Ideally, at most three.
We recommend at most three concurrent focuses per team, to keep attention manageable. That’s guidance for the team, not a per-person limit or a restriction in Tellenze.
The Loop · Focuses
A shared purpose.
A rhythm that fits.
A focus gives your team one measurable outcome to work toward. It might be a useful integration, a debt problem resolved, or an exploration that leads to a decision. Give it an owner who is responsible for that outcome.
Different outcomes. Different intervals.Start → review the value
ExplorationChoose a viable service contract
A few days
DeliveryMake the new integration usable
Around three weeks
Technical debtVerify that a recurring failure is resolved
About a week
The outcome sets the rhythm
Refine when needed.
Review when it matters.
In The Loop, focuses replace recurring sprints by default. An exploration might need a few days; bringing a service into use might take weeks. You can timebox a focus, but you don’t have to repeat the same interval for every piece of work.
Refine when the work needs more clarity. Review when there’s something useful to assess. Retrospect after the focus, with a shared outcome that gives the learning a clear context.
Parallel, with a shared thread.
A Product Owner might be shaping the next opportunity while a development team delivers the current one. Link their focuses so the purpose and dependencies stay visible. Different teams can work in parallel, too.
Outcome, work, milestone.
Think of the focus as the effort, work items as its steps, and a milestone as a bigger point you’re working toward. A debt fix or an exploration can have a focus without a milestone.
Closure and accountability
Know when to close.
Know what comes next.
A focus can do its job before every ticket is finished. Close it when the main value you set out to deliver is there. Give unfinished work a place in a follow-up focus, keeping its real status and history.
Some impact takes longer to show. If you haven’t measured it yet, say so. Keep expected benefits separate from the delivery value you’ve already checked.
The Product Owner brings the review together.
The Product Owner initiates reviews and retrospectives, is responsible for the retrospective, and decides when to close the focus. Timing can vary; responsibility stays clear.
Let the right people check the value.
The people closest to the outcome help verify it: an analyst, designer, Product Owner or another responsible contributor. An exploration may lead to a decision; an integration needs evidence that it works.
The team holds itself accountable.
Team members hold one another accountable for following through. Make space to review the work, discuss what happened and keep the learning where it can be used.
Bring the learning forward
What will the next focus
do differently?
COME TAKE A LOOK
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A lot more together.
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