Playful PrioritisationJess Joyce

https://au.linkedin.com/in/jessicajoyce11

Agile enables us to write software right….

Prioritisation enables us to write the right

software..

1. Define what value means

Do we really need that feature?

http://www.softwareresults.us/2013/12/agile-development-learning-while-working.html

Value sliders

Customer

Deliver the highest value item for our customers

InnovationDeliver features that will disrupt the

market and diversify our value proposition

Revenue

Deliver features that will make us money

Cost

Deliver features that will save us money

RiskDeliver features that will avoid

reputational, compliance or legal risk

Reputation

Deliver features that will stop our customers from leaving

Value slidersCustomer

Innovation

Revenue

Cost

Risk

Reputation

It's the right thing to do for our customers?

We have UX feedbackWe have other analytical proof CUSTOMER TOTAL

+10 points +10 points 10

It's innovative?We have UX feedback

No one else is doing it in the industry

It can't easily be copied

It's technically feasible INNOVATION TOTAL

+5 points +5 points +5 points +5 points 5

There is revenue associated to it?

Analysed ROI > 100K annually

Opens additional revenue streams outside of core channel

Market analysis of similar use cases show tangible profit REPUTATION TOTAL

+4 points +4 points +4points 5

It saves us time and money?

Analysed cost savings >100K

Analysed cost savings >100 <500K >500K per annum >1 Mill per annum REVENUE TOTAL

+3 points + 3 points +4 points +4 points 5

There's risk if we don't do it?

Compliance/ Legal RiskWe could lose customers Technical stability TECHNOLOGY TOTAL

+ 2 points + 2 points + 2 points 5

It might damage our reputation?

Brand reputational riskCompany reputational risk

Employee reputational risk RISK TOTAL

+1 point +1 point +1 point 5

Value scorecards

Setting value

● Set value sliders and scorecards early - 1 value

set can sit across multiple initiatives.

● In iteration 0, run a session to agree on the value

scorecard

○ Lean Coffee

○ Sticky Notes

○ Round the table

○ Use the default

● Try to keep your scorecard tangible

● Try to Keep as many scorecard questions closed

(Yes/No)

2. Use value to drive the direction of your products

1. Analyse new ideas

Teams are given 2 days monthly to work on analysis for new initiatives - supporting evidence for pitch packs

2. Pitch the project concept

A monthly pitch night is held for any new ideas to be presented time-boxed 10 minute presentation

3. Weight the idea

A group of delegates (3 or 5 people) weight the idea based on our value scorecard

4. Prioritise on the roadmap

Based on the points the initiative is then either:

● A no-go● Sent to the parking lot

(further work req)● Added to the roadmap

Setting a valuable roadmap

Value Roadmap Results

3. Use value to drive priorities

● Hold backlog grooming and value grooming fortnightly

● Value points are set by weighting the story and/or feature against the value scorecard

● Product, BA, Tech Leads and UX should be involved in value grooming

● Priorities can be set based on highest value Vs lowest complexity

● Value is not set and forget - review your value points based on new information monthly

Story points Vs value points

● Set the $ value of your features based on story points

● Allocate your customer’s $$. The available funds (pp) should equal what you can commit to delivering

● Individual buying: Give some customers too little, some too much and some just enough - this will enhance collaboration

● Group buying: instead of each person having funds available the group is given a pool of money to determine what to spend it on

● Prioritise based on features that are commonly bought

Buy a Feature

● Draw your product “Speed Boat”

● Ask your customer group to identify the 3 biggest anchors (problems or features they dislike)

● On the back of each anchor card ask them to write what they think the anchor could be replaced with to improve or “turbo” the speed boat

● Prioritise based on common anchor’s and turbo’s

Speedboat Prioritisation

4. Scale priorities across teams

Story Mapping!

● Story maps provide visual presentation of your backlog and are great for multi-team projects!

● Story maps work on Goals>Features>Epics>Stories

● Goals and features are broken down into vertical slices and iterations are planned horizontally

● Cross -team prioritisation on a single story map can help to manage feature dependencies

● Scrum-of-scrums or integration stand-ups can help to remove dependency blockers

● Instead of status reporting - weekly “walk the wall sessions” can be run

● You will need dedicated space and approx 15 mins daily to check/update your map

5. Manage priorities with your stakeholders

Heads - care about

● Cost - how much investment $$

or time?

● Benefit/impact - grow audience

revenue, reputational damage?

● Time - how quickly and how

confident?

● Options - let me make an

informed decision

Heads

Heads - don’t care about

● The detail - choose your

words wisely less is more,

you’ll have limited time to

get the message across.

● A problem without a

solution - Ensure you’ve got

answers before you

communicate

Hearts - care about

● My team - what went wrong, how

they are impacted, who needs to

be involved

● The process - what do my people

need to be doing, what does

success mean?

● The detail - problem and

opportunity

Hearts

Hearts - Don’t Care About

● The daily grind - Let my team be autonomous! Don’t flood my inbox

Hands

Hands - care about:

● Knowing my role and

responsibility

● Understanding what the

outcome is - what’s the

vision, why is important,

what is the benefit for me,

how will it make my life

easier or better?

Hands - don’t care about

● Business issues outside of

the team and the product

delivery.

● Timeline/budget

pressures don’t make me

feel like I’m not good at my

job because of an estimate

Personality Profiles

The Change Champ: ● Is motivated, enthusiastic, embraces and thrives on change.● Generally a leader within a group and are a key person to engage early● This group challenge with staying on task and getting into the detail

The Skeptic: ● Comfort in “doing what I’ve always done”● Has generally had negative experience previously or has a fear of exposure ● Requires slow, small steps to change and trust is the biggest driver for them

The Impartial: ● Is a happy-go-lucky personality, who is easily influenced by others within the team● Generally a calming influence within a team but can be challenging to motivate ● They require a WIIFM approach to change and constant monitoring.

The Logical: ● Is a problem solver who loves a challenge● Requires facts, figures data and rationale in order to feel compelled or motivated● Can be hard to bring on the journey but once committed, they are extremely dedicated

Approaching change● Are you talking to heads, hearts or hands - what are your audience interested in?

● Ensure you have facts, figures and data for Senior Managers

● Bring the conversation back to the value sliders that have been set and agreed.

● Use the knowledge of the crowd to organically grow acceptance on priorities - leverage other

trusted stakeholders (Change Champs) to bring people on the journey

● Try to walk-the-wall with your stakeholders weekly so that big surprises are exceptions

● Ensure that you set clear goals for your team... they will look to you for certainty

● Be conscious of the profiles within your team - tailor your messaging to their profile

Let’s recap1. Try setting value sliders and agreeing to a value scorecard to define and monitor

value in your organisation

2. Do away with 2 year roadmaps and irrelevant business cases, try monthly value

pitches and continuous roadmap prioritisation.

3. Try gamifying the prioritisation process for your stakeholders:

a. Value points prioritisation

b. Buy a feature

c. Speedboat

4. Try out story mapping to visualise your work- this is great for cross-team

dependencies

5. Remember to tailor your approach to meet the levels and personalities within your

business!

Great tools for building valuable products

http://foldingburritos.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Innovation-Games-Creating-Breakthrough-Collaborative/dp/0321437292?tag=viglink122973-20

http://www.uxforthemasses.com/5-techniques-prioritising-features/

https://marketplace.atlassian.com/plugins/com.bit.agile.bit-storymap/cloud/overview

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