HoA #66: Escape the Feature Frenzy, Build to Sell with Sandrine Olivencia

Abstract: Escape Feature Frenzy, Build to Sell

In tech firms, everyone from employees to founders is familiar with the overwhelming and endless Product Backlog that we affectionately call “feature frenzy.” This results in constant pressure to add new features, leading to a feeling of never catching up. Despite hard work, there’s a sense that more time should be spent with customers rather than on internal politics.

Building a successful product should be about solving problems, not just adding features. A product reflects how different specialists think and work together to create an irresistible product that people cannot live without while also generating profits for the company.

However, Agile has evolved into a delivery-focused process with divided responsibilities, leading to communication issues and products that are less stable and less satisfying for customers. This is not what the founders of Agile envisioned at the end of the 20th century.

Build to Sell introduces strategies that combine lean engineering with modern product management to combat “feature frenzy.” The key topics covered in the book include:

• Emotion-Centric Design: Focusing on user emotions to create unbiased experiences.
• Chief Product Engineer: Leading with a blend of technical, strategic, and financial insight.
• Performance-Based Product: Enhancing performance rather than just adding features.
• Design to Cost: Balancing creativity with cost control to ensure profitability.

Meet Sandrine Olivencia

Sandrine Olivencia co-founded Taktique, a firm dedicated to providing training and coaching in lean product design and development tailored specifically for busy individuals. She is committed to imparting practical skills and knowledge in a manner that suits the demanding schedules of professionals. Trained in management and computer science, Sandrine Olivencia is an accomplished product engineer who now teaches in leading engineering and management schools.

Sandrine has also been an executive coach for 15 years. She specializes in applying lean thinking to help fast-paced startups and scale-ups grow rapidly yet respectfully and sustainably. Supported by her team of lean coaches, she also works with larger organizations in various industries. Her work involves training leadership teams, managers, and operational team leaders to use lean strategy and lean engineering tools and concepts tailored to their specific contexts. The aim in these complex environments is to effectively spread lean thinking across the organization to boost engagement, enhance collaboration, and increase operational efficiency.

Sandrine's strong expertise lies in designing and developing impactful products in both the tech and service sectors, as well as in shaping learning organizations that support sustainable growth. With a 30-year career in the high-tech and digital industries, Sandrine has guided and mentored many CEOs and their teams, drawing on principles from her book "Build to Sell: The Lean Secret to Crafting Irresistible Products."

She also co-authored “The Lean Sensei," a book on working with and developing into a lean sensei that earned a Shingo Prize.

She discovered Agile in Silicon Valley in 2002 while working on a challenging project with a bioengineering firm. She was an active member of Agile France and organized several Agile conferences. Today, she is a member of the French Lean Institute and a faculty member at the US Lean Enterprise Institute.

When she is not teaching, writing, or learning, Sandrine enjoys painting, singing opera, and taking long walks in the forest.
Website: https://www.taktique.com
Blog: https://blog.taktique.com
Book page: https://www.buildtosellbook.com

Please Note:

The number of concurrent participants is limited to 100; first come, first served.