Simple Frameworks

Below are a few constructs and paradigms I've found useful at one point or another during my work/life. (And a good looking list of some others I haven't made my way through yet).

PRODUCT & PRIORITIZATION

Which product features have to be

Obvious? Easy? Possible?

— Jason Fried

Now. Next. Later.

— Noah Weiss

75% / 25%

75% understanding what the consumers want now.
25% providing them something that they don’t know they want yet.

— MDavid Low

Pain / Effort / Business Value

Pain: Painful, Confusing, Opportunity
Effort: Small (1), Medium (2), Big (3)
Business Value: $, $$, $$$

Must / Should / Could / Won’t include.

MoSCoW Method for Feature Prioritization

I.N.V.E.S.T.  

Independent: The PBI (Product Backlog Item) should be self-contained, in a way that there is no inherent dependency on another PBI.
Negotiable: PBIs, up until they are part of an iteration, can always be changed and rewritten.
Valuable: A PBI must deliver value to the stakeholders.
Estimable: You must always be able to estimate the size of a PBI.
Small: PBIs should not be so big as to become impossible to plan/task/prioritize with a certain level of certainty.
Testable: The PBI or its related description must provide the necessary information to make test development possible.

INVEST (mnemonic)

[Rough, adaptive plan] + [Rough, adaptive architecture] = Good Agile.

Product Mindset

A framework for improvisational theatre:

Say “yes, and”.
Add information after the “and”.
Avoid questions.

(If you ask an comedian how they improvise, their answer isn’t “be funny”, They will tell you a set of rules to follow… that allow them to be funny.)

— Jon Lax

PRODUCT & PRIORITIZATION

Which product features have to be

Obvious? Easy? Possible?

— Jason Fried

Now. Next. Later.

— Noah Weiss

75% / 25%

75% understanding what the consumers want now.
25% providing them something that they don’t know they want yet.

— MDavid Low

Pain / Effort / Business Value

Pain: Painful, Confusing, Opportunity
Effort: Small (1), Medium (2), Big (3)
Business Value: $, $$, $$$

Must / Should / Could / Won’t include.

MoSCoW Method for Feature Prioritization

I.N.V.E.S.T.  

Independent: The PBI (Product Backlog Item) should be self-contained, in a way that there is no inherent dependency on another PBI.
Negotiable: PBIs, up until they are part of an iteration, can always be changed and rewritten.
Valuable: A PBI must deliver value to the stakeholders.
Estimable: You must always be able to estimate the size of a PBI.
Small: PBIs should not be so big as to become impossible to plan/task/prioritize with a certain level of certainty.
Testable: The PBI or its related description must provide the necessary information to make test development possible.

INVEST (mnemonic)

[Rough, adaptive plan] + [Rough, adaptive architecture] = Good Agile.

Product Mindset

A framework for improvisational theatre:

Say “yes, and”.
Add information after the “and”.
Avoid questions.

(If you ask an comedian how they improvise, their answer isn’t “be funny”, They will tell you a set of rules to follow… that allow them to be funny.)

— Jon Lax