All too often, the task list for your teams shared project management tool shows items like “Create Workflow” or “Define Process”. Items that do resonate well in the flow of work and in the nexus of individuals. But they do fall short of allowing the rest of the organization to grasp the meaning and even fail to do so for the reporter when some time has passed.
Some consice expressions on expectations on what this story or ticket is about can do wonder to getting things done. Rather than “defining a a workflow”, for example the product management team would
- Check for Duplicate Entries
- Describe the Requirement
- Outline all depending products
- Draw a critical path
- Align all stakeholders on the critical path
- Communicate to the team
The core idea is to eliminate any discussion about when an issue, item or story is delivered and is unique across function. Of course, the above serves as an example and will vary by team and work, and needs revision in any particular scenario. Having specific action advise will help reducing debates and focus on an actual deliverable, that is done by all opinion.
Source: Unlock your product organization’s potential by defining “done”
