Is Backlog First or OKRs Second?

In SPaMCAST 726 Mr. Allan Kelly returns! We discussed the fact that backlogs often become dumping grounds. Allan suggested an energetic solution. We also discussed OKRs and whether they are related to backlogs. Are OKRs the chicken or the egg?

Allan Kelly advises and mentors managers and teams in using agile approaches and OKRs to accelerate delivery, meet deadlines and execute against strategy. He believes these approaches benefit businesses and create more fulfilling work environments.

Allan is a keynote conference speaker and author of several books including "Succeeding with OKRs in Agile", "The Art of Agile Product Ownership" and "Business Patterns for Software Developers". He blogs at allankelly.net and can be contacted there or on Linkedin, https://www.linkedin.com/in/allankellynet/

Re-read Saturday News

We complete our re-read of the classic Coaching Agile Teams this week with a few final thoughts. I view Coaching Agile Teams as a tale of two themes. The first is a book of philosophy and the second is a how-to book full of techniques. The full value of this book requires two readings. The first time I read the book, I took the how-to path. This time the philosophies of agile coaching were more important to me than any individual technique.

Next week we start our re-read of Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching: The Journey from Beginner to Mastery and Beyond (Amazon Associate Link – buy your copy soon and start reading). This will be less of a re-read than it will be me trying to stay one or two chapters ahead because I am reading the book for the first time. We will begin with a few notes on the logistics of the read and then we will review the front matter.

Previous Installments

Week 1: Logistics and Introduction - https://bit.ly/3A1aNTe

Week 2: Will I Be A Good Coach - https://bit.ly/3nzDAHg

Week 3: Expect High Performance - https://bit.ly/3Rl4fFf

Week 4: Master Yourself - https://bit.ly/3zL8t2n

Week 5: Let Your Style Change - https://bit.ly/3Q8zHWa

Week 6: Coach as Coach-Mentor - https://bit.ly/3QLcSIi

Week 7: Coach as Facilitator - https://bit.ly/3AaP5KY

Week 8: Coach As Teacher - https://bit.ly/3AURGdL

Week 9: Coach As Problem Solver - https://bit.ly/3C06Gr7

Week 10: Coach As Conflict Navigator - https://bit.ly/3R6tmuc

Week 11: Coach As Collaboration Conductor - https://bit.ly/3fXoHOs

Week 12: Agile Coach Failure, Recovery, and Success Modes - https://bit.ly/3T0FluQ

Week 13: When Will I Get There? and It's Your Journey - https://bit.ly/3MAe00v

Week 14: Final Thoughts - https://bit.ly/3z6zJaA

A quick advertisement:

Controlling work entry requires preparation and knowledge building to establish a path to control work entry (magic wands are normally not available), which is why Jeremy Willets and I have developed a work entry workshop. Interested? Email us at tcagley@tomcagley.com or willetsjm@gmail.com

Next SPaMCAST

In SPaMCAST 727 we will discuss the assumptions behind Little's Law and Neglected WIP. Some of the assumptions you can cheat on and still get valuable information.

We will also have a visit from Susan Parente who brings her Not A Scrumdamentalist column to the cast.