There was one thing that struck me again this week: it is so important to always be focussed on velocity. I think we’re doing pretty good, but there is always room for improvement.

To be clear: this is not about forcing everyone to work harder. It is about making smart choices that allow you to move faster. Moving fast is important, because while you might have a good idea on what your users and customers want today, your idea for tomorrow could be completely off.

Keep an eye out for the things that tie you down. Which parts are actually taking up the biggest chunk of time whenever you want to change something?

Concrete stuff (applies to product development, so if this is not you, skip this):

• How long does it take to make a decision? Are there too many people involved?
• As soon as it is clear what needs to be done, how fast can you have this feature in production?
• If something comes up, how long does it take to have a fix live?
• Do you have “rules” that slow you down? A fixed release schedule? A specific person that needs to check things who is overbooked or not always available?