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What would happen if your team dropped that standing Monday morning refinement meeting? Chaos? We often follow work processes because they’re “the way things are done”, but clunky, unexamined processes slow down even talented teams. Never ending backlogs make it hard to feel like you’re making progress. Frequent meetings break up focus. If something about the way we work doesn’t help us move more quickly or effectively, it’s time to rethink it. Seeking a better way to coordinate work across 3 continents, the Workforce.com dev team adopted the Shape Up approach to project management. This talk explores the core elements of that approach and ways to optimize developer happiness while delivering more value for users.
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In her talk, "Boot the backlog: Optimizing your workflow for dev happiness" at RubyConf 2022, Stacey McKnight, a full stack developer and product team lead at Workforce.com, discusses the challenges of managing development processes effectively to enhance both productivity and developer satisfaction. She introduces the Shape Up methodology, which her team adopted to optimize project management across three continents. The talk emphasizes that while everyone aims to deliver valuable products efficiently, clunky or unexamined work processes often hinder progress. Key points discussed include: - **Efficiency and Process Design**: Good work processes should facilitate productivity without becoming a focus. McKnight encourages teams to examine their workflows critically to identify inefficiencies. - **Shape Up Methodology**: Developed by Basecamp, Shape Up is structured around six-week cycles, known as 'shaped work', which allows teams to focus without maintaining a cumbersome backlog. Each cycle starts with defined problems and a pitch outlining the solution, prioritizing 'appetite' over rigid time estimates. - **Challenges Addressed**: McKnight identifies three key challenges: - Moving quickly as a team - Engaging work while providing growth opportunities - Delivering impactful value - **Focus and Deep Work**: The team creates larger chunks of undistracted work time, utilizing agreements across the office to minimize distractions and allow for deep work, a concept referenced from Cal Newport's book "Deep Work." - **Engaging and Upskilling**: To maintain engagement and skill development, Workforce.com employs pair programming, skill-building sessions during cooldown periods, and encourages knowledge sharing through talks and personal projects. - **Iterative and Value-Focused Development**: Emphasizing the importance of iteration, particularly with their mobile app rebuild, the Shape Up approach aids in identifying essential work, ensuring continuous delivery of value. They maintain agility by periodically reviewing pitches and prioritizing tasks based on current circumstances rather than maintaining a backlog. In conclusion, McKnight advocates for processes that serve as supportive structures, facilitating an enjoyable working experience while effectively delivering value. The focus remains on the people collaborating, the end-users, and the ultimate goal of creating meaningful products while fostering developer happiness.
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