As we begin counting down to the end of the year, I would like to consider the team lead’s role. It is a nearly ubiquitous role in organizations, but is almost never talked about in agile frameworks. We begin our journey into the role by establishing three examples to help understand how the role is practiced and why it can generate friction if not addressed when adopting frameworks.  We also have a visit from Jon M Quigley who brings his Alpha and Omega of Product Development column to the cast.  This week we talk about the idea of descoping and its role in work entry. Done early, descoping is a tool while done after you have made commitments it makes a tool out of you.  Re-Read Saturday News  Nearly 30 hours of driving, Thanksgiving, and far too few hours with a large part of my extended family kept me from completing the re-read of Chapter 8 of Project to Product  (Amazon Affiliate Link). We will be back next week to talk about the problems caused by role and tool disconnection across the value chain (silos). Catch up on previous installments: Week 1: -   Week 2: -   Week 3: -   Week 4: - Week 5: -   Week 6: -   Week 7: -  Week 8: -       Next SPaMCAST  Next week Mauricio Aguliar and Christine Green join me to discuss the state and future of Software Measurement. Mauricio, Christine, and I are all recent Past Presidents of the International Function Point Users Group (the largest international software measurement association). The conversation will be provocative and enlightening.