Evan Prowse compiled this blog post. In true Tanzu Labs fashion, the Miro boards and guidance featured are the result of contributions by many Tanzu Labs colleagues.
One of the core tenets of VMware Tanzu Labs (formerly Pivotal Labs) is to share our knowledge of software development best practices and principles with the larger tech community. In the past, we often did this by hosting community events in our offices around the globe. However, in today’s world, a lessened appetite to travel and meet in person has limited our opportunities to connect with the broader community. Nevertheless, we continue to find new ways to pass on our knowledge to people looking to build new skills and improve collaboration on their own teams.
Internally, Miro is one of our favorite tools for virtualizing the many practices and rituals once performed face-to-face. Miro provides our teams a collaborative workspace, replacing what would previously have been a whiteboard and sticky notes.
This article compiles some of Tanzu Labs’ recently published Miro templates to the Miroverse, which are open and available for any team to make use of! Whether you are getting ready to kick off a new project, improve the health of your team, or reflect on your own skills, there is something here for anyone involved in the software development process.
Team Working Hours
What it’s for: Teams today are often spread across multiple time zones. This template is designed to provide detailed facilitation tips to run a “working hours session.” Use this template to ensure your team is working at a sustainable pace and still having time to engage meaningfully as a balanced team.
When to use it: In the early days of a team’s lifecycle, but it can be updated with new team members asynchronously.
Try it: https://miro.com/miroverse/team-working-hours/
Personal User Manual
What it’s for: Use this template and the included question bank to help your team get to know each other and each other's working styles. Software teams are often composed of individuals with many different backgrounds, interest areas, and working styles. By having each member of your team complete this template, you can not only enrich your day-to-day interactions but also better understand how to work well with each of your different team members. Read more about user manuals here.
When to use it: At the beginning of a project or after staffing changes
Try it: https://miro.com/miroverse/personal-user-manual/
Product Vision, Strategy, and Outcomes
What it’s for: Having a clear vision, strategy, and outcomes helps set the stage for launching an effective product team. It aligns internal stakeholders, communicates short- and long-term progress of development, and seamlessly shares the product strategy with external stakeholders. Use this framework to organize a product road map that aligns your team on the vision, strategy, and metrics.
When to use it: Before launching (or re-launching) a product team
Try it: https://miro.com/miroverse/product-vision-strategy-outcomes/
Lean Product Starting Point
What it’s for: Often, team members have different ideas of where to start building a product, particularly during modernization work. To move forward effectively as a product team, everyone needs to agree and, more importantly, just get started! Use this workshop to drive alignment around a lean product approach and bypass the common analysis paralysis usually experienced at the start of a new software project. After you complete this exercise, your team should have alignment around the initial starting point for building a product.
When to use it: Prior to building (or modernizing) a product
Try it: https://miro.com/miroverse/lean-product-starting-point-workshop/
Product Designer Self-Evaluation
What it’s for: This activity prompts designers to think critically about their experiences and aspirations. By completing this activity, designers can gain a deeper understanding of themselves and share relevant information with their colleagues, team members, or clients. Use this template to document your personal and professional qualities, skills, strengths. Follow up this activity by creating action items to work on, growth items and short- and long-term goals.
When to use it: Anytime!
Try it: https://miro.com/miroverse/product-designer-self-evaluation/
Fast and Furious Retro
What it’s for: Use this take on a traditional retrospective to have an open discussion around an event that enables your team to improve going forward, give kudos to your team members, and have a bit of fun along the way.
When to use it: After a sprint or any other event
Try it: https://miro.com/miroverse/fast-furious-retro/
Learn about Tanzu Labs
At Tanzu Labs we partner with organizations worldwide to accelerate the delivery of software and modernize legacy applications, while reducing operating costs and risk.
If you're looking for more advice on ways to improve your team workflow, happiness, or health, we’re here to help! Our teams have published many useful guides and learning paths as part of our Tanzu Developer Center. We also published a mini-encyclopedia on 27 successful patterns your team can leverage to improve how you build software.
Need more hands-on help? Come talk to us by booking an hour with our engineers, designers, and product managers. We’ll talk through what's keeping you up at night—from innovation bottlenecks to app modernization hurdles. It’s 100 percent free and totally confidential, so we hope to see you there!
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