SUCCESSFUL AGILE PLANNINGAN ITERATION HOW TO

KENCLYN

E

kclyne@rallydev.com

Image courtesy Garr Reynolds

AGENDAIntroductionIteration MechanicsAgile RolesProduct BacklogIteration PlanningTracking ProgressWhat Teams Struggle With

ProductBacklog

Iteration Backlog

Iteration2‐4 Weeks

DailyMeeting

ProductIncrement

ITERATIONMECHANICS

ProductBacklog

Iteration Backlog

ITERATIONPLANNING

Product Owner and Team select items

Tasks identified and estimated

Collaborative, not directedTeam commits to delivering selected

itemsReciprocal commitment from Product Owner

the iteration

What did youwork on yesterday?

What are youworking on today?

Do you have anyimpediments?

STAND-UPDAILY

TESTEDHIGH QUALITY

COMPLETEDONE

THE PRODUCTINCREMENT

REVIEWITERATION

everyone invitedtypically a demo2 hour prep time

informalno slides

What did we do well?

What didn’t we do well?

What do we need to change to do better?

RETROSPECTIVETEAM

Removes impediments

Enforces values and practices

Servant leader

Not the decision maker

Doesn’t commit to dates, budgets

Facilitates with team and client

SCRUMMASTER

PRODUCTOWNER

Represents (or is) the user/client

One voice, even if not one person

What to build and what sequence

Conveys expectations

Defines project goals

TEAMDELIVERY

Typically 5-9 people

Full-time members

Self-organizing

Self-managing

Cross functional

No egos

List of desired product features

Expressed so that each item is value focused

Prioritized by product owner

Reprioritized continuously

BACKLOGPRODUCT

Independent

Negotiable

Valuable

Estimable

Sized appropriately

Testable

AS A <who>,

I WANT TO <what>,SO THAT <why>.

storiesuser

AS A DOG,I WANT TO BE ABLE TO ORDER FOOD ONLINE,SO THAT I DON’T HAVE TO RELY ON PEOPLE ANYMORE.

ESTIMATINGAGILE

estimatingwe are not good at

comparingwe are good at

ComplexityComplexity EffortEffort

DoubtDoubt

comparing stories

ComplexityComplexity EffortEffort

DoubtDoubt

S

M

t-shirt sizes

ComplexityComplexity EffortEffort

DoubtDoubt

2

5

story points

EFFORT

ACC

URA

CY

ESTIMATING

ACCURATE

POKERPLANNING

VELOCITY

Velocity: A long-term measure of the amount of work completed per iteration

Story Po

ints Com

pleted

finish?when will we

Slowest velocity

Average velocity

Best velocity

PLANNINGITERATION

Determine Delivery Team capacitySelect highest priority backlog itemsDiscuss to create tasks

Estimate tasks

“Can we commit to this?”Repeat until no more can be committed

STEPSPLANNING

HOURSIDEALThe amount of time to complete a task with no distractions

TEAMCAPACITY

Team Member Hours this Iteration 

Vish 46

Mike 60

Jeff 54

Lakshmi 62

Total 222

STORYONETask Estimate Owner

Code the UI 6 Mike

Code the middle tier

8 Vish

Create and automate tests

4 Lakshmi

“CAN WE COMMIT TO THIS?”

STORYTWOTask Estimate Owner

Code the UI 12 Jeff

Code the middle tier

5 Mike

Create and automate tests

6 Lakshmi

“CAN WE COMMIT TO THIS?”

...STORYNINETask Estimate Owner

Code the UI 8 Jeff

Code the middle tier

6 Mike

Create and automate tests

3 Lakshmi

“CAN WE COMMIT TO THIS?”

STORYTENTask Estimate Owner

Code the UI 8 Jeff

Code the middle tier

6 Mike

Create and automate tests

3 Lakshmi

“CAN WE COMMIT TO THIS?”

PROGRESSTRACKING

tough decisions

“where are we going?”

establish a shared vision

Elevator statement

Product Data Sheet

Product Vision Box

Press Release

VISIONTOOLS

…

headed in the right direction

“when will you get there?”

“we’ll let you know”

you need to set expectations

Phosphorus2006.5

Agile PMAssociate Iterations with

Releases

System Mgmt.Hierarchical StoriesDaily Defect Metrics

Comm. & Collaboration

PlatformTab Customization & Web Tabs

For all users, enhance flexibility of requirements hierarchyProvide Configurable Editions include Enterprise

June 3, June 3, ‘‘0606 July 8, July 8, ‘‘0606 Aug 12, Aug 12, ‘‘0606

Agile PMAgile Product Manager

System Mgmt.Ajax-Enabled Detail Pages

Comm. & Collaboration

PlatformImproved UI ResponsivenessImproved Navigation

For all users, improve usability, navigation and information presentation.

Agile PMDefect Dropdown

CustomizationTask Ranking

System Mgmt.Defect Close Rate Metrics

Comm. & CollaborationUser Filterable Notifications

PlatformShared Custom Views

For customers, implement some of the most requested enhancements

Aluminum 2006.3

Silicon2006.4

April 8, April 8, ‘‘0606

Agile PMCustom EnumerationsUnified Backlog PlanningNew Release Status View

System Mgmt.

Comm. & Collaboration

PlatformUI Consistency

For all users, improve customization and consistency.For Product Owners, improve Roadmap, and Release Planning.

Magnesium 2006.2

product roadmap

bigger boxeslooser scope

“we can’t break our stories down”

“you can either fight or die”, Hernán Cortés

most stories can be split

Bill Wake enumerates twenty techniques at http://xp123.com/xplor/xp0512/index.shtml

“relative estimation is for experts”

be patient learning a new skill

you will be rewarded

“I don’t know enough to estimate”

it’s a great way to learn

“groups that are too much alike find it harder to keep learning because each member is bringing less and less new information to the table”, James Surowiecki, Wisdom of Crowds

diversityintellectual

“we can’t get everything done”

2 weeks 4 weeks 6 weeks 8 weeks

8 weeks till shippable

6 weeks till shippable

4 weeks till shippable

often see this

2 weeks 4 weeks 6 weeks 8 weeks

No feature more than 2 weeks from shippable

a little better

can put iteration at risk

a smoother flow

getting started

big upfront detail?

you ain’tgonna need it

set clear expectationsfocus on small value-add increments

relative estimation is lightweight and effectiveinvolve the whole team

pull quality forwarddon’t be afraid to start

set clear expectationsfocus on small value-add increments

relative estimation is lightweight and effectiveinvolve the whole team

pull quality forwarddon’t be afraid to start