99 inception-deck

The Agile Inception Deck

by Jonathan Rasmusson

Monday, 13 August, 12

Agenda

Part I - What is the Agile Inception Deck? Part II - Creating our own


How can we be doing everything right ...

and still get it wrong.

Beautiful code

Great team

Good design

Beautiful user experience

On time. On budget.


We are all in agreement then.


Oh.


The assumption of consensus where none exists is what most projects.


What if we did this ...

Need something that ...


Ah!


Enter the inception deck

10 questions youd becrazy not to ask beforeyou start your next project.

~ couple days, a week

1-6 months of planning


Enter the inception deck1. Ask why we are here.2. Create an elevator pitch.3. Design a product box.4. Create a NOT list.5. Meet your neighbours.6. Show the solution.7. What keeps us up at night.8. Size it up.9. Whats going to give.10. Whats it going to take.


Start

EndYour project

Too late!

Ask the tough questions here


Purpose

Eliminate confusion and misunderstanding. Set expectations. Highlight challenges. Get alignment. BEFORE project begins.


Part I: Seeing the big picture

1. Ask why we are here.2. Create an elevator pitch.3. Design a product box.4. Create a NOT list.5. Meet your neighbours.


1. Ask why we are here Teams make 1000s of decisions and trade-

offs when building software.

Want them to make the right ones. To do that they need to be informed. They need to know why.

#1 reason for doing this project?


Why are we here?Better road

access?Logisticstracking?

Regulatorycompliance?

Efficiency?

Safety #1


How to get the why?

= Go and see = (Genchi Genbutsu, )


2. Create an elevator pitch.

(a volunteer please)



Pitch me the Wii.


Whats beautiful about having 30 seconds?


Why elevator pitch?

Brings clarity and focus to project. Forces team to think about the customer. Forces hard decisions to be made: who is it for? how is it different?


The Wii elevator pitch For [parents with young families] who [are scared by traditional game consoles] the [Nintendo Wii] is a [family entertainment system] that [lets families play together]. Unlike [the XBox and PS3 which have complicated

joysticks and controllers] our product [uses a natural, gesture based approach

to gaming that lets the whole family play (even grandma)].


The elevator pitch For [target customer] who [statement of the need or opportunity] the [product name] is a [product category] that [key benefit, compelling reason to buy]. Unlike [primary competitive alternative] our product [statement of primary differentiation].


The elevator pitch For [construction managers] who [need to safely track peoples locations at the

construction site] the [Construction Safety WorkPermit (CSWP)] is a [safety communication tool] that [allows people to be evacuated safely from sites

in the event of an emergency]. Unlike [our current paper based system] our product [is web based and can be accessed by all

contractors from anywhere].


The ConstructionSafety Permit System

Ideal for mine sites

Process permits faster!Process permits safer!

Track peoples time better!

Where you need it. When you need it.


What if your product was a box?

What would it look like?

Would you buy?


Features vs Benefits


Features vs Benefits 555 horsepower engine

0-100 km/h in 4.7 secs

Brake energy regeneration

All wheel drive

Pass easy on highway

Impress your friends

Save money

Break safely with loved ones


Design a product box for the Wii

(15 min)


Step 1: List the benefits

Why buy?

Come up with three reasons why someone would buy the Wii.

(5min)


Step 2: Create a slogan

Somethingcatchy

Wii can all playAll together nowWill move you (5min)

(no slogan is too cheesy!)


Step 3: Draw your creation

Draw

(5min)

Slogan

Your own image here


Why would we buy?

The Wii

Let grandma playFun for whole family

Family that plays together...

Wii move you

ClarityFocus

AlignmentIntent


Lets talk about scopeHow do you tell someone whats

IN scopefor their project?


4. Create a NOT list

Stuff we DUHQWJRLQJWRVZHDW

IN

UNRESOLVED

OUT

%LJURFNVZHQHHGWRPRYH

7KLQJVZHVWLOOQHHGWRVRUWRXW


IN OUT Create new permit IntegraBon with legacy system Update permit Oine capability Basic search Basic reporBng (x1) Print Delete permit

UNRESOLVED IntegraBon with logisBcs tracking system (LTS) Security swipe card

Sample NOT list


Your project communityis always bigger than you think.

(story)Monday, 13 August, 12

5. Meet your neighbours

Core team

Technical writersSafety o!cers

Production support

Databaseadministrators Everyone else!

Help desk

Infrastructure

Security


Core team

Greater communityGovernance (SOX)Security auditProduction readinessBusiness transformationChange managementDatabase administratorsCorporate architectureTraining groupTechnical writersLegalHelp deskNetworking/infrastructurePractice leadership teamRisk and complianceBranch supervisors

Put your core teammembers here ...

and everyone elseout here.

People to start buildingrelationships with


Part II: Making it real1. Ask why we are here.2. Create an elevator pitch.3. Design a product box.4. Create a NOT list.5. Meet your neighbours.6. Show the solution.7. What keeps us up at night.8. Size it up.9. Whats going to give.10. Whats it going to take.


You pick your architecture ...

when you pick your team.


6. Show the solutionServicesBrowser

SecurityValidation Webservices

Domain logic

Third-party cardswipe system

SQL Server

DB2Mainframe

ETLBatch

SQL ServerClustered

SAP HR

Tibco

Out of scope

?

UnresolvedNo testenvironment

Beware!

To be decidedTechnologies:- - - -


How should we deal with all the craziness?


7. What keeps us up at night?

Your risk slide. If you hear something crazy, get it out

there!

This is your opportunity to raise any issues or concerns youve got.

As well as hear from the other side and other team members.

Better now than leaving it till later.Monday, 13 August, 12

Project risks

Director of construction availability Team not co-located Unproven technology New security architecture Timing of new logistics tracking system


Risks worth tackling

Slow computers

Customer availability

Team not sitting together Economy cratering

Company getting acquired

Customer getting a promotion

Those that arent


Grant me the serenityto accept the things I cannot change;

the courage to change the things I can;and the wisdom to know the difference.

The Lords Prayer...


8. Size it up

1 ? 3 ? 6 months?


How big?

We dont know exactly (but our sponsors need a number).

So we guess - 1, 3, or 6 months About as precise as we can get. So we gather all our highlevel stories, and

guess how long we think it will take.


Guestimation

Add userPrint itineraryCancel tripBook permitUpdate permitSearchCreate deviceAdd swap tradeAdd optionCancel plan

Master story list

Make sure your sponsors see this!


For example

Ship it!ConstrucBon UAT Training

~3months 1 wk 1 wk

This is a guess. Not a commitment.


Think small

1 2 3 6 9 12 months

Risk

Project length(Randy Mott)


Too much to doand

not enough time.

How are you going to deal with ...


9. Be clear on whats going to give.


The Furious Four!

Time Budget Quality Scope


Trade-off slidersThe classic fourFeature completeness (scope)

Stay within budget (budget)

Deliver project on Bme (Bme)

High quality, low defects (quality)

ON OFF

ON OFF

ON OFF

ON OFF

* They cant all be ON

* No two can occupy the same level

Is this enough?


Other important stuffOther important stuInsanely fun computer game

Reduce call center trac by 20%

Increase conversions by 30%

ON OFF

ON OFF

ON OFF

ON OFF


Almost there ...

Phew!


What two questions does every executive

want answered before sponsoring a

project?


1. How much?


2. When?


10. Whats it going to take


Be clear on your team# Role Skill set

2 Developers C#, Ajax, HTML/CSS, TDD, Analysis skills

1 Tester Automated test experience (Selenium)

1 Project manager Part Bme - not billable to project

1 Customer Source of truth. Can answer quesBons. Available to team.

1 Stakeholder Oversees project. UlBmately accountable.

Put anyone you feel is necessary for the success of the project on this list.


Clarify whos calling the shots

The core team

Stakeholders

Get to give input

Our customer

The deciderSets directionCalls the shots

Where the team getstheir marching orders


Rough budget

3 people x 3 1/2 months @$150/hr

$250K

* 160 hrs/ monthMonday, 13 August, 12

What this project is going to take

Construction UAT Training Ship it!

~3 months 1 wk 1 wk

3 people, 3 months, $250K


Summary The inception deck is seeking alignment,

awareness, and consensus before starting our project.

Skip this step at your own peril. Its much harder to deal with this stuff once

the bomb has gone off.

Best to raise set expectations now about how we are going to work, and make sure everyone is cool with how we want to roll.


Enter dojo


Scenario #1 While conducting your first project meeting, your

customer (a former developer) requests that the application be built in an old legacy computer language that is no longer supported within the company.

He explains that if the program is written in a language he understands, he will be easier for him to maintain and modify.

The employee designated to do the work doesnt know the legacy language, and does not recommend building the application in an unsupported technology.

Which inception deck card should we play?Monday, 13 August, 12





Scenario #2

Half way through the project, certain stakeholders begin changing the requirements and priorities.

These changes were not agreed to by all stakeholders, and conflict with the spirit and direction agreed on at the beginning of the project.

Not sure whether to incorporate these changes or not, the team is confused about direction, and is unsure whether they should include these new requirements.

What can the team do to remedy the situation?

Which card should we play?






Clarify whos calling the shots

The core team

Stakeholders

Get to give input

Our customer

The deciderSets directionCalls the shots

Where the team getstheir marching orders


Scenario #3 The companys mainframe is due for retirement and a mission

critical application needs to be written. Wanting to do the development in house, the project team

decides to write it using a new technology they have no experience in, while introducing a new agile software development methodology.

The application development team is keen, but also very junior. What card should we play here before starting the project?

Which card should we play?






Scenario #4 The team is doing fantastic! Customer is thrilled Only when going live do they realize how much work is

involved and how many parties need to be engaged. Fortunately, the team is able to scramble, and in record

time they push through the sign-off process (though they dont make many friends along the way)

Unfortunately, a few noses got bent along the way, and internal groups are not fans of this new agile process

What happened? What could we have done to prevent this?

Which card should we have played?






Scenario #5 Youve assembled the A-Team. The team is pumped. Excited to come into work. But then something strange starts to happen. The customer starts telling the team to stop innovating. Stop making the product better. Proves incredibly frustrating to the team. Dont understand - why not make the product better? After several months best and brightest start to leave. How could this project have prevented this scenario?

Which card should we have played?






= Intentionally blank =


Inception Deck Workshop(1.5 hours)


Gather into teams


Build inception deck for

Online dating website Your favourite mobile game Design the new Apple TV


Design an inception deck1. Ask why we are here.2. Create an elevator pitch.3. Design a product box.4. Create a NOT list.5. Meet your neighbours.6. Show the solution.7. What keeps us up at night.8. Size it up.9. Whats going to give.10. Whats it going to take.

(5-10 minutes each)


This is going to go fast

Appoint a customer (a decider). If you dont know the answer - make it up!. Will present examples as we go.


Lets go!1. Ask why we are here.2. Create an elevator pitch.3. Design a product box.4. Create a NOT list.5. Meet your neighbours.6. Show the solution.7. What keeps us up at night.8. Size it up.9. Whats going to give.10. Whats it going to take.

(10 minutes each)



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Resources

The Agile Samurai Agile inception deck template25% off this week onlyCode: PragmaticAgile2012

http://pragprog.com/book/jtrap/the-agile-samurai


== Bonus Material ==


Some parting advice

Be flexible. You dont always need every slide. Make it visible. Its OK to start the deck yourself. Keep it up to date. There is no one way! Make it your own. Questions!


99 inception-deck

Technology