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

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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.