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SCRUM!1stEdition
TheUltimateBeginnersGuideToMasteringScrumToBoostProductivity&Beat
Deadlines
TABLEOFCONTENTSIntroduction
Chapter1:WhyScrumisProbablytheMostEfficientSystemOutThere
Chapter2:WillScrumWork?
Chapter3:TheScrumTeam
Chapter4:ActivitiesandArtifacts
Chapter5:AgilePrinciplesatWork
Chapter6:TheProductBacklog
Chapter7:EstimatingWorkandMeasuringVelocity
Chapter8:GoingBiggerwithScrum
Chapter9:HowtoCatertoMultipleProducts
Chapter10:WhatProductsShouldYouProduce?
Conclusion
Copyright2015byAdamVardy-Allrightsreserved.
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IntroductionThankyouforpurchasing“Scrum!TheUltimateBeginnersGuideToMasteringScrumToBoostProductivity&BeatDeadlines.”
ThisbookcontainsprovenstepsandstrategiesonhowtolearnScrumfastandhowtousethisframeworkinordertoconservetimeandbudgetwhilehittingtargetsinatimelymanner.ThisbookwillalsoshowyouwhatkindofproductsareworthdevelopingandhowyoucanuseScrumprincipleswithinalargegrouptocreateprojectsthataremeasurable,efficient,andreliablewhenitcomestodeliveringcustomersatisfactionandgoodreturnofinvestment.
Managers,employees,andentrepreneurswouldbeabletobenefitfromtheknowledgeonhowtheycanbebetterinvolvedintaskswithintheirorganizationsandhowtheycanbemoreefficientinhittingtheirtargets.ByusingtheScrumframework,youwouldrealizethattherearebetterwaystocompleteprojectsandhavethemlaunchedontherighttimewithoutcompromisingtimefordevelopment.
Withthisbook,youwilllearnhowtouseScrumtocutthetimeyouneedtoplanandorganizeinordertosubmitdeliverableswaybeforethedeadline.BylearningScrum,youwouldbeabletogeneratemoreproductsthatmeetcustomersatisfactionandhaveefficientuseofyourresourcestomeetorganizationgoals.
Chapter1:WhyScrumisProbablytheMostEfficientSystemOutThereAlotoforganizationsintheworldoperatethisway–theyfulfillrequirementsthatpeoplefromthehigherupstellthemtomeet,startworkingonaplanthattheyhavediscussed,andthenmeetupwithaclientorabosstocheckiftheylikewhattheyhavedone.
Now,youcanseethatthereisalikelihoodoffailureinthistypeofmanagement,andthatfailureismorelikelytobediscoveredrightonthatproject’sdeadline.Whenthathappens,theorganizationanditsclienthavealreadyspentalotoftimeandresourcesworkingonaproductthattheybothwon’tlikeintheend.
There’saprojectmanagementsystemthatwasdesignedtoaddressthisproblem.CalledScrum,thissystemisdesignedtocutthetimeandresourcesthatanyorganizationoutthereneedstofinishaproject.
WhatisWrongwiththeSystem,Anyway?
Thetraditionalmethodofgettingaprojectdoneisdesignedforpeopletomakesurethattheyhaveallthebusinessrequirementsthattheyneedinordertostartdesigningsomething.Aftermeetingalltheserequirements,theywillstartworkingonaplanoradesign.Rightafterthat,theywillstartmakingthatplanworkandtesttheoutcome.Then,theclientorthebosswalksinandthensaysthatitisokaytogetthatprojectlaunched.
Ofcourse,theplanistomakesurethateveryonedoeswhattheyaretaskedtodo–theyhavetomakesurethatallthingswrittenontheGanttchartisdonebeforethenextstepistaken.Theyalsoneedtofinishalltheagreedtasksonaspecificdeadlinesothattheycanstarttesting.
Whentheteamsaredoneworkingonwhattheyaresupposedtodo,thenthatisthetimethattheywillknowifwhattheydidissatisfactoryornot.ThismethodoffollowingoneplanafteranotheriscalledtheWaterfallMethod.
TheWaterfallmethodmakesitapointthatprojectdevelopersgothroughthesesteps:
1.AnalyzeRequirements
Ifyouareintosoftwaredevelopmentoranytypeofprojectcreationteam,youwouldwanttoknowthebusinesscontextofwhatyouaretryingtocreate–youwanttodefinewhatkindofproblemsyouaretryingtoresolveandhowpeoplewouldreacttoyourfinishedproduct.Afteryoudefineallthese“requirements”,youhavetheinputthatyouneedtomoveontothenextstep.
2.Designing
Thisstepismadeupofallthestepsthatyouneedtosatisfyalltherequirementsthatyouhavedeterminedearlier.Insoftwaredevelopment,thisisthepartwhereyoudefineallthesoftwareandhardwarearchitecture,programminglanguage,datastorage,etc.Thisisalsothepartwhereinyoudeterminehowtheprojectwouldbeusefultoitsenduser.
3.PlanImplementation
Inthisstep,youbegintoconstructwhatyouhavedesignedinyourplan.ThispartoftheWaterfallmethodisdedicatedtomeetingthestandardsthatyouhavemadeintheprevioussteps.Thisisthepartwherepeoplefromthedevelopmentteamcomeinandmakeallthethingsdiscussedinthepreviousstepshappen.
4.Testing
Thisisthepartofthemethodwherequalityassurancepeopleentertoensurethatthedevelopmentteamdidnotmakeanymistakes.Thisisalsomostlikelythepartwherepeoplerealizewhatisworkingornotworkingintheirplan.
5.ClientApproval
Whenallthingsaresatisfiedbytheprojectimplementers,theclientortheendusercomesinandmakesthefinalcalliftheprojectisreadytobelaunched.
TheWaterfallmethodmakesitapointthatwhensomethinggoeswronginaparticularstage,peoplecangobacktothepreviousonetoseewhatwentwrong.Forexample,ifthereisaprobleminthePlanImplementationandpeopleknowthattheysimplyfollowedtheblueprintthathasbeenhandedovertothem,thenmanagerslookattheirplanandmaketheirrevisionsfromthere.
However,itwouldbeeasytopointoutwhatcouldpossiblybewrongwhenyoufollowcolorful,organized,andtime-codedGanttchartsfromtheconceptionofanideatodeliveringthefinishedproduct–thereisnoguaranteethatallthingsthattheorganizationhasthoughtofwouldactuallywork.Fromhere,youwouldrealizethattheWaterfallMethodhasthefollowingissues:
1.Peopleblindlyfollowplans.
Inthetraditionalmethod,peoplepaymoreattentiontohowthingswillhappenduringtherightmomentwithoutbeingmindfulifthingsarereallyfallingintoplace.Whileplanningisimportant,itisalsoimportantthatdevelopersandqualitycheckersunderstandhowthingsshouldhappen,especiallywiththeclientortheend-user.Itisalsoimportantthatallpeopleinvolvedintheprojectcanimmediatelysayhowaparticularstepinprojectfulfillmentcanfallapartwithouthavingtowaitforthetestingstage.
2.Thismethodcantakeuptoomanyresources.
GoingbacktoapreviousstageintheWaterfallmethodmaymeanthatallthetimeandmoneyspentisnotgoingtoturnupanyproduct.Thatmeansthatitispossibleformanagementtojustwasteitsresourceswhenitfindsoutthatsomethingisnotworkingoutwellinastage,andthenspendmoreresourcesgoingbacktothepreviousstagetofindoutwhatwentwrong.
3.End-usersdonotknowwhattheywant.
Whenitistimetohandoverthefinishedproducttoaclient,itislikelythattheywillnotlikehowitturnedout,despitedeliberatelysayingotherwiseduringtheinitialstages.Itiseasyforclientsandend-userstochangewhattheywantovertime.TheWaterfallsystemdoesnothaveawaytoresolvethatyet,withouthavingtoreviseplansandredoingtheentireprojectaltogether.
4.Testingforqualitymaysuffer.
Itisimpossibletoaccuratelypredicttheoutcomesofaproject,andwhentheentireteamispressedfortime,itispossibletocutthetestingstageshortinordertomeetthedeadline.
5.You’llneverknowwhatstageyoureallyareon.
Sincetheproductthatyouaretryingtocreatewillnotbeproduceduntiltheveryend,youarenotreallysureifyouarestillonplanningoryouarealreadyondevelopingstage.Thatmeansthatitisalsolikelyforyoutospendmoretimeonastagethanwhatyouhaveexpectedbecauseofthispoorvisibility.
Intheend,theWaterfallmethodcanbetooriskysinceitistoorigid.Inorderforyoutomakeyouproduceaproductthatworksandwouldbeflexibleenoughtohelpyoufigureoutwhatisworkingornot.
EnterScrum
Scrum,anAgilemethod,aimstohelpyousolveproblemsinproductcreationwithextremeflexibility.Thisframeworkaimstomakeyouaddressadaptiveandcomplexproblemswiththehighestproductivevaluewithoutcompromisingproductivityintheprocess.
Scrumisbasedontheassumptionthatknowledgecomefromwhatyouhavealreadyexperienced,whichmeansthatyoucanonlymakedecisionsbasedonthingsthatyoualreadyknow.Sincethisframeworkworksaccordingtowhatisalreadyoutthere,itimplementsanincrementalanditerativeapproachtomakesurethatyouhaveahandleoverriskandalsooptimizepredictabilityofyourtasks.Todojustthat,thisframeworkstandsonthreepillars:
1.Transparency
Allimportantstepsandaspectsofallprocessesarevisibletothosewhoareresponsibleforoutcomes.Thatmeansthateveryoneinvolvedknowswhenapartoftheprocessisalreadysuccessfulorcompleted,andeverythingunderstandswhattheystepsneedtobetakentoensurethesuccessofaparticulartask.
2.Inspection
ThosewhoareusingScrumareboundtoalwayscheckartifactsandprogressinSprintGoalsinordertoseeifthereareanyvariancesthattheydonotwant.Ofcourse,everyoneinvolvedknowsthatcheckingtheirprogressshouldnotgetinthewayofwork.
3.Adaptation
Ifthepersonthattookcareoftheinspectionseesthatthereareaspectsoftheprocessthatwouldmaketheendproductunacceptable,thenmaterialsandprocessesareimmediatelyadjustedtocreatethedesiredoutcome.Theseadjustmentsaremadeassoonaspossibleinordertominimizeanyotherresultingdeviations.
BecauseScrumstandsonthesepillars,peoplewhousethisframeworkdoesnothavetorelyonasingleteamtofulfillstagesbeforetheyevenhaveanideaofwhattheyaresupposedtocreateandtoseeiftheproductthattheyaremakingwillactuallywork.
SinceScrumeliminatesthewaitingtimebetweenstagesandimmediatelypointsoutwhatprocesspeopleconcernedaretakingcareof,itiseasiertoseeifthepeopleinvolvedaremakingprogressoriftheyneedtomakecorrections.Thiseffectivelycutsthetimeandbudgetpeopleneedtospendtocompleteprojects.
Chapter2:WillScrumWork?Scrumisaverylightweightandsimpleframework,andisthewayofthinkingthattopcompaniessuchasHonda,Fuji-Xerox,andCanonhasadoptedtoproduceworld-classandhighqualityresults.Withthisframework,youwouldlearnhowyoucancreateprojectsthroughanall-at-onceproductdevelopmentusingateam-basedandscalableapproach.
Whileitwaspopularasasoftwaredevelopmentprocess,Scrum’snameactuallycamefromtherugbysport–inagameofrugby,yourestartthegamewhentheballwentoutofplayorsomeonehascommittedanaccidentalinfringement.Scrumasaframeworkservesasimilarpurpose–insteadofmakingagamekeepgoingdespiteapossibleerror,youfixtheerrorrightawayandplaythegameright.
WhatYouDoWhenYouScrum
SinceScrumisanagileapproach,youwouldneedtofulfillaproductbacklog,whichconsistsofallcapabilitiesandfeaturesthatyouneedtocreateinordertocomeupwithasuccessfulproduct.Thisbacklogwilltellyouthethingsthatyouneedtodofirst.Ifyourunoutofanyresource,anyitemonthebacklogthathasnotbeencompletedwillhavelowerprioritythanthecompletedwork.
Anyprojectdoneusingscrumisdonewithinshortiterations,knownassprintsthatarewithintimeboxes,whichwouldrangefromaweektoacalendarmonth.Duringtheseiterations,across-functionalteamdoesallthework.
Thejobswouldincludebuilding,designingandplanning,andtesting.Aftertheyaredone,theywillconnectwiththestakeholderstogettheirfeedback.Basedonwhatthestakeholderswillsay,theowneroftheproductandtheteamwillmakealterationsontheproductandthenplanonhowtheyaregoingtodothenextiteration.
Ifthestakeholdersseeafeaturethathasalreadybeenaccomplishedbytheteamandthenrealizedthattheywantanewfeaturethathasnotbeenconsideredearlier,theproductownercanjustmakeanewiteminthebacklogsothatitcanbedoneinafutureiteration.
Bytheendofeachsprintoriteration,theteamproducesaproductthatcanalreadybelaunched,oranadditiontoanexistingproduct.Ifeveryonehasdecidedthattheycannotreleaseaproductyetafteracompletediteration,theneveryonecandecidetoreleaseabunchoffeaturesfrommultipleiterationsinstead.
WhatMakesScrumGreat
WhilethepreviouschapterhasalreadydiscussedtheScrumpillars,youneedtoknowwhatmakesScrumgreatwhenyoudevelopproductsorcreateaflowfordifferenttypesofjobs.HerearethethingsthatyouexpectfromaScrumproject
1.Customersatisfaction
Scrumeliminatesthedangerofnotmeetingcustomerneeds–insteadofsimplyfocusingonfeatures,Scrumidentifieswhatkindofproductwouldbeusefultotheenduser.
Becauseofthisforesight,Scrumminimizestheriskofproducingaproductthatwouldbedeclinedbyclient.
2.Lessresourcesneeded
Scrummakesitapointthatallteamswouldstartworkingassoonastheyhavealistofwhattheyneedtoaccomplish.Insteadofworkingonadefinitiveplanthatshouldnotbebrokenatanycost,Scrumrequiresteamstofocusonfinishingbacklogsthatarealreadycreatedaheadoftime.Sincetheplansarealwaysflexibleaccordingtowhatworks,teamsdonotneedtospendmoretimeplanningandinsteadspendresourcesonbuildingandmaintainingtheproduct.
3.Fasterturnaroundtime
Sincepeoplearemorefocusedondoingaworkingproductthancreatingitsprojectarchitecture,thisframeworkismorelikelytoproduceaqualityproductwithlesstime.
4.BetterROI
ClientsandorganizationsthatwanttocreateprojectsarelikelytoenjoyimprovedreturnontheirinvestmentssinceproductscreatedthroughScrumaremorelikelytobetestedforqualityandlaunchedearlierinthecalendar.Sincetheteamreleasessmallerandmorefrequentimprovementsoradditionstoanexistingproduct,stakeholdersseethattheyenjoybetterreturnsforwhattheyhaveinvested.
5.Betteremployeesatisfaction
Sinceemployeesareabletomeasuretheirsuccessandknowthattheyarecontributingtothesuccessofaproject,theyarefoundtobemoremotivatedinengaginginprojectsthattheyareinvolvedin.Ofcourse,moremotivationforemployeesmeansbetterproductivityduringiterations.
CanScrumWorkAlltheTime?
WhileScrummaybeaneffectiveframeworkformanykindsofprojects,itisimportantforyoutorealizethatitisnotthepanaceaforallkindsofprojects–itcanbeanexcellentsolutionforalotofsituationsinyourorganizationbutitmaynotbetheproperanswerinsomescenarios.
AframeworkknownasCynefinallowsyoutomakesenseofsituationsthatyouwouldencounterinprojectscenarios.TakealookatthesepossibledisorderscenariodomainsinyourprojectstofindoutwhetherScrumwouldworkforyouornot:
1.Simple
Simplescenariosaresituationswhereineveryonecanseethecauseandeffects–peopleknowwhattherightansweris.Thistypeofdomainexistsisbestforreproducingproductsoverandoveragainsincetherearestepsthatyoucanrepeattosolveexistingproblems.WhileScrumcanbeawaytoaddressthistypeofscenariodomain,youcanachievefasterandmorecertainresultswiththeassemblylineframeworksinceyouhavelegitimatebestpracticesanywhere.
2.Complicated
Complicatedscenariosareoftendominatedbyexpertsinordertoensuregoodpracticesinaproject.Whilethereisapossibilityofhavingmultipleanswers,havinganexperttodiagnoseproblemswouldbemoreefficientinaddressingscenariosthathavemultiplepossibleoutcomes.Scrummaybeusedtoresolvescenarioslikethis,butofcourse,itmaynotalwaysbethebestframeworktouse.
Forexample,ifyouneedtoadjustparametersinoptimizingperformance,youmayknowthebestcourseofactionwhenyouassembleexpertstotakealookatthesituation,checkoutavailableoptions,andgeneratearesponsebasedontheirexperienceofwhatagoodpracticeshouldbe.ComplicatedscenariosarebestresolvedthroughquantitativeandtacticalapproacheslikeSixSigma.
3.Chaotic
Thesekindsofscenariosrequireasolutionrightaway–whenyourprojectgoestothechaoticdomain,itmeansthatyouareexperiencingacrisisthatyourneedtoputoutbeforeyouexperienceanyadditionalharmandtogobacktothestateoforder.Thisisthetypeofscenariothatyouexperiencewhensomeonefilesalawsuitortheonlyexpertthatyouknowisnowheretobefound.
Scrumisnotsuitableinaddressingthesekindsofscenariossinceyoudonothavetheluxurytoprioritizebacklogsandwhatyouneedtododuringthenextsituation.Whenchaoshits,youneedtohavesomeonewithfullauthoritytotakechargeandactASAP.
4.Disorder
Disorderdomainshappenwhenyoubecomeuncertainofwhatstageyouareininyour
projectandyoudonotknowifanyplansareworkingornot.Thisisaverydangeroussituationthatyouneedtogetoutofimmediately.
Thisrequiresyoutobreakthesituationapartandlookatitscomponentstoknowiftheyfallintoanyothercategoriestoseewhatkindofapproachyoushouldusetosolvethesituationandgobacktomakingprogress.YoucanseethatthereisnopointinadaptingScruminthiskindofsituationuntilyouproperlycategorizethecomponentsoftheproblem.
5.Interruptions
Whenyouhaveaprojectthatwouldbeexperiencingmultipleinterruptions,thenyoumayneedtouseadifferentapproachfromScrum–inaninterrupt-drivenworkscenario,yourbacklogwouldbefilledupnon-stopandyoudonothavetheluxuryoftimetoworkontheminthefuture.
Moreover,yourbacklogcanchangefrequently.Thismakesiterationsunreliablesinceyoudonotknowwhatfutureiterationswouldrequireyoutodo.Youarealsolikelytoreceivehigh-prioritybacklogsthatwouldpreventyoufromplanningandachievingthenextiterationyouhaveinmind.
Becauseworkflowswithalotofinterruptionsalsoneedanagileapproach,youmaywanttouseanagileframework,suchasKanban,thatwouldallowyoutolimitworkinprocesstohelpyoumakesurethatyouarenothandlingmorethanwhatyoucando.Anagileframeworkalsoallowsyoutooptimizeyourworkflow,measureyourprogress,andseewhereyoucanimproveyourapproach.
6.Complex
Complexproblemsmakeyourealizethattherearemoreunpredictableresultsthanwhatyoucanexpectfromyourapproaches,andinthisdomain,youaremorelikelytogettherightanswerwhenyoucorrectamistakeorhindsight.
Thisrequiresyoutoexploreasmuchasyoucanabouttheproblem,inspectwhatisworkingornot,andthenadaptbasedonwhatyouhavelearned.Thisisalsothedomainthatyouwouldencounterwhenyouaretryingtomakeinnovationsormakingenhancementsforpreviousprojectsthatrequirebetterfeatures.
ThisisthedomainwhereScrumtrulyshines,sincecomplexsituationsmakeuseofyourabilitytoprobethesituationandinspectwhatyoucandoinaparticulartimeframe.Whenyoulearnabettermethodintheprocessofiteration,thenyoucanadaptthatonthenextiterationtimebox.
Chapter3:TheScrumTeamFollowingwhatyouhavereadonthepreviouschapter,Scrumisnotastandardthatyoucanfollowfaithfullyinordertomakeaguaranteedproductthatwouldmakecustomershappy,ortodevelopanythingwithinyourbudgetanddeadline.Instead,itisbettertounderstandScrumasaframeworkthatwouldenableyoutoorganizeandmanageworkbetter.
Youcanthinkofitasthefoundationsofabuilding–youcan’tsimplydisregardormakesuddenchangestoapractice,principle,orvaluewithoutgettingtheriskofacollapse.WithScrum,whatyoucandoistoaddfixturesandcustomizeabuildinguntilyougetaprocessandproductthatworksbestforyou.
CrucialtokeepingtheScrumframeworkworkingaretherolesthatpeopledowhentheyagreetoadheretothistypeofmanagement.MakingScrumworkmeansthatpeoplewithintheScrumteamwouldbeabletofulfilltheirrolesefficientlytopreventanyproblems.
TheProductOwner
Heisresponsiblefortellingwhatshouldbedevelopedandtheorderofitemsthatneedstobefulfilled.Youcanconsiderhimasthesoleauthoritythatwouldtelltherestoftheteamwhattheyneedtocreateandwhichfeaturesshouldcomefirst.Inshort,heistheonewhotellstheothermembersoftheteamaboutwhattheyshouldbecomingupwith.
Forthatreason,hecreatestheproductbacklogthatcontainsalltheproductgoalsthatthedevelopmentteamneedstoaccomplishwhentheyarereadytostartworking.TheproductowneralsoneedstobeavailableatalltimesinanycasethedevelopmentteamandtheScrumMasterhasanyquestionaboutthegoalsthathehasmentionedinhisproductbacklog.Becauseofthis,theproductownerbearstheresponsibilityofmakingsurethattheproductwouldbesuccessfulduringdevelopmentandmaintenance.
Thisroleentailsthattheproductownerneedstodothefollowingtasks:
1.Manageeconomics
Thereareseveralthingsthataproductownerneedstomeettomakesurethatheismanagingresourceswell,especiallywhentheentireteamisreadytostartdevelopingtheproduct.Whenhemanageseconomics,heneedstomakesurethathemanagesthefollowingintheprocess.
a.economicsatreleaselevel
Atthispoint,theproductownermakesaseriesoftrade-offswhenitcomestodate,scope,quality,andbudgetashegetsinformationduringtheproductdevelopment.Forexample,ifheseesthattheteammayproduceaproductthatmaycreateextrarevenueiftheyworkonanadditionalweek,thenhemustmakeatrade-offforthebudgetandtheproduct’sfinalrelease.
Also,hemaymakethedecisiontonotfundanadditionalweekofworkiftheworkplannedtobedoneonthattimeframedoesnotmeancreatingabetterproduct.Itcanalsobethattheresourcesthattheteamisworkingonwillnotjustifyadditionalwork.Hecan
alsodecidethatthegoalsthattheyneedtoworkonshouldchange,orthattheentireteamshouldstopproductionbecauseofproblemsencounteredwithotherstakeholders.
b.economicsatsprint-level
Itistheproductowner’sjobtomakesurethatthereisagoodreturnofinvestment(ROI)happeningineverysprint.Whenevertheydoeconomicsatthislevel,theytreatthemoneythattheentireorganizationisusingasifitistheirown.Thismakesthemconsiderifthefeaturesthatareboundtobespentonisreallyworthdoing.
c.economicsinproductbacklog
Sincetheproductowneristheonewhoisgoingtocreatetheproductbacklog,heneedstomakechangesinprioritiesinthislistwheneconomicchangeshappen.Forexample,ifthedevelopmentteamsaysthattheyneedtoworkmoreonafeaturethatwasearlierpredictedtotakeonlymodesteffort,thenheseesthatthebenefitsthateveryonewouldgetfromthisfeaturehasalreadychanged,promptinghimtoputanotherfeatureupasapriorityinlieuoftheheaviertask.
2.Takepartinplanning
Duringproductplanning,theproductownerdealswiththestakeholderstogettheirhelpinenvisioningtheproduct.Wheneverasprintisaccomplished,theproductownergoesbacktothestakeholdersandtherestoftheteamtodefinewhatshouldbedonenext.Whenheisplanningthesprintwiththerestoftheteam,heprovidestheinputthatthedevelopmentteamneedstolookatwhichitemsinthebacklogcanberealisticallydonewithinthesprint’stimeframe.
3.Createtheproductbacklog
Whentheproductownergroomstheproductbacklog,hetakescareoftherefining,prioritizing,andestimatingoftheitemsthatarelistedthere,withthehelpofthemembersoftheScrumteam.Whilehemaynotbeentirelyknowledgeableofthedevelopmentprocess,heisavailableforconsultationandclarificationwhenthedevelopmentteamforeseesthatsomeamendmentsmustbemadetomeettheirdeadlines.
Thisensuresthatgoalsareupdatedaccordingtotheworkthatcanbedoneduringproductionandthatbacklogitemscansmoothlyflowintothenextsprints.
4.Makecriteriaonwhatisacceptableandcheckthatpeoplearemeetingthem
Theproductownermakessurethatallgoalsthatshouldbemetinasprintsessionhavebeenaccomplishedbyseeingtoitthatbothnon-functionalandfunctionalrequirementshavebeenmetbytheteam.Hemayconsultwithexpertstodothisorgetassistancefromthedevelopmentteam.
TheacceptancecriteriaarecrucialtotheScrumteambecauseittellseveryoneabouttheproject’sprogress.Withoutthem,thedevelopmentteamwouldnotbeabletounderstandwhatdefinesacompletedworkandwouldnotbeabletoincludebetterpracticesontheirnextsprint.
5.Workwiththedevelopmentteam
Thejoboftheproductownerbecomesaneverydayrolesinceheisrequiredtostayengagedinthetasksofthedevelopmentteaminordertopreventdelaysonessentialfeedbacksthatcanalreadybeincorporatedwithintheday.
Italsomakesitpossiblefortheproductownertoseespecificfeaturesthatareinitiallyrequiredbutmaynolongerbeneededwhenotherfeaturesaredone.Whentheproductownerisalwayswithinreachandreadytoprovidefeedback,theorganizationpreventsunwantedexpensesbycreatingtimelyadaptationsforbetterpractices.
6.Workwiththestakeholders
Theproductowneristhesolevoiceofthestakeholdercommunitythatspeakstothepeopleinvolvedintheproductionprocess.WhentheproductownerisabletoworkcloselywithallpersonsinvolvedintheproductcreationthatareoutsidetheScrumteam,hewouldbeabletogatheralltheinputthatheneedstocreateacoherentvisioninthedevelopmentprocess.Thisway,theentireScrumteampreventsunwantedrisksindevelopingfeaturesthatmaynotmeetclientandcustomersatisfaction.
ScrumMaster
TheScrumMastertakescareofteamguidanceindevelopingtheproduct,aswellasfollowingtheprocessbasedonScrum.Heistheonewhomakeseveryoneunderstandpractices,principles,andvaluesthateverybodyneedstosticktoinordertoachievethesuccessoftheproject.IntheScrumteam,theScrumMasterservesasthecoachthatprovidespointersonhowtooptimizeperformancebyprovidingthenecessaryprocessleadership.
TheScrumMasteralsohelpsresolvepotentialissuesandmakeimprovementsontheprojectsbyfollowingScrum.Healsomakessurethattheteamisprotectedfromanyoutsideinterferenceandremovesanythingthatmayhamperproductivity.However,thisdoesnotmeanthattheScrumMasterhastotalcontrolovertheteam–heactsasaleader,andnotasatraditionalprojectmanager.
SincethemaintaskoftheScrumMasteristoserveascoach,therewouldbeapointintheday-to-dayactivitywhentheScrumMasterdoesnotneedtoactivelyguidethedevelopmentteamanymore,especiallywhentheScrumteamhasaccomplishedmultiplesprints.
BecauseScrumisdesignedtopreventvariancesandmakeworkinprogressmoreefficient,thedevelopmentteamwouldarrivetothatpointwhentheydonotneedcoachinganymore.However,theScrumMasterwouldbeveryvaluablewhenevertheScrumteamisabouttostartanewsprintandtheentireteamneedstoincorporateaproductbacklogthattheyhavenotencounteredbefore.
Developmentteam
Thedevelopmentteamdeterminesmethodsondeliveringwhattheproductmasterhasaskedfor.Thisteamiscomprisedbydifferentpeoplewithdifferentjobdescriptions,suchasdesigner,tester,anddatabaseadministrator,andarchitect,whichallowsthemtocross-functionandbecomedynamicwhenitcomestodesigning,testing,andbuildingtheproductrequiredbytheproductowner.Becauseoftheirtask,itisimportantthatthedevelopmentteamiscapableofbeingself-organizedtodecideonthebestwaytomeetthegoalsthataresetbytheproductowner.
HerearetheresponsibilitiesthatthedevelopmentteamhaswithintheScrumframework
1.Executethesprint
Whenasprinthappens,allmembersofthedevelopmentteamdothedesigning,integrating,building,andtestingofallitemsintheproductbacklogbyworkinginincrementsandproducingpotentiallyshippablefeatures.Inorderforthemtodoallthesetasks,theyneedtobeself-organizedandworkasacollectivetomaketheirowndecisionswhenitcomestocommunicating,managing,planning,andcarryingoutwork.Majorityoftheirtimeisspentonsprintexecution.
2.Groomingthebacklog
Wheneverasprintplanninghappensorbeforetheystartproducingfeatures,thedevelopmentteamallotsitstimetoassisttheproductownerwhenitcomestorefining,prioritizingitems,andcreatingitemsontheproductbacklog.
3.Planningthesprint
ThedevelopmentteamworkswiththeproductownerandtheScrumMastertodevelopthegoalsthattheyneedtoachieveduringthenextsprint.Theteamwouldberesponsibleforidentifyingwhichsubsetoftheproductbacklogshouldbeprioritizedinordertoachievethegoalstheyhaveidentified.
4.InspectandAdapt
Whenasprintends,thedevelopmentteambecomesinvolvedinreviewingthefeaturestheyhaveaccomplishedintheprevioussprintandwhattechnicalandprocesspracticestheyneedtoadaptintheirnextsprint.
Becauseoftheseresponsibilities,thedevelopmentteamneedstobeself-sufficientandcapableofcross-functionality.Thatmeansthatitmaybenecessaryfortheteamtobemadeupofpeoplethatcomefromdifferentbackgroundsthatequipthemdifferentcognitiveskills.Whilethemembersoftheteamhavetheirownspecialties,theyshouldalsobeabletoadaptasindividualstotasksthatareoutsideoftheircorediscipline.
Itisalsoimportantthatthedevelopmentteamhastherightsize.Scrumprefersthatthedevelopmentteamissmall(justaboutfivetoninemembers)inordertomaintainitsefficiency.Bykeepingtheteamsmall,thereisnochanceformemberstodoanysocialloafingorslackaroundwiththethoughtthattherewouldalwaysbesomeonethatwoulddotheworkforthem.
Lesstimeisalsospentoncommunicatingeffortsonotherteamandconstructiveinteractionisalsopromotedinagroupwithasmallnumber.Inaddition,everyoneintheteamrealizeshowimportanteveryoneintheteamis,whichmakesharmfulspecializationlesslikelytohappen.
WhatAboutManagersandtheQA?
ScrumdoesnotneedtohaveanumberofmanagersinordertomaketheentireScrumteamsustainable.AllthattheyneedistomakesurethattheproductownerandtheScrumMasterworkstogetherwellwhenitcomestoensuringthatthedevelopmentteamisdoingalltheworkneeded.
SomeorganizationstrytostillimplementseparatetestingorinstallaQAteamwhiletheyareadaptingtheScrumframework.Whiletherearesomeinstancesthataseparateteamthatperformstestingonfeaturesmaybenecessary,itisoftenthecasewithScrumthattherewouldbenoneedforsuch.Becausetestingisalreadyinterwovenwithworkthathappensineverysprint,thedevelopmentteamcanalreadytestthefeatureswhiletheyarestillworkingonthem.
Chapter4:ActivitiesandArtifactsWhenanorganizationdecidestoadheretotheScrumframework,everyoneinvolved,includingallstakeholdersandmembersoftheScrumteammustmakesurethatalltasksarecompleted.Tomeasurethat,theyneedtofollowaprotocolthatwouldallowthemtokeeptrackofactivitiesandartifactsthattheyneedtoaccomplish.
WhileScrummakesitapointthattheworkflowinanygivenprojectisdynamic,itstillneedstofollowaspecificofevents.Byfollowingthisflow,peoplewouldbeabletodeterminewhattaskstheyaredoingandwhatneedsshouldbefulfilledintheprocessofproducingaproduct.Thisflowalsoshowsthemwhentheyneedtoadaptabetterpractice,scrapafeaturealtogether,orlaunchtheproductfortheenduserstoreceivethem.
Herearetheactivitiesandartifactsthateachmemberoftheteamneedstotakecareofinordertocreateaproductorcompleteaproject:
a)Productbacklog
Thisisthelistthatcontainsallthethingsthatareneededtobeaccomplishedinaproductorproject.Toobtainthislist,theproductowner,withthehelpoftheinputfromthestakeholdersandtheScrumteam,createsasequenceoftasksthatarearrangedaccordingtoimportance.Theproductbacklogcontainstheinitialvisionoftheproductmasterbeforeanyworkisdone,andafterafewiterations,maycontainchangestoalterfeaturesthatarenotworkingout,requiredrepairs,possibleimprovements,andsoon.
SomeScrumteamsrefertotheirproductbacklogas“userstory”sincethatremindsthembetterthattheybuildproductsorfinishprojectstosatisfytheenduser’sneeds.Increatingtheitemsorstoriesinthebacklog,theproductownerdefinesthefollowing:
i.whichtypesofuserswilltheitembenefitii.whatneedstobebuiltiii.thereasonwhythefeatureisimportantiv.howmuchworktheitemneedstobeimplementedv.standardthatwilltellthattheitemhasbeenimplementedcorrectly
Beforeallthesearefinalized,youneedtolookatthesizeofeachitemthatyouhaveplacedinthebacklog.Iftheiteminthebacklogishuge,thenitentailsahighercost.Inanyproject,costneedstobedeterminedinordertotellifitshouldbeapriorityornot.
Forthatreason,alotofteamsuseatermcalledrelativesizemeasure,whichyoumayencounterasidealdaysorstorypoints.Usingthismeasure,youcantelltheoverallsizeofaniteminthebacklogandthencompareittothesizeofotheritems.
b)Sprints
InScrum,thesprintistheiterationthatexistswithinaparticulartimeframe.Withinsprints,theteamaimstocreatesomethingthatisalreadyvaluabletotheenduser.
Withinthesprintisasprintbacklogwhichservesastheto-dolistthatneedstobedonewithinaparticularduration.Withinthesprinttimeframe,theScrumMastermakesitapointthattherewouldbenoreasonforthedevelopmentteamtonotmeetanyoftheitemsinthesprintbacklog.
Todothis,itbecomesapracticetomakesurethatthereisnoalterationinthegoalsthathavebeenexpressedearlier–thereshouldbenochangesdoneinthesprintbacklogandthereshouldbenochangesinpersonnelinvolved.Forthatreason,theproductmasterandtheScrumMasteragreesonwhatshouldbeinthesprintbacklog,andthenthedevelopmentteamreviewswhichhigh-priorityitemscanberealisticallyachievedwhiledoingthejobinasustainablepace.
Thatmeansthatthedevelopmentteamhasasayonwhatkindofpacetheyshouldbeworkingontocomfortablyachievewhatissaidinthebacklog.Tobeabletodeterminethesuitablepace,thedevelopmentteamdividestheitemsthattheproductownerandtheScrumMasteragreedtodoonaspecificsprintintosmallertasks,whichbecomestheitemsonthesprintbacklog.
Whenthedevelopmentteamplanstheirsprintbacklog,theyusuallydefinehowmanyhourstheyneedinordertoaccomplishthetask.Sincesprintsaresupposedtobedonefast,theydonotwanttotaketoomuchtimeinplanning–thesprintplanforamonthshouldbecompletedinlessthan8hours.
ThedevelopmentteamshouldbeabletoseeifthetaskstheyneedtodowouldfitinthesprinttimeframethattheScrumMastergavethem.Ifitdoes,theywouldbeabletorepeattheworkandcheckiftheycanaccommodatemoretasks.
c)Execution
OncetheScrumteamisdonewithplanningandeveryoneissetwiththetasksthattheyneedtoaccomplishonthenextsprint,thedevelopmentteamgoestoworkundertheguidanceoftheScrumMaster.Theteamwouldonlyconsiderataskdoneiftheyareconfidentthatalltasksnecessarytocreatequalityfeaturesareaccomplished.
Atthisphase,nobodytellsthedevelopmentteamwhattodoinordertoachieveallitemsspecifiedintheirsprintbacklog.Insteadofbeingdirectlymanaged,thedevelopmentteamorganizesitselfaccordingtowhatcanmakethemachievetheirtasksefficiently.
d)DailyScrum
Thedevelopmentteammembersholdaspecificportionofthedaytoinspecttheirmethodsandseeifthereisabetterpracticetheycanadapttoimprovethequalityoftheproducttheyaremakingonaparticularsprint.Thisnormallyhappensasa15-minute(orless)huddlewithinthedevelopmentteam.TheScrumMasterassiststhemontheirhuddlebyaskingeachmemberthefollowing:
i)Accomplishmentsincethelastdailyscrum
ii)Plansforthenextscrum
iii)Anyobstaclesthatpreventsprogress
Whenteammembersaddresstheseissues,theybecomebetterawareofthebiggerpicture–theyseeiftheyaremakinganyprogressorifthereareanymodificationstheyneedtomakeintheiractivitiesandimmediatelyputthemintoactionwithouthavingtogobacktothedrawingboardandredotheplanalloveragain.Bytakingnoteofanyimprovementsoradditionalgoodpracticesthattheycanperform,theyknowthattheycandoamuchbetterproductonthenextsprint.
e)Done
Allpeopleindifferentrolesneedtoagreeontheconceptof“done”beforetheymoveontootheritemsinthebacklogthattheyagreedtoresolveonthenextsprint.Wheneveryoneagreesontheconceptof“done”,theyshouldbeabletoreachthatlevelofconfidencethattheamountofworktheyhavecompletedisgoodqualityworkandhasthepotentialtobeshipped.
Whenyouthinkabouttheconceptofpotentiallyshippableproduct,itdoesnothavetobeaproductthattheteamwouldalreadydeploytotheclientorcustomers.Itonlymeansthatwhenallotherthingsaresatisfactoryinbusiness(thecustomerscanabsorbanotherchangethatmayhappentoaproducttheyhavedeployedortheorganizationhasreachedagoodamountoffeaturestojustifydeploymenttocustomers),theproductthattheteamhascreatedisreadytogopublic.
InScrum,aproductispotentiallyshippablewheneveryoneisawarethattheamountofworkaccomplishedinsprintissatisfactoryandthereisnoworkorfeatureneglectedintheworkprocess.Thatmeansthattheworkaccomplishedisalreadyenoughtogeneratefeedback,whichwoulddetermineiftheyneedtoaddfeaturesintheproductbacklogorthattheyarereadyforlaunch.
f)SprintReview
Whenasprintisaccomplished,itbecomesnecessaryforeveryonetoinspectandadapttheprojectorproductthateveryoneisbuilding.Atthispoint,theScrumteam,sponsors,customers,stakeholders,andotherinterestedpartiesholdaconversationtoreviewthecompletedfeaturesbasedonthecontextofthedevelopment’soveralleffort.
Ifthesprintgetsasuccessfulreview,everyonewhoisnotontheScrumteamwouldbecontributingideasonhowthedevelopmentcanimprove.Thisisthatpointwhereinstakeholders,customers,sponsors,andotherconcernedpartiescanpitchintothedevelopment’sdirection.
g)SprintRetrospective
WhentheScrumteamhasreceivedthereviewandfeedbackfromothers,thentheywouldbedoingtheirowninspectandadaptprocess.Atthispoint,everyoneintheteamwouldbediscussingwhatworkedandwhattheyneedtothrowoutoftheprocess.
Oncetheyaredonewiththisphase,theyarereadytoplantheirnextsprintbasedontheassessmentoftheirpreviousworkflowandtechnicalprocesses.
Chapter5:AgilePrinciplesatWorkHowdoyouknowiftheScrumframeworkisgoingwell?Sincethisisanagileframework,youwouldneedtoseeifthepracticesthatallstakeholdersandmembersoftheScrumteamworkswellwiththeagileprinciplesthattheyneedtofollow.
ThePrinciplesofAgile
GoingbacktothetraditionalWaterfallsystem,followingaplan-drivendevelopmentonlyworkswheneverychallengeanorganizationmeetsarealreadypredictable,well-defined,andveryunlikelytochange.Whileaplan-drivenapproachsuchastheWaterfallwouldbeusefulformanyscenarios,youcanthinkofitasanextremelymeasurable,accountable,andorderlymeansofembarkingintoaproject.However,youwouldneedagilemethodswhenyouarealreadyawarethatthingsarenotlikelytobepredictable.
Forthisreason,frameworkslikeScrumadheretoanentirelydifferentsetofpracticesandprinciplesinordertoaddressuncertainty.Agileprinciplesaredividedintothesecategories
1.Variabilityanduncertainty
Agileprocessesarecreatedtoembraceanyvariabilitythatmayhelpproduceabetterfeature.Inordertoaddressvariancesandtheunknown,theyapplyiterationsandpursuedevelopmentsinincrementsinordertomakesurethattheyaregoingtomeetwell-definedgoalsintime.
Byembracingvariability,theyturnitintoaleveragetopursueadaptationduringworkbytransparencyinprocessesandconstantinspection.Becausevarianceswouldbecomepredictableintimebyadaptingitwhennecessary,itispossibletoreducedifferentformsofuncertaintysimultaneouslyinanagileframeworksuchasScrum.
2.Predictionandadaption
InanagileframeworksuchasScrum,youwouldneedtokeepalloptionsopenandacceptthefactthatitmaybeimpossibletogetflawlessfeaturesinasinglego.Inordertoachieveapotentiallyshippablefeature,frameworkslikeScrumwouldneedtoexploreandadoptchanges,aslongastheyareeconomicallysensible.Italsomeansthatagileprocessesneedtocreateabalancebetweenpredictableworkupfrontandanadoptiveworkthatmeetstheschedule.
3.Validatedlearning
Inanagileframework,allpeopleinvolvedneedtovalidatealltheirassumptionsandtheyneedtodoitfast.Theyalsoneedtoleveragedifferentsimultaneouslearningloopstomakeworkrenderedfaster.Becauseofthis,itisnecessaryforaveryorganizedworkflowtomaketimelyfeedbackspossible.
4.WorkinProcess(WIP)
WorkinProcessreferstoanyworkthathasalreadystartedbutisnotyetfinished.WhendealingwithWIP,itisimportantthatyoucommittoworkthatiseconomicallysensiblesothatteamscanfinishbatchesofworkwithinthetimeframeandbudgetthattheyneed.InanagileframeworksuchasScrum,smallbatchesofworkaregenerallyfavoredtopromotethefollowingbenefits:
1.Reducedcycletime–smallamountofworkproduceslesseramountoftasksthatneedstobeprocessedinasprint,whichmeansthatthereislesswaitingtimeforateammemberwhenheneedstogetanotherperson’soutputbeforehegetsstarted.Thismeansthateveryoneintheteamgetsworkdonefaster.
2.Reducedflowvariability–whensmalleramountofworkisdoneinbatches,theyflownicelywithinteammemberssincetheycancountonresourcestoaccommodateabatch.
3.Acceleratedfeedback–workdoneinsmallbatchescanalreadyreceivefeedbacksincetheyareaccomplishedfaster.Thisminimizeserrorrisk
4.Reducedoverhead–whenteamsworkinsmallerbatchesofwork,theydonotneedtospendtoomuchontheiroverheadtocompleteacycle,
5.Increasedsenseofurgencyandmotivation–smallbatchesmakesitpossibleforeveryoneinvolvedtoseepossiblecausesofdelays,mistakes,anddevelopmentprogress.Sincetheycanalreadycorrectmistakesandseetheirprogress,peoplegetmoremotivatedtoworkonthenextbatchimmediately.
Whenyouconsiderallthese,youwouldalsobeabletocomputethecostofdelaysmoreeffectivelybyseeingtheamountofresourcesthatyouhavelostbecauseofunfinishedwork.Thisallowsyoutoreprioritizeitemsthatyouneedtotakecareof.
Atthesametime,youalsogettofocusonidleworkinsteadofhavingthemanagementfeelbotheredbyidleworkers.Bylookingatworkthatisstillnotdone,youwouldbeabletocalculateoverheadcoststhatgotowasteanddelegatetasksmoreefficiently.
5.Progress
WhenyouuseScrumasaframework,youwouldbeabletomeasureprogressatworkaccordingtowhatteamshavealreadydeliveredandwhatisalreadyvalidated.Thatmeansthatyoudonotneedtobetooconcernedabouthowfarteamsareinaproductionphaseorifthingsaregoingaccordingtoplan.Whenyoulookatprogressatworkthisway,youdothefollowingthings:
a.Adapttowhatyouknownow
Sinceyoudonothavetofollowaplansofaithfully,youarealreadyawarethatthingsmaynotgoasexpected.InScrum,youneedtomakeprovisionsforreplanningassoonasyougettheinformationthatyouneedtoadapttocertainchanges,especiallyifyouhaveaneconomicallyimportantdetailthatyouneedtoconsiderwithinthedevelopment.
b.Measurethroughvalidationofworkingassets
Youwouldonlybeabletomeasureprogresswhenyoucreatevalidatedassetsthatwork.Theyshouldbeabletodeliverthevaluethatyourclientsandend-usersneed,insteadofsimplymeetingyourbudgetsanddeadlines.Intheend,thiswouldallowyoutoreceivethefeedbackthatyouneedtoidentifywhatyournextstepintheprojectshouldbe.
c.Focusonvalue-centricdelivery
Aprocessdoesnotmatterifthedevelopmentplanwouldnotbeabletodeliveranythingofvalue.SinceagileframeworkssuchasScrumdefineprogressaccordingtosatisfactionandvalue,artifactsthataredefinedearliercanchangeifthesituationhasalreadychangedforthecustomer.
ThatmeansthatwhenyouadheretoScrum,youwouldalwayshavetovalidateassumptionsandturnthemintoknowledgeofwhatisperceivedtogivecustomervalue.InScrum,everyartifactthatdoesnotpresentavaluedoesnotprovideyouanyusefulassumptiontoaidyouinknowingwhatyoushoulddonext.
6.Performance
InScrum,therearedifferentworkcharacteristicsthatdescribewhatgoodperformanceis.Youareawarethatyouaredoingexcellentperformancewhenyou:
a.Doworkfast,butnotinahurry
Whileagileprocessesrequirequickfeedbacks,thequicknessofdoingworkinaframeworksuchasScrumdoesnotmeanthatyouquicklymovefromStep1toStep2.Thatonlyhappensinascenariowithzerovariances,whichiswhiledesirable,lesslikelytohappen.InScrum,yourgoalistobespeedyindevelopment,withoutneglectingtheneedtobeflexibleandhighlyadaptive.
TimeisveryimportantforScrumtowork,sincepeopleareworkingwithintimeboxed
sprints.However,youwouldnotwanttorushthingsinthisframeworkinordertomakesurethatyouareworkinginasustainablepace.Whenyousticktotheprincipleofsustainablepace,yousticktotheideathatyouwouldworkatapacethatwouldallowyoutokeeponworkingforanextendedamountoftime.Thispreventsexhaustionfromteammembers,unpredictableexpenses,andtheriskofmakingqualitysuffer.
b.Createqualityproducts
TraditionalframeworkslikeWaterfallbelievethatcarefulplanninganddoingeverythingaccordingtoplanisthesecretsauceincreatingahigh-qualityproduct.However,itisimportanttoknowwhatqualityreallyis,andyoucannotdothatuntilalatterphaseintheprocess.Iftestingtellsthattheproductlacksquality,thenitwouldbeimportanttodotheveryexpensivetest-and-fixmethod.
InScrum,across-functionalScrumteamownsthequalityoftheresultsandtheymakeitapointthattheybuildaccordingtoitineverysprint.Whentheyproduceincrementsoftheproduct,everyoneisalreadyawarethatitisdonewithahighlevelofconfidenceanditalreadyhasthepotentialforshipping.Becauseofthisgoodpractice,thereisnomoreneedtotestfeatureslaterintheprocessandtheriskofincurringadditionalcostsforrevisingisdramaticallyreduced.
c.Observeceremoniesasminimalaspossible
Ceremoniesorformalitiesoftenplayabigroleintradition-drivenworkingprocesses.InmethodslikeWaterfall,thesuccessofaphaseisoftenmeasuredbyadaptingcheckpoints,creationofdocuments,ormakinganewteamtoworkontheproduct’saspect.Thisincreasesthecostsofdelaysandblowuptheoverhead.
InanagileframeworklikeScrum,organizationsmakeitapointthattheyminimizetheseceremoniesasoftenaspossible.Sincethereisnoneedforanycheckpoint,apartfromtheendofthesprintwhereinteamsmeetupwiththestakeholders,workisdonefaster.Moreover,confidenceamongstakeholdersalreadyexistandtheyalreadyareawarethatfeaturesproducedineachsprintareabouttobereadyforproduction.
Bylearningtheseprinciples,youbecomeawareofhowtoturnyourorganizationintoaScrumenvironment.Now,it’stimetounderstandhowtooptimizeperformanceandensureconfidenceinaScrumprocess.
Chapter6:TheProductBacklogAsyouhavealreadyreadinanearlierchapter,theproductbacklogisthelistthatcontainsalltheprioritiesinaproject.Italsoistheverythingthatprovidesasharedunderstandingofwhatpeopleshouldbecreatingandinwhatwaytheyshouldbebuildingit.InScrum,aslongthatthereisasystemoraproductthatisintheprocessofbeingcreated,improved,orsupported,theproductbacklogexists.
WhatShouldBeInIt?
Productbacklogitems,orPBIs,arefunctionalityitemsorfeaturesthathavearealvaluetoacustomeroruser.Theseitemsareoftentoldas“userstories”.PBIsmayalsobeintheformofdefectsthatneedtoberepaired,knowledge-acquisitionworkorresearch,ortechnicalenhancements.
Goodandefficientproductbacklogsallhavethesametraits.Thesearethefollowing:
1.Detailedappropriately
NotallPBIswillallhavethesamedetailthattheScrumteamandthestakeholdersareawareofatthesametime.ThePBIsthatareneededtobeworkedonassoonaspossiblearethosethataresmallinsizeandareverydetailedsothattheycanbeaccommodatedinthenearestsprint.Thosethatarenotyetdefinedandstillnotdividedintosmallersetsoftasksarethosethatbelongtothebottomofthisprioritylist.
2.Emergent
Theproductbacklogshouldnotbefrozenorseenascompleteaslongasthereisstillaproductbeingbuilt,repaired,ormaintained.Itshouldbecontinuouslyupdatedaccordingtoalltheinformationthatanorganizationreceives,andthatmeansthatitwillbeupdatedasoftenaspossible,especiallywhencompetitorsmakeaboldmovetochallengetheproduct,customersprovidepoorfeedbackaboutafeature,oranunforeseentechnicalproblemarises.
Whilethesescenariosmaybeproblematic,theproductbacklogmustalwaysbeflexibleenoughtoadapttothesescenarios.
3.Estimated
EachPBIshouldhaveasizeestimatewhichequalstotheamountofefforteveryoneinvolvedintheproductcreationshouldexerttomakeitpossible.Theseestimateswouldbeoneofthemostimportantfactorsthattheproductownerneedstoconsiderinmakingprioritiesintheproductbacklog.
Foraproductownertoputanitemabovetherestmeansthatthatitemhasalreadybeenmeasuredtobewithintheworkingcapacityandbudgetoftheorganizationandhasforeseeneconomicbenefitsthatcanbecashedinassoonasthenextsprintisdone.
4.Prioritized
Whiletheproductbacklogisknowntobealistofprojectpriorities,youneedtounderstandthatnotallitemsintherewillbeprioritizedinthesprints.Itishoweververy
usefultoprioritizePBIsthateveryonehasalreadydecidedtobelongtotheforeseenandupcomingsprints,oritemsthatneedstobetakencareofuntiltheinitialreleaseoftheproduct.However,afterthoughtfeaturesthatmaybedoneafterthereleaseshouldnotbeincludedintheproductbacklog.
GroomingtheProductBacklog
Groomingreferstothefollowingactivities:
1.creatingandrefiningPBIs
2.estimatingitems
3.orderingitemsinthebacklogaccordingtopriority
AllitemsinthebacklogneedtobeestimatedinordertoidentifytherankinthebackloganddecidewhethertheScrumteamneedstodoanyadditionalworktorefineanitem.Atthesametime,whenanimportantinformationcomesin,newitemswouldbecreatedinthebacklogandinsertedinthislistaccordingtohowtheyshouldbeprioritized.
Whenyougetclosertoalargeitem,youwouldneedtorefineitintosmalleritemstoknowhowyoucanfulfillit.Youmightalsojustdecidethataniteminthebacklogisnotnecessarytospendresourcesonandshouldbedeletedfromthelist.
Whentheproductowner,thedevelopmentteam,andstakeholdersdecidetogroomtheproductbacklog,theydonotagreeonwhengroomingshouldtakeplace.Whentheworkhasalreadystarted,groominghappensasanout-of-the-flowactivity,sinceScrumhasanuncertainenvironmentwhereeveryoneshouldbepreparedtoconstantlyinspectfeaturesthatarebeingworkedonandadaptchangesorgoodpracticeswhennecessary.
Takingthetimetostopworkandmeetupforgroomingshouldonlyhappenwhenitisverynecessary;otherwise,itwoulddisruptScrum’sfastworkflow.
WhenistheBacklogReady?
Whentheproductownerisdonegroomingthebacklogandthedevelopmentteamisconfidentthattheycanachieveassignedproductsonthenextsprint,thenthebacklogisconsideredasready.Thatmeansthatthefollowingcriteriahavebeensatisfied:
1.thebusinessvalueoftheitemsareclearlystated
2.detailsofitemsareunderstoodbythedevelopmentteamandtheyareabletomakeadecisionthattheycancompleteitemsinthebacklog
3.teamisadequatelyandappropriatelystaffedtofulfillinthebacklog
4.thePBIissmallenoughandestimatedtobefulfilledinasprint
5.theproductownerhasmadeclearandtestableacceptancecriteria
6.theScrumteamknowshowtodemonstratetheitemduringthesprintreview.
Chapter7:EstimatingWorkandMeasuringVelocityWhenyouaremanagingorplanninghowaproductshouldbebuilt,youneedtoanswerquestionslike“Howmanyfeaturesshouldbedone?”“Whenwillalltheworkbecomefinished”and“Howmuchbudgetwillthetasksuse?”
TouseScrumtoanswerthesequestions,youwouldneedtohaveanestimateofthesizethatyouneedtobuildandmeasurethevelocityortherateatwhichyouwillbeabletogettheworkaccomplished.Onceyouhaveallthosedetails,youarelikelytocomeupwiththeoveralltimeneededfordevelopmentanditscorrespondingcost.
HowLongandCostlyisWork?
Youcaneasilyderivetheproductdevelopmentdurationbysimplyfollowingthisformula:
(estimatedsizeoffeatureset)/(team’svelocity)
Wherein:
Estimatedsizeoffeatureset=thetotalofsizeestimateforeachproductbacklogitem(PBI)
Team’svelocity=theamountofworktheScrumteamcompleteseachsprint
ThevelocityiseasilymeasuredbyaddingthesizeestimatesofallthePBIsthatwasaccomplishedduringthesprint.
WhatYouNeedtoMeasure
InChapter4,youhavereadthatrelativesizemeasureisdoneinordertocalculatetheamountofworktobedone.Sinceitemsinthebacklogarealsocalled“stories”,theestimatedamountofeffortthatneedstobedoneinordertocompleteafeatureiscalled“storypoints”.Alternatively,youcanalsogettherelativesizemeasurebyknowingthe“idealdays”ofwork.Hereishowthesemeasurementswork:
1.Storypoints
Thesearenumbersassignedtoaparticulariteminthebacklog,whichshowstherelationshipofotheritemsthatalsoneedstobeaccomplished.Forexample,ifyouneedtocreateatitleforyourproject,itcouldhaveastorypointof2.Gettingthedetailsforpublicitycopyforyourprojectmayhaveastorypointof8.
Thatmeansthattheeffortthatneedstobedonetodoresearchforyourpublicityis4timeslargerthancreatingthetitle.Takealookatthisdiagramtohaveavisualideaonhowthestorypointsareassigneddependingonthesizeofaconstruction:
Imagefrommanifesto.co.uk
2.IdealDays
IdealdaysarethenumberofdaysthatyouneedtoworkonaspecificPBI.Takenotethatidealdaysarenotnecessarilyconsecutivecalendardays–itrepresentsthenumberofdaysthatapersonneedstoworkonastory,andisnotthesameastheelapsedtime.
Youcantakeafootballgameasanexampleforthis–whilefourquartersintothegamearesupposedtolastforonly15minuteseach,itmaytakethegamethreehourstoplay.Bymeasuringworkdoneaccordingtoidealdays,youhaveroomforpossibleinterruptionsordistractionsthatmayhappenwithinthesprintthatyouareplanningtodo.
Whatshouldyouuseasameasureinyourorganization?Thereisnorightorwronganswertothis,andyouneedtofindoutthemethodthatworksbestforyou.Ifthereisnoreasonforpeopletomisunderstandapersonnel’sideaofidealdays,thenyoucanadoptthatmeasurewithnoproblem.However,ifyouthinkthattherewouldbeamisunderstandingwhenyouusethisterm,thenyoucansticktousingstorypointsinstead.
PlayingthePlanningPoker
ThePlanningPokerisatechniqueemployedtomeasurePBIsizes.Inthismethod,youareusingatechniquethatreliesontheconsensustohaveanestimateontheeffortthatneedstobeexertedforeveryPBI.ExpertsorknowledgeablepeoplearealsotappedbytheproductmanagertoexposeassumptionsabouttheeffortandforeveryoneintheScrumteamtohaveamoreaccurateunderstandingonhowmuchworkshouldreallybedone.
Inthisplanningactivity,theentireScrumteamworkstogethertogroupitemsinthebacklogthathavethesimilarsize.Afterwards,theteamwilluseallthedetailsthattheyhavefoundoutfromthePlanningPokertoestimatetherestoftheitemsintheproductbacklog.
ThesearethecardsthatareusedinPlanningPoker:
Imagefrom:check.burdenis.net
ThesenumbersareorderedthroughtheFibonaccisequence,buttherearesomecardsthatsimplyshowtherelationshipofsizesforaparticularPBI.WhenyouseenumbersonaPlanningPokerset,theysimplymeanthefollowing:
a.0–theitemisalreadydoneoristoosmalltoassignitanumber.
b.½-theitemistiny
c.1,2,3–pointsassignedforsmallitems
d.5,8,13–pointsassignedformedium-sizeditems.Alotofteamsconsiderthat13pointsworthofanitemwouldbethebiggestsizethattheywouldputinasprint.Ifanitemscoresmorethan13,theywouldwanttobreakitintosmalleritemsinstead.
e.20and40–pointsassignedforlargeitems.Organizationstypicallycallthesestoryitemsafeatureortheme-levelstories
f.100–pointsassignedtoaverylargestorywhichisalsoreferredtoasanepic
g.∞-indicatedthatanitemistoolargethatitdoesn’tcorrespondtoanynumber
h.?–showsthattheteammemberdoesnotcomprehendwhattheitemisandisaskingtheproductownertodefineorclarifyitforhim.
i.π–thisdoesn’tmeanthemathematicalpi,butrathersomebodywantstotakeabreak,orhavea“pie”.Somedecksuseacoffeecupimageinstead.Whensomeoneraisesthiscard,theteamneedstotakeabreak.
HerearetherulesforthePlanningPoker:
1.TheproductownerreadsthePBItotheteam
2.Thedevelopmentteamdiscussestheitemandasksforanyclarificationstotheproductowner
3.Eachmemberoftheteamselectsacardthatrepresentshisestimate.Eachmembershouldhidetheircardfromhisteammates.
4.Onceeveryoneisdoneselectingtheircard,theteammemberssimultaneouslyshowtheircardstoexposeprivateestimates.
5.Ifeveryoneontheteamshowsthesamecard,thenaconsensusisreach.ThenumberonthecardwouldbethePBIestimate.
6.Ifadifferentcardisshownbyamember,theteamneedstodiscussanyassumptionsormisunderstandingregardingthePBI.Thisdiscussionusuallystartsbyaskingwhythepersonwhoshowedadifferentcardmadehisestimate.
7.Whenthediscussionisdone,repeatstep3untiltheteammakesaconsensus.
DefiningVelocity
Asmentionedearlier,thetermvelocityreferstotheamountofworkcompletedinasprint.ItisnormallymeasuredbyaddingthesizesofthePBIsthataredonebytheendofasprintsession.ThenumberstobeaddedwillnotincludeanypartiallydonePBIsincetheydonotgetanyvalueoutofitanyway.
Becauseofthisdefinition,velocityisawaytomeasuretheoutputandnottheoutcomeorthevalueofwhatisdelivered.Itisawayfortheteamtomeasurehowmanysprintsshouldtheymakeinordertocompleteeverythingonthebacklogandhavetheentirediscussedfeaturereleased.
Itisalsoawaytodeterminethecapacityofeveryonetocommittoworkduringthenextsprint.Becauseofthis,theteam’svelocitybecomesaveryusefuldiagnosticmeasurethat
theScrumteamcanusetoimproveandevaluatetheusageoftheScrumframeworktodeliverwhatthecustomerorendusertrulyneeds.Bytakingalookattheteam’svelocityovertime,theteamcanseehowanyprocesschangeaffectshowtheycandeliveranitemthathasmeasurablevaluetocustomers.
CalculatingfortheVelocityRange
Wheneveryouplananupcomingsprint,youwouldbenefitfromexpressingtherangebysaying“theteamcanmostlikelyaccomplish30to40pointseverysprint”.Thisway,youcanremainaccurateinyourestimateandnotsticktoaprecisetimeonwhenthePBIscanbeaccomplished.
Tocalculatetherange,youwouldneedtohavetwovelocitiesfromtheteam,whichistheestimateoftheteam’sfastervelocityandtheirslowervelocity.Youcanalsoinferthatwhentheteamwouldberequiredtodomoresprintsontheirslowervelocity,andviceversa.IftheteamhasbeenworkingusingScrumforalongtime,itwouldbeeasiertopredictitsfuturevelocities.However,iftherearenewmembersontheteam,theremaybesomediscrepanciesinthisforecast.
Onewaytotellateam’svelocityistohavethemperformasprintplanningtotellwhatPBIstheteamcancommittoinasinglesprint.Ifthecommitmentsarereasonableenough,thenyoucanaddthesizesofthesePBIcommitmentsandusetheforecastedvelocity.
Now,sinceyoualsowanttoknowthevelocityrange,youcanhavetheteamplanouttwodifferentsprints.Youcanuseoneoftheestimatedvelocitynumberasthehigh,andhavetheotheroneasyourlownumber.Youcanalsomakesomeadjustmentsonceyoucanalreadymeasuretheactualvelocitiesandusethatasyourteam’shistoricalvelocity.
WhatAffectstheVelocity?
MostpeoplethatarestartingoutwithScrumthinkthatateam’svelocityisboundtoimproveovertime.Thistrendisoftenbasedonthereasonthatifateamconstantlyinspectsandadapts,andintheprocessassumesmoregoodpracticesinthesprints,thevelocityshouldgoupafteracoupleorsosprints.
Whileteamscanhavethataggressionwhenitcomestoimprovingandfocusingondeliveringqualityfeatureswithlowtechnicaldebt,thenitisreasonabletojudgethattheirvelocitywouldimprove.However,thetrendwouldnotalwaysbeinanupwarddirection–insomecases,thetrendmightplateau.
Itdoesn’tmean,however,thatwhenateam’svelocityplateausmeanstheynolongerhavethepotentialtoimprovetheirvelocity.Therearedifferentwaystoimproveateam’svelocity,suchasactivatingnewpoliciesthatwouldlessendistractions,orcreatingprovisionsfortechnologytocomeinandimprovedevelopmenttime.However,introducingchangeslikethiscanalsomeanthatthevelocitywoulddropforatime,andthenimproveoncetheteambecomesusedtothesechanges.
Someorganizationsmakeitapointthattheyimprovetheirdevelopmenttimebymakingtheteamtakeovertimeshifts;however,thereisanassociatedriskthatcomeswiththis.Whileitispossiblethattheteam’svelocitymayimproveduringthefirstinstancesof
overtime,itisalsolikelythatthevelocitywoulddrasticallydropandthequalitywouldsufferafterconsecutiveovertimeshifts.
Whenyouwanttodeterminefactorsthatmayincreaseateam’svelocity,youmaywanttofindmethodsthatwouldhavelong-termbenefitstotheorganization.
WhenisVelocityMisused?
Velocityisgoodasaplanningtoolandindiagnosingateam’smetrics.However,itisnotgreatasaperformancemetricthatwouldgaugeanyteam’sproductivity.Whenvelocityisusedinanorganizationasagaugeofproductivity,velocitycanmotivatebadperformancebehaviors.
Forexample,ifyouhavemadeitapointtogivealargeperformancebonustoateamthathasthebestvelocity,youmightbethinkingthatitisonlyfittingtorewardagreatworkbehavior.
However,ifyouarecomparingteamsbyvelocityandnotthesizeofthePBIsthattheyaretakingcareofinasprint,WhileTeamAmaybefasterthanTeamB,itwoulddependonhowtheyaretakingthesameamountoftasksinthesameway.Forexample,teamAmaygiveaPBIastorypointof2,whiletheotherteammayfeelthatitisworth20.
Atthesametime,thevelocityoftheteamshouldbejudgedaccordingtothedefinitionofdoneinordertoproduceabetterfeatureorproduct,andnotmerelytomeetahighvelocity.Whileteamsneedtoimproveonthenumbersthattheyarehittinginaparticularduration,itisalsoimportantthatorganizationsmotivateteamstolowertechnicaldebt.
Intheend,youshouldthinkofvelocityonhowitshouldassistdevelopmentbyusingaccurateplanningandhowitshouldhelpteamstopromotedevelopmentwithintheirgroups.Otherwise,itwouldpromotebehaviorsthatwouldbewastefultotheorganization.
Chapter8:GoingBiggerwithScrumScrumteamsaretheprobablythebestassetsofeveryScrum-basedorganization.Bystructuringthemandmakingsurethattheyworkwellwithoneanother,youcanguaranteethattheScrum-basedprojectthatyouarerunningisgoingtoachievesuccess.However,whatifyourorganizationisplanningtoreleasemorethanoneproduct?
Ifyouareonlytryingtocreateoneproductwithasingledeadlineforreleasethatyouaretryingtomeet,thenyouwouldonlyneedtobuildonecross-functionalteam.However,ifyouaregoingtoworkusingtheScrumframeworkforalongtime,youwouldwantyourscrumteamtoturnintoahigh-performancegroupthatwoulddeliverhighbusinessvalue.
Youarealsolikelytoexperiencegrowthinyourorganization.ThatwouldrequireyoutomanagemultipleScrumteams,whichwillintersectwithoneanotherinordertogeneratebiggerbusinessvalue.
Featurevs.ComponentTeams
Whenyouhaveafeatureteam,youhaveacross-componentandcross-functionalteamthatcancreateend-userfeaturesoutoftheproductbacklogandcreatethem.Acomponentteam,ontheotherhand,islargelyfocusedonthedevelopmentofasubsystemoracomponentthatcanbeutilizedincreationofasinglepartofanend-userfeature.
Forthatreason,componentteamsarealsocalledasassetteams.Thesepeoplearenormallyboundtogetherbysimilarskills.Membersofthistypeofteamarealsolikelytoreporttoasinglemanageranduseacentralizedresourcesharedbyothers.Mostorganizationsfavorbuildingtheseteamsinordertoputallexpertsatworkandcreateapartofaproduct,untileverycomponentisdoneandreadytobeassembledinatimelymanner.
However,theproblemwithcomponentteamsisthattheyneedtorelyonanotherteamtoworkonafeature.Thereisnowayyoucanoperateabusinesswiththethinkingthatproductionshouldbeputonhaltbecausetheothercomponentteamisnotfinishedwiththeirshareofwork.Insteadofanidlecomponentteambeingabletosolvetheproblemofdelay,theentirebusinesswouldhavetocompensateforthetimethattheyneedtowaitfortheotherteamtofinishtheirbacklogs.
Scrum,ontheotherhand,putsfavortofeatureteams,whilemostorganizationsthatarerunningontraditionalframeworkarelikelytofavorcomponentteams.Traditionalorganizationsthinkthatwhenthereisapersonthatisunfamiliarwithhowacode,forexample,isproduced,thenthereisapossibilityofanerror.
However,whentherearetwoormoreteamsthatareexclusivelyconcernedaboutthecomponentsthattheyaresupposedtodeliver,youcanprobablypredictthattheteamsaremorelikelytoprioritizetheirownbacklogsandincreasetheriskthatthefeaturethatyouaretryingtobuildwon’tgetfinished.
Thereasonisthatthemorecomponentteamsyouhave,themorepointsoffailureexistincreatingthatfeature.SinceScrumdictatesthatyouonlyhaveasinglefeatureteam,youonlyhavetobeconcernedwithonepossiblefailurelocation.
Thesolutiontothisproblemistocreatefeatureteamsthatarecapableofcross-functioningbecausetheyhavetheskillsneededtoworkondifferentend-userfeaturesandachievethem,withouthavingtosupplythepiecesofthefeaturetoseveralcomponentteams.
Intime,youwouldbecreatingmoredevelopedfeatureteamsthatarecapabletobecometrustworthycustodiansofthefeature,insteadofsourcingoutexpertsthatcanonlyworkonaparticularcomponent.Toproducethesefeatureteams,youneedtoestablishanapproachthatwouldallowyourorganizationtotransitiontocreatingamulti-featureteamthatwillmanagethelogisticsingettingthefeaturedone.
HowtoProducetheFeatureTeam
Ifyourorganizationiscreatedwithseveralcomponentteamswithdifferentpriorities,youcancreateafeatureteamthathasalltheskillsthatyouneedtogetadesiredfeaturedone.Thecomponentteamsthathaveestablishedthemselvestobetrustworthyinachievingtheirtaskscanremaintomaintainanindividualcomponent’sintegrity.Tomakesurethatcomponentteamsareworkingwitheachothertomeettheneedsofafeature,amemberofeachcomponentteamcanbeassignedasmemberofthefeatureteam.
Componentteammembersthatarealsoassignedtothefeatureteamwillfulfilltworoles:
1.Pollinator–thecomponentteammemberwillprovidefeatureteammemberswiththeknowledgethattheyshareinhiscomponentteam.Bydoingso,hesharesownershipofhisknowledgeandallowssharedownershipinthefeatureteam.
2.Harvester–thecomponentteammembercollectsallthechangesthatthefeatureteamneedtomakewithincomponentareas,andmakessurethathiscomponentteamknowsallthechangesthattheyneedtomaketomeettherequirementsofthefeatureteam.Whenthecomponentteamdiscussesthesechanges,theteammakessurethattheycanavoidanyconflictsbymakingsurethattheirtasksarecoherentwiththefeatureteambacklog.
Ifyouhavealargeorganizationthathasabout50componentteams,youmaybethinkingthatyouwouldbeputting50peopleinasinglefeatureteam,whichgoesagainstScrum’straditionofkeepinglargeteams.Ifyouhavemultipleteamsthatintersectwithacreationofasinglefeature,youcanproducemultiplefeatureteamsinsteadanddividethenumberofcomponentteamsamongthem.
Thisway,youcanformfeatureteamsaroundsmallerclustersofcomponentteamsandpromotebettercoordinationwithintheseclusters.Ifyourorganizationhassmallclusterteamsanditdoesn’tmakesensethatyouassignoneofitsmemberstoafeatureteam,thenyoucanreducethenumberofproductsthatarebeingproducedsimultaneously,orhiremorepeoplewhohaveexpertiseinacomponentarea.
Intheend,thereisnosinglesolutionthatorganizationscanusewhensolvingtheissueofcreatingfeatureteamswhilemaintainingmultiplecomponentteams.LargeScrumorganizationsthathasremainedsuccessfulovertimetendtoadaptablendedmodelwhicharecomposedofmultiplefeatureteams,andthenproducecomponentteamsonlywhenneeded,whichiswhentheeconomicsofproducingacomponentteamforacentral
resourceissensible.
MakingMultipleTeamsWorkTogether
InScrum,scalabilityhappensnotbymakinglargerdevelopmentteams,butbycreatingmultipleScrumteamsthataremadeupwiththerightnumberofpeople.WhenyouhavemorethanoneScrumteam,youwouldneedtocreateamethodonhowtheseteamscancoordinate.Youcanusethesetechniquestodothat:
1.ScrumofScrums(SoS)
Inanearlierchapter,youhavereadthatdevelopmentteamsperformadailyscrumduringsprintexecution.Tocoordinatemultipleteamsandmakesurethattheyarecommittedtohavingbacklogsthatworkwellwitheachother,theseteamscanperformaScrumofScrums,orSoS.
Inthiscoordinationtechnique,teamsmayopttosendamemberofthedevelopmentteamandtheirScrumMaster(whichcanactuallybesharedbytwoormoreScrumteams)totheSoS.However,theyneedtobesurethatthenumberofmembersattendingtheSoSisnottoolarge.
InSoS,themembersanswerquestionslike:
a.Whathastheteamdonesincethelastmeetingthatcouldaffectotherteams?
b.Whatwilltheteamdobeforethenextmeetingthatcanaffecttheotherteams?
c.Whatproblemsistheteamhavingthatcanberesolvedwithanotherteam’shelp?
Liketheindividualteam’sdailyscrum,theSoScanbetimeboxedtobedoneinjustabout15minutes.However,theSoScanextendbeyondthistimeperiodiftheteamsneedtodocollectiveproblemsolvingbeforeheadingtotheircorrespondingsprints.
2.ReleaseTrain
Areleasetrainisacoordinationmethodthatisusefulwhenitcomestoaligningplanning,interdependence,andvisionsoffeatureteams.Withthismethod,across-teamsynchronizationhappens,whichallowsteamstohaveafastandflexibleflowwhentheyaretaskedtoachievealargeproduct.
Theterm“train”referstothepublishedscheduleonwhenagreed-uponsetoffeaturesaresupposedtoleaveits“station”.Allteamsthatparticipateinthedevelopmentofaproductshouldfulfilltheirbacklogs,orplacetheir“cargo”onthistrainataspecificschedule.Scrummakesitapointthatallthesecargoesgetsintothetrainataspecificschedule;however,ifateammissesthetrainschedule,there’snoreasontopanicsinceanothertrainwillarriveatthestationanyway.
a)Aneffectivereleasetrainfollowstheserules:
b)Planningshouldbeperiodicandfrequent,andthereleasedatesforsolutionsshouldbefixed.Whilethescheduleandthequalityisfixedforpotentiallyshippableincrements(PSI),thescopecanbevariable
c)Allteamsneedtoapplythesameiterationlengths.
d)Objective,global,andintermediatemilestonesshouldbeestablished.
e)PSIsshouldbeavailableatregularintervalsforsystem-levelqualityanalysis,internalreview,andcustomerpreview
f)Useofsystem-leveliterationsisavailabletoreduceanytechnicaldebtandforteamstohavemoretimeforspecialtyrelease-leveltestingandvalidation.
g)Someinfrastructurecomponentsshouldtypicallytrackaheadtoenablebuildontopofthesameconstructs
h)Acontinuousintegrationofthesystemisimplementedatalllevels
Youcandivideareallylargeenterprisebacklogintothreelevels:portfoliobacklog(portfoliomanagementwithepics),programbacklog(programmanagementhasfeatures),andteambacklogs(productownershasuserstoriesthattheycanworkoutinasprint).UsingaScrumofScrums,youcancoordinateandintegrateallthetasksoffeatureteamsthatarewithinthefeatureareaandintegratetheirjobsateversprint.
Wheneveritispractical,testingandafullsystem-wideintegrationshouldhappenacrossfeatureareas.Someteamswouldwanttousetheirlastsprinttosendtheirworkona“train”inordertohavesometimetohardenwhattheyhavedevelopedovertheprevioussprintsandintegrateandtesttheresultsacrossdifferentfeatureareas.Whenteamshavealreadymatured,theywouldlessentheirneedforahardeningsprint.
Sinceallsprintdurationsofdifferentteamsparticipatinginthereleasetrainarethesame,theyallstartandendonthesameschedule.Thisallowsthemtosynchronizenotonlywithinthefeaturearea,butalsowithotherteamsthatareworkingontheproduct.
Chapter9:HowtoCatertoMultipleProductsSincemostorganizationsarerequiredtoproducemorethanoneproductatatime,theyneedtocreatechoicesthatareeconomicallysensiblewhenitcomestomanagingproductportfolios.Todothat,theyneedtocreategovernanceormanagementprocessesthatgowellwithcoreagilepracticestopreventanydisconnectfromagileapproachesthataredoneatindividualproductlevels.Inthischapter,youwillseehoworganizationscanstrategizeportfolioplanningandhowtodeterminewhetherteamscanstillaccommodateadditionalwork.
WhatisPortfolioManagement?
Portfoliomanagementisusedtodeterminewhichportfoliobacklogitemsshouldtheorganizationworkon.Increatingthisplan,itisnecessarythatmanagerstodeterminetheorderofpriorityPBIsandhowlonggroupsshouldworkonthem.
Whenyouaredoingportfolioplanning,youneedtoconsidertheseaspectstoensurethatteamswouldbeabletoworkonyourportfolio’sbacklogitems:
1.Timing
Planningtheportfolioisacontinuousactivityinanyorganization–aslongasyouhaveaproductthatyouneedtomaintainordevelopyouhaveaportfoliothatrequiresmanaging.
Sinceplanningaportfoliorequiresdealingwithacollectionofproductsandismuchlargerinscopecomparedtoindividualportfolios,managersneedtoconsidernewproductsthattheyaregoingtoincorporateintheportfolio.However,itdoesnotmeanthatportfolioplanningshouldgobeforeproductplanning.Bymakinguseofthedatacollectedinproductenvisioning,theportfoliomanagementmakesitpossibleforyoutoknowwhetheryoushouldfundtheproductandhowyoucanprioritizeitsitemsintheportfoliobacklog.
Portfolioplanningdoesnothappenonlywhenthereisanenvisionedproduct.Ithappensatscheduledregularintervalstoreviewproductsthatarealreadyindevelopment,inproduction,orbeingsold.
2.Participants
Becauseportfoliomanagementdealswithnewandin-processproducts,theplanningparticipantswouldincludeproductownersofindividualproductsandinternalstakeholders.Addingtechnicalleadsandseniorarticlescanbeawelcomeadditiontotheplanningteam.
Stakeholdersneedtohaveenoughwidebusinessperspectivetoenablethemtomakedecisionswhenitcomestoprioritizingitemsintheportfoliobacklogandwhatshouldhappentothein-processproducts.Someorganizationsopttohavestakeholderapprovalcommitteeoranequivalentgrouptooverseetheportfolioplanningprocess.
Productownersareneededinplanningtheportfoliotoseethattheirownproductsarebeingprioritizedwellwithintheportfoliobacklog.Accordingtohowtheportfoliomanagementgoes,theywouldalsobeabletoadvocatenecessaryresourcesneededtocreateproductsthattheyown.
Process
Twooutputsareproducedduringportfolioplanning,whicharetheportfoliobacklog(listofitemsforfutureproducts,accordingtopriority)andthesetofactiveactivities(newproductsthatareapprovedandaredecidedtobedevelopedimmediately,aswellasproductsthatarein-process).Inordertodeterminewhattheseoutputsshould,contain,participantsneedtodoastrategyfortheseactivities:
1.Scheduling
Thisreferstohavingagreatplanwhenitcomestodeterminingthesequenceofproductsthatshouldgointheportfoliobacklog.Withthisplancomestheconsiderationthattheorganizationhaslimitedresourcestoproducetheseproductsinaneconomicalway.Whiletherearealotofstrategieswhenitcomestoplanningproductsequenceintheportfoliobacklog,thesethreestrategiesmayprovetobeveryeffectivetoyourorganization.
a.MakeSchedulesOptimizedforLifecycleProfits
Thekeytothisstrategywouldbehavingtherightdecisionsonwhichvariabletomeasuretoseewhetheroptimizationeffortsareworking.Whenyouarecreatingschedulingstrategies,youwouldwanttolookatalltrade-offsthatcomewithalldecisionsusingastandardunitofmeasure,whichisthelifecycleprofit.Inthisstrategy,youwouldbeabletoscheduletheitemsinyourportfoliobackloginsuchawaythatlifecycleprofitsaremaximized.
Lifecycleprofitsarethetotalprofitpotentialofaproductinitsentireexistence.However,inthecaseofportfolioplanning,youareinterestedinmakingtheentireportfoliooptimizedforprofit,insteadoffocusingonasingleproduct.Becauseyouarenotinterestedinthesuccessofjustasingleproduct,youwillwanttofindthesequenceofbacklogitemsthatwillgiveyouthemostprofitpossible.
Twovariablesareconsideredinassessinglifecycleprofits:thecostofdelay,andthecostofduration.Basedonthesevariables,youcanusetheseschedulingstrategies:
a.Costofdelayissameacrossallproducts,butproductshavedifferentsizes–taketheshortestjobfirst
b.Costofdelayvariesamongproducts,butallproductshavethesamesize–takethehighdelaycostfirst
c.Bothcostofdelayandsizevariesamongproducts–taketheweightedshortestjobfirst(calculatedbythisformula:costofdelay/duration)
2.CalculatefortheCostofDelay
Whenyousequenceitemsontheportfoliobacklog,youneedtoworkonsomeproductsoverothers.However,youneedtorememberthatthoseproductsthatyouareputtingoffforlaterwillhaveadelayedstartandadelayeddeliverydate.Thosedelayscomewithacost.Whendeterminingtheschedulefortheportfolioproductbacklogitems,youneedtoanswerthisquestion:Whatisthecostofdelayinlifecycleprofitswhenyoudelayaproductdeploymentby___days/months?
Whenyoulookcloselyatthisstrategy,youwouldknowthattakingthehighlyprofitableitemfirstisnotalwaystherightstrategy.Forexample,ifyouhaveProjectXthathas20%ROI,andaProjectYthathas15%ROI,youmayimmediatelythinkthatyouneedtotakecareofProjectXfirst.However,theplanningshouldnotstopthere.
IfyouareawarethatdelayingProjectXwouldmeanlosing$5,000andpushingbackProjectYforamonthwillmakeyoulose$70,000,youknowthatthishugecostofdelaydiscrepancywilleventuallyimpactthelifecycleprofitabilityofyourportfolio.
Howdoyoucalculateforthecostofdelay,anyway?Todothat,considertheseproductattributesandassignavalueforthecostofdelay(1beingthelowest;10thehighest):
a.uservalue–potentialvaluethatcustomerthinkstheproducthas
b.timevalue–howthecustomer’sperceivedvalueoftheproductdecaysovertime
c.opportunityenablementorriskreduction–thevalueintermsoftakingadvantageofopportunitiesormitigatingrisks
Thetotalproductcostofdelaywouldbeequaltothesumoftheseindividualdelaycosts.
Ifyouthinkthatthereisnofixedvaluethatyoucanassignforindividualdelaycosts,thenyoucancreateaproductdelayportfolioandusethatindeterminingschedulingdecisions.Youcanusetheseprofiledescriptions:
a.Linear–productwillhaveacostofdelaythatwillincreaseataconstantrate
b.Largefixedcost–productwillaccumulateaone-timecostifnotdoneimmediately.Thismayhappenifyougetalargeportionofpaymentonlyafteryouhavedeliveredtheproduct.
c.Fixeddate–productshouldbedeliveredbyaparticulardateinthefutureandwillhavezerocostofdelayuntilthatdateisreachedandtheproductisstillnotfulfilled.
d.Logarithmic–theproduct’scostofdelayisthehighestataveryearlytime.Thecostwillalsohavelessincrementalcostwithadditionaldelays.
e.Intangible–producthasnoobviouscostofdelayforalongtime,butyouwillexperienceahighdelaycostduringanunexpectedtime.
3.HaveInflowStrategies
Inflowstrategieslargelydealwithhowanorganizationshouldbalancetheratewhereinportfoliobacklogitemsareinsertedandtherateitemsarepulledout.Byhavingthisstrategy,youwillbeabletoseewhetheradditionstotheportfoliobacklogarealreadycausingbottlenecks.Youwillalsobeabletobalancetheamountofproductscomingoutbyhavingsmalleryetfrequentreleases.
a.EconomicFilterApplication
Whenyouhaveaproductvisionthatgoesalongwiththeinformationthatyouneedinordertoproducewithconfidence,youcanmakedecisionsonwhetheryoushouldfundadevelopmentofaparticularproduct.Whenyoudothis,youarecreatinganeconomic
filterandapplyittoseeifitmeetstheorganization’sfundingrequirements.
Althougheveryorganizationoutthereisrequiredtocreateaneconomicfilterthatgoeswellwithitsfundingpolicies,youknowthatyouhaveaworkingeconomicfilterofyouareabletoquicklytellthatyoushouldapproveanopportunitybecauseitwilldeliveranoverwhelmingvaluecomparedtoitsdevelopmentcost.Ifyouachievethiscertainty,thenthereisnoneedtotalkaboutwhetheraprojectbeinglaidoutshouldbedevelopedornot.
b.ArrivalandDepartureRateBalance
Anyorganizationdesirestocreateasteadystreamofproductsthatenterandleavetheportfoliobacklog.However,youdon’twanttooverloadtheportfoliobacklogbyhavingtoomanyproductsthatyouneedtotakecareofatthesametime.
Alotofbusinessesconductstrategicplanningeventsannually,whichusuallytakesplaceduringthethirdquarteroftheirfiscalyear.Oneoftheusualresultsofthisstrategicplanningisalistofproductsthattheywillworkonforthenextyear.Theseproductsareusuallyplacedwiththeirexistingportfolio,whichtendstooverwhelmtheportfolio-planningprocess.
Itdoesn’tmeanthatorganizationsshouldn’tdoanystrategicplanning–organizationsshoulddefinetheirstrategicdirection,buttheydonothavetoidentifyallthedetailsthattheyneedtotaketodothatstrategy.Decidingwhattheportfolioofproductsatonetimealsoviolatestheprincipleofusingeconomicalsensiblebatchsizes.
Processingalargegroupofproductsrightawayanddetermininghowtheyshouldbesequencedontheportfoliobacklogcanbeexpensiveandpossiblywastefulsincealargenumberofproductscanpossiblycomplicatethescheduling.Findingoutwhatthesequenceofwhatshouldbeplacedinyourportfoliobacklogisalotsimplerifyouhavefeweritemstomanage.
Topreventoverwhelmingtheportfoliobacklog,youcanopttointroducenewproductstoyourportfolioatfrequentintervalsinstead.Whenyouhavemoreinstancesofintroducingnewproducts,youeffectivelyreducethecostandeffortyouneedtospendtoreviewandinsertproductsintheportfolio,makingtheplanningstableandpredictable.
Now,whenthesizeoftheproductbacklogbeginstogrow,youcanstartthrottlingtheproductflow.Todothis,youcantweaktheeconomicfiltertoimproveproductapprovalstandardsinsuchawaythatonlyhighqualityproductsareallowedtopassthrough.Thiswillreducethetendencyofnewandrandomproductsfromcominginandestablishbetterbalancewiththeproductdeparturerate.
c.EmbraceOpportunitiesRightAway
Whenplanningportfolios,youneedtoembraceemergentopportunities,oropportunitiesthatarepreviouslyunknowntoyourorganizationorunlikelytooccurinyourorganization;hence,somethingnotworthspendingfortoday.
Forexample,ifyourorganizationthrivesinanonlinebettingmarketplace,youknowthatyourbusinessoperatesonanenvironmentthatishighlyregulatedbyjurisdictionsandregulations.Youmaybeawarethatregulationswhenitcomestocasinoscanbe
unpredictable,dependingongovernmentpolicies.Now,iftheseregulationschange,youneedtoembraceanyopportunitiesthatmightsuddenlyemerge.
Ifyouseethatthereisanunexpectedchangeinyourorganization’senvironmentanditwouldlikelyaffectprofitortheamountofeffortthatateamneedstospendforitemsintheirbacklogs,thenyouneedtomaketheappropriateinsertionsandreleasesintheportfoliobacklogrightaway.Doingsowouldnotonlyallowyoutocreatebetterworkingplans,butalsostayaheadofthecompetitionwhomightnottakeactionregardingopportunitiesrightaway.
Now,ifyouhaveafrequentscheduleforevaluatingtheseopportunitiesrightaway,suchasamonthlymeeting,andyouhaveenougheconomicfiltersinyourorganizationtoworkonthemrightaway,thenyoudonothavetospendalotoftimewhenitcomestoconsideringemergentopportunities.
d.GoforSmaller,MoreFrequentReleases
Asdiscussedearlier,therearealotofeconomicbenefitsthatanyorganizationcanenjoywhenevertheyoptforsmallerandfrequentreleases.Oneimportantbenefitisthattheycanincreaseprofitthattheycangetfromlifecyclestheydivideaproductintoaseriesofsmallerandincrementalreleases.Italsohelpspreventtheportfoliofromexperiencingaconvoyeffect.
Whatisaconvoyeffect?Thisphenomenonissimilartotheexperienceofhavingtodrivebehindalarge,slowmovingvehicle.Ifyouaretrappedbehindone,thenthereisachancethatotherdriversofsmallervehicleswillgetthesameexperiencewhentheyallpileupbehindyou.
Whenyouallowlargeproductsintoyourportfoliobacklog,youarelikelytocreatealongqueueofsmallerproductsbehindit.Sinceallproductsaregoingtobedelayedbecauseofthelargeproduct,thesmalleroneswouldbegintoaccrueconsiderablecostsofdelayovertime,whichwillmakeprofitsuffer.
CreatingOutflowStrategies
Whenyouwanttocreatebettermanagementthatwillhelpyoudecidewhenyoushouldpulloutproductsfromyourportfoliobacklog,youcanusethefollowingstrategies:
1.Payattentiontoidlework
Traditionalorganizationstendtoreleaseproductsintoproductionbytakingthesesteps:
a.Selectaproductfromthebacklogandassignpeopletodealwithit.
b.Ifeveryoneisnotworkingat100percentcapacity,repeatthepreviousstep.
Thisapproachisonlydesignedtomakeeveryonebusy,butitdoesnotmeanthatpeoplewillworkfasteranderror-freeonaproduct.Insteadofstickingtothisoldandriskymethod,youcaninsteadaimtoworkonaproductwhenyouaresurethatthisitemontheportfoliobacklogcantrulyensurethatitwillnotcauseanydisruptionintheflowofworkthathasalreadybegun.
2.LimittheWIP
Youhavereadinanearlierchapterthatitiswisetoonlygetworkfromtheproductbacklogwhenyouaresurethatthedevelopmentteamhasthecapacitytoworkonit.Thesameruleappliesintheportfoliobacklog–youshouldonlystartpullingoutfromthislistifyouhaveafeatureteamthatcanaccommodateit.
KnowinghowmanyScrumteamsareavailableandlearningwhattypesofproductstheycanhandlewillhelpyougettheinformationyouneedtoknowabouthowmuchproductscanfeatureteamsaccommodateontheirindividualbacklogswithoutrequiringthemtospreadtoothinlytomeetreleasedeadlines.
3.GetaCompleteTeam
Havingacoupleofpeoplefreedupfromtheirtasksdoesnotmeanthatyouneedtogivethemtasksalready.Ifyouwanttopulloutaproductfromtheportfoliobacklog,thenseetoitthatyouhaveanentireteamreadytocommittoworkonanewsetoftasks.
Evenifyouhavetwoorthreedevelopersthatarereadytodealwiththenextproduct,theyarenottheonlyoneswhoaregoingtoworkonit.Makingthemstartmakingprogressthatrequiresanentireteamtoworkononlyincreasestheriskofmiscommunicationandplanningrevision,whichwillonlyslowdownwork.
ManagingIn-ProcessItems
Havingtherightstrategythatcaterstoproductsthatarealreadyinprocesswillgiveyouguidanceonwhetheryoustillneedtodeliver,preserve,orreviseaproductthatteamsareworkingonorjustterminateit.Makingthesedecisionsshouldbemaderegularly(everyendofsprint)oroccasionallyduringoff-cycletimes,especiallywhenyouaregettingresultsthatyoudonotexpectfromproductsthatarebeingworkedon.
Usingmarginaleconomicsisonestrategythatyoucanusetoguideyouindecision-makingandremainalignedwithcoreScrumprinciples.Usingmarginaleconomics,youwillbemakingdecisionsaboutin-processitemsaccordingtothereturnofinvestmentthatitwillgenerate.Sinceyouarethinkingabouttheprofit,youwillneedtomakeadecisiononwhetheryoucanaffordtospendadditionalresourcestocontinuedevelopingtheseproducts.
In-processproductscanbedealtwithusingtheseoptions:
1.Preserve–continueproductdevelopment.YouwanttotakethisoptionwhentheproductjustifiestheresourcesithastakenfromyouandyouknowthatcontinuingdevelopmentwillgiveyoubetterROI.
2.Deliver–ceasedevelopmentanddelivertheproduct.Youcantakethisoptioniftheproducthastheminimumreleasablefeaturesthatbringvaluetotheend-usersandgreatROIonyourend,withoutneedingadditionalinvestment.
3.Pivot–changedirectionsaccordingtonewdatayouhavelearned.Thisisanoptionthatisonlyviablewhenyourinvestmentisnotjustifiedandtheproducthasnoreleasablefeaturesyet,butyouhaveanotherpaththatyoucantrytoensurethesuccessofthe
product.
4.Terminate–ceasedevelopmentandkilltheproduct.Thisistheoptionthatyouhaveiftheresourcesspentarenotjustifiable,theproducthasnoforeseeablevaluetoyouandtheend-user,andyoudonothaveanyotherreasonableideatochangeitsprocesspathtomakeitwork.
However,therearealotofsubjectiveandfoolishbehaviorsthatmaypreventyoufrommakingtherightdecisionsforproductsthatyouhavealreadyspenttimeandeffortfor.Forexample,therearejusttoomanypeoplewhowillnotdareterminateaprojectthathasalreadyspenttoomanyresourcesbutdoesnotcreateaclearpictureonwhetheritwillworkornot.Somewillnoteventhinkofterminatingaproductjustbecausetheyalreadyspenttheirfirstdollaronit.
Accountingsystemshavealottodowiththeseriskyassumptions.Forexample,ifacompanyhasstarteddevelopingasoftwarethattheyinitiallythoughtwouldhavea100%valuetotheircustomersandwillcostabout$500,000todevelop.Afterspendinghalfamillion,theyfoundoutthattheproductwillonlyprovide15%valuetotheirconsumersandwouldactuallycost$5,000,000todevelop.
Despitethatoverwhelmingdifference,somewouldstillpursuethedevelopmentevenwiththeknowledgethatthevalueoftheproductthattheyareproducingisalotlowerthantheyhaveexpectedandthecostisnotjustifiableatall.Tosomeaccountingsystems,theyarewillingtoprotectexpensebudgetsoftheirdepartmentsandthenwaitfortheirexpenditurestobecapitalized.Ofcourse,thismoveisnotsensibleatall.
Whenyousticktousingmarginaleconomics,youwouldbeabletoexposeeverywastefulbehaviorthatyouhaveanduseyourcommonsenseonwhatwilltrulybringyouandyourcustomers’value.Insteadofwastingyourtimeandmoneyonsomethingthatwillnotgiveanyoneagoodreturnfortheirinvestments,youcanhavetherightstrategyonwhetheryoushouldspendmoretimeondevelopmentorsaveyourresourcesforsomethingbetter.
Chapter10:WhatProductsShouldYouProduce?Beforeyouevenstartasprintandstartdevelopinganything,youknowthatyouneedtohaveaproductbacklog.However,togenerateaproductbacklog,youneedtohaveaproductvision.Youwillneverknowwhatyouwillwanttoaccomplishifyoudonotdoanyenvisioningabouttheverythingthatyouwanttocreate.
Envisioning’sGoal
WhenyouenvisionaproductusingScrum,youarenotdoingaceremonialandveryintensecharteringofaproject.Afterall,youdonotbelievethatyoucanpossiblyknoweverythingthatyouneedtodorightaway.Youwillhavetohavesufficientconfidencetosubjecttheideaofportfolioplanningandmakedecisionifyoucandecidewhethertofundthenextlevelofdevelopmenttoaddmoredetailstotheproduct.
Atthispoint,youknowthatyouunderstandthatfundingcannotmoveforwardwithoutfirsthavingavisionoftheproductandifyoudonothaveenoughdetailsthatwillleadyoutounderstandhigh-qualitysolutions,features,customers,andcost.
Youalsodonotwanttospendtoomuchtimeandeffortonenvisioningbecauseyouwanttogetpastthisstagewherethereistoomuchguessworkandthinkingthatyouarealreadyawareofthecostandcustomerneeds.Youwouldwanttomoveimmediatelytowardssprintswhereyoucanimmediatelygetfeedbackandknowwhetheryoursolutionsareworkingornot.
Afterall,youcanonlystartimplementingrealsolutionswhenyouhavevalidatedlearningbasedonenvironmentsinwhichyouwantyourproducttoexist.
Envisioning’sTiming
Envisioningisanongoingactivity–youdonotonlyenvisionyourproductatthebeginningofmakingplans.However,itwillbeginwiththeprocessofideation,orthatmomentwhereinsomeoneorsomepeoplehasgeneratedanideaonhowaproductcanbecreatedorimprove.
Thisideaispassedthroughyourorganization’sstrategicfiltertoseeifitisconsistentwiththeorganization’sexistingstrategies.Iftheideagoeswithyourorganization’sstrategies,thenthatisthetimethatpeoplewillwanttostartinvestigatingonwhyitisworththeinvestment.
Oncethatseedofideahassuccessfullypassedthestrategicfilter,thenthatisthetimetostartinitialenvisioningortheprocesswhereyougetjustenoughunderstandingonhowthedesiredfutureproduct’sinitialreleaseshouldbe.Whenyoudothat,youcanimmediatelyhaveavisionofhowyoucandeliverqualityvaluetoyourcustomerswithoutspendingtoomuch.
Thatalsogiveseveryoneatangibleideaonhowthisproductwillappealtoendusersandcustomersandgiveyouenoughdetailstoallowyoutogivefeedbackorrefuteassumptionsthatyouhaveaboutcustomersandyouroverallsolution.Whenthishappens,youcanseeifaprojectthatyouwanttodevelopwillallowyoutoperseverewithyour
currentvision,orofyoushouldpivotawayfromyouroriginalsolutionandmodifyplans.
WhoShouldParticipate?
Theproductowneristheonlypersonthatisrequiredtoattendinitialenvisioning.Theproductalsonormallyoverseestheinitialenvisioningtogetherwithastakeholderwhoservesasacollaboratorinperformingthisprocess.Specialistssuchasmarketresearchers,user-designexperts,andarchitectscanalsoparticipateindifferentenvisioningtasks.
TheScrumMasterandtherestofthedevelopmentteamarealsoidealparticipantsininitialenvisioning.Thisisbecausethesepeoplewillprovidethefeedbackthatstakeholders,experts,andtheproductownerneedstohaveamoreempiricaldataonhowaproductwouldproceedintodevelopment,withouthavingtheneedtohandoffthevisionthatisgoingtobecreatedtoanotherteam.
However,whathappensoftenisthattheorganizationwaitsfortheinitialenvisioningbeingfinishedbeforeitcanmovetofundingtheScrumteam,makingithardtoincludetheScrumteamtobepartofthisprocess.However,whentheproductdevelopmentisalreadyunderway,theentireScrumteamshouldbeparticipantsinanyproductre-envisioning.
EnvisioningProcess
Themaininputneededtostartinitialenvisioningisanapprovedideawhichhasclearedyourorganization’sstrategicfilter.Whenyourproductneedstobere-envisioned,youneedtohaveapivotedidea,oranideaabouttheproductthathasbeenrevisedorupdatedbasedonchangesthatinfluencehowtheproductwoulddoonceitgoesthroughcontinueddevelopmentorreleases.Theseinfluencescanbecustomerfeedback,fundingchanges,competitorstrategies,andawholelotmore.
Whenenvisioningorre-envisioningproducts,youneedtohaveotherinputs,suchas
1.indicationofplanninghorizon,oratimeframetoconsiderforenvisioning
2.deadlineforcompletionofenvisionedproducts,ifapplicable
3.availabilityofresourcesneededforenvisioning
4.confidencethresholdorhowtodeterminewhetheranenvisionedproductcanbedoneright,whichgivesstakeholdersandotherdecisionmakersenoughtrustthattheproductshouldpushthrough.
Envisioningisalsocomposedofdifferentkindsofactivitiesthataremadetoproduceanimportantoutput,suchastheexactproductvisionorhowtheinitialproductbacklogshouldbelike.Itisalsoidealtocreateasimpleproductroadmapthatwillshowasetofnear-termreleasesthatcanbeproducedinincrements.
Hereisanillustrationofhowtheinitialenvisioningshouldbeperformed,usingafictionalproductideacalledOneBigOnion:
Thecompany,whichiscalledNamelessMedia,isknownasaleaderinproducingqualitydocumentaryandPRmarketingmaterials,withitscorebusinessbeingaproviderofAVPsandsimilarservicestoitsclients.TherevenuesofNamelessMediaaremovingata
modestpaceforacoupleofyears,butitremainsprofitable.
However,itsmaincompetitorshavelaunchedfeaturesinasurprisingfrequency,whichmaymakeNamelessMedia’sclientelemovetotheminstead.Now,whatNamelessMedianeedsistohaveabrandnewinnovativeserviceofferthatwillallowthemtostrategicallyleapfrogthesteepcompetition.
ThemarketingteamofNamelessMediathoughtofOneBigOnion,whichisawaytousebothmusicandgraphicsrevolutionarilyinmaterialsthatclientswillreceive.Themarketingteambelievesthatthisideacouldbeaninnovativeservicetotheirclientele,whichisfondofusingrehashphotosandremixedmusicintheirads.
Themarketingteamthensenttheiridea,togetherwithaone-pagedescriptionofOneBigOnionthatstatesitshigh-leveltargetfeatures,targetedniche,andadvantages,totheNewProductApprovalCommittee.ThiscommitteereviewsthenewproductinaregularlyschedulesIdeaReviewMeeting,whichisdoneeverythirdThursdayofthemonth.
TheseniormanagementagreesthattheOneBigOnionrepresentsagreatopportunitytomakethecompanystandoutinthemarketplace.Aftermakingthisdecision,thecommitteeassignsLauren,abusinessrepresentativefromthecompany’sstrategicmarketing,astheproductownerofOneBigOnion.
Themanagementhasalsoallowedtwoweekstocompletetheproductenvisioning,afterwhichtheapprovalcommitteememberswillreviewtheresultsanddecideiftheproject’sinitialdevelopmentshouldbefundedornot.InadditiontoLauren,themanagementhasalsoassignedtwosubjectmatterexpertstodothefiltering,agroupofstakeholders,andalsoamarketresearchertojointheenvisioning.However,themanagementdidnotauthorizethelargerexpenditureofthefullScrumteamduringtheenvisioning.
Laurenisaskedtousetheresourcesgiventohertoproducetheseitems:
1. Initialproductbacklog,productroadmap,andproductvision2. EvidencefortheinitialassumptionthatuserswantOneBigOnion’sabilitytooffer
premiumgraphicsandsounddesignasaddedservices3. Descriptionofothercriticalassumptionsaboutpotentialusersoftheproductandthe
featuresetthatshouldbetestedonthefirstproductrelease4. Afewactionableandimportantmeasuresthatwillbeusedtotestassumptionsandto
seewhethertheinitialreleaseofOneBigOnionismeetingexpectationsornot5. Alistofunknownitemsthatshouldbeanswered
ThemanagementneedsthisinformationtoassumeconfidenceinmakinganinformeddecisiononwhetherthecompanyshouldallowOneBigOniontogothroughinitialdevelopment.
Visioning
TakingtheexamplescenarioforOneBigOnion,thefirstthingthatLaurenandthestakeholdersneedtoputtogetherisacompellingandsharedvisionfortheproductthattheyareworkingon.
However,theydonothavetocreatea100-pagedocumentfortheirvision–sincetheyareusingScrum,theyareawarethattheydonotneedtocreateacomplexdocumenttosolidifyavision.Visions,evenforthemostcomplexproducts,shouldbestatedsimplyandpresentedwithacoherentdirectiontothepeoplewhowillbetaskedtorealizethem.
Visionsarecommonlyexpressedintermsthattellhowstakeholdersachievevalue.Youcanusethisformattowriteyourvision:
Format Description
Elevatorstatement Haveashortpitch(about30secondstooneminute)oftheproductvision.
Productdatasheet Trytocomeupwiththeproductdatasheetonthefirstdayonthefrontofaone-pagemarketingpiece
Userconferenceslides Create2-3presentationslidesthatyoucanusetointroduceyourproductinapublicpresentation.
Pressrelease Writeapressreleasethatyouwanttobereleasedonceyourproductisavailable.Itshouldcontainnewsworthycontentandaslongasapageorless
Magazinereview Draftafictionalmagazinereviewbylinedbythesolutionreviewer
Whenyoulookatthisformat,youwouldnoticethateverythingthatthemanagementneedstoknowisalreadyinthere:whattheproductisabout,whatfeaturesitwouldcontain,howyouthinkthecustomerswouldseeit,howitisgoingtobelaunchedtothepublic,andaprojectionofcustomerfeedback.
MakingaHigh-LevelBacklog
Onceyoualreadyhaveavision,youarereadytocreateproductbacklogitems.Usingtheterminologyofuserstories,andsinceyouareworkingonahighlevel,youwouldwanttocreateepicsorextremelylargeuserstoriesthatgowellwiththeproductlevelplanning.TheseepicsalignwiththevisionandprovidethenextlevelofproductdetailforboththeScrumteamandtheseniormanagement.
Thepeoplewhowillcreatethesestorieswillbethesameoneswhomadethevision–theproductownerandthestakeholders,andifpossible,withthedevelopmentteamandtheScrumMasterwhowillworkontheproduct.However,iftheprojectdevelopmenthasnotyetbeenfundedorapproved,likeinthecaseofOneBigOnion,thereisachancethattheScrumteammaynotbeavailableinmakingthebacklogfortheenvisioning.
Whenthathappens,theproductownermaywanttomakeitanoptiontoaskforhelpwithtechnicalpersonalitiesavailablethatmayhaveaninterestintheproductdevelopmenttohelphimout.
DefiningtheProductRoadmap
Onceyouaredonecreatingtheinitialvisionandthebacklog,youarereadytodefinehowyoucandoseriesofreleasesthatwillmakeyouachievesome,orpossiblyall,ofyourproductvision.Aproductroadmapwillserveasanoverviewofalltheincrementaldeploymentsthatyouwillperform.Ofcourse,italsofollowsthatifyouaredoingasmallproductthatcanbedeliveredinasinglerelease,thenthereisnoneedtodoaproductroadmap.
Keepinmindthoughthatevenifyouintendtomakefrequentreleases,youdonotneedtobestrictaboutdeadlines.Whatyoushouldfocusoninsteadistheminimumreleasablefeatures(MRFs),whichisasmallsetoffeaturesthatisdeemedtobemust-havesinordertomeetqualityexpectationsanddeliverimmediatevaluetostakeholdersandendusers.
YoumayalsocallMRFsasyourminimumviableproduct(MVP)orminimummarketablefeatures(MMFs).Whenyouplanyourreleasesthisway,customersandclientswillbeabletoperceivethatthereisvaluetotheproductthatyouwanttodevelop.Atthesametime,youcanalsocouplethisplanbyreleasingotherfeaturesinafixedandperiodicmanner;sayeveryquarter,tosetexpectationsonwhenenduserscanexpecttoreceivethecompleteproduct.
OtherActivitiesinEnvisioning
Envisioningcanalsoincludeanyothertasksthatmaybedeemedrelevantinmeetingtheconfidencethresholdthatneedstobetargeted.Youmaywanttodoadditionalmarketresearchorevendoacompetitiveanalysistoseehowyourproductwoulddoonthemarketwhenpittedagainstproductsofcompetitors.Youmayalsowanttodeveloparoughbusinessmodeloftheproducttoseeifitwillpassyourorganization’seconomicfilterandconvincestakeholderstoproceedtofundingyourScrumteam.
MakingEnvisioningEconomicallySensible
Envisioningisaninvestment–youneedtodoittogetalltheinformationthatthemanagementrequirestomakethedecisionthatyourprojectisworthfunding.Ifyoudotoolittleworkinenvisioning,youmayfindyourselfcluelessonwhatyoushoulddowhenyoudothefirstsprintandfailtomeetcustomer-qualityvaluethatyouareexpectedtoachieve.
Ifyoudotoomuchworkonenvisioning,youmayunintentionallycreatetoomuchproductartifactsandbepromptedtoreviseordiscardthemwhenyouproceedtovalidatedlearning,whichyouwoulddowhenyouarereadytotrimdownyourhigh-levelproductbacklog.
Whileyoumaythinkthatyouneedalotofdatainpreparingyourenvisionedproduct,keepinmindthatyouarestillusingScrum–youonlyneedtohaveupfrontpredictiveplanningthatwillalloweveryoneinvolvedtounderstandwhatyouaretryingtocreateandtheriskthateveryonemaybetakingoncetheprojectisunderway.
Thatmeansthatyouareonlyaimingtoobtainreasonableinformationthatyoucanachievewithinthebudgetandtimethatyouhavebeengiven.Moreover,youhavetorememberthatinScrum,theproductcanandwillchangeonceyouarealreadyintheprocessofsprintingandonceyouhavereceivedthenecessaryfeedbacksrequiredtoachievequality.
AimforaRealisticConfidenceThreshold
Theconfidencethresholdistheminimumlevelofinformationthatdecisionmakersneedtoreceivefromyouinorderforthemtobeconfidentenoughtoreleasetheirdecisiononwhethertheyshouldfundornotfundtheproductthatyouwanttopropose.
Youcanthinkofitasthebarthatyouneedtopasssothatyoucanexitenvisioningandentertheportfolioplanning.Asyoucanremember,portfolioplanningisthepartwhereinyouneedtoapplyeconomicfilterstoaproducttoseeifitfitsyourorganization’sfundingcriteria.Ifitdoes,thenyoucanproceedtovalidatingassumptionsandproceedbuildingtheproduct.
Theheightofthisbarhaslegitimateeconomicconsequences.Ifyousetthebarhigh,thenyouneedmoreefforttoclearit–youneedmoretimeforenvisioning,whichwilldelaytheproductshippingandentailcoststoyourorganizationespeciallyifyouaretryingtoenvisionaproductthatistrulyneeded.
Atthesametime,youneedtothinkthatenvisioningisalreadybeingpaidfor,andthelongerittakes,themorecostlyitbecomes,sincepredictivetaskslikethisaddsuptotheentireorganization’sWIP.Additionally,settingthebarhigherdoesnotmeanthatyoubecomemorecertainabouttheproductthatwouldbeeventuallyreleased,orinformthemanagementbetterthatapprovalistheirbestdecisiontomake.Becauseofthesereasons,youneedtosetthebartojustthehelpfullevel.
Youneedtodothefollowingtosetthebartoahelpfullevel:
Lookatashorthorizon
Don’ttrytoenvisiontoomuchabouttheproductatasinglemoment.Focusonwhatfeaturesyouneedtoproduceonthefirstcandidatereleasetopreventwastingyourtimethinkingaboutfeaturesthatmayneverbereleasedinthefuture.Sincemostofyourassumptionsarenotyetvalidatedandyoucannotsubjecttheproductyetforcustomervalidation,betterthinkthatyoucanadaptknowledgethatyouwillfindoutlaterontoimprovetheproductthatyouhaveinmind.
Actfast
Envisioningshouldbefastandefficient,justlikeeverythingelseinScrum.Thesooneryougetdonewiththisphase,thesooneryougettobuildsomethingtangiblethatwillhelpyoufindoutifyourassumptionsaretrueornot.Byactingquickly,youcreateasenseofurgencyforeveryonetoreachaproductdecision.
Youcancreatethisurgencybysettingarealistictimeforyourteamtofinishenvisioning,whichtellseveryonethatyouaredeterminedtocutthecostsofplanningandmoveontovalidationinstead.
Spendforvalidatedlearning
Whenyouaredoingpredictivetasks,suchastryingtocreatehypothesisonhowcustomerswillprobablylikeyourproductorhowmuchrevenueyourproductcouldmake,youaretryingtotellthemanagementwhattheyarecomfortablewithinordertoperceiveyourdataasthebaselineplan.However,youareawarethatyoumayjustbewastingtimetryingtopresentdatathatcanbejustawildguessoutofyourassumptions,whichcanbefoundinvalidwhenyougettoportfolioplanningandproductdevelopment.
Ifthereissomethingthatyouneedtospendforduringenvisioning,betterspendforvalidatedlearningandgetasmuchcertaininformationasyoucan.Workonthecorevaluethatyouaretryingtopresenttoyourorganization–ifyouthinkthatusers
preferafeaturethatyouaretryingtoofferinyourproduct,thenconductaresearchonthathypothesisasearlyaspossibletomaketherightadjustmentstoyourroadmap.
Useprovisionalorincrementalfunding
Alwaysseetoitthatyouareusingyourfundinginincrements.Whenyouuseincrementalfunding,youwouldjustbeallottingresourcestotheinitialsmallpartofdevelopmentandthengobacktoyourbudgetwhenyoulearnthatwhatyouhavespentforisvalidated.Thiswillallowyoutolimityourspendingonenvisioningandalsolessenthetimetocompleteit.
Youonlyneedaportionofthemoneythatyouaregoingtogetforvalidatedlearning,whichpreventsyoufromfallingintothetemptationofspendingtimeandbudgetforallpossibleassumptionsallatonce.Italsofollowsthatwhenyouhavevalidationfortheminimumassumptionsthatyouneedtomeettohitconfidencethreshold,thenthereisnopointtospendfortheothers.
Failfast
Youdonotwanttostartaproductthatyou’renotsureofitssuccessrate–whileyoucannotknoweverythingthatisgoingtohappenwithyourproject,youwouldwanttogetasmuchcertaintyaspossibleduringtheenvisioningprocess.
Failfastisoneofthethingsthatyoucandotopreventtoomuchspendinginthefutureforthingsthatwouldprobablynotdo.Whenyoutrytolearnasquicklyaspossibleandmakerevisionsearlyintoenvisioning,youcanproduceamoreappropriateproduct,ordecidetokilltheideaanddosomethingthatwouldmostprobablyworkoutbetter.Youdonotwanttospendresourcesforsomethingjustforthesakeofapproval,tobejustkilledoffinportfolioplanninglateron.
Onceyouareabletodoefficientproductenvisioning,youwouldbeabletothinkofproductsthatworkbest,withoutmerelyrelyingonguesswork.Themoreyouuseanefficientenvisioningprocess,themoreproductsthatwillgiveyouqualityROIyoucanproduce.
Thatmeansthatwhenyourideasgetapprovedandyouarereadytoconductsprints,youwillhavetheconfidencethattheideathatyouwantedtodevelopisrealisticandrelevantenoughtoyourorganization’sgrowth,andthatitwouldreturnsubstantialbenefitstoyourorganization.
Atthispoint,youhavealltheskillsthatyouneedtolearninordertoproduceanythingfastandefficient.Onceyouaredonewithenvisioningyourproduct,youarereadytostartbuildingwithconfidence!
ConclusionThankyouforreadingthisbook!
IhopethatthisbookhashelpedyoulearnhowyoucanuseScrumwhenyoutackleactivity,whetherwithasmallgroupofpeopleorinvolvinganentireorganization.Ialsohopethatthisbookhashelpedyoumakeplanningandbuildingalmostanythingmoreefficiently,evenwhenyouarestartingwithzeroknowledgeaboutwhatyouaresupposedtodo.
LearninghowtodotasksusingScrum(oranyotheragileframeworkoutthere)effectivelytakestime,sincealotofpeoplethatyouencounterareprobablystilldoingthetraditionalmethodofplanningandbuildingproducts.
ThenextstepthatyoucandoistoinformpeoplethatyouareworkingwithhowtheycanbemoreefficientandresourcefulbyadheringtoScrumprinciples.Scrumalsorequiresalotofpracticetogetitright,butonceyoucommittoitsprincipleshabitually,youwillbeabletosprintyourwaytoachievinggoals.