These four concepts could revolutionize the way you get things done.
In many startups, there’s the software development or product team, and then there’s everyone else. For everyone else, the product team has processes we could all benefit from using. These four techniques are brilliant when applied to almost any discipline.
Sprints
The “agile” system of software development is based around sprints. At the beginning of each sprint (usually two weeks), a list of tasks is created. Focus for the two weeks is then entirely on these pre-prioritized tasks. But why limit this to developers? Most people work best with deadlines and a sense of urgency and focus. Create your own flavor of sprint for your next project.
MVP
The term Minimum Viable Product was popularized by Eric Reis’s seminal book, The Lean Startup. The idea is to release a product with as few features as possible to test whether there’s actually a market for it. Only after this is proven, should you be investing additional engineering resources. A similar concept in design thinking is prototyping: Get a rough version in circulation to see how it plays before proceeding. Just about every project, from marketing (think A/B testing) to company goal-setting, would benefit from experimentation with feedback.
User Stories
Product designers and product managers rely heavily on learning what users care about and how they interact with the product before adding features. This is often expressed to the dev team in user stories: the type of user, what they want, and why. Basically, a user story goes like this: As a _______, I want to _________, so that ____________. Getting close to the user’s needs (which design thinkers call empathy) is good practice for everyone in the company.
Backlog
Developers keep what they call a backlog: tasks (or tickets) that have been requested but are not in the queue for current work such as the sprint. You probably have a backlog of sorts but call it something else: like your never-ending to-do list. Having a master list of work you can’t get to this week or month, no matter what your job, is paramount for staying sane (and productive) in an environment where there’s always more to do than time. Also reference GTD’s concept of “capture” to reduce stress.
You don’t have to be a developer to incorporate some of their secrets into your own work. Their processes can help you work faster, more effectively, with less waste. Here’s to that!
Be a savvy employee in a fast-changing startup world. Sign up for our free newsletter and receive our pdf with 20 questions to ask before taking a startup job.