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Reading List

Reading List for the Agile Product Owner / Queue Master


Introductory reading: see Product Owner Required Reading

Five Levels of Agile Planning: From Enterprise Product Vision to
Team Stand-up [requires registration]
by Hubert Smits

This paper outlines a distinct planning framework that has been used successfully in large-scale agile software development projects and relies on five levels: product vision, product roadmap, release plan, sprint plan and daily commitment. Each of the five levels of planning addresses the fundamental planning principles: priorities, estimates and commitments.

A related resource:
free "planning onion" poster from VersionOne
[requires registration]



A Canary in a Coalmine: Sacrificing Quality should be an Executive Management Decision [video]
by Ken Schwaber

When teams atart sacrificing testing, refactoring and other practices in order to meet deadlines, Ken argued that as professionals we should not accept business requests to sacrifice quality in order to meet timelines, and if quality does need to be sacrificed such a decision should be made by executive management and reflected in the financial statements of the company.

Agile Estimating and Planning
by Mike Cohn

"We know how to build predictive plans and manage them. But building plans that only estimate the future and then embrace change, challenge most of our training and skills. Here, Mike Cohn ... shows us a workable approach to Agile estimating and planning. Mike delves into the nooks and crannies of the subject and anticipates many of the questions and nuances of this topic." -- Ken Schwaber

User Stories Applied: For Agile Software Development
by Mike Cohn

The best way to build software that meets users' needs is to begin with "user stories": simple, clear, brief descriptions of functionality that will be valuable to real users. In User Stories Applied, Mike Cohn provides you with a front-to-back blueprint for writing these user stories and weaving them into your development lifecycle.

Agile Project Management with Scrum (Microsoft Professional)
by Ken Schwaber

This high-level reference describes how to use Scrum to manage complex technology projects in detail, combining expert insights with examples and case studies based on Scrum. Emphasizing practice over theory, this book explores every aspect of using Scrum, focusing on driving projects for maximum return on investment.

Leading From A Position Of No Power: A Customer’s Perspective of an Agile Team [video]
by Alexia Bowers

COO and coach Alexia Bowers walked a mile in a project customer's shoes, and told us how it felt in this Agile2006 Leadership Summit presentation. She stressed the need to strive for creative solutions instead of simply cutting scope.