing me to a tweet by Ryan Ripley. The tweet said “If you are sitting in a Scrum Training class and the trainer starts teaching Story Points, you should 1. Get up. 2. Demand Your Money Back, and 3. Walk out. You're wasting your time. 

Here is a link to the tweet: https://bit.ly/3XsfPAP

I should mention I was just about to cover Story Points and I used Ryan's tweet in class as part of our conversation.

As soon as I saw Ryan's tweet, I DM'd him asking if we could do a podcast about it. I did this because A) I have a lot of respect for Ryan and value his opinion, B) earlier in my career I spent about 4 years fighting against Story Points, C) I do teach them in class because I believe that (used properly) they can be incredibly valuable to a Scrum Team, and D) I love getting into debates on topics I feel strongly about with really smart people who might be able to change my mind

So this podcast is Ryan and I talking through his reason for throwing shade on Story Points, my reasons for standing up for them, and the reasons I feel comfortable saying that we are aligned about why Story Points are good AND evil.

This podcast was originally recorded in video. If you'd prefer that version you can find it here: https://youtu.be/-ja1oFv5Et0

Contacting Ryan:
Web: https://AgileforHumans.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AgileforHumans
Fixing Your Scrum by Ryan Ripley and Todd Miller: https://amzn.to/3Qyjs5S
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanripley/

Story Points Are Good AND Evil with Ryan Ripley

I’ve done several podcast interviews over the past few months about Flow Metrics. These podcasts are all pretty much aligned around the fact that if you want metrics you can rely on to predict what to expect from your teams in the future, nothing is perfect, but flow metrics are better than velocity.

Since most of the people I meet while I am coaching, or teaching use Jira, I reached out to a friend at Atlassian to learn more about how to get this data. Here’s the best part… if you are using Jira, the system is probably already capturing the data for you, you just need an easy way to get at it… and this podcast Derek Huether and Sam Tsubota will show you just how easy it is to get at the information you need to understand more about you team’s flow.

(This podcast was originally recorded in video. If you'd like to watch that version you can find it here:  https://youtu.be/q86HXsvvv04 )

If you’d like to check out the other podcasts I’ve done recently on flow metrics:
Story Points are Good AND Evil with Ryan Ripley https://bit.ly/3vZvDzk
Enabling Change with Data Modeling and Forecasting (with Troy Magennis) https://bit.ly/3JypeSF

For more on Atlassian Analytics: 
https://bit.ly/3oZiaYt 

If you’d like to contact Derek or Sam
Derek Huether
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3poYSvF
Web: derekhuether.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/derekhuether
Amazon: https://bit.ly/3GPEQQQ

Sam Tsubota
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/STsubota

Tracking Flow Metrics W Atlassian Analytics

Summary
In this conversation, Dave Prior and Colleen Johnson discuss the concept of cumulative flow diagrams (CFDs) and their practical application in Agile methodologies. They explore the significance of CFDs in understanding work in progress, cycle time, and throughput. Colleen provides insights into the interpretation of CFDs and the implications for team performance and workflow management. The conversation delves into Little's Law, airport analogies, and the visualization of CFDs to identify patterns and bottlenecks in the workflow. The conversation covers the use of Cumulative Flow Diagrams (CFDs) as a tool for visualizing work in progress and identifying workflow issues. It also delves into the concept of accelerating product value and the importance of learning quickly in product development. The discussion emphasizes the need for small bets and fast feedback to drive product improvement. Additionally, it highlights the challenges of defining and predicting value in product development.

If you would like to watch the original video interview, you can find it here. https://tinyurl.com/55r86tah

Takeaways
- Understanding the practical application of cumulative flow diagrams (CFDs) in Agile methodologies
- Interpreting CFDs to identify patterns an bottlenecks in the workflow
- The significance of Little's Law and airport analogies in understanding CFDs
- Visualizing CFDs to gain insights into work in progress, cycle time, and throughput
- Implications of CFDs for team performance and workflow management CFDs provide a visual representation of work in progress and can be used to identify workflow issues.
- Accelerating product value involves making small bets, learning quickly, and responding to feedback to drive product improvement.
- Defining and predicting value in product development can be challenging, and the focus should be on shipping fast, learning quickly, and enabling rapid response to feedback.
- The conversation also touches on the importance of understanding customer behavior and the need to pivot quickly based on feedback.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the Podcast
03:16 Introduction to ProKanban 
06:46 Understanding CFDs
09:37 Little's Law and Airport Analogies
04:14:24 Work in Progress and Work Item Age
16:53 Interpreting CFDs and Workflow Insights
27:46 Accelerating Product Value through Small Bets and Fast Feedback
40:48 Challenges of Defining and Predicting Value in Product Development

Contacting Colleen
ProKanban: https://www.prokanban.org
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/colleen-johnson
Email: colleen@scatterspoke.com

Additional Links
The Art of War for Collaboration: https://modusinstitute.com/course/art-of-war-collaboration
Agile Alliance LinkedIn: https://www.agilealliance.org

How to Read Cumulative Flow Diagrams with Colleen Johnson

A podcast about Agile and Project Management

New tracks tagged #Flow Metrics