From Idea to Backlog - How to Ensure Agile Teams Build the Right Product

Please note: You must register for this event as no less that 2 days prior to the event to gain access the venue.

An unspoken problem with agile development is that frameworks like Scrum and Kanban offer guidance to organize a team to build and deliver software. However, these frameworks provide little support to validate which software product the team should build. For example, the Scrum Guide defines the Product Backlog as “an emergent, ordered list of what is needed to improve the product” and the “single source of work undertaken by the Scrum Team.” While this definition helps agile teams understand how to create a backlog, it does not help them determine what should be in the backlog. Agile leaders lack basic tools that help them understand their users’ essential needs and support them in creating product backlogs of the right work.

In this talk, Steven Granese & Adam Ulery present a lightweight product discovery framework that quickly helps agile leaders turn ideas into validated backlogs. The framework utilizes four essential tools - user personas, customer journey maps, opportunity canvases, and story maps - and does not require special software or preexisting product experience. Steven & Adam demonstrate how agile leaders can build validated backlogs within two weeks and integrate their work with agile teams to ensure fast user feedback. When done correctly, these techniques will reduce the risk of building products no one wants while helping agile leaders discover ideas that users will love and use.

!!VENUE INFORMATION!!
Kforce Midtown Office Information

• Address: 1150 Assembly Dr Ste 500 Tampa FL 33607
• We are located on the 5th floor of the Midtown West building.
• We have the whole floor, so when you get off the elevator, one side of the lobby is for the executive wing, the other side is the main entrance (see photo below – this is the entrance you will use).

Parking:

• Park in the Waterview Garage in any unmarked parking spot on the 3rd-6th levels (map below). Do not park in any Reserved or Kforce Reserved parking spots, towing is enforced with no warning.
• You will make your way to the west side of 3rd floor of the parking garage, walk across the breeze way, and you will end up on the 2nd floor of the Midtown West office building, from there you will take the elevator to the 5th floor.