tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39791190661578813312024-03-18T19:47:27.315+10:00Journey to Better@andrewrusling Working as an Agile Coach allows me to learn and grow on a daily basis. This is my chance to share some of that new found knowledgeAndrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-26617750386818471432021-01-24T11:42:00.018+10:002023-11-06T09:16:32.647+10:00Forecasting - Answering the question of “when will it be done?”<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> “When will it be done?” is a question that a surprising number of IT professional struggle to answer with certainty. This is surprising to me, because in many situations it is reasonable easy to come up with a suitably certain answer. Yet no one has done so. Instead they are pushing ahead with little to no understanding of whether they are on track to achieve their goals. This blind faith is admirable even if misguided. This article aims to show you how to answer the question of “When will it be done?” with a suitable level of certainty. Doing this allows you to harness and direct that faith to achieve your goals sooner or better. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Set-up</span></h1><p><span style="font-family: arial;">To answer the question of “When will it be done?” there are several pre-requisites; none of which are difficult when working in an agile manner.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Your Work items need to be <a href="https://innolution.com/resources/glossary/potentially-shippable-product-increment">potentially shippable increments of the product</a>. They need to be <a href="https://appliedframeworks.com/user-stories-making-the-vertical-slice/">vertical slices</a> that ideally deliver some business value. Splitting up your work in this way means when something is <a href="https://www.101ways.com/2007/04/08/agile-principle-7-done-means-done/">“Done” it is really “Done”</a>. This approach reveals the hidden work to achieve our goals. This article will not delve into how to accomplish this as there is plenty of existing literature on this subject.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We also need to know:</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">How much needs to be done? Aka. Work items to do.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">How much has been done? Aka. Completed work items.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">How fast are you completing work? Aka. Rate of completing work items.</span></li></ul><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The following sections will provide more detail on how you can answer these questions.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How much needs to be done?</span></h1><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The biggest hurdle I see to people answering “when will it be done?” is that they don’t know how much needs to be done, and they don’t know that because they don’t know what “it” is. The excuse of “we will know it when it’s done” often comes out, which does not help anyone. Instead you need to become comfortable with ambiguity; and focus on the reducing the unknowns that get us to a point that we can develop an initial high level view of what “it” is. Often you can develop a forecast with what the project team currently knows about “it”. Early on this forecast will be less certain than you want; however this forecast will be refined and improved as the project team learns more by doing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">How much you know about “it” should guide your choice of determining how much needs to be done. To figure out which approach to use, please determine which of the following three situations you are in. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Situation 3:</b> What needs to be done to achieve “it” is unknown and currently unknowable. Currently we cannot write out a bullet point list of what needs to be done; even at a high level. There are multiple significant unknowns, multiple risks, and likely more risks or issues we are not even aware of yet. You are deeply in “Research”. Suggestion: Don’t use forecasting yet. Instead focus on reducing your unknowns, reducing risks and doing <a href="https://ancaonuta.medium.com/how-spikes-help-to-improve-your-agile-product-delivery-a0f104305911">spikes</a>/investigations. Your aim should be to get to Situation 2.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Situation 2: </b>What needs to be done to achieve “it”, is only understood at a high level. We can write a bullet point list of roughly ten or more work items that comprise “it” Those work items may be very large, this is not a problem. Suggestion: Determine how much needs to be done by elaborating a sample of work items. This means: 1. randomly select three of those ten plus work items. 2. For each selected work item hold a workshop with a cross functional group from your project team. In the workshop split up the large work item into smaller potentially shippable product increments. These need to be close to the size of work items that your team regularly completes. 3. All of these smaller work items need to be estimated. The result is that you know the size of three of the large work items. Importantly this size matches up to the way that you measure completed work. To determine how much needs to be done average the size of the three elaborated work items and use that size for the remaining unelaborated work items. This provides a roughly estimate of the total work be done.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Situation 1:</b> What needs to be done to achieve “it” can be known with some certainty. The Product Owner has a vision for the Product; the technical people have a rough understanding of how they could build it; the ‘leads’ have a reasonable yet incomplete understanding of what “it” is.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Suggestion: </b>Hold a half day <a href="https://www.aha.io/roadmapping/guide/release-management/what-is-user-story-mapping">User Story Mapping</a> workshop with the whole team. During this workshop:</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The whole team will form a shared understanding of what “it” is and is not. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The work will be split up into work items of a size that your team regularly completes.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">All of the work items will be estimated.</span></li></ul><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Having done the hard work of understanding what “it” is, determining how much needs to be done can easily be achieved by summing up the size of all of the work items.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How much has been done? </span></h1><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This is simply a matter of adding up the size of the work items that we have completed that directly relate to “it”.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How fast are you completing work?</span></h1><p><span style="font-family: arial;">On average how much work are we completing within a cycle? If you are doing fortnightly Sprints and using Story Points; this question becomes “What is our Velocity?” or “What is the average of total Story Points completed within a fortnight?” If you are just starting out you may have to initially guess this figure. As you complete more sprints/iteration this figure will become more realistic; hence improving your forecast.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Create the forecast</span></h1><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Now that you know how much needs to be done, how much has been done and how fast you are completing work; you are ready to create a forecast. It is the forecast which will answer the question of “When will it be done?”</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NgBE-VPT1cQ/YAzPy0gWMjI/AAAAAAAAP7U/xR94ZX7p9pQq3d13BjT9y7ursI0aunMuACLcBGAsYHQ/s1458/ForecastingBurnUpForecastingTightCompletion.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="1458" height="238" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NgBE-VPT1cQ/YAzPy0gWMjI/AAAAAAAAP7U/xR94ZX7p9pQq3d13BjT9y7ursI0aunMuACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h238/ForecastingBurnUpForecastingTightCompletion.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Example burn up chart showing forecast completion 1 day after the target release date.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">For your first attempts at forecasting I recommend a Burn-up chart. A burn-up chart has work on the X axis and time on the Y axis. The burn-up chart is updated each unit of time (usually Sprints); providing a more accurate forecast each time it is updated.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bKyo965tCvc/YAzP8JImWdI/AAAAAAAAP7Y/lpw1kr3e774W0Q-8xRnWwbWYdpZVoqvegCLcBGAsYHQ/s758/Forecasting_GenericBurnUpChart.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="758" height="429" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bKyo965tCvc/YAzP8JImWdI/AAAAAAAAP7Y/lpw1kr3e774W0Q-8xRnWwbWYdpZVoqvegCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h429/Forecasting_GenericBurnUpChart.PNG" width="640" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The burn-up chart above shows five key pieces of information:</span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The total scope (how much needs to be done) <span style="color: #ff00fe;">Purple - solid</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">A projection of the scope into the future (what is the average increase in scope) <span style="color: #ff00fe;">Purple - dashed</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The total done work - <span style="color: #38761d;">Green solid</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">A projection/forecast of the done work (based on your expected velocity) – <span style="color: #6aa84f;">Green dashed</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Where the two projections cross over, tells us the expected completion date - <span style="color: #ffa400;">Orange</span></span></li></ol><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Please contact me should you want assistance in populating or interpreting your burn-up chart.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>NOTE: </b>Forecasting using a Monte Carlo simulation provides a richer and more realistic forecast; however they are complicated to set-up, and will not be addressed in this article. Please contact me if you would like to start using Monte Carlo simulations. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nIHNvrjulWY/YAzQSzshufI/AAAAAAAAP7k/p02OxfendI0340PSfL_fFvQFdWkdEEtWACLcBGAsYHQ/s1478/CopyrightHub_ReleaseBurnUp.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="1478" height="284" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nIHNvrjulWY/YAzQSzshufI/AAAAAAAAP7k/p02OxfendI0340PSfL_fFvQFdWkdEEtWACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h284/CopyrightHub_ReleaseBurnUp.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Example of a completed project. Sprint review on Sept 1 indicated we were way off track. Note the large de-scoping that occurred shortly after and the increase of delivery from hiring one more experienced developer.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Continuous forecasting</span></h1><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Forecasting should not be a one-time activity; while it useful to do it once, its true value comes from continuous updating the forecast and holding regular conversations about what the forecast is telling us. For a Scrum team you should update your forecast at least once a Sprint.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Continuous forecasting will catch situations such as:</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Our recent reduction in velocity has pushed out the expected completion date by 5 weeks.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Adding those new features has pushed out the expected completion date by 7 weeks. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Each sprint we are finding more new work then we anticipated, at this rate we will never achieve our goal. </span></li></ul><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If you started your forecast while in “Situation 2” there will come a time where the team has learned enough to move to “Situation 1”; this is a key time to update the forecast which could shift significantly. The earlier you can do this the earlier you can hold the potentially difficult conversation with stakeholders about when they are going to obtain their objective.</span></p><p><br /></p>Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-88468389684043189942020-10-07T10:16:00.002+10:002023-11-06T09:11:21.308+10:00 Project Steering for Games<p><span style="font-family: arial;">The Games development is a highly competitive global industry; with hundreds of games launched or updated every week. To achieve anything more than mediocrity requires the entire value stream of game development to be working together effectively with each individual along that stream delivering a stellar performance. Maintaining a healthy company balance sheet, means each game project needs to have solid indicators of future success before significant time and effort is sunk into it. The Project Steering approach described in this article was something I helped to design and implement to keep multiple game projects on track while allowing those game projects the flexibility needed to find the next hit game. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Context on company structure</span></h2><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The year was 2017. Game teams were the basic building block of the company. Generally, each game project was executed by one game team. Each game team was deeply cross functional including people who can cover the following as a minimum: design, development including engine development, QA, art, marketing, analytics. Each team was led by a Product Manager (effectively Product Owner and Team Lead). There was a strong emphasis on the PMs being servant leaders, who grow and develop a self-organising team. What I observed in games was that everyone was very passionate about the game they were developing and wanted to have a say in the direction it took. While this passion is intoxicating it could also lead to chaos; this why the Product Managers (PM) retain authority to make decisions. Retaining creative control ensures that the product follows a clear vision. </span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Objectives of the Project/Product Steering approach</span></h2><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Ensure each game team is focused on regularly assessing if their current project is the best use of their skills, time and effort.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Balance the autonomy of new Product Managers (PM) with the control mechanisms that prevent significant mistakes from occurring. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Support the Product Managers and teams to maximise ROI for the company over the long term; through feedback and guidance from experience leaders within the company.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Transparency of project Steering so that the whole company can choose to be aware of what is going on and learn from the success/failures of each game team.</span></li></ul><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Monthly Product Steering meeting</span></h2><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The key element of the Product Steering approach was a monthly public meeting held for each game project. During the meeting the Product Manager or a representative from the team presents from a standard template. The primary attendees are the Product Steering Committee*; however the meeting is public so anyone from the company may attend. The Product Steering Committee asks clarifying questions and provides non-binding feedback and guidance. Initially everyone apart from the Product Steering Committee was asked to observe only. Over time this gradually changed first with specific audience members being asked questions, then later open question time at the end of the meeting. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">These meetings were scheduled for 1 hour and some of the early ones took that long. However, in the matter of few months they were regularly completed in 30 minutes including question time.</span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Product Steering Committee</span></h2><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The Product Steering committee was composed of senior leaders who held a vast depth of experience in the games industry from around the world. I was also included; initially to help refine the template I had created for the meeting and after that stayed on as me asking the questions a 5-year-old would ask seemed to provide some value.</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">CEO</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">CFO</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">CTO</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Head of Product Development</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Head of Business Intelligence</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Agile Coach</span></li></ul><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Preparing for the Product Steering meeting</span></h2><p><span style="font-family: arial;">While the Product Steering meeting was often insightful and helpful for all involved. The act of preparing for the meeting also provides a lot of value; especially for those Product Managers who were considering not holding a meeting. Often their desire to not hold the meeting is a subconscious move to avoid facing some uncomfortable facts about their project. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Another positive aspect of the preparing of the meeting was that the Product Managers often reached out to members of the Product Steering Committee for assistance with preparing their presentation. These interactions were a chance to learn from each other and improve the direction of the project.</span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Regular feedback</span></h2><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Completing the Product Steering approach was regular 1 on 1s and feedback from the Head of Product Development to the Product Managers. This is massively important for less experience Product Managers and still very useful for the remaining Product Managers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Common Presentation Template</span></h2><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The template was a two-page slide deck that provided answers to the key questions the Product Steering Committee wanted to see from every game project. Without answers to these key questions the committee members would struggle to provide effective feedback and guidance. Creating a consistent template helped both the Product Managers and the committee. For the PMs it cut down their preparation time, for the committee it meant they did not have to translate the information provided to them in different formats by different PMs. Additionally, it meant the committee had could compare game projects.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The PMs were free to add additional slides showing whatever detail they felt appropriate. Roughly three quarters of product steering meetings include extra information; such as partnering deals, highly feature maps, results of experiments etc.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Page One:</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Product goal in one sentence</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Declared intention (Persevere, Pivot game, Cancel game)</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Sub section seeking input from Product Committee on specific topics</span></li></ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Product Health</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Is the team learning what their customers will respond to?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Is the team delivering with suitable throughput?</span></li></ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Team Health</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Overall morale</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Specific issues affecting them</span></li></ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Financial summary, last three months</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Costs, revenue, ROI</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Projected financials, next month with certainty, next 6 months with low certainty</span></li></ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Results of objectives</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Were last month’s objectives completed?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Did those objectives change?</span></li></ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Objectives for the coming month.</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">High level deliverables, learning outcomes, etc.</span></li></ul></ul><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Page Two:</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">High level road map of deliverables, experiments, deals, etc. </span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Current quarter was more detailed and showed when items were completed.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Next two quarters were highly level and subject to significant change</span></li></ul></ul><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pLSAEtLaYes/X30IDzg6ZwI/AAAAAAAAOCw/zkTDzM0eU4gdqnu_3PdIhOW03cS0iv0fACLcBGAsYHQ/s1029/__FNVR_Blurred_02.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1029" height="226" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pLSAEtLaYes/X30IDzg6ZwI/AAAAAAAAOCw/zkTDzM0eU4gdqnu_3PdIhOW03cS0iv0fACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h226/__FNVR_Blurred_02.PNG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p><br /></p>Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-13422086122755458402020-07-12T09:31:00.023+10:002021-01-24T11:44:22.154+10:00Achieve more by delivering less: descoping is the secret sauce of agile teams that quickly achieve business objectives<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Switching from traditional development to agile development usually results in a significant increase in the speed of delivery. This increase in speed partially comes from agile practices speeding up the people’s ability to build and test functionality. Interestingly the vast majority of this speed improvement comes from dramatically reducing the amount of functionality we are working on at once. By reducing our scope, the people are able to focus, gain fast feedback and quickly deliver outcomes. What is most interesting to me is that to further increasing the speed of building and testing functionality has a high cost; while further reducing the scope has a medium to low cost. This means that to achieve the greatest impact we should turn our attention to cutting scope where ever we can. This is the key to FAST deliver with agile.</span><br />
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<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">To put all of that in numbers, adopting Scrum compared to Traditional methods usually delivers a 20% increase in speed of delivery. This can be gradually improved year on year, say 5% increases each year. When we cut out 30% of our scope from the first years’ worth of work, we are already two years ahead for a lower investment in effort. I am not saying stop trying to improve your development speed; please continue and add that to the gains to be made by reducing scope.</span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">“But our stakeholders have been promised X, Y and Z, you can’t just remove any one of them.” I hear you say. That is fine, we not going to remove those items, we are going to reduce the scope of each item, honing it in on achieving the business objective(s) it relates to. The business will still get X, Y and Z, it will meet all of its objectives; it will just be achieved with slimmer versions of X, Y and Z.</span><br />
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<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The approach to delivering business outcomes faster for less effort is not magic. It is a composition of basic agile practices, wrapped up in a feedback loop and supported with lots of collaboration. To start achieving more by delivering less, follow these steps.</span><br />
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<li><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Scope what you know: google “User story mapping” to start.</span></li>
<li><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Split work into smaller pieces that are vertical slices: google “splitting user stories” to start.</span></li>
<li><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Forecast your delivery outcomes: Please refer to my blog post of <a href="http://www.journey-to-better.com/2021/01/forecasting-answering-question-of-when.html">Forecasting</a>.</span></li>
<li><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">De-scope to fit your objectives: explained below.</span></li>
<li><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">As you learn more, repeat those steps just for the changes/additions/removals. </span></li>
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<div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;">A forecast indicating late delivery</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.749019607843137)"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7QABXgKhDUs/X3vVyfwl09I/AAAAAAAAOBo/1ckllI_I55gUE16k_q-h36qxpt_3XTsIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1066/Forecast_of_late_delivery.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="1066" height="190" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7QABXgKhDUs/X3vVyfwl09I/AAAAAAAAOBo/1ckllI_I55gUE16k_q-h36qxpt_3XTsIgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h190/Forecast_of_late_delivery.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></span></span>
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<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Descope to fit your objectives</b></span><br />
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<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">While this is titled as “descoping” it will not descope everything, some items will be deferred for later releases, some will be cut never to return, some will be split with bits done now, later and much later (aka never). Any item that is removed from the current release has reduced the scope of that release and hence will increase the speed at which we can achieve the business outcomes attached to that release.</span><br />
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<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">To stand a good chance of succeeding with this approach you will need to understand the business environment and the objectives that the business (aka stakeholders) are setting out to achieve now and in the near-term. Understanding this will help to guide the splitting and descoping discussions; without this knowledge you are effectively operating blind. </span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The work of “descoping” should be done collaboratively with a small group that represents a cross section of those involved, such as Product Owner, experienced Tester, experienced front-end developer, experienced DevOps developer. This small group should be able to move quickly, creating a view of the work that can then be reviewed more broadly.</span><br />
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<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Together the small group will repeatedly prioritise the backlog, split up larger items and move items between different releases until the delivery forecast indicates we have a chance of success (aka we have a chance of completing the release ahead of the targeted release date).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Forecast after descoping; indicating that delivery will occur ahead of the milestone</span></b></div><div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.749019607843137)"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 20px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pOWLPtazERA/X3vV_4djINI/AAAAAAAAOBs/ITWROToNxaQms9p5BoeQuYs45epJ2sGnwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1028/Forecast_of_ontime_delivery.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="1028" height="199" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pOWLPtazERA/X3vV_4djINI/AAAAAAAAOBs/ITWROToNxaQms9p5BoeQuYs45epJ2sGnwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h199/Forecast_of_ontime_delivery.PNG" width="400" /></a></div></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Prioritise the backlog</b></span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">To figure out what to descope, and what to spend effort splitting up we need to prioritise and order backlog. When I say prioritise the backlog I mean ruthlessly prioritise by value! Forgort MoSCoW prioritisation it is too emotional; “oh I must have that”, “we should have that”. We need to be RUTHLESS! To get you started use “above the line” prioritisation. To do this visualise the backlog, draw a very clear line, then collaborate with the group to end up with only 50% or less of the items above the line. Now draw another line above that line, and repeat. You will end up with three sets of items: Top Priority <25% of the backlog, next priority <25%, and lower priority >=50%. These sets don’t have to correlate to your releases. What these sets give you is a clear view of what is important and not so important. You can even remove those lines if you like, they have no served their purpose. The backlog should also be ordered for dependencies.</span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Split up larger items</b></span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Larger items often hide within them some work that is crucial, some that is nice to have, and some we don’t need to do at all. Splitting up larger items helps us to uncover the work that we can move to later releases or not do at all. </span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I recommend that you find the largest items in your backlog, split them up, move and/or descope those smaller pieces, then go onto the next largest items. The key to remember here is to split the work into vertical slices, it is all about finding what is valuable and what is not so valuable. If you split horizontally the value is spread across all of the split-out items and you will have wasted your time splitting it up in the first place. </span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Move items between different releases</b></span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Whether your work starts out as separate releases/backlogs or as one larger backlog that you cut up into separate releases; having your work in separate releases provides you with flexibility in planning and how you communicate to your stakeholders about what is going to be done when.</span><br />
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<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I recommend that you always have one more release in your backlog then you include in your published delivery forecasts. This is the lowest priority release, the YAGNI release, later, never what ever you want to call it. This dumping ground allows us to keep all of the items around, reducing tough conversations with stakeholders that are deeply attached to something that should never be built. </span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">When you move an item from an earlier release to a later release you increase the chance of the earlier release being completed by its target date. Of course, the work has not disappeared just been deferred. With the rate of the change in most businesses deferring that item may mean it is never done; depending on your point of view that may be a win or a loss. </span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">As your small group updates these releases and their corresponding forecasts of deliver it is important to get the whole team to review them and to share them with your stakeholders.</span></span></div>Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-71724304972376141072019-11-03T20:45:00.003+10:002019-11-29T09:31:45.669+10:00Under cooked Kanban, an opportunity to significantly boost outcomes<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">People proclaim “we are doing Kanban” all of the time, unfortunately
the vast majority of them have an “under cooked” Kanban implementation and
because of that they are missing out on the bulk of the value that Kanban can
provide. “<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jakubjurkiewicz_agile-kanban-agilecoaching-activity-6590675634312306688-_NUh" rel="nofollow">Boardban</a></span>” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or “just pulling in work at will” are
the two most common patterns of under cooked Kanban I see. Both of these
patterns make some people “feel” very productive (usually the developers)
however they produce little benefit to the customer (which is the point of
being productive). These patterns make a small part of the system go fast, but
produce waste, delays and management overheads for many other parts. Kanban is
intended to operate as a cohesive package of principles and practices that
re-enforce and support each other. If you are only doing part of Kanban (under
cooked) I encourage to learn about the rest of Kanban and consider applying all
of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This article highlights the pieces of Kanban that can be
missing from under cooked Kanban, it explains the value that can be gained and
coaching strategies to get you started. Regardless of whether your Kanban is
for a team, a portfolio or a company this article will help you improve the
outcomes of your Kanban implementation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<h1>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Principles of Kanban<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are doing Kanban!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarcastic Response: <i>That’s interesting. “<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban" rel="nofollow">kanban</a></span>” </i> <i>is a signal card used to pull more work into a value stream in a controlled
manner. I don’t see signalling occurring or any control for that matter. Do you
mean you are doing “<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><a href="https://www.kanban.university/" rel="nofollow">The KanbanMethod</a></span>” </i><i>? which is a rigorous approach for evolutionary change of your technology
business? Unfortunately, I cannot see any structure, process, artefact or
cultural norms that indicate your business will evolve into anything other than
being more chaotic than what it is now.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Missing Element: Principles of Kanban<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Helpful Response: <i>Great, I am glad that you have decided
to pursue evolutionary change for your business with “The Kanban Method”; it
has been proven to work in many different situations and I am confident it can
work here too. To have the best chance of successful outcomes with the Kanban
Method we should be following its Principles.</i></span></div>
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<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Start with what you do now</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Agree to pursue incremental, evolutionary change</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Respect the current process, roles &
responsibilities</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Encourage acts of leadership at ALL levels.</span></li>
</ol>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you have the whole management team onboard with the
principles of the Kanban Method? They will be crucial in the coming
months/years as your people collaborate to change the business. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While we started with your existing process,
roles and structure (as per principles 1 & 3) we will likely change some or
all of that in the future. Without strong management support the necessary
changes will be blocked or delayed significantly reducing the outcome Kanban
can help you to achieve. That is why principle 2 is “Agree to pursue
incremental, evolutionary change.” We will also need management support for
principle 4 “encourage acts of leadership at ALL levels”; we need them to
actively support this AND to active not undermine it. Having them on board with
this from the beginning will allow us to make the most of any “leadership”
opportunities that arise.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are doing Kanban, because it is better than X<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarcastic Response: <i>You are seeking to change your
business because you heard Kanban was better/easier than X. But you have no
goal, no objectives, seemingly no purpose. It must be time to declare victory already
and move on.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Missing Element: Purpose and objectives for the change<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Helpful Response:<i> Are you and the management team clear
on your current situation? I highly recommend <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/statik-systems-thinking-approach-implementing-kanban-david-anderson/" rel="nofollow">System thinking approach to implementing Kanban (STATIK)</a></span></i> <i>as an approach to figure out your current situation and what your initial
Kanban system should be. STATIK will help you know how fast or how responsible
you need to be, among other things. It will help you to define your goals. On
that note, are you and the management team clear on what you want to
accomplish? Broadly speaking everyone is seeking to improve some of these items,
while maintain the rest. Have you formally agreed what you working towards,
even if it is just in the short term?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What are you aiming to improve by using Kanban? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Responsiveness | Delivery faster or change direction faster</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Efficiency | Reduce your costs</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Reliability | Increase your predictability and/or ability to
forecast into the future.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Innovation of product or service | Produce more value or
produce new value.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Quality of product or service | Improve the intrinsic
quality or make it easier to support</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Morale | Make your people happier or retain them for longer</span></li>
</ul>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you would like assistance with running a STATIK workshop
please <a href="mailto:andrewrusling@hotmail.com">contact me</a>.</span></div>
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<h1>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Practices of Kanban<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With the principles agreed with everyone involved, we are
ready to implement the practices of the Kanban Method.</span></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One: Visualise the work</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Two: Limit your WIP</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Three: Manage flow</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Four: Implement feedback loops </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Five: Create explicit policies</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Six: Continuous collaborative evolutionary improvement</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">None of the other practices are feasible without the first
practice ‘Visualise your work’ being in place. Most Kanban implementations have
this in place, yet few get past it. Without ‘limiting the work in progress’
(practice 2) it is not feasible to ‘manage flow’ (principle 3), also the other
practices are significantly hampered in how much value they can provide. The
remaining practices (Implement feedback loops, create explicit policies, evolve
collaboratively and continuously) work a lot better when all of the practices
are implemented together. Consequently, I view the practices in three sets that
have sequential dependencies. Set 1 (visualise your work), Set 2 (Limit your
WIP), Set 3 (all of the other practices). Most Kanban implementations visualise
the work to some degree (set 1), some apply implementation Limit their WIP (set
2), very few get on the other practices (set 3) and hence miss out on a lot of
value.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are doing Kanban.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarcastic Response<i>: Great to see you don’t waste time
visualising your work, you are so lean. You must be completing all of your work
so quickly that there is no point showing progress? Your customers must be over
the moon with your performance.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Missing Element: Practice of Visualising the work (zero
visualisation)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UDSZ-5Dd50w/Xb6uyiunveI/AAAAAAAAKB4/MFBBWUEJV5E6uzE9cZbDxWEbjSCz_dUjQCEwYBhgL/s1600/_KANBAN_Practices_01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="1035" height="280" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UDSZ-5Dd50w/Xb6uyiunveI/AAAAAAAAKB4/MFBBWUEJV5E6uzE9cZbDxWEbjSCz_dUjQCEwYBhgL/s640/_KANBAN_Practices_01.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Helpful Response: <i>Having your management and people doing
the work bought into the principles of Kanban is a really solid foundation. Are
you ready to start implementing the practices of Kanban? Good, I would
recommend that we start by visualising all of the work. This helps manage our
work, is easy to do and is the skeleton that the rest of the Kanban practices
attach to.</i> <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are doing Kanban; see we have a board! <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarcastic Response: <i>That is great news! “<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jakubjurkiewicz_agile-kanban-agilecoaching-activity-6590675634312306688-_NUh" rel="nofollow">Boardban</a></span>” makes everyone except the customer feel better. People can work on whatever
they want whenever they want; always being busy allows your people to feel
productive while generating immense amounts of waste. Managers can see work
sitting in the blocked column for months; and staff can explain to them how
busy they are.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Missing Element: Practice of Visualise the work
(incomplete/ineffective visualisation)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UDSZ-5Dd50w/Xb6uyiunveI/AAAAAAAAKCQ/ftk-dC_MZoodlxRqVNQCRVSOxNFkN4FjwCEwYBhgL/s1600/_KANBAN_Practices_01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="1035" height="280" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UDSZ-5Dd50w/Xb6uyiunveI/AAAAAAAAKCQ/ftk-dC_MZoodlxRqVNQCRVSOxNFkN4FjwCEwYBhgL/s640/_KANBAN_Practices_01.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Helpful Response: <i>That is a good start, visualising the
work helps your people to better manage themselves and the outcomes.
Visualising your work can also act as a subconscious limiter of the amount of
work. To achieve more value from Kanban consider asking yourself these
questions:</i></span></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you have all of your work visualised? Have all of your people visualised their work? Without ALL of the work visualised:</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Decisions about how to complete the work will be made with incomplete information, leading to poor decisions.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Delays and bottlenecks could be hidden.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You are unable to effectively move onto the next practice of limiting your WIP. There is no point reducing the flow from a visible garden hose, if there is a hidden fire hose on full, flooding your pool.</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Can your people self-select their next work item? Does your visualisation provide all of the information they need to make an effective decision? Can you see the following?</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The workflow steps. Not process steps, the workflow steps. All steps from Idea to Cash.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The assignee or lead on each item.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The breakdown of work (which parent item do the children relate to)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Clear description of each work item</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The items which are blocked.</span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are doing Kanban; see I can pick up a new work item from
the board whenever I like!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarcastic Response: <i>That is great news! I see here you
have 23 items in progress, you must be so productive. Oh, everyone is really
busy, there is a mountain of work on this board. [Looking closer] Most of them
are blocked, when you get blocked, do you just pick up another item, and keep
on working.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Missing Element: Practice of Limiting Work In Progress (WIP)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s-ZXprniFJU/Xb6uyYBLchI/AAAAAAAAKCQ/Q_qgYKcsrb0JALnKWxGYm3ect1KS-MkMgCEwYBhgL/s1600/_KANBAN_Practices_02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="1047" height="272" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s-ZXprniFJU/Xb6uyYBLchI/AAAAAAAAKCQ/Q_qgYKcsrb0JALnKWxGYm3ect1KS-MkMgCEwYBhgL/s640/_KANBAN_Practices_02.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Helpful Response: <i>This board is very helpful, I am glad
that you have it up and showing all of your work, this will allow us to bring
in the other Kanban practices; which in turn will allow us to achieve our
stated objectives (refer above for more details). The hardest step of Kanban is
now before us, time to start limiting our work in progress.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Limiting WIP to deliver more value is a counter intuitive
concept. It is a significant coaching challenge to help people get past their
intuitive view. Some of the concepts to convey that help to get this across
include</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">The big goal we are working towards is to
deliver value to our customer.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Littles Law – the mathematical proof behind
Limiting WIP leads to increase throughput.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Limiting WIP, increases throughput, even if staff
feel less productive.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
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<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are doing Kanban, there is a WIP limit on our “In
Progress” column<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarcastic Response: <i>So, that one limit has optimised the
flow of value to your customers. You must be a luckiest Kanban practitioner
alive.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Missing Element: Practice of Managing Flow<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u1yd6clY6Wg/Xb6uzZpcDII/AAAAAAAAKCY/vzj3j41s62AC_in3tFeP_zIRLf3cBYZNwCEwYBhgL/s1600/_KANBAN_Practices_03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="1042" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u1yd6clY6Wg/Xb6uzZpcDII/AAAAAAAAKCY/vzj3j41s62AC_in3tFeP_zIRLf3cBYZNwCEwYBhgL/s640/_KANBAN_Practices_03.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Helpful Responses: <i>It is refreshing to talk to someone who realises that limiting WIP delivers great results. It seems as if you are not actively managing the flow, this presents a great opportunity to get closer to your objectives.</i></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Flow of value</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Does your board visual the workflow up to the customer obtaining value? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you apply classes of service to manage your different types of work?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have you applied the Theory of Constraints (especially the five focusing steps)? TOC helps us to increase flow in an economically sound and sustainable manner.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Limiting WIP to increase flow</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How do you limit your WIP? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have you tried limits other than column limits? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have you separated each workflow state into “doing” and “ready”?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you stick within your limits, when they are about to be breached do your people meet to discuss how/should this occur and also should the system be changed? </span></li>
</ul>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Waste</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What have you done to identify and remove the waste in your system? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have you limited your WIP until it exposed the delays in your system? Aka If your WIP limits have not caused pain you haven’t lowered them enough to find the delays in your system. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you “Follow the work, not the worker”? This encourages better discussions and helps your staff make economically sound decisions.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are doing Kanban, meetings and reviews are wasteful so
we don’t do them.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarcastic Response: <i>That is fantastic, our market never
changes and we have no risks, so there is no need to spend time understanding
them. I see everyone is 100% aligned to our development approach which is
working flawlessly, so no need to spend time on that either.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Missing Element: Practice of Creating feedback loops <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X9ezk6cG078/Xb6uzEb0UkI/AAAAAAAAKCU/PcG45JIdNoIeNsdi9SmYerqKyhPsP_g3gCEwYBhgL/s1600/_KANBAN_Practices_04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="1185" height="278" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X9ezk6cG078/Xb6uzEb0UkI/AAAAAAAAKCU/PcG45JIdNoIeNsdi9SmYerqKyhPsP_g3gCEwYBhgL/s640/_KANBAN_Practices_04.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Helpful Response: <i>You are managing your flow and that
seems to be producing results, for now. The market you are in, and company you
are part of and the work you are asked to do, is continuously changing; do you
have approaches in place to identify and adjust to those changes? Kanban
addresses this with <span style="color: white;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><a href="https://leankanban.com/kanban-cadences/" rel="nofollow">feedback loops</a></span> </span></i><i>,
aka a series of meetings with defined purpose, appropriate cadence, suitable
input of both data and people. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps
we could review them and understand which would provide value for your
situation.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UZD86TDLu_8/Xb6u0KlQTBI/AAAAAAAAKCc/aSBxipsEQWQguXR7XJpKelp63Jjn6OH4gCEwYBhgL/s1600/_KANBAN_Practices_07.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="1184" height="354" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UZD86TDLu_8/Xb6u0KlQTBI/AAAAAAAAKCc/aSBxipsEQWQguXR7XJpKelp63Jjn6OH4gCEwYBhgL/s640/_KANBAN_Practices_07.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are doing Kanban; we don’t waste time recording the
process<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarcastic Response: <i>That is elegant; your process is so
simple, that all of your staff have memorised all of the rules and regularly
enacts them correctly, that is very lean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Missing Element: Practice of Creating explicit policies<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c-7anE_VUws/Xb6uzI6CuuI/AAAAAAAAKCc/PSbeoU13hLIKqdKVuxtwgRfnQ-Ls6bDgQCEwYBhgL/s1600/_KANBAN_Practices_05.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="1195" height="282" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c-7anE_VUws/Xb6uzI6CuuI/AAAAAAAAKCc/PSbeoU13hLIKqdKVuxtwgRfnQ-Ls6bDgQCEwYBhgL/s640/_KANBAN_Practices_05.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Helpful Response: <i>You do have a process though? Yes of
course you do. What good is a process is only some people know it? What good is
a process if some people are deliberately doing something different? Assuming
those people are acting in the best interests of the company (which is likely)
that would indicate the process is either wrong or incomplete. Kanban is a very
process driven approach; that empowers everyone equally and removes heroes as
the only way things get done. Explicit policies and the next practice of evolving
collaboratively and continuously and tightly linked. Without explicit public
policies how can your staff collaborate to change the policies?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some lines of inquiry to help with creating explicit policies</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Where are the policies currently recorded? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do they cover the whole approach? Are they consistent? Are the simple?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Are the WIP/Constraints visualised next to the work? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Can your staff see the policies when deciding what next step to take?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Can your staff see the policies when they are reflecting on how the current system is working? </span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>We have been doing Kanban for over a year it has been
great from the start</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarcastic Response: <i>Brilliant, so you got your process
completely correct from the start. No need to tweak, improve or refine it, that
is amazing! Ah I see so you do refine it, by yourself, ah yeah, no need to
involve the others who do the work, better to keep them busy, they aren’t
interested in how the system works as long as it works. Plus, you have a much
better understanding of what changes are needed anyway. And no need for
experiments, just make the changes that you know will work, you are the manager
after all.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Missing Element: Practice of evolving collaboratively and
continuously.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pmqsNBaWwzY/Xb6uz776J2I/AAAAAAAAKCc/pBkyQ-3ZfykuVefCrf7whUXMVKtSzPdVgCEwYBhgL/s1600/_KANBAN_Practices_06.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="1193" height="246" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pmqsNBaWwzY/Xb6uz776J2I/AAAAAAAAKCc/pBkyQ-3ZfykuVefCrf7whUXMVKtSzPdVgCEwYBhgL/s640/_KANBAN_Practices_06.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Helpful Response: <i>You have all of the other pieces of the
puzzle; it is time to unlock it through continuous evolutionary change done in
a collaborative manner. It is the practice that ties Kanban together and
delivers significant benefits over the long term; both in terms of staff
engagement and achieving all of you other objectives. To get started it is
ideal to have all of the principles and practices of Kanban in effect. We then
need to add in suitable metrics and a scientific approach to running
experiments on your system. The feedback loops we established earlier provide
ample opportunity to carry out the work of evolving your system.</i> <i>Overtime
the validated experiments that embed as the new way of working will maximise
the value you deliver.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Summary<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You don’t have to use Kanban. You can “under cook” Kanban
and get some value out of it. To maximise your outcomes from Kanban, I
recommend you apply all of its principles and practices. For assistance with
this please <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><a href="mailto:andrewrusling@hotmail.com">contact me</a></span>,
to discuss how I can support your business to achieve more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-76444243353211449642019-10-18T20:19:00.003+10:002019-11-29T09:31:38.082+10:00Mindset for lean start-up success<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DUyit_E5GPI/XamRd__A-1I/AAAAAAAAJ3c/IY1GgEDVd0walzWzy7h8xe9Lw4H0i_s9wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/xx_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DUyit_E5GPI/XamRd__A-1I/AAAAAAAAJ3c/IY1GgEDVd0walzWzy7h8xe9Lw4H0i_s9wCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/xx_01.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Lean start-up achieves success through experimentation
and Experimentation involves following a set of processes. With an output
focused mindset, the processes seem cumbersome, over the top and a waste of
time. When you think you already know what will lead to your desired outcome,
experimentation seems wasteful. Just going through the motions of running an
experiment won’t aid your learning and will just slow you down; so the
experimentation is wasteful thinking becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. This
is something that we need to flip on its head for the Lean Start-up to have a
chance of success. It is with a “Learning will lead to Outcomes” mindset that
the value of those processes becomes clear. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_R7I0Euyu64/XamRlhylVzI/AAAAAAAAJ3g/oKG39_cfTLUi9ozmCLrbLmwd_FsWIHMbgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/xx_02.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="916" height="221" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_R7I0Euyu64/XamRlhylVzI/AAAAAAAAJ3g/oKG39_cfTLUi9ozmCLrbLmwd_FsWIHMbgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/xx_02.PNG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We can start by promoting belief in the idea that
experimentation leads to learning, which leads to outcomes and outcomes are
more valuable than outputs. As people increase their belief in experimentation
they tend to practice experimentation more rigorously and more frequently. This
tends them towards perfect practice, which leads to their experiments
generating more knowledge. As they gather more knowledge from their experiments
they gain clarity around which outputs are more likely to lead to outcomes.
With that clarity they can focus in on a smaller set of outputs with a good
chance of producing a positive outcome. The effort saved can either be put
towards working on other outputs with a good chance of success or entirely
different endeavours. Either way those that apply experimentation
appropriately, learn more and importantly deliver improved outcomes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-76123567394799246842019-10-01T21:45:00.003+10:002019-11-29T09:31:28.856+10:00Feedback Dojo<div style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 105%;">Doing the basics brilliantly is a foundation from which
organisations can achieve greatness. Doing the basics brilliantly comes from
lots of little, almost insignificant things, done really well, done really well
each and every day. We are talking about behaviour, the ingrained behaviour of
all of our staff. Some of this behaviour can be established through sharing a
vision, holding shared values, establishing a sense of purpose, clear
frameworks & process along with understanding how they contribute to the
organisation. Yet there is still a large amount of behaviour that can only be
refined in a nuanced, ongoing, day by day, bit by bit approach, by those close
to the people in question. Feedback enables us to bridge that gap and steer our
people towards doing the basics brilliantly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 105%;">To achieve positive changes in behaviour feedback needs to come
from a foundation of trust, delivered at the right time, in a private space. It
is also crucial that it is delivered in a neutral way with a focus on behaviour
instead of opinion. With many aspects of this skill required for it to be
applied successful, lots of people struggle to provide effective feedback. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/andrewrusling/feedback-dojo-176536115">Feedback Dojo</a> is proven to
quickly develop the ability of participants to deliver effective feedback. That
feedback leads to positive changes in behaviour in their peers, colleagues and
direct reports.</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hGUNfotj1PI/XZM8PbunVrI/AAAAAAAAJtQ/5gBCVR2Pt1E3sYzH0duiPxh6FOsv5EStQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="1388" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hGUNfotj1PI/XZM8PbunVrI/AAAAAAAAJtQ/5gBCVR2Pt1E3sYzH0duiPxh6FOsv5EStQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Capture.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span>Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-19411260948793936382019-09-24T20:30:00.000+10:002019-11-29T09:31:06.392+10:00How to dramatically improve your product<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let us image… you have found your spark, you have explored
the market space and found a problem worth solving, you now even have part of
the product that may solve that problem. Your objective is to make the product
the best thing for solving that problem. You have been working on this for
months maybe even a year or more. The product passes all of your automated test
but how do you know customers will actually be able to use it to solve their
problem? When you think about how your product works you view it as a clear
path to success, similar to the image below.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bdL88zdOYG0/XYnvV1khRgI/AAAAAAAAJpQ/imAHOvyZe_slq2PumlM5JAqCXMRD6DHgwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/w_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="682" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bdL88zdOYG0/XYnvV1khRgI/AAAAAAAAJpQ/imAHOvyZe_slq2PumlM5JAqCXMRD6DHgwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/w_01.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You enter some information, tweak this, change that, press a
button and taa-dah, the problem is solved! Unfortunately, we are often blinded
by our closeness to the product. What our users often see is similar to the
image below. A bewildering array of choices, with no clear path forward. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KEIr4t_RDGA/XYnvcR4YxWI/AAAAAAAAJpU/2chZxtzVqzkIT6uhw6DL3IrN64LPXYDxQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/w_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KEIr4t_RDGA/XYnvcR4YxWI/AAAAAAAAJpU/2chZxtzVqzkIT6uhw6DL3IrN64LPXYDxQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/w_02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How can we show them the path? This is where Observational Testing
comes in. Observational Testing allows us to understand the pains of our user
allowing us to remove those pains and improve our product.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On Metacritic.com Half life 2 is the highest rated PC game
of all time; Half life 1 comes in at #4. Both games are made by Valve
corporation. One of the key practices that Valve used to take their games from
mediocre to great is Observational Testing. They call it Play Testing. Valve
would get in volunteers to sit and play their partially finished game, while
members of the team would observe them and take notes. The team was not allowed
to say anything to the player.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Quoting from Ken Birdwell a senior designer there: “Nothing
is quite so humbling as being forced to watch in silence as some poor
play-tester stumbles around your level for 20 minutes, unable to figure out the
"obvious" answer that you now realize is completely arbitrary and
impossible to figure out.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A two-hour play test would result in 100 or so "action
items" — things that needed to be fixed, changed, added, or deleted from
the game. That is a phenomenal amount of feedback.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BMhVZdZHHOQ/XYnviCgua8I/AAAAAAAAJpY/32mbr9LWS6A-CE6SGUoHWrVLtRmWxqBOwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/w_03.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="926" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BMhVZdZHHOQ/XYnviCgua8I/AAAAAAAAJpY/32mbr9LWS6A-CE6SGUoHWrVLtRmWxqBOwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/w_03.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I personally ran many observational tests when developing
prototype games “Planty”, “Bargain Variety Store” & “Siege Breakers”, at
Halfbrick Studios. I can tell you that observational tests are easy to run,
horribly painful and immensely beneficial all at once. That hair pulling
frustration of the user seeing a forest of trees while you see a clear path
really pushes you to improve your product.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Running an Observational Test is straight forward:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bring
in a customer or potential customer. This bit is hard.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Provide
them an objective to achieve in the test, either verbally or written out.
This could be a hypothesis you want to test.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While
they attempt to achieve the objective, video record over their shoulder (a
smart phone will do just fine).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Observe
what they do/don’t do; while not saying anything or offering any guidance.
This is the hard part.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Afterwards
ask what they were thinking at key steps (i.e. when they got stuck, when
they achieved success).</span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Observational Testing is how you can dramatically improve
your product. It brings three key benefits:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Challenge your design approach. Are we tackling this problem
in the right way?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Validate hypothesis. As mentioned the objective you provide
at the start could determine if they will use the product in the way you
anticipated. Can they understand the information provided? Etc.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dramatically increase usability. This is moving them from
the forest to the path, and is the most evident benefit when people start to
use Observational Testing.</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Halfbrick Studios maintains full Copyright over Siege
Breakers, Planty and Bargain Variety Store.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Reference: <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131815/the_cabal_valves_design_process_.php?page=3" rel="nofollow">Play Testing process described</a><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Reference: <a href="https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/259479/Classic_Postmortem_The_making_of_HalfLife_2.php">Keep play testing for HL2</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Photo Reference: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eggrole/7524458398</span></div>
<br />Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-83123316038081845212019-06-20T16:19:00.003+10:002020-02-01T17:19:28.838+10:00High Performance Agile Team Training Available<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Get training in the skills that lead to high performance teams; skills that attendees will use every week. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Basic agile training gives teams a good head-start and a significant boost in performance is often seen. However, that performance often stagnates well before high performance is achieved. How can you get your team to the next level? This training course addresses that gap. Attendees will build upon their foundation level agile training and be taught the skills that regularly lead to high-performance teams. Learning skills that are easy to replicate in their own team. Attendees will finish the course ready to add value to their team. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Sustained high performance for their team will then be achieved through collaboration that harnesses the full strength of their team, clear customer centric goals and amplified delivery capability. The content and aims of this course closely align to the Heart of Agile (heartofagile.com) from Alistair Cockburn. Crammed full of interactive exercises, working in pairs or small groups gets you to experience the skill. The briefest of presentation material is used to introduce the exercises; this course is heavily skills focused.<br /><br />Andrew Rusling will deliver the course, bringing with him, his experience of training over 400 people in agile, Lean, Scrum and Kanban; as well as transforming five companies. Andrew has the passion, experience and capability to provide an engaging and thought-provoking experience.<br /><br />Attendee will Learn and Experience:</span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Creating a Team Charter with Vision Statement, Values, Working Agreement, Decision Making Strategy and Proactive conflict management strategy. When they do this with their teams it will provides a foundation for their collaboration, reflection and customer centricity.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Collaborative approaches to: ideation, design, problem solving, decision making, & planning.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Easy to repeat skills for coaching and developing their team members. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Customer interviews - how to understand the world of their customers.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Experiment design, and execution.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Verifying User Stories will deliver value for the customer.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Measuring Outcomes (customer behaviour) over Outputs (delivered product).</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Observational testing - how to dramatically improve the Customers Experience.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Creating Continuous improvement actions that actually get completed</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Probabilistic forecasting for predictable planning</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Going faster by delivering less of the scope than we think we need.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Visualise flow of work, removing waste & limiting work in progress to expedite delivery.</span></span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you are located in South East Queensland, Australia and interested in this course, please contact me: andrewrusling@hotmail.com</span></div>
Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-22463416209335994542019-01-30T09:04:00.002+10:002023-11-06T09:17:05.217+10:00Avoiding vanity metrics with Cohort Analysis<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CE4BAXu0q80/XFDbHMogeoI/AAAAAAAAGuY/guOLdsQN-qU39m5VdmPX-aFa11BRbB1BQCLcBGAs/s1600/v_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CE4BAXu0q80/XFDbHMogeoI/AAAAAAAAGuY/guOLdsQN-qU39m5VdmPX-aFa11BRbB1BQCLcBGAs/s400/v_01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At <a href="https://halfbrick.com/" rel="nofollow">Halfbrick Studios</a> the “Rebel Alliance” team was working on <a href="https://halfbrick.com/our-games/fruit-ninja-fight/" rel="nofollow">Fruit Ninja Fight</a>. They
had validated their Problem/Market fit and were now in the Product Validation
phase. Following a company-wide play test, they had refined the core game play
and were ready to start an alpha trial with external players.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were the experiments they planned out to release into
the alpha over six weeks</span></div>
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<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Baseline version, just basic game, no
progression</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Improved tutorial</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">UI/UX tweaks</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First trial of progression system</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Second trial of a different progression system</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Third trial of a different progression system</span></li>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ey5V3xIXrRc/XFDbN1qKmII/AAAAAAAAGuc/ph61I74K2VgA8TCqEfvT_RCqzwuHoVBKQCLcBGAs/s1600/v_02.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="920" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ey5V3xIXrRc/XFDbN1qKmII/AAAAAAAAGuc/ph61I74K2VgA8TCqEfvT_RCqzwuHoVBKQCLcBGAs/s400/v_02.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Looking at their experiments through the lens of a Total
Retention report (above).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">End of Week 2: Improved tutorial, we saw a slight
improvement over the base version.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">End of Week 3: UI/UX tweaks, produced a solid increase in
retained users</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">End of Week 4: First trial of progression system, solid
increase again. progression system is working</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">End of Week 5: Second trial of different progression system,
great improvement, seems like second progress system is the best.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">End of Week 6: Third trial of different progression system,
some improvement, confirms second progress system was the best</span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pyL2uFn2LoY/XFDbVkBSjuI/AAAAAAAAGug/rmBo1YeqNeohyLLlcATzEn23fBSGZUCYwCLcBGAs/s1600/v_03.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="921" height="223" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pyL2uFn2LoY/XFDbVkBSjuI/AAAAAAAAGug/rmBo1YeqNeohyLLlcATzEn23fBSGZUCYwCLcBGAs/s400/v_03.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now let us look at those same experiments when we add Cohort
Size to the Retention report. By cohort I mean how many players did the add to
the Alpha test each week. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you can see they started to add more and more players
each week as they went along.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What does this mean for the Total Retention report? Its
flawed, near useless for judging the outcomes of experiments. This is what the
Lean Start-up describes as a vanity metric.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It will always keep increasing, and by boosting the cohort
size the trend seems to change, so we can’t see what outcome we have achieved
from each experiment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the world of games just using this report is a death
sentence. Unless you work out what is keeping players in the game you need to
keep adding more and more players, the cost of find these players keeps
increasing and very soon the game becomes unprofitable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now let us look at those same experiments through the lens
of Cohort Analysis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the X Axis you can see the percentage of people retained
from each cohort. This automatically rules out influence by varying cohort
size.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can see that the baseline version, version with improved
tutorial and version with UI/UX tweaks perform about the same. Meaning the
tutorial offered NO improvement and the UI/UX tweaks were a waste of time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first two progression systems show a meaningful jump
from the first three cohorts, but both performed similar to each other. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cohort 6, the third progress system to be trialled, so far
appears to be the clear winner out of the three progression systems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cohort Analysis shows us the true story of how each of our
versions is working out. We learnt to avoid vanity metrics and focus on Cohort
Analysis focused on our validated learning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Halfbrick Studios retains all rights over Fruit Ninja Fight
and all associated IP<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-75259716275152317582018-12-03T20:03:00.002+10:002020-04-23T16:22:01.978+10:00High performance teams<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Does your team have a reasonable stable throughput or
velocity? Have they improved and optimised their way to what you would consider
their peak velocity or throughput? Would you say that teams that are at their
peak throughput are High Performing teams? They sure appear to be, relative to
other teams that are less mature, have an unstable velocity or have not reached
their peak velocity. Unfortunately, the assumption in all of that is that
“velocity equates to performance”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y0up0g0Ee9c/XAT_L4Y5WbI/AAAAAAAAGHo/z90xiIaidBI4EGVqQ5zrTHBs-cFqHnwGACLcBGAs/s1600/yy_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y0up0g0Ee9c/XAT_L4Y5WbI/AAAAAAAAGHo/z90xiIaidBI4EGVqQ5zrTHBs-cFqHnwGACLcBGAs/s400/yy_01.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Looking at this race car, if we measured it on the
horsepower of its engine would that equate to the outcome of a race? Of course
not. It would be a contributing factor for sure, but so much else goes into
deciding what place this car will finish in a race: fuel, suspension,
transmission, tyre choice, on and on, and of course the driver.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is the same for our teams, while velocity is a good
measure of horsepower; it is a poor predictor of where the team would finish in
the corporate race.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-odMMsEear2o/XAT_TZHuRYI/AAAAAAAAGHs/oEzC5j14L0wkbE-iqarelqYx-r3rmcY0ACLcBGAs/s1600/yy_02.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="840" height="193" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-odMMsEear2o/XAT_TZHuRYI/AAAAAAAAGHs/oEzC5j14L0wkbE-iqarelqYx-r3rmcY0ACLcBGAs/s400/yy_02.PNG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Velocity measures our outputs; such as deploying live
features, updates or fixes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For our outputs to be valuable they must produce a positive
outcome. That is, they must change customer behaviour, such customers use our
product for longer, write positive reviews, or we acquire new profitable
customers. A feature that doesn’t change customers behaviour generally has no
value. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For our outcomes to be valuable they must produce a positive
impact: That is, they must increase revenue, increase profit, increase
reputation or for charities deliver greater social benefit. A change in
customer behaviour that doesn’t produce a positive impact for the company
generally has no value. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While it is valuable to produce outputs, it is much more
valuable to produce outcomes; as these have a much closer correlation to
achieving impact; which what we are really here for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hence, I propose that a team that is regularly delivering
positive outcomes, is a high performing team. When I think back on all of the
great teams that I have been a part of we were regularly achieving positive
behavioural changes in our customers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-40644762188362157432018-10-30T20:05:00.003+10:002023-11-06T09:12:29.610+10:00Illusion of Choice<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let’s imagine that you have accepted an invite to hang out
at my place. Creepy I know. Anyway, we are chatting and realise that it would
be good to have some music playing. I say “pick an album from my collection,
anything you like…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hBpLOxL55P8/W9gsT6gErfI/AAAAAAAAF3g/yy0SWiro5OUavSORgeUV-SugyrQ3Z5fIACLcBGAs/s1600/zz_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="983" data-original-width="1600" height="392" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hBpLOxL55P8/W9gsT6gErfI/AAAAAAAAF3g/yy0SWiro5OUavSORgeUV-SugyrQ3Z5fIACLcBGAs/s640/zz_01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is there an album in there that you would choose to listen
to? Was what you really wanted to listen to? This is the illusion of choice.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I do this as a presentation, roughly half the attendees
answer Yes to the first question, then roughly half of them drop their hand for
the second question. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The illusion of choice is one sure way to ruin a Lean
Start-up experiment. If you fall into the illusion of choice you are just
re-enforcing your pre-existing notion of what is true. Should you continue to
do this you will not learn the truth from your experiments. Read on to see what
I mean.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pS0lE7ETi9k/W9gsa1Ld8nI/AAAAAAAAF3k/03t2zlKszBQjFRX4YYF2V4I-Ql557Cr4gCLcBGAs/s1600/zz_02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="768" height="223" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pS0lE7ETi9k/W9gsa1Ld8nI/AAAAAAAAF3k/03t2zlKszBQjFRX4YYF2V4I-Ql557Cr4gCLcBGAs/s400/zz_02.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Telstra Wholesale started its journey to Open APIs;
they came armed with a survey from their 200+ customers about which APIs were
most important to them. Unfortunately, the list of APIs to choose from was
provided by Telstra, a bit like my CD collection. The customers dutifully prioritise that list and there were
some clear winners. Telstra built those APIs and deployed them, guess how many
customers installed them? That’s right ZERO.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank fully Telstra Wholesale realised their mistake and
went to their customers. This time they asked them how they used APIs, how APIs
helped their business. Through this they found some common themes. They built
and deployed the most needed API and got immediate uptake. The uptake increased
as the expanded the first API and added more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To apply this concept: </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Surveys need to be open not closed, otherwise we just
confirm our own guesses.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AE-xJk9Iq3A/W9gsl6MYeqI/AAAAAAAAF3o/AFknM6DjDEgvOcO4WWVR4piFZ8p-ooQ7QCLcBGAs/s1600/zz_03.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="852" height="249" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AE-xJk9Iq3A/W9gsl6MYeqI/AAAAAAAAF3o/AFknM6DjDEgvOcO4WWVR4piFZ8p-ooQ7QCLcBGAs/s640/zz_03.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The survey on the left is easier for our respondents to fill
in and easier for you to analyse, however it is a closed survey. The survey on
the left requires more effort from our respondent and a lot more analysis
effort on your behalf; however, it is open and will generate more knowledge. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are more approaches to keeping a survey open, but this
is a key one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-73606176680963262642018-08-09T15:45:00.002+10:002023-11-06T09:14:44.203+10:00Who does the work requiring an expert in another team<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Classic situation that tests our agile thinking… Team
Neptune and Team Saturn are two mature agile teams. Team Neptune has a sizable
chunk of upcoming work that centres around “System/Framework/Technology X” for
which, one particular member of Team Saturn is the expert. The involvement of
this expert will be crucial to the success of Team Neptune’s work. The
challenge comes in how we can achieve the chunk of work without damaging /
disrupting one or both teams.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“System/Framework/Technology X” It could be an ancient
system that the expert helped to design and build with everyone else who worked
on it now departed from the company. It could be a framework that the expert
has deep experience in, etc, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Generally what I see is that the expert is not needed for
all of the work, however there is a central and crucial piece of work that they
need to be involved in. You can see that in the diagrams below as the gray
square “crucial piece” within the blue chunk of work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have seen three approaches used to handle this situation: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype
id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t"
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<v:stroke joinstyle="miter"/>
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<v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"/>
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<v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/>
<o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"/>
</v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_4" o:spid="_x0000_i1027" type="#_x0000_t75"
style='width:451.5pt;height:155.25pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'>
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o:title=""/>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bsy3mSCOAtU/W2vT_9JKNxI/AAAAAAAAEpM/oku9AJt6ZgkycV-XQef8tWj8nbfsihs1ACLcBGAs/s1600/A.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="906" height="216" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bsy3mSCOAtU/W2vT_9JKNxI/AAAAAAAAEpM/oku9AJt6ZgkycV-XQef8tWj8nbfsihs1ACLcBGAs/s640/A.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Approach A.</b> For the duration of the chunk of work, the
expert becomes a temporary member of Team Neptune and takes a leading hand in
the work. They leave Team Saturn for the duration, attending none of their
ceremonies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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id="Picture_x0020_5" o:spid="_x0000_i1026" type="#_x0000_t75" style='width:451.5pt;
height:154.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'>
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Bus\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.png"
o:title=""/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iDyUiGkHH40/W2vUHKHTGYI/AAAAAAAAEpQ/2fMOYId7QsI7L66Ash7bTfocAKBq1toIgCLcBGAs/s1600/B.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="927" height="217" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iDyUiGkHH40/W2vUHKHTGYI/AAAAAAAAEpQ/2fMOYId7QsI7L66Ash7bTfocAKBq1toIgCLcBGAs/s640/B.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Approach B.</b> For the duration of the chunk of work, the
expert takes a leading hand in the work; attending both teams ceremonies for
the duration of the chunk of work. The expert remains a permanent member of
Team Saturn. With a foot in both teams the expert is able to progress the work
of both teams, with a focus on the Team Neptune work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
id="Picture_x0020_6" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" style='width:450.75pt;
height:151.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'>
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Bus\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.png"
o:title=""/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jiJHRO5dA_E/W2vUMg6ezoI/AAAAAAAAEpU/R3xLoZ671WYomovQvfzVkayK-E0gPrW1gCLcBGAs/s1600/C.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="928" height="214" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jiJHRO5dA_E/W2vUMg6ezoI/AAAAAAAAEpU/R3xLoZ671WYomovQvfzVkayK-E0gPrW1gCLcBGAs/s640/C.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Approach C. </b>Part of the work is allocated to Team Saturn who
completes the work and hands it back to Team Neptune. The expert remains a
permanent member of Team Saturn. Team Saturn also takes on a piece of work to provide
knowledge transfer / training to Team Neptune. The expert attends design /
planning ceremonies for Team Neptune and all of his Team Saturn ceremonies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All three approaches involve sharing, helping each other,
cross skilling and a big effort from the expert. Approach C has regularly proven
to be the best approach when this situation has arisen. The reasons I believe
delivers a good result are:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both teams remain unchanged in regards to people; keeping
their sense of team.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Clear focus for both teams, and especially for the expert.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No duplication of ceremonies eating into the experts’ time.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Keeps management mindset on split up the work to match the teams;
i.e. promoting Stable teams.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Improved opportunities for members of Team Saturn to
contribute to the work, hence improving the cross skilling.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How have you handled similar situations? What worked well
for you?</span></div>
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Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-29342859892684668622018-05-30T09:17:00.005+10:002023-11-06T09:15:06.928+10:00Review of “Certified LeSS Practitioner” three day course by Venkatesh (Venki) Krishnamurthy<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The first two days of </span><a href="https://less.works/course-details/certified-less-practitioner-brisbane-791" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Certified LeSS Practitione</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">r</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> were engaging and challenging. I went
into the course thinking I could tweet interesting snippets as we went through;
however there was no time for tweeting or distractions it constant thinking,
doing, speaking. Hearing and following through the questions of others in the
course was often very interesting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The last day was not nearly as engaging due to several
factors: I was tired, the content shifting to a light touch of the remaining
rules of LeSS and Venki mentioning we were on track to finish early; consequent
the participants but the brakes on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Preparation<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We were provided a long reading list of books, articles,
videos and set a knowledge test. The test was not referenced/used in the
training and some of the answer conflicted with Venki’s teaching. Several
people in the class had fragile knowledge of scrum, did none of the pre reading
and managed just fine. I had already consumed many items on the reading list
several years ago. I re-read some of the articles, watched a few videos and
found that they were not a cohesive set of learning materials. It seems they
were every public article of LeSS published, with lots of duplication included.
This reading list should be shortened significantly perhaps just to the rules
of LeSS and a video or two for background.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We were told to bring laptops to work on, but only needed one
per table of people to read the scrum guide. We were also encouraged not to
take electronic notes, instead were handed 48-page exercise books and
encouraged to take notes, which actually worked really well. My suggestion
would be that laptops were discouraged during the lead up and printed copies of
the Scrum Guide provided to each group.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Delivery<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While the first two days were engaging, it felt like we were
on a roller coaster blind folded; only Venki knew where we were going. Jumping
from topic to topic without structure, without order, ignoring the printed
slides, it was hard to know if we were making progress. While it sounds
terrible I can’t make out if it is a strength or weakness of his delivery. As
questions were raised we would deep dive on the topic, the reason why and
potentially tangents to that topic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Venki did make sure that everyone’s question were answered.
Sometimes those answers were in the form of a question, or reference to a
principle; forcing us to think through the question and find a suitable answer.
I feel that this approach was key to the engaging nature of the training. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Content<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The content covered in depth was<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">History of LeSS – If I have to hear “600 experiments” one
more time…</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ten LeSS principles</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">LeSS is Scrum, what is Scrum, how are they the same, how are
they different.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Systems Thinking</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Causal Loop Diagrams</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The why behind the LeSS Framework</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The LeSS Framework (three pages of rules) and LeSS Huge
Framework. Please note that this could be explained in two hours if done in one
hit. Rightfully so it did not receive much more time than that through out the
three days; after all we can always read the rules on the https://less.works</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The content only lightly touched on was. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The LeSS guides</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I found it interesting that Venki played funny videos after
each break session. It surely lightened the mood, however only a few of them
were directly related to the training course. Most of them had a tenuous
connect at best. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most of the interactive exercises were fun, interesting and
embedded knowledge in us; such as designing a multiple team sprint planning
approach, casual loop modelling of feature teams vs component teams. There were
several interactive exercises that fell down in delivery and/or opportunities
for learning. i.e. While searching for hidden post-its around the room with
types of wastes written on them was fun, yet it delivered almost nothing in the
way of knowledge.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Use LeSS to descale / simply the target area of the organisation through empirical process control.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Don’ t use LeSS to scale up your existing agility.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">LeSS is designed for a big bang change (limited to the target area of the organisation). i.e. The vast majority of teams MUST be fully cross functional feature teams, otherwise you are not doing LeSS.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The initial perfection vision of LeSS is a potentially shippable product increment every two weeks. Once that is achieved aim for one week.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Concept of understanding the System Optimising Goal of all systems you are interacting in / part of. I.e. What is the company/CEO’s System Optimising Goal? Is that the same goal as your area? Is it the same goal as the tool you are using?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thinking in Systems: A Primer by Donella Meadows, is worth reading prior to the 5th Discipline by Peter Senge. “Thinking in Systems” will provide the though patterns that make it easier to digest “The 5th Discipline”.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Using a WIP limit indicates that there is a problem that you are not solving. Perhaps another team is flooding your team with work? Perhaps your own has an uneven flow?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Make all queues visible, then reduce/remove those queues.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Use LeSS Huge only when your one PO can’t handle the number of teams that you have. The 2-8 teams for LeSS is just a guide based on the worst and best PO’s they have seen. 9 teams is not the trigger point for LeSS Huge, it is purely down to the ability of the PO to handle the teams you have or not.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you have LeSS huge try to only break out a new Product Area when you have 4 teams. This is so that the PO can keep those 4 teams effectively occupied. They have seen that having less then 4 teams for 1 PO often leads to starvation of those teams backlogs. So why do they suggest that use LeSS when you have 2 or 3 teams? The answer is that there is no better solution, better off using LeSS and potentially suffering some starvation than to not use LeSS when you have multiple teams.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Product Areas may be made up of multiple “themes” this is especially true when those themes only need a team or two to service them. E.g. your 4 team Product Area may be made up of 2 teams for theme A, 1 team for theme B and 1 team for theme C.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How can 1 PO handle 4 teams, let alone 8? The answer is to just to Strategy, Vision and Prioritisation. Leave the clarification of User Stories to the team who work directly with the customers. Cutting out this clarification effort frees up the PO to work with more teams.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When you need to seed knowledge across multiple teams; try creating a temporary “undone” team with someone who is strong in the desired skillset and stack the rest of the team with people who are keen to learn that skill. Temporarily they do all of the work related to the skill, once they have learnt the skill, the team is disbanded and they take their new found knowledge back to their feature team.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you must have a distributed PO, place them in the same location as the customer(s) in preference to placing them in the same location of the team(s). The reason being they deliver the most value from better understanding the customers needs.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While LeSS demands that most teams are Feature Teams, it accepts that there will be some service teams, such as finance, admin, etc. It also accepts that the feature teams DOD may not be complete especially in the early days. That undone work will be covered by team(s) called “undone”. The name was chosen deliberately to be unappealing, because the aim is to get rid of those team(s) ASAP and have that work done by the features teams within the sprint.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Multi team Product Backlog refinement has recently been made the default over separate team Product Backlog refinement.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have a clear product definition is crucial to a successful LeSS implementation. This definition should be as broad and as end user centric as possible.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The action plan from each team’s retrospective is shared at the overall retrospective. This is intended to prevent duplicated effort and worst still actions that interfere with each other.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Overall Retrospective is held early in the next sprint, it is not held on the same day as end of sprint.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every new role created in an organisation, disempowers another role somewhere in the organisation.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Financial matters are handled by the Product Owner in LeSS Huge it is still the single PO that handles the $$$.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Organisational agility is constrained by technical agility.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To constrain your causal loop diagram choose 3 to 5 parameters of interest before starting the diagram and focus on them. This worked during the training; however I am concerned that choosing/guessing those parameters up front indicates that you already understand the situation which you often don’t when you are creating a causal loop diagram in the first place. I will need to test this outside of a training environment</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Overall Rating: </b>8/10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-16807842510919503862017-09-23T11:41:00.000+10:002020-02-01T17:19:01.050+10:00Breaking down the Coder vs. QA divide<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Coders vs. QA divide is prevalent in almost all
companies that are new to an agile way of working. The Coders camp out on one
side of the wall, throwing work over to the testers. Creating cross functional
teams does not automatically resolve the ingrained ‘over the wall’ mental model
of development. Often two mini teams form within the agile team, with the wall
still very much intact. This mental wall perpetuates ‘Us vs. Them’ adversarial
behaviour; which generally leads to late delivery, reduced quality, stressed
testers, limited collaboration and frustration on both sides. Thankfully this
issue can be addressed in a reasonable time-frame when the appropriate actions
are applied as a cohesive approach.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The long term goal regarding Coders vs. QA is usually to
blur the line between Coders and QA to the point that they are all
‘Developers’. Some of the Developers have more of a QA focus; however all of
the Developers are actively involved in testing and quality throughout the life-cycle of the product. These Developers create and maintain a test suite
that adheres to the agile QA pyramid. This is a long and rewarding journey to
take; with breaking down the Coder vs. QA wall as the first major step. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How to identify that
the Coder vs. QA wall exists</span></b></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When you notice two or more of the following situations, it
is likely that there is a divide between the coders and the QA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">QA/Testers are the only people who test the software. No one
else helps even when it appears likely the team will not complete a user story
within the iteration.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Reviews and showcases where teams discuss user stories that
have been built, yet the user story has not been tested.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Reviews and showcases where teams show user stories that
have not been tested.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Inconsistent velocity from teams.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The testers are stressed at the end of iterations while the coders
are idle looking for work, or worse still working on user stories from future
sprints.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All of the testing occurs in the last 10% of the sprint.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Request to extend sprint duration because it takes too long
to test the delivered features.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Use of phrases such as “It is done, I have coded it, it just needs to be tested.”</span></li>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How to remove the
Coder vs. QA wall</span></b></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My favored approach to removing the wall involves some
carefully executed company level actions, supported by team level coaching.
While it can be addressed just via team coaching; that does not scale well,
produces inconsistent results and takes a lot longer. I recommend considering the following actions, remembering that these actions need to work together to change the hearts of minds of many different people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Company-wide minimum DOD includes “User Stories must be
Tested”. All teams must have a DOD that includes the ‘minimum DOD’; they are
free to build upon if they wish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Company-wide training which emphasizes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Teams succeed or fail as a whole</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The whole team is responsible for quality, not just the testers.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">QA provide Test Thinking, however everyone in the team
contributes to testing.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Value of completed stories over partially complete stories</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">WIP is waste</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">WIP reduces our ability to change direction</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ATDD/BDD</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Company-wide support for ATDD/BDD with <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tooling and environments</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Expertise and coaching for the implementation</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Specific training for QA to develop their automation skills</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Coach Product Owners to<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Value only completed stories.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Demand to see only completed stories in reviews/showcases</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Demand to only see working software in reviews/showcases</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Support team coaches/scrum masters to:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Re-enforce the messages from the Companywide training</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Establish Coder/QA pairing</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Establish ATDD / BDD</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Work with QA to create a prioritise automation testing
backlog. This backlog can be worked on by Coders/QA during slack time. Over
time it will reduce the demand for manual testing, freeing up the QA to focus
on automation, exploratory testing and building quality in.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Run team exercises where team members learn more of the
details of what each other does and how they can help each other.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Provide training to the coders on basic of effective manual
testing; so that they are better able to step in when needed.</span></li>
</ul>
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<h2>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Questions for you</span></b></h2>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What has your experience been with Coder vs. QA divides?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have I missed any signs of the divide?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have you taken different actions that worked well or taught
you what not to do?</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Image by Helen Wilkinson [<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>], via Wikimedia Commons</span></div>
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Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-28366352284659547592017-04-23T14:13:00.000+10:002017-04-23T14:13:11.150+10:00The Fist of Five a voting and consensus building technique <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Fist of Five is a voting and consensus building technique that allows groups of people to quickly understand what they agree and disagree on. With a foundation built upon the agreements they do have; the group can focus their time and effort on resolving their differences. The simultaneous voting aspect of Fist of Five boosts the effectiveness of the group conversations by giving everyone an equal voice. I.e. the loud extroverts in the group no longer dominate the conversation. It only takes one minute to teach the Fist of Five to a new group of people and considering its broad versatility; it is a collaborative technique well worth learning. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am sure that you have been in a lengthy team discussion that is wrapped up by the lead saying, “so we all agree then?!”. The team responds with some half nods, some murmuring and plenty of silence. The lead moves on quickly and you are left confused about what we just agreed upon and how much agreement there really was. This to me is a failed attempt and consensus based decision making. The Fist of Five can improve these situations in numerous ways with very little effort expended. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Benefits of the Fist of Five</span></h2>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reveals hidden information: Who agrees, who is sitting on the fence, who disagrees, why do they disagree.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reduces me vs. them mentality: Participants are disagreeing with a statement not necessarily a person.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Builds consensus: quickly see where everyone agrees, hone in the areas of disagreement allowing for discussion to resolve these differences.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saves time: prevents discussion around topics that are already agreed upon, speeds up the resolution of differences because the specifics of the disagreement are often clearer.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Provides more time to tackle the key issues: once the disagreements are clear, the group can focus their precious time on that item.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How to use the Fist of Five </span></h2>
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The facilitator makes a statement, such as “The Sprint Backlog should include the seven User Stories that are underlined on the whiteboard” or “The new team name should be ‘High Five’”</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The facilitator counts down from three, holding their fist in the air. (They use that time to visually confirm that all participants are ready to vote, who show their readiness by raising their own fist into the air).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the end of the count down, all participants change their fist into their vote, as shown below.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The votes are ‘read’ which leads to an ‘outcome’ as explained below. The outcomes include: Statement Accepted, Statement Rejected, and More Discussion is needed.</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Participant voting</b></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lvhi21OpUfM/WPwpg9-yNQI/AAAAAAAAAnc/CPncecL82UM0An1WvqhhrvrVqykwWy0rACLcB/s1600/00_Fist%2Bof%2Bfive%2Bcombined.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="105" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lvhi21OpUfM/WPwpg9-yNQI/AAAAAAAAAnc/CPncecL82UM0An1WvqhhrvrVqykwWy0rACLcB/s400/00_Fist%2Bof%2Bfive%2Bcombined.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Participants show their agreement or disagreement with the statement by voting as follows:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5 fingers: strongly agree / it is spot on / approaching perfect</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 fingers: agree / it could be improved but i am happy with it</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 fingers: neutral / will go with the majority</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 fingers: disagree / the intent needs to be tweaked / the wording needs to change</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 fingers: strongly disagree / the intent is wrong / i do not support this</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Reading the votes</b></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Strong agreement: Everyone voted four or five.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Agreement: The majority voted four or five; there are no twos or ones.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Strong disagreement: There are only threes and below.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Disagreement: any other result; such as there are some ones or twos, and some fours or fives.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Outcomes</b></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If Agreement or Strong Agreement is reached, the statement is accepted; the team has made a decision!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If there is Strong Disagreement the statement is rejected; the team has made a decision!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If there is Disagreement then more discussion is needed. One at a time, those that voted two or one explain their point of view to the group, then others in the group join in the conversation. The facilitator guides the discussion before deciding what to do. Usually some changes will be made to the statement followed by a revote.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When to use the Fist of Five</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Fist of Five is surprising versatile; primarily because there are so many different situations where teams need to agree or at least understand what consensus exists within the team. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some situations where I have found the Fist of Five to be highly effective:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Choosing a team name</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Choosing a name for a project</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Agreeing on a Sprint backlog – which user stories to include</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Deciding on the scope of a project – which scope items to include.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Agreeing on a Vision statement – which intentions to include and the specific wording of the sentence(s).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Deciding on the objectives for a community, such as Scrum Master Community of Practice - which objectives to include and the specific wording of each objective.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Deciding on a set of team values – which values to include and the specific wording of each value.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How to use the Fist of Five on multiple items</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes your team will have brainstormed many competing items. The Fist of Five is still very effective in this situation to either decide on one winner or to select multiple items. The basic usage is the same as described above. The key difference is to vote on each item, and record those votes, before discussing any item in detail. As you vote on each item note down all the votes against the specific item (e.g. Jimmy votes 4, Bob votes 3, Sally votes 5, Dianne votes 2 could be recorded as 4352). This allows the group to assess the overall field of options and quickly rules out some options as well as locking in some clear winners. The team can now look to combine items before focusing their discussion on those items that did not have clear consensus.</span><br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Example of choosing a Project Name</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What follows is the list of project names we brainstormed along with the Fist of Five votes for the items that did not have Strong Disagreement, and hence were immediately discounted. There were 6 people voting. In this situation we only wanted one name for the project so “Project New Hope” was the winner.</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">323244 ProtoFNX (This item received two votes of 2 fingers, two votes of three fingers and two votes of four fingers)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Proton and FNX Foundation</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Joint FNX & Proton</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">234334 A new hope</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">332244 FNXP</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Return of the Mortar</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Proton strikes back</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">233323 Proton - A new hope (This result is also Strong Disagreement)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Galactic War</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Clone Wars</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Death Star</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Project JAM</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">JAM Session</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Proton JAM</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">544335 Project New Hope</span></li>
</ul>
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<br />Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-58837568914130693432017-02-05T12:55:00.001+10:002017-02-05T12:55:31.093+10:00The company that takes lunch together, succeeds together<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most of the company's I have worked in have some kind of flexible working arrangements; ranging from choice over your break times; through to hot-desking with infrastructure that makes working from home almost seamless. So you can imagine my surprise when I joined my latest engagement and everyone takes lunch at the same time! Everyone also starts and finishes at the same time with only a hand full of exceptions. Initially I thought it was weird, even backwards; when close to one hundred people downed tools and headed off for their lunch break. However the many benefits that this provides quickly became apparent and I am now a convert.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To support these fixed times the company has a suitably relaxed approach to staff taking time away from the office when life demands it. i.e. A delivery can only be between 8AM and 12PM; your dog has a bad back and needs to go to the vet, etc. So for the most part everyone is at work during the set hours; however there is enough flexibility to live our lives.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0ZVx0yleEDo/WJaT_BbO3mI/AAAAAAAAAm8/qIoWqQY4pzgp7WudyD_9U27-EuuBBpdRwCLcB/s1600/30110130095_5ddce0736c_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0ZVx0yleEDo/WJaT_BbO3mI/AAAAAAAAAm8/qIoWqQY4pzgp7WudyD_9U27-EuuBBpdRwCLcB/s320/30110130095_5ddce0736c_z.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The four primary benefits of fixed Start, Lunch and Finish times are:</span></h2>
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Increased social interaction, building up a sense of community and company.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More time available for collaboration and face to face work activities.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Encourages people to rarely do overtime.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Increased efficiency </span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Benefits related to increased social interaction</span></h2>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More random social interactions occur at lunch time.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Easier to arrange lunch with people outside of your team, because you all have lunch break at the same time.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Group lunch activities are easier for individuals to plan and attend; hence there more activities run and more regularly. Some of the regular activities include:</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Futsal</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Board games</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Co-op multiplayer (i.e. Rocket League, Fifa )</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Art excursions</span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Increased collaboration time</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fixed times make for more time available for collaboration in day to day work. i.e. Everyone is available to collaborate from the Start time all of the way through to Finish time. No more having to wait until ‘Core Hours’ to be able to talk to someone in your own team.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rarely do overtime</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With everyone up and leaving at the same time, it sends a clear signal that overtime is not the norm here.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Benefits related to increased efficiency</span></h2>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Easier scheduling of meetings because you know when everyone is available.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Team daily cadence aligned.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Team cadence can be fine-tuned.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Companywide issues/opportunities can be resolved faster.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Company half day celebrations are easier to plan, and will not cut into productive time.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Drawbacks to fixed Start, Lunch and Finish times</span></h2>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prevents regular commitments outside of those start and finish times. i.e. pick up kids from child care. This can turn away some prospective hires.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am sure there are more I just don’t know what they are…</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What are your thoughts?</span></h2>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have you had similar experiences? I would love to hear about them, especially if they are from different industries.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have you had different experiences to this? If so please let know how it was different and what we can learn by contrasting the two experiences?</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/juhansonin/" rel="nofollow">Juhan Sonin</a></span><br />
<div>
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Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-53721899318341204062016-12-10T17:57:00.002+10:002016-12-10T17:57:27.030+10:00Your teams 1st retrospective will be your hardest retrospective<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">High emotions, Intertwined issues and Inexperience are the key challenges that will all combine to make your 1st retrospective the hardest retrospective you have to facilitate. This situation is similar to your first driving lesson being on a rainy night, while you are surrounded by drunk drivers. Luckily there are steps you can take to tackle all three key challenges, and run the teams first retrospective successfully.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">High emotions</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For teams that have not had an effective avenue to express and tackle their day to day work issues; there tends to be a lot of emotion released in their first retrospective. During the retrospective team often realise they have a voice and are being listened to; hence a lot of the issues they have been frustrated about are vented. The emotional venting that occurs is hard to hear yet often therapeutic for all involved. If you and the team can turn those emotions into actions that address some of the teams’ frustrations they will not just like retrospectives they will love them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mitigation actions </b></span><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Display the <a href="http://retrospectivewiki.org/index.php?title=The_Prime_Directive" rel="nofollow">Prime Directive</a> and read it out as part of your introduction.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Acknowledge all input provided by the team, even if you disagree with it. You only have to acknowledge what is said, you do not need to agree with it. Merely the simple act of acknowledge is enough for the team to feel heard and hence reduce the level of emotion in the room below boiling point. The easiest way to acknowledge their input is to read out all of the post-it notes that they write out in the gathering data phase.</span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c17KxoWFAhM/WEOE3hCY_4I/AAAAAAAAAmU/dOnfC5FjoG46pNL2PbhqaPhsbKS_TihJgCEw/s1600/Intertwined.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c17KxoWFAhM/WEOE3hCY_4I/AAAAAAAAAmU/dOnfC5FjoG46pNL2PbhqaPhsbKS_TihJgCEw/s320/Intertwined.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Intertwined issues</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">New teams and existing teams that have not held retrospectives previously; will often have their first retrospective dominated by a tangled mess of intertwined issues. The trouble is that one or two root causes are creating many, many symptoms and likely a lot of frustration. So no matter which symptom the team selects to analyse; it is intertwined with several other symptoms. This tangled mess drives the team conversation around in useless circles unless structured techniques are used to untangle the mess.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mitigation actions</b></span><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ensure you have plenty of time to discuss the first topic</span></li>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Schedule 90 minutes for the retrospective, one hour is just not enough time</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Time box the early parts of the retrospective to ensure enough time for discussion at the end.</span></li>
</ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Accept it is likely that the team will only get to analyse the top priority issue. The good news is that addressing just one issue will be big success for your first retrospective!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Use <a href="http://www.journey-to-better.com/2016/11/tree-root-diagrams-powerful-problem.html">Tree Root Diagrams</a> to help untangle the intertwined symptoms.</span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Inexperience</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When this is the first retrospective for the team, yourself or both, there are likely to be feelings of excitement, anticipation, apprehension, uncertainty, etc. Also the role of facilitator is challenging at the best of times, as you attempt to juggle time-boxing, active listening, note taking and group facilitation. Thankfully there are plenty of resources available to prepare you and the team. Here are just a few approaches to get you started…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mitigation actions for your inexperience</b></span><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Observe retrospectives run by more experienced facilitators.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pair with an experienced facilitator for your first retrospective.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Delegate Time keeping to someone in the team.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Delegate taking notes to someone in the team.</span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mitigation actions for the Teams’ inexperience</b></span><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Circulate the retrospective objective and agenda ahead of time</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Provide the team with <a href="http://www.journey-to-better.com/2016/12/retrospective-prompting-questions.html">Retrospective Prompting questions</a> a couple of days prior to the retrospective.</span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<br />Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-45897933766311794732016-12-04T11:22:00.005+10:002016-12-04T11:22:59.748+10:00Retrospective Prompting Questions<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Retrospectives can generate an enormous amount of input in the right circumstances; which allows for a rich investigation of how to improve the team. However there are some situations which can lead to an input drought; and the prevention of team improvement. I have found that the list of questions at the end of this article can be used to easily prompt a team to generate input which leads to an effective retrospective and steady improvement of results.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TGNkQLOToNM/WENv1FDw5iI/AAAAAAAAAmE/o24sBAxlkeUv2UNexpk1Kbiurd3RDncFwCLcB/s1600/thinker-28741_960_720.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TGNkQLOToNM/WENv1FDw5iI/AAAAAAAAAmE/o24sBAxlkeUv2UNexpk1Kbiurd3RDncFwCLcB/s320/thinker-28741_960_720.png" width="238" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are four situations in which these questions prove particularly useful:</span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One: Team transforming from command and control culture</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When transitioning to agile from a strong command and control environment, many team members say as little as possible in Retrospectives. They are used to being told what to do, and do not want to seem like the ‘trouble maker’ by pointing out obvious issues. The prompting questions help them to find something that the feel comfortable providing input on. The more often they provide input in retrospectives and don’t get in trouble for it, the more useful information they will provide in the future.</span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two: Team is new to retrospectives</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Teams that haven’t done retrospectives in the past often don’t understand the scope of what can be discussed. To aid the explanation of scope and to help bring out information from quiet team members the following list of questions is often useful. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Again for teams transitioning from a command and control culture the scope of what they could change in the past was very limited. This compounds their reluctance to speak up. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Three: Retrospectives stagnating; due to repetition</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For teams that have done many retrospectives; there can come a time where they run out of things to discuss. The prompting questions help them to broaden their view and finds topics worth discussing as a team.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Four: Scrum Masters</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the Scrum Master it will be worth reading these questions prior to each Retrospective and working out which questions could be used to prompt discussion within the team.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Retrospective Prompting Questions</span></h2>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Delivery</span></h3>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is our team delivering as fast as possible? If not, why not?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why did the extra tasks appear in the sprint? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why were User Stories/Tasks not completed?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why were some User Stories/Tasks, only partially completed?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did the team over commit? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Was the team reliant on one person/skill set to complete a task? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Were any milestones missed?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Were last Sprint Retrospective actions items completed?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where our estimates accurate? Both Story Points and hours?</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality</span></h3>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What was the quality of our deliverables appropriate?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did the Review/Demonstration make you proud to be a member of this team?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Was the test coverage (both automated and manual) sufficient for our needs?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did our documentation provide the information that we required to complete our jobs?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did rework hold us back this sprint?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What was the cause of the bugs/tickets that we worked on this sprint?</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scrum </span></h3>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has now been X sprints that we have been using Scrum, do we think our situation is better or worse since starting? What is better? What is worse?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What did everyone work on immediately after the Planning meeting? Why did people work on items other then high priority User Stories?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why were low priority tasks being worked on, while high priority user stories were on hold?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Was the Product Backlog ready for use at the planning session? Prioritised, estimated, enough detail?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did the Burn-down Chart realistically represent the progress of the team?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did everyone view the Burn-down chart as useful?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How did everyone contribute to User Story value?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is everyone happy with how the Stand ups are working? Can they be improved?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is everyone happy with how the Reviews are working? Can they be improved?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is everyone happy with how the Retrospectives are working? Can they be improved?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Were the actions created from our last Retrospective completed?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Were the actions created from our last Retrospective beneficial?</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Communication and Team work</span></h3>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did anyone in the team do outstanding work that should be acknowledged?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did team members just at the chance to help each other?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did anyone have difficulties obtaining timely information/assistance from people in the team? I.e. Architect, Test Specialist, Documentation Specialist, Scrum Master, etc.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did anyone have difficulties obtaining timely information/assistance from people outside of the team? I.e. Product Owner, external Technical Expert.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How is the morale of the team?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Was everyone clear on the team goals?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Was everyone clear on their personal priorities?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did internal knowledge transfer occur in a timely and effective manner?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How was the team internal communication? Was it clear, concise and timely?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How was the intra-team communication? Were expectations and dependencies clear?</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To my blog readers</span></h3>
<br />
<ul>
<li>What questions would you add to this list?</li>
<li>Are there questions you would remove, or change?</li>
</ul>
Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-657043249533971272016-11-19T13:02:00.000+10:002019-08-12T20:56:39.914+10:00Release Vision Exercise<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In late 2014 the delivery team working on the <a href="http://www.copyrighthub.co.uk/" rel="nofollow">Copyright Hub</a> as part of the <a href="https://digital.catapult.org.uk/" rel="nofollow">Digital Catapult UK</a> where a bit confused about the upcoming Beta Release. They were getting mixed messages regarding what the release was for, when it was due, and what were the most important features to be included. To resolve this situation I gathered the delivery team and the customer representative and ran a collaborative Release Vision Exercise, which is described below.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Release Vision (45 minutes)</span></h2>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Who? </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Who is the audience of the beta release?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What? </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At a high level what will the beta release contain? Aim for no more than five bullet points.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Where? </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Where will it be used? All industry sectors? All parts of England? Europe, etc.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why? </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why would the users and stakeholders make the painful effort to change their existing habits and migrate to this new product? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q6mvYBDHczk/WC-_ib4wQjI/AAAAAAAAAlk/VJIq3BXCupcbIsEFBPOyEfmM19Kk_vInQCLcB/s1600/Release%2Bvision%2Bexercise%2B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q6mvYBDHczk/WC-_ib4wQjI/AAAAAAAAAlk/VJIq3BXCupcbIsEFBPOyEfmM19Kk_vInQCLcB/s320/Release%2Bvision%2Bexercise%2B01.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Strap Line…</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is a one sentence summary that we could use internally? LITMUS TEST: Can the delivery team come up with a strap line that they and the customer representative agree with?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qGupcqXxnUg/WC-_tDqisCI/AAAAAAAAAlo/5j9iXiVTdPAfT9hIpnRaC-Bw_0YQEi3kwCLcB/s1600/Release%2Bvision%2Bexercise%2B02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qGupcqXxnUg/WC-_tDqisCI/AAAAAAAAAlo/5j9iXiVTdPAfT9hIpnRaC-Bw_0YQEi3kwCLcB/s320/Release%2Bvision%2Bexercise%2B02.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The list was brainstormed, then discussion followed by dot voting determined the winner.</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Release Levers (10 minutes)</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is the order of importance of the following items? Please note they must be ordered, i.e. there cannot be two priority one items.</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Scope – number of features included in the release (more is important)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost – project budget / number of people involved (low costs is important)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Schedule – when will it be released (earlier / on time release is important)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Value – Usefulness and usability of the included features. (user experience is important)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Aspects – ilities of the system, i.e. Security, Maintainability, Performance, Adaptability, etc. </span></li>
</ul>
<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fxc4QeelUVM/WC-_20Vga1I/AAAAAAAAAls/rlnHykaUa3AycZ6c6_cxK85QUMpmMJo_QCLcB/s1600/Release%2Bvision%2Bexercise%2B03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fxc4QeelUVM/WC-_20Vga1I/AAAAAAAAAls/rlnHykaUa3AycZ6c6_cxK85QUMpmMJo_QCLcB/s320/Release%2Bvision%2Bexercise%2B03.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The blue numbers are the aggregate result of the Product Owner and Customer Representatives separate votes.</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h2>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The end result</span></b></h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This process surfaced some key issues that the customer representative and Business Analyst (acting as Product Owner) disagreed upon and allowed them to resolve these differences. It also provided clarity to the delivery team regarding what they were being asked to do. The end result was a successful release that has changed the face of copyright on the internet forever.</span><br />
<br />Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-43078478200822768972016-11-13T12:06:00.001+10:002023-11-06T09:19:53.570+10:00Tree Root Diagrams, a powerful problem solving addition to the Five Whys<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Solving problems in this complex world can be a huge
challenge. The Five Whys is a powerful technique in our hunt for the root cause
of an issue; however it rarely provides the full answer. Combining Tree Root
Diagrams with the Five Whys can ensure that your team gains a full
understanding of the root cause(s) of the issue. Once you know the root cause(s)
a permanent solution is only a few simple actions away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A Tree Root Diagram captures all of the causes linked to an
issue in a downward expanding tree of causes. These diagrams often look like
the root structure of a large tree. They are most useful when a group of people
is collaboratively solving a complex problem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-awhKPPFl8sk/WCfJ4BSkGmI/AAAAAAAAAkw/FUAZeukbwnU83niyRkxxAsKeGlo4Cw5vACLcB/s1600/Cropped_Example_Complex2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-awhKPPFl8sk/WCfJ4BSkGmI/AAAAAAAAAkw/FUAZeukbwnU83niyRkxxAsKeGlo4Cw5vACLcB/s320/Cropped_Example_Complex2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The approach is straight forward: on a large whiteboard
write your issue (really the symptom) in the top middle part of the whiteboard.
Ask “What caused this to occur?” Write a very brief summary of each cause that
is mentioned and draw an arrow from the symptom to each cause. Now repeat for
each cause, building up your tree as your examine each cause. For each Root
Cause you identify, circle it and come up with an action or two to address it.
List the actions near the Root Cause and draw a line from the actions to the
Root Cause. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Benefits of Tree Root Diagrams</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finds multiple causes of a single symptom; including related
issues.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Visualizes the relationship between the symptom and its many
causes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Visually links actions to the Root Cause the group is
addressing.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Allows the group to discuss tangential topics then return to
the core issue without losing track of what they were up to.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Acts as a record of what the group discussed and agreed
upon.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>More Examples</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wV7nE0mPpPA/WCfKFaHc3kI/AAAAAAAAAk4/3JpWAkhQdRkfgiLy19rWWfQS9lYhxd4xgCK4B/s1600/Cropped_Example_Medium.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wV7nE0mPpPA/WCfKFaHc3kI/AAAAAAAAAk4/3JpWAkhQdRkfgiLy19rWWfQS9lYhxd4xgCK4B/s320/Cropped_Example_Medium.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A simpler example</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4NK05VDQfKE/WCfKOXYL_pI/AAAAAAAAAlA/kvoOnwCQycIQWAuecbr1LTnDuGRTWYoDgCK4B/s1600/Cropped_Example_Linear.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4NK05VDQfKE/WCfKOXYL_pI/AAAAAAAAAlA/kvoOnwCQycIQWAuecbr1LTnDuGRTWYoDgCK4B/s320/Cropped_Example_Linear.jpg" width="192" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An example of when it is quiet linear.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PImH0V90sKs/WCfKX95uPTI/AAAAAAAAAlI/pKw8506_Uc0Nw_RpNSnCJFjw57vf-qfjACK4B/s1600/Cropped_Example_OfVeryComplexIssue.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PImH0V90sKs/WCfKX95uPTI/AAAAAAAAAlI/pKw8506_Uc0Nw_RpNSnCJFjw57vf-qfjACK4B/s320/Cropped_Example_OfVeryComplexIssue.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A complex example</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>How I stumbled onto Tree Root Diagrams</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Around July 2015 I was coaching some new Scrum Masters in
effective problem solving and usage of the Five Whys. I keep hearing myself
suggest to them to write down each answer to Why that the team called out. My
intention being to get them and the team realized that the first answer is
rarely the root cause. I quickly realized I was not doing this myself and set
out to walk my own talk. What I found when I made a concerted effort to write down
the causes, was that there were often multiple possible answers to each Why.
Hence my notes quickly turned into tree diagrams which I labelled as Tree Root
Diagrams and have used ever since.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Ishikawa diagrams</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tree root diagrams are similar yet different to Ishikawa
diagrams turned 90 degrees. Ishikawa diagrams focus on categorizing the
different causes in a hierarchy. Tree Root Diagrams focus on the linkage
between causes; of potentially very different categories.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-83785369453168382232015-05-26T20:05:00.004+10:002023-11-06T09:19:29.442+10:00Weekend Escape an agile Backlog Management Game<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Weekend Escape is an agile backlog management game where small teams collaborate to order a backlog with a specific business goal in mind. Once the team has produced their backlog, they review the output of another team and discuss the differences. Everyone participates and discussion plays a key part in the game. Participant’s eyes are often opened to the complexity of backlog prioritisation. The game has been designed for all staff, not just Product Owners. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Extended Version of the game ramps up the challenge. It is aimed at Product Owners, yet suitable for anyone with a little more time to spare.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dqb0lPPxPuk/VWKq-alfV5I/AAAAAAAAAZg/-Pf2kQBL_Sc/s1600/Backlog%2BManagement%2BGame%2BSetting.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Weekend Escape a backlog management game" border="0" height="298" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dqb0lPPxPuk/VWKq-alfV5I/AAAAAAAAAZg/-Pf2kQBL_Sc/s400/Backlog%2BManagement%2BGame%2BSetting.PNG" title="Weekend Escape a backlog management game" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Learning objectives</b></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Experience the challenges of prioritising and ordering a backlog.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Understand how an agile team can help their Product Owner by making the backlog items easier to compare.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Extended Version: Experience how business goals impact the approach to prioritisation</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Suitability</b></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People: 6 to 20. People will be split into an even number of teams of 3 to 5 people. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Time for Standard version: ~30 minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Time for Extended version: ~75 to 90 minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Requires roughly 1m to 1.5m of table space per team.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The <a href="http://bit.ly/1FMK89M" rel="nofollow">detailed instructions are available in PDF</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xoBhwKg9q88/VWKsXELUYRI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/4eZozBzQVZI/s1600/Weekend%2BEscape%2BCompleted%2BBacklog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="One example of a completed backlog, Weekend Escape, Backlog Management Game" border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xoBhwKg9q88/VWKsXELUYRI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/4eZozBzQVZI/s320/Weekend%2BEscape%2BCompleted%2BBacklog.jpg" title="One example of a completed backlog" width="239" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One example of a completed backlog</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />I am interested to hear any feedback about the game, especially from those that have tried it out. So please leave your comments below...</span><br />
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Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-38167925632254191792015-02-08T13:21:00.004+10:002023-11-06T09:18:30.356+10:00Lack of empowerment is making your project late<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Projects become late one day at a time because small impediments occur and front line workers are not empowered to resolve those impediments on the spot. Those small impediments turn into day long or longer delays. Once that day is lost to delay it is near impossible to get it back. To reduce this we need to empower front line workers to immediately solve impediments and to exploit opportunities that present themselves. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tjDICTZrE6E/VNbWJk0Ck_I/AAAAAAAAAY8/J2AXGzhCBi0/s1600/9032677075_3dce1c11b9_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tjDICTZrE6E/VNbWJk0Ck_I/AAAAAAAAAY8/J2AXGzhCBi0/s1600/9032677075_3dce1c11b9_z.jpg" height="320" width="220" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Opportunities are the flip side of impediments; each day our front line workers experience impediments and opportunities. It is how they approach those situations that determine the outcome of our project. On a daily basis opportunities to improve quality, deliver faster, boost morale and drive innovation arise. Is your team ready to take advantage of them? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Waiting for input to solve an impediment increases the impact of that impediment and often increases the effort needed to resolve it. Waiting for input to take advantage of an opportunity diminishes the value of the opportunity and again can increase the effort needed to implement it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our front line workers need the authority, information, tools and support to make empowered decisions quickly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Examples of impediments leading to day long delays</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scrum Master waits for his Line Manager to approve the purchase a $30 license for a communication tool that allows the team to more easily work at home; instead of purchasing it out of his own money KNOWING that his Line Manager will support the decision, and pay the expense claim.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Product Owner waits until the end of the Sprint before contacting another team to make a small change in their component because the process demands it.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An experienced team member feels that he must wait for the Tech Lead to return from the training course his is on before he can implement a framework change.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anytime, anyone waits for test results overnight.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Link to Lean</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All successful lean implementations incorporate an extremely strong idea generation and execution process that involves everyone. This empowers all staff and makes fast decision making an everyday occurrence. This is a prime example of empowering staff to drive success. For further reading: <a href="http://twisummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/The-Role-of-Front-Line-Ideas-Schroeder-and-Robinson-2009.pdf" rel="nofollow">The Role of Front-Line Ideas in Lean Performance Improvement</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't let your project become late one day at a time! Empower your people; so that they own and drive project success</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/damn_unique/" rel="nofollow">damn_unique</a></span><br />
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Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-78467199605266199572014-11-17T03:05:00.004+10:002023-11-06T09:10:25.091+10:00Multi team sprint planning<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scrum answers the question of how one team can effectively
plan their work; however it does not address how multiple teams doing Scrum can
effectively plan their work. What follows is a brief explanation of the
multi-team sprint planning approach that I most recently implemented for a department
containing six Scrum teams. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BdFXD3_MEhk/VGjZI2J8ShI/AAAAAAAAAXo/cYZRLM6K_BI/s1600/LondonSept%2B011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Multi team sprint planning scale many teams scrum agile" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BdFXD3_MEhk/VGjZI2J8ShI/AAAAAAAAAXo/cYZRLM6K_BI/s1600/LondonSept%2B011.JPG" height="298" title="Joint Sprint Planning" width="400" /></a></div>
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The short version</span></span></h2>
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</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prior to the Joint Planning Meeting the project managers perform
a preliminary allocation of Epics/User Stories to teams.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the Joint Planning Meeting, each team pulls in User
Stories until they are full and posts those User Stories on the Joint Planning
wall. The result is reviewed by all and updated as necessary.</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">The longer version</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Prior to the Joint Planning Meeting</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Project Managers schedule the fortnightly Joint Planning
meeting instead of fortnightly Sprint Planning Meetings. It is held in a room
large enough to provide seating and tables all of the Scrum teams is necessary.
It also needs additional seating for Project Managers, Product Owners, etc. Initially
the meeting was booked for 4 hours, however over time this has reduced as the
process became familiar to everyone.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Project Managers work with senior staff from the Scrum
teams to help them understand the rough size and scope of upcoming Epics/User
Stories. This allows them to roughly allocate this work to the teams. So that
going into the Joint Planning Meeting each team has a backlog of approximately
2 sprints worth of work that they can pull from. Overtime the teams have become
more involved in this pre-allocation.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Project Managers create the Joint Planning wall in the meeting
room and post up the pre-allocated backlogs.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Joint Planning Meeting</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lead Project Manager, introduces the meeting, explaining any
upcoming milestones, key events and/or themes for the coming sprint.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scrum teams work to pull in size, and split Epics/User
Stories are normal. Their Product Owner sits with or near them. Team members are
encouraged to talk to the PMs, POs, other teams, etc, as necessary. The amount
of discussion varies significantly depending on how many teams are working
together / depending on other teams. Once they have their Sprint Backlog
prepared they post up the User Stories on the Joint Planning wall. It is up to
the team to decide to split the User Stories into tasks prior to finalising
their Sprint Backlog. Once the team has posted their Sprint Backlog they are
free to go.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the agreed time, all teams come back to the Joint
Planning wall to review and discuss the plan for the coming sprint. This is what
is shown in the photo at the top of this article. During this discussion all
kinds of changes may occur work dropped, work added, work swapped between
teams, dependencies uncovered, impediments noted, impediments addressed. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
is the crucial element of the Joint Planning meeting.</span></li>
</ol>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As with all agile practices this meeting continues to
evolve and change. For example some teams found the large room too noisy to hold the discussions that worked for them, hence they stayed for the initial introduction then headed off to a private room to form their Sprint Backlog before returning for the sharing and discussion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-72254831649440287212014-11-10T01:16:00.000+10:002020-02-01T17:20:11.880+10:00Backlog Prioritisation Frameworks<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You need to make quick prioritisation decisions that satisfy your short term goals and move you forward towards your strategic objectives. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These decisions often need to compare very different types of work (e.g. Revenue generation vs. Enabling future features), which is difficult to do with discussion based prioritisation. An appropriate Prioritisation Framework will provide a simple approach to compare different types of work. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Prioritisation is often carried out by negotiation between multiple stakeholders and the Product Owner. The negotiation occurs at different times usually between one stakeholder and the Product Owner. This causes communication overhead, confusion and triggers reprioritisation. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TUtIs0Ki_Xg/VFZmQLEXDhI/AAAAAAAAAWU/QxpFgEWF8I0/s1600/PrioritiseViaDiscussion.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TUtIs0Ki_Xg/VFZmQLEXDhI/AAAAAAAAAWU/QxpFgEWF8I0/s1600/PrioritiseViaDiscussion.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Prioritisation by negotiation, as often occurs</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An appropriate Prioritisation Framework will build consensus for the prioritisation decisions, hence avoiding the above mentioned issues. Here the Product Owner uses the Prioritisation Framework and associated meetings as a way to facilitate the prioritisation process and ensure that consensus is reached with the majority of stakeholders present.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QjWrRFSxLjc/VFZmeYr5UHI/AAAAAAAAAWk/GTC63zsNfOw/s1600/PrioritisationFramework.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QjWrRFSxLjc/VFZmeYr5UHI/AAAAAAAAAWk/GTC63zsNfOw/s1600/PrioritisationFramework.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">How a Prioritisation Framework can streamline the prioritisation process</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Scope of a framework</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For items that need rapid prioritisation, such as small ongoing tasks like bugs, enhancements and tweaks to existing features; I recommend that they are handled outside of the prioritisation framework. The primary reason for this is that often those work items can be fixed faster than the time it takes to score, discuss and evaluate and analyze. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Considerations for selecting an appropriate framework</span></h2>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The framework should be light weight & easily understandable. This will greatly assist the uptake, buy in and will reduce communication costs. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The framework should allow for comparison of different types of work (e.g. Contractual vs. acquisition vs. vs. enablers for future work). None of the suggested approaches involve calculating the value of the change in $. Those calculations are complex at best, and impossible in the worst case. Instead the suggested frameworks focus on Relative Estimation over Absolute Estimation.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The framework should consider the rough size of each piece of work. This allows for small, medium value work items to compete with large, high value pieces of work. The end result being that we achieve a balance of quick wins and strategic goals.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The framework should provide a simple way to adapt the prioritisation decisions to your changing strategic needs. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You need all stakeholders to buy into the framework, and agree that it will drive prioritisation. Once this is done, the framework will allow for fast decisions. If some stakeholders disagree with the framework, they will undermine the decisions that come from it. Lack of adherence, will slow down the process and cause confusion. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All of the frameworks that I am about to suggest rely on gathering groups of decision makers together, so that the decision making process is transparent and fast. Gathering all of the appropriate decision makers may be a tough ask in some situations. </span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Possible Framework - Value & Size Comparison </span></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Aspmk4zvPYg/VFZqT4kgSHI/AAAAAAAAAXA/pI_HTW-UhLs/s1600/PriorityDiscussion.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="73" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Aspmk4zvPYg/VFZqT4kgSHI/AAAAAAAAAXA/pI_HTW-UhLs/s1600/PriorityDiscussion.PNG" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Value is determined via Product Owner group applying absolute estimation highest is more valuable. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Size is determined via Delivery Team Representative group applying Relative Estimation on the Planning Poker scale, larger is bigger Size/Cost. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The changes are then mapped onto the matrix below, which leads to discussions on priority.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ta2MY-ngiLE/VFZm1ydQmfI/AAAAAAAAAWs/4A0o8O7ZXsk/s1600/Matrix.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ta2MY-ngiLE/VFZm1ydQmfI/AAAAAAAAAWs/4A0o8O7ZXsk/s1600/Matrix.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cons</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Subjective value measurement is open to emotion / rank over taking the real value.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Value is a very simplistic representation, which makes it difficult to compare changes of differing types. i.e. Customer Retention vs. Technology Enabler.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pros</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Simple, easy to understand and communicate.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Uses group consensus for both Value and Size, which builds acceptance of the decisions.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Possible Framework - Money Voting</span></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J9KphDuUaTQ/VFZqNxSQdwI/AAAAAAAAAW4/Xu02Xv7fcLU/s1600/MoneyVoting.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="72" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J9KphDuUaTQ/VFZqNxSQdwI/AAAAAAAAAW4/Xu02Xv7fcLU/s1600/MoneyVoting.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A simplistic voting approach. It subconsciously makes the participant consider the relative real world value of each change. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Each stakeholder is given a sum of imaginary money (say $100) which they are asked to distribute amongst the items on the backlog. Priority is then judged by the sum raised by each item.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cons</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Subjective value measurement is open to emotion / rank over taking the real value.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If ‘spending’ is done in the open, whoever goes first can set a precedent and whoever goes last has more power to influence the final outcome.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Can be time consuming if done in private, as different stakeholders will respond at different times. They may also delay waiting to see how over stakeholders are spending their money.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Does not include size; however it would be simple enough to divide the Total Score by Relative Size.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pros</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Simple, easy to understand and communicate.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Quick if done in the open, but has the Cons related to influence.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Possible Framework - Weighted Shorted Job First (WSJF) from SAFe</span></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EVLrYgX8umo/VFZqZalfcaI/AAAAAAAAAXI/LcikfJ1edeM/s1600/WSJF.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EVLrYgX8umo/VFZqZalfcaI/AAAAAAAAAXI/LcikfJ1edeM/s1600/WSJF.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Documented in <a href="http://www.scaledagileframework.com/wsjf/" rel="nofollow">Scaled Agile Framework</a> (SAFe), based on work in Don Reinertsen’s book ‘The Principles of Product Development Flow’ as explained <a href="http://agile102.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/weighted-shortest-job-first-bit-of-safe.html" rel="nofollow">here</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Higher WSJF indicates higher priority.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">User, Business Value, Time Criticality, Risk Reduction & Opportunity Enablement are all determined via Product Owner group applying Relative Estimation, on this scale (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20), higher is more valuable. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The value of User, Business Value, Time Criticality, Risk Reduction & Opportunity Enablement are estimated by the Product Owner group in turn. To do this they select the work item with the lowest User/Business Value and assign it 1. The other work items are estimated by applying Relative Estimation, on this scale (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20), higher is more valuable. The Product Owner group then moves onto Time Criticality and repeats the process. Finally they do it for Risk Reduction /Opportunity Enablement.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Size is determined via Team Leader / Team Representative group applying Relative Estimation on the Planning Poker scale, larger is bigger Size/Cost. This is a stand in for duration. WSJF really calls for duration of the job not size but size is usually a very good substitute.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cons</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost of Delay is difficult to explain</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Assumes that there is equal importance between the three key criterion (User/Business Value, Time Criticality & Risk Reduction/Opportunity Enablement. This may not match the needs of the business.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pros</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Financially sound approach (minimising cost of delay).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Purely relative estimation approach, each round of estimation is only using the current projects to help determine priority.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Uses group consensus for both Value and Size, which builds acceptance of the decisions.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Removes some emotion from prioritisation process.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Allows for comparison of different types of changes.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Possible Framework - Prioritisation Matrix</span></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8DyFkxnLblM/VFZqic7c1iI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/EIkTc4eBTic/s1600/CriteriaScoring.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="71" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8DyFkxnLblM/VFZqic7c1iI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/EIkTc4eBTic/s1600/CriteriaScoring.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This comes from the model documented by <a href="http://oqi.wisc.edu/resourcelibrary/uploads/resources/Project_Prioritization_Guide_v_1.pdf" rel="nofollow">University of Wisconsin-Madison</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Higher score indicates higher priority.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An agreed set of Criteria (with scoring notes) are selected for use in the framework. Each Criterion is given a weight relative to the other criteria. These criterion and weights do not change. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Criteria Scores are determined via Product Owner group absolutely rating each change on the scale of 0 to 9, using the Scoring Values for guidance. 9 is the highest value. These scores are then used to calculate the total score.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is best explained with an <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1e-zdVX0xL-t9cWEDrWk4XDs8R82MlcnEnnqthiH9hzc/edit?usp=sharing">example</a>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cons</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Does not include size; however it would be simple enough to divide the Total Score by Relative Size.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It could be difficult to gain acceptance of the criteria scoring system and weightings.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Uses rating (matching up to the scoring values) instead of Relative estimation.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pros</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Customisable criterion, enable the prioritisation matrix to match the business needs.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Uses group consensus for Value, which builds acceptance of the decisions.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Removes some emotion from prioritisation process.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Allows for comparison of different types of changes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A key benefit of this is that everyone understands the main company goals and is motivated to come up with features that push the scoring up.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Possible Framework – Customised WSJF Framework</span></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eIoA7QF-g1I/VFZqr1rb9II/AAAAAAAAAXY/yA1sgS6LpXQ/s1600/Customised.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eIoA7QF-g1I/VFZqr1rb9II/AAAAAAAAAXY/yA1sgS6LpXQ/s1600/Customised.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A combination of WSJF with a customised Prioritisation Matrix. This is what I would usually recommend.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Higher Score indicates higher priority.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Similarly to WSJF the Product Owner group estimates each criterion in isolation; however the list of criterion is an agreed list of criterion similar to the Prioritisation Matrix. They start with the first criterion, select the work item with the lowest value and assign it 1. The other work items are then estimated relative to the first item for the current criterion, on this scale (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20), higher is more valuable. The Product Owner group then moves on the next criterion and repeats the process, until all criterions have been completed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Size is determined via Team Leader / Team Representative group applying Relative Estimation on the Planning Poker scale, larger is bigger Size/Cost. This is a stand in for duration. WSJF really calls for duration of the job not size but size is usually a very good substitute.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To keep the process quick I recommend that a maximum of 5 criteria are selected. I would start with:</span><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Constraints – Time constraints, Regulatory constraints.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Customer Joy – delighters, differentiators.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Revenue – conversion rates, income, projected income.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Risk Reduction / Opportunity Enablement (RR OE) – Increase redundancy, reduce technical debt.</span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Other suggested criteria to consider</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Strategic Alignment – matching the company’s strategy goals.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">User Impact – high number of user or small number of key users impacted.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cons</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost of Delay is difficult to explain</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It could be difficult to gain acceptance of the criteria scoring system and weightings.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pros</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Financially sound approach (minimising cost of delay).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Purely relative estimation approach, each round of estimation is only using the current projects to help determine priority.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Removes some emotion from prioritisation process.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Allows for comparison of different types of changes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Customisable criterion, enable the prioritisation matrix to match the business needs.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Uses group consensus for criterion, which builds acceptance of the decisions.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A key benefit of this is that everyone understands the main company goals and is motivated to come up with features that push the scoring up.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kM_vBEAuYQh7xWASPYMqctXjcVWcq4FsgxD6j7IGG2Q/edit?usp=sharing">example</a> again helps to explain it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">FINAL NOTE</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is rare that I suggest adding more process. However when dealing with the kinds of situations that can come up when prioritising work for several teams with, many competing stakeholders to deal with some process is a good thing.</span><br />
<br />Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979119066157881331.post-71443182710990910592014-11-02T17:54:00.001+10:002014-11-02T17:54:24.730+10:00Promoting constructive discussions in Retrospectives<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When transitioning to agile from a strong command and control environment, many team members say as little as possible in Retrospectives. They are used to being told what to do, and do not want to seem like the ‘trouble maker’ by pointing obvious issues. Over time they will realise that it is a good (and safe) thing to point out issues so that the team can work on solving them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PzmtrnIGL0Y/VFXirf7aoHI/AAAAAAAAAWE/aqVspxCVoc0/s1600/6924223634_74e709f616_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PzmtrnIGL0Y/VFXirf7aoHI/AAAAAAAAAWE/aqVspxCVoc0/s1600/6924223634_74e709f616_o.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The scope of what they could change in the past was very limited, which compounds their reluctance to speak up. Usually it takes a while for them to realise that the scope of what they can now change is vast. The task board is quiet often seen as something the team owns and due to its highly visible nature is one of the first areas that teams start to make changes. After the team has implemented their first couple of changes, the Scrum Master should explain to the team just how big their scope for change through Retrospectives really is. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To aid the explanation of scope and to help bring out information from quiet team members the following list of questions is often useful. For the Scrum Master it will be worth reading these questions prior to each Retrospective and working out which questions could be used to prompt discussion.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Delivery / Completion</b></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why did the extra tasks appear in the sprint? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why were User Stories/Tasks not completed?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why were some User Stories/Tasks, only partially completed?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did the team over commit? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Was the team reliant on one person/skill set to complete a task? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Were any milestones missed?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Were last Sprint Retrospective actions items completed?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where our estimates accurate? Both Story Points and hours?</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Quality</b></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What was the quality of work produced like?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Was the test coverage (both automated and manual) sufficient for our needs?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did our documentation provide the information that we required to complete our jobs?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did rework hold us back this sprint?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did the Review/Demo make you proud to be a member of this team?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What was the cause of the bugs/tickets that we worked on this sprint?</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Scrum / Continuous Improvement</b></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What did everyone work on immediately after the Planning meeting? Why did people work on items other then high priority User Stories?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Was the Product Backlog ready for use at the planning session? Prioritised, estimated, enough detail?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did the Burndown Chart realistically represent the progress of the team?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did everyone view the Burndown chart as useful?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Were last Sprint Retrospective actions items beneficial?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How did everyone contribute to User Story value?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is everyone happy with how the Stand ups are working? Can they be improved?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is everyone happy with how the Reviews are working? Can they be improved?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is everyone happy with how the Retrospectives are working? Can they be improved?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has now been X sprints that we have been using Scrum, do we think our situation is better or worse since starting? What is better? What is worse?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why were low priority tasks being worked on, while high priority user stories were on hold?</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Communication and Team work</b></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Was everyone clear on the team goals?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Was everyone clear on their personal priorities?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did internal knowledge transfer occur in a timely and effective manner?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How was the team internal communication? Was it clear, concise and timely?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How was the intra-team communication? Were expectations and dependencies clear?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did anyone have difficulties obtaining timely information/assistance from people outside of the team? I.e. Product Owner, external Technical Expert.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did anyone have difficulties obtaining timely information/assistance from people in the team? I.e. Architect, Test Specialist, Documentation Specialist, Scrum Master, etc.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajc1</span></div>
Andrew Ruslinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14128866682304928143noreply@blogger.com0