Doc Norton
Speed Is a Side Effect

When leaders ask teams to "go faster," they're usually not asking for better outcomes. They're asking for more output. More stories delivered. More code shipped. More visible progress.

Implicit in that ask is a pretty big assumption: that we already know exactly what needs to be built, that the plan is correct, and that execution is the only thing standing between us and success.

So "go faster" becomes shorthand for "execute the plan harder."

That's where things start to go wrong.

Speed Is a Side Effect
Doc Norton
Don't fail fast; Observe often

The problem with "fail fast" is that it too often becomes "move fast." Failure is hidden or spun as success, speed is rewarded, and the learning part gets lost entirely. At its worst, "fail fast" is an excuse to rush into the next thing without pausing to understand what just happened.

What I want to promote instead is Observe Often. The shift in language is intentional—when we say “observe,” we bring focus back to what matters: seeing, measuring, and learning from what we do. And “often” reinforces frequency over haste. It’s not about reckless speed; it’s about small, deliberate moves and frequent feedback loops.

Don't fail fast; Observe often
Doc Norton
Why I Joined Test Double

When I say I’m joining Test Double as their new VP of Delivery, I’m not just making a career move—I’m making an alignment move. This is a company that already values the things I value. They’ve built a strong culture, a strong team, and a strong set of practices. I’m not joining to overhaul anything. I’m joining to help make something great even better.

Why I Joined Test Double
Doc Norton
Collaboration Contracts beta release

Today, I’m excited to announce the beta launch of Collaboration Contracts, a lightweight app designed to help teams—especially distributed ones—quickly define and manage their roles in decisions. Whether you're using it to bring clarity to one-off decisions or baking it into how your team operates every day, the app is built to support alignment, accountability, and smoother collaboration.

Collaboration Contracts beta release
Doc Norton
An Experiment Canvas

The Experiment Canvas is a simple means of planning, tracking, and responding to your experiments.

An Experiment Canvas

"Necessary" Refactoring

In a discussion on the Agile Alliance Linked In Group, Michael Moles asked how refactoring fit into the agile process.

The Question

Refactoring: How does it fit into your Agile process?

We are in the midst of writing a new product, at this point the developers are realizing that some of the code should be refactored to improve performance and or clarity for ease of use. How do you fit refactoring into you Agile process? We have created separate backlog items for refactoring specific pieces of code. These backlog items are treated exactly like any other backlog item (meaning they have effort assigned and are committed to sprints by the team). What do you do when refactoring is necessary?

Values and Beliefs

Earlier this week, Bob Marshall (@flowchainsensei) retweeted an article by Dan McCarthy on The Meaning of Respect, where he discussed respect as a value. I then saw a blog post from Seth Godin entitled "Seven Questions for Leaders" where he asks if you would walk away from a client or employee whose values don't match yours. This weekend, at Agile and Beyond, I got into a conversation with several others about company values and walking away from clients when there is a mis-match. At LeanDog, we proudly display our company values and we often refer to the XP values of Simplicity, Communication, Feedback, Respect, and Courage.

Stabilizing Velocity

Stabilizing Velocity

Have you ever been on a team where your velocity suffered wild variances? Maybe you ended up using a running average instead of yesterday's weather?

Have you heard phrases like, "Well, our velocity last iteration was 3, but our average is still 22"?

Have you ever heard the phrase, "Dude, we need to get this velocity stable."

Have you worked on teams where they took partial credit for done at the end of the iteration? Where maybe you'd split a card strictly on points and award some apportion to the current iteration and assign the remainder of the card to the next iteration.

Sharpening the Saw

Sharpening the Saw

I like to practice my craft. I enjoy participating in Code Retreats. I enjoy facilitating Code Retreats. I like working on kata and koans. And a lot of what I talk about includes references to these practices. We at LeanDog are always on the lookout for people who are passionate about improving their own craft. I thought I'd start a blog entry where I catalog resources that might be of interest to others looking for ways to sharpen their saw.

Would you be willing to preach what you practice?

There's an old saying

Practice what you preach

Practice what you preach  is a variation of Practice yourself what you preach. I think we are all familiar with the phrase. I suspect most of us understand the basic sentiment upon first read.

This phrase addresses hypocrisy. It originally spoke to those who demanded others be pious while themselves partaking in sinful activities. It certainly applies to anyone whose personal life is lived in a manner incongruent with the values and behaviors they publicly espouse.

You are a Leader

Leadership is neither assigned nor selected. People choose whom to follow and a leader thereby emerges.

“The led must not be compelled, they must be able to choose their own leader” - Albert Einstein

We always have a choice. We may not like our options. We may feel we are choosing the lesser of two evils, but nevertheless, we follow at a minimum because we choose not to do otherwise.

“The man who lets a leader prescribe his course is a wreck being towed to the scrap heap.” - Ayn Rand

What are you rewarding?

It is nearing the end of the year and we at LeanDog are wrapping up our fiscal year. We're looking at the potential tax benefits of spending some of our reserve and we're mulling over other ideas related to the spend of money. We are not, however, discussing our bonus objectives. We aren't discussing them because we don't have them. I, for one, am happy that we don't.

Plenty of companies have bonus objectives. Many of those companies are spending a great deal of time (and money) trying to make sure that those objectives are met (or at least appear to be met). To some, this sounds like a good idea. To me, it sounds like rampant dysfunction.