Slides Patrick Hoffman recently used in his discussion w/ mentees of The Product Mentor. Synopsis: As a Product Manager, you want your teams to succeed. The best way is to develop a sustainable pace for delivering work of value and the key to a sustainable pace is picking the right cadence. Learn about different cadences and how to apply them in the different situations you will encounter during your career. The Product Mentor is a program designed to pair Product Mentors and Mentees from around the World, across all industries, from start-up to enterprise, guided by the fundamental goals…Better Decisions. Better Products. Better Product People. Throughout the program, each mentor leads a conversation in an area of their expertise that is live streamed and available to both mentee and the broader product community. http://TheProductMentor.com

1. finding and maintaining the right cadence
for your team and your product
Sprints
Patrick T. Hoffman
@arcktip
The Product Mentor
2018

2. 2
Patrick T. Hoffman
Senior Product Manager | Enterprise
@Udacity
7+ years managing complex hardware and
software products at Social Bicycles (now Jump,
acquired by Uber), Superpedestrian and Udacity

3. AND WHY PRODUCT MANAGERS SHOULD CARE
What exactly is a sprint?
3
Sprints are key to the Scrum framework, each
SPRINT is a container for all other scrum events.
Each event is an opportunity to inspect and adapt
something in your workflow.
The Scrum Guide - 2016

4. AND DOES IT HELP MY TEAM SHIP?
Okay, so what’s Scrum?
SCRUM is a framework that originated in the 1990s to help teams
tackling complex adaptive problems. It’s meant to enable them to
productively and creatively deliver the highest possible value
products to their business.
Those familiar with Scrum all agree it is:
• Difficult to master
• Simple to understand
• Lightweight
4

5. Scrum = Simple
5
Backlog Sprint
Backlog
2 WEEKS
1 DAY
SPRINT Shippable
Product?
The Team
Product Owner
Scrum Master

6. Sprint != 2 Weeks
6
Backlog Sprint
Backlog
1 DAY
SPRINT Shippable
Product?
The Team
Product Owner
Scrum Master
2 WEEKS

7. Two Week Monsters
2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS
2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS
2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS2 WEEKS
2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS
2 WEEKS

8. THEN WHAT IS THE RIGHT LENGTH?
If not 2 weeks
IT DEPENDS.
IT WILL CHANGE IN TIME.
YOU MUST KNOW HOW TO
PICK YOUR CADENCE.
8

9. THEN WHAT IS RIGHT?
If not 2 weeks
PICK A CADENCE THAT
GETS YOU TO RELIABLY
SHIP THINGS OF HIGH
VALUE
9

10. FOR YOUR TEAM, PRODUCT AND COMPANY
Finding the right cadence
Consider:
1. What type of product is your company selling?
2. What current stage is your company is in?
3. What problem is your team working on?
4. How long has your team worked together?
5. Is your team independent?
6. If not, what is the other team’s cadence?
10

11. What I’ve Seen Work
3 weeks + 1 week (3+1) … for an independent team
3 WEEKS 1 WEEK 3 WEEKS 1 WEEK 3 WEEKS 1 WEEK 3 WEEKS 1 WEEK
3 WEEKS 1 WEEK 3 WEEKS 1 WEEK 3 WEEKS 1 WEEK 3 WEEKS 1 WEEK
3 WEEKS 1 WEEK 3 WEEKS 1 WEEK 3 WEEKS 1 WEEK

12. What I’ve Seen Work
1 week … up to 3 months, ‘fixed’ backlog, independent team
1 WEEK 1 WEEK 1 WEEK 1 WEEK 1 WEEK 1 WEEK
1 WEEK 1 WEEK 1 WEEK 1 WEEK 1 WEEK 1 WEEK

13. What I’ve Seen Work
2 … yes, it can work for short periods of time and some products
2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS
2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS
2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS

14. What I’ve Seen Work
3+1 with interdependent teams
TEAM A
TEAM B
ETC.

15. What I’ve Seen Work
3+1 with interdependent teams
TEAM A
TEAM B
ETC.
this shared ‘pause’ is critical to success

16. … we may call it a sprint but it’s really
better to think of it as a relay race the
length of a marathon.
An all out sprint will only burn you out
(and your team). Pauses matter...
It’s a Relay Race
HANDING OFF TO YOURSELF AND TO OTHERS

17. Questions?