The Mountain Goat Software Blog

Separate vanity metrics from useful signals when deciding what to build or improve.

The problem with velocity-driven sprint planning is that velocity is simply too variable to be useful in the short term.

Plan sprints around real team capacity instead of relying only on past velocity.

Plan sprints using velocity while understanding its limits.

Define quality in a way that helps agile teams make better tradeoffs.

Understand why teams use story points instead of hours or days.

Use specialists wisely without letting them become bottlenecks.

Use short release cycles to learn faster, reduce risk, and improve the product sooner.

Pick backlog items that deliver value while helping the team learn what matters next.

Add context to user roles so stories describe needs with more precision.

Find the pace where teams move quickly without losing control.

See why developers should help write user stories before work reaches the sprint.

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