Adoption is a deliverable
If no one uses it, it did not ship. Training, access, and communications go in the backlog with acceptance criteria, like any feature.
The Constellation Method · Agile, practiced my way
Your users know something your backlog doesn’t. Yet.
Agile frameworks tell you how to run the work. They say much less about how to find what the work is missing. The Constellation Method is how I do both: map every owner, system, and user group, connect them through governed workflows, and keep the connection alive after launch.
What I believe
Six working principles
These came from fifteen years of programs that worked and a few that did not. They decide what I do when the framework is silent.
Listen to every room
Ownership, data, and users rarely sit together. Each holds part of the answer, and the missing piece is usually in the room no one visited.
Change the smallest thing that works
Sometimes the fix is a clearer sentence. Sometimes the process is broken and has to be rebuilt. The job is knowing which.
The tools are the operating system
Jira, Confluence, and SharePoint should make the work visible without extra effort. If reporting needs a separate spreadsheet, the platform is not finished.
Ceremonies serve the team
Scrum and SAFe events are kept when they produce decisions and changed when they produce only attendance.
Write it down so it survives rotation
Federal teams turn over. Documentation is the continuity plan, not overhead.
The four steps
What each step asks, and what it produces
Every step ends in artifacts your team keeps. Samples of each are on the proof of work page.
Map the sky
Questions
- Who owns each decision?
- Where does the data live?
- Who uses this every day, and what do they work around?
Outputs
- Stakeholder and system map
- Dependency inventory
- Current-state pain points
Draw the lines
Questions
- What is the path from request to done?
- Where do handoffs break?
- What does leadership need to see?
Outputs
- Jira workflows and boards
- Confluence information architecture
- RACI and governance model
Light the path
Questions
- What stops people from starting?
- What do they need to trust it?
- How will we hear about friction?
Outputs
- Onboarding and training plan
- Communications calendar
- Feedback-to-backlog loop
Hold the orbit
Questions
- Who keeps this running after launch?
- Which measures tell us it is working?
- What happens at the next rotation?
Outputs
- Adoption and health metrics
- Runbooks and SOPs
- Transition and continuity plan
Scrum and SAFe
It works inside the framework you already run
The method does not replace Scrum, SAFe, or Kanban. It adds the work those frameworks assume someone else is doing.
| Framework event | What I add | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Backlog refinement | Adoption stories with acceptance criteria: access, training, communications | Adoption work that is not on the board does not get done |
| Sprint review | A user from outside the team, every time | Feedback from the people who will live in it, before release |
| PI planning | A dependency map that includes data owners and platform teams | Most surprises come from the room that was not invited |
| Retrospective | One question about the users, not only the team | Keeps the team pointed at outcomes, not velocity |
| Release | A sustainment owner and a 30-day adoption check | Launch is the midpoint, not the finish line |
Work with me
Discuss a role or engagement
A short questionnaire helps me prepare for our first conversation. It takes about three minutes.
Stay in touch through Field Notes
Monthly lessons from real federal delivery work, plus new templates and prompts as they’re released.