how to refine your backlog using the conteneo collaboration cloud
TRANSCRIPT
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How to Refine Your Backlog with the Conteneo Collaboration Cloud
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Objectives
As a Product Manager / Product OwnerI want a well refined and ready backlogso that I can create awesome products and
services that meet customer needs and aredefined in such a way that my dev team canbuild it!
I am here because I want to see how the Conteneo
Collaboration Cloud can help me do this!
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Agenda
• A brief review of roadmaps and backlogs• Ideas to Action Process• Collections of Frameworks for:
• Identifying Opportunities• Prioritizing Backlogs• Empathy and Excitement!
• We’ll review and briefly try each framework• We’ll review a Conteneo case study
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Planning Time Horizons
Daily
Sprint
Strategy
Portfolio
Product
Release
Exec
PM
DevTeam
2-4 wk
2-9 mon
many mons
years
many years
Iteration Plan
Portfolio Map
Release Plan
Vision & Roadmap
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Your Job…
pile ofstuff to do
• use cases• bugs• features• enhancement requests• updates• stuff… to do…
markets to serve
money to make
market driven road maps
Feature
User story
Bug Fix
Enhancement
User Story
Backlog
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Feature
User story
Bug Fix
Enhancement
User Story
Daily
Sprint
Strategy
Portfolio
Product
Release
market driven road maps
What markets?When?
Work to be done in release
Work to bedone in Sprint
markets to serve
Core Artifacts
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Feature
User story
Bug Fix
Enhancement
User Story
More work…
More work…
More work…
Roadmaps and Backlogs Are Independent But Linked
“infinite” backlog
market driven road maps
release
release
release
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Feature
User story
Bug Fix
Enhancement
User Story
You Want New Stuff!
• User feedback• Engineering Ideas• Sales requests• Industry analysts• Trends• Market research• Your own vision and ideas• …
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Identifying the Features to Test
Feature
User story
Bug Fix
Enhancement
User StoryUser Story
Agile Product Managers organize features in a prioritized backlog. The top of the backlog represents committed features.
The bottom of the backlog represents features the Product Manager believes are important but are not committed.
The Mushy MiddleThe “Mushy Middle” is the source of opportunity and waste! Our project will focus on testing these items.
Should the feature move up?
Should the feature move down?
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Some Definitions We Find UsefulArtifact DefinitionFeature Something that your software enables your
customer/user to accomplish.Story A compact and effective way to document
desired features. Epic A feature, often expressed as a story, that is
known to exceed a single Sprint.Capability An underlying quality of the system that
typically enables a set or class of features. PBI Product Backlog Item: The stuff that you want
the dev team to build. Prioritized.
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Frameworks for Identifying Opportunities
Prune the Product TreeUse this framework for strategic planning – think features & epics.
Speed BoatUse this framework to help you identify problems you need to address.
Internal External
Sweet Spot of StrategyUse this framework to make sure your offerings are staying competitive.http://hbr.org/2008/04/can-you-say-what-your-strategy-is/ar/1
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Frameworks for Prioritizing Backlogs
Prune the Product TreeUse this framework for strategic planning – think features & epics.
Buy a FeatureUse this to identify customer preferences for the “mushy middle” items.
Mitch Lacey’s Planning WallUse this framework with your dev team to map priority vs impact.
Internal External
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Frameworks for Empathy and Excitement
Empathy MapUse this framework to build empathy in your team for your customers / users before engaging in planning.
On the Cover / Cover StoryUse this framework to identify the “story” that is driving the release. Bring in marketing and sales for really awesome results!
Internal External
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Mix and Match Frameworks To Meet NeedsPhase 1Play games with customers to feed your backlog.
Phase 2Build empathy within your team for the customer.
Phase 3Strategically prioritize your backlog.
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Tips for Prune the Product Tree
• Play multiple games to identify patterns.
• Use multiple layers and regions to capture more information on the problems.
• Strategic / longer term items go into your roadmap. Tactical / shorter term items go into your backlog.
Roadmap
You will usually want to tailor the time horizons to meet your planning needs.
Feature
User story
Bug Fix
Enhancement
User Story
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Tips for Speed Boat
• Play multiple games to identify patterns.
• Use multiple layers and regions to capture more information on the problems.
• Download the results, look for patterns where you can identify and improve unmet needs or your existing product.
You can use the standard version or tailor it.
Feature
User story
Bug Fix
Enhancement
User Story
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Tips for Sweet Spot
• This framework is good for helping you identify how well you’re meeting customer needs relative to competitors.
• You will typically only need one game with senior leaders to gain good insights.
• Results may be used in either your roadmap or your backlog.
Roadmap
You typically do not need to tailor this framework.
Feature
User story
Bug Fix
Enhancement
User Story
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Tips for Buy a Feature
• This framework is good for helping you identify key customer priorities for the “mushy middle”.
• You will typically want to play at least 5 games to create actionable patterns.
• Highest priority items feed your backlog.
You import items to prioritize from Excel.
Feature
User story
Bug Fix
Enhancement
User Story
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Tips for Mitch Lacey’s Planning Wall
• This framework is good for helping you make sure you’re estimating the release well.
• Product Owners own the priorities. Developers own the size.
• Try to keep business value as high as possible while minimizing the effort.
Best to start with a blank screen and then load items one at a time, having the team rearrange the items.
Feature
User story
Bug Fix
Enhancement
User Story
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Tips for Empathy Map
• This framework is good for helping you build empathy within your product team.
• You will typically need one game for each major persona.
• Results are effective in providing a common vision and shaping for all of the work being done by the product team.
Roadmap
You typically do not need to tailor this framework.
Feature
User story
Bug Fix
Enhancement
User Story
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Tips for Cover Story
• This framework is good for helping you build excitement for the release.
• You will typically need one or two games played with the team, including sales and marketing.
• Results help you understand where to put “extra work” and emphasize “greatness”.
Roadmap
You typically do not need to tailor this framework.
Feature
User story
Bug Fix
Enhancement
User Story
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Case Study
Conteneo has partnered with The Kettering Foundation to create Common Ground for Action / Strategy Engine, a new collaboration engine designed to tackle wicked problems.
We have successfully completed release 1.0 and 1.1 and have used the product for 7 months. We have solid feedback from moderators, early users and an existing backlog of ideas – the “left over ideas” from release 1.1.
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A process whereby citizens evaluate• strategies for attacking a problem• actions that must be taken• drawbacks of each action
Deliberative Forums
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CA Drought Strategies
Create / Capture More
Water
IncreaseConservation
Modernize Governance
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Drawbacks?
• Fragile ecosystem
• Agriculture may be harmed
• $6B in costs
• 1%-5% increase
• $1B in costs
• Highly concentrated wastewater
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Can you live with this drawback?
Will deliberation change your perspective?
Dynamic visualization of group perspective.
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Our SequenceCull the backlogStep 1
Step 2 Play one Speed Boat with Kettering and senior moderators to identify challenges to use and adoption. Use results to build potential backlog items.
Step 3
Step 4
Play TWO Empathy Map forums with Kettering and product team. One focused on building empathy for moderators. The other focused on users.
Play one Planning Wall forum with Kettering and product team based on the results and create the final backlog.
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How We Started
We took our existing backlog and identified 6 major / important items. We “moved these to the side” so that we could focus on “fresh” thinking.
Feature
User story
Bug Fix
Enhancement
User Story
Top 6 Items
All of the Rest
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Speed Boat Results
The results of the Speed Boat game were downloaded into Excel. Some items were converted into Product Backlog items as a mix of user stories, enhancements, and other changes.
Feature
User story
Bug Fix
Enhancement
User Story
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Empathy Map Results
The results of the Empathy Map games were downloaded into Excel. Analyzing these helped provide color and context to existing PBIs and some new ones.
Feature
User story
Bug Fix
Enhancement
User Story
Moderators
Participants
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Planning Wall Results, part one
We started with a backlog of about 40 items – the top 6 and new backlog items. We added each, one at a time, to the Planning Wall. As each PBI was added, the Conteneo business team & Kettering would control its Y-axis and Dan O’Leary, our CTO, would control its X-axis. Seeing ALL items in context was of tremendous value.
Feature
User story
Bug Fix
Enhancement
User Story
Results!
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Planning Wall Results, part two
We downloaded the list and created the final set of PBIs. We have a clear agreement on the items for the next release and a set of items that will drive subsequent releases.4 of the previous “top 6” made it through the process.
Feature
User story
Bug Fix
Enhancement
User Story
Next Release
Future Releases…
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Tailor this Checklist I have culled my backlog. I have played Speed Boat to identify unmet market needs and
opportunities for improvement. I have played Prune the Product Tree to distinguish strategic and tactical
items. I have played Sweet Spot of Strategy to identify key competitive
differentiators. I have played Buy a Feature to confirm key customer priorities. I have played Empathy Map with my team to build empathy for our
customers and/or users. I have used the Planning Wall to develop a prioritized map of all of the
items and to develop the sequence of delivery for our highest priority items
I have played Cover Story to bring the release together and make it an awesome, compelling story for everyone!
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