the art of agile project initiation

Discuss Agile Conference DELHI 2016

The Art of Agile Project Initiation By Kshitij Agrawal

“Agile” Project Initiation

Inception builds shared understanding and alignmentthru lightweight collaborative sessions

Agenda

Solutionize and Prioritize

Roles and Process Mapping

Build business and project context

Expectations Management

Initial discussions & Preparation

High Level Planning

Summary

Case Study

Mr. X is a businessman & sports enthusiast. He is planning to climb on Mt Everest.

Has multiple stores in metro cities selling safety gears & other equipments for adventure sports (paragliding, scuba diving, hill-climbing, bungee jumping etc).

He wants to expand his business using digital channels and has called consultant from IT firm ABC Ltd for help.

If you are that consultant from ABC firm meeting with Mr. X first time. What will you discuss? What will you ask and tell?

Case Study .. contAsk

What do you want?

Why? What problem are you trying to solve?

Target Audience / customers / market segments

Competitors, USP / Differentiators

Why not X instead of Y

Cost & timelines constraints

What do you want from us?

Tell & Sell

Your company and its philosophy

Experience in similar problem domain

Feature Driven and Iterative Development

MVP & Value driven prioritization

Agile Benefits

Next Steps

Inception Workshop

Purpose

Approach

Deliverables

Participants

Logistics

Inception Process

Initial PrepCheck-in &

Expectations Management

Build Business Context

Build Project Context

Solutionize and Prioritize

High Level Planning

Showcase

Initial Preparation

Initial Prep – Assemble the Team

Project Manager

Business Analyst

Technical Arch / Lead

Test Lead

UX Designer

DevOps

Study & Research

Client Culture

Client Practices

Client IT Set-up

Business Domain

Problem Domain

Competitors

Technologies

Customers

Internal Experiences of similar projects

Logistics

Book stakeholders calendar

Travel Arrangement

Stationary

Book good Venue

Expectation Management

AgendaTimelines Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Morning Workshop 190 Mins (9:00 – 10:30)

Kick-Off Ice Breaker Know each other

As is Business Process

To be journey & Features

TechnicalArchitecture

Planning

Morning Workshop 290 Mins (10:45 –12:30)

Sponsor Presentation

Hopes & Fears

As is Business Process & Pain Points

Sketch & Prototype

Plan & Prioritize

Assembling the Plan

Lunch(45 Minutes)

Learning Lunch Learning Lunch

Afternoon Workshop 1 90 Mins (1:15 – 2:45)

Visioning Exercises User Journeys Non-FunctionalRequirements

Plan & Prioritize

Showcase

Consolidation 45 Mins (3:00 – 3:45)

Consolidation of findings & converting into electronic formatOpen Space for any other agenda

Standup / Retro15 Mins (3:45 – 4:00) Retrospective and Adapting plan for next day

Assess Expectations

Hopes

Executive Backing

Get some answers of our

problems

Get some new perspectives

Yet another time wasting meeting

Can we get lot done in short

time?

Fears

Discover & Explore Business & Project Context

Elevator Pitch

Product In a Box

<Product Name>

<Slogan>

<Benefit #1><Benefit #2><Benefit #3>

Fun Picture

What if your product was a boxWhat would it look like?

Create a slogan – something catchy

Draw your creation

Why would anyone buy – list the benefits

Envisioning / Cover StoryCover: Story of Big

Success

Headline: Substance of cover story

Sidebars: Interesting facts

Quotes: Customer Quotes

Brainstrom : Initial Ideas

Images : Supporting content with illustrations.

Pic taken from gamestorming.com

Lean Business Model Canvas

Author Ash Maurya. Taken from leanstack.com

Trade Off Slider

Time to Market

On Budget

Performance

Breadth of Features

Depth of Features

High quality, low defects

<Insert yours>

High Low

Solutionize & Prioritize

Scoping

Business Process

Roles & Goals

Personas ScenariosUser

JourneysPrototype

Stories

Business Process Modeling

Case Study 2 – User Roles

Cricket Mania Ltd is an organization, which sells Cricket books and other goods related to Cricket.

They are planning to launch a website to sell the goods online in India.

You are in inception workshop trying to come up with user roles. Try to come up with as many roles as possible.

Case Study 2 – User Roles… Customer Roles

Novice Player or New Player

Gift Buyer

Cricket Coach

Cricket Academy

Professional Player

Experienced Player

Report Viewer

Sales & Marketing Person

CxOs

Helpdesk Person

Administrator

Product Manager

User Goal Activities TasksRole /

Persona

Goal

Activity

Task / Feature

Admin Customer Fulfilment Manager

Manage Products

Product Set-up

Tracking Shipping Progress

Product Bulk Upload

Add Product

Delete Product

Product Inquiry

Edit Product

Basic Search

Track Shipping

Reconciliation

Buy Product

Search & Select

Add to Cart & Payment

Submit to Delivery Vendor

Sr. Manager

Manage Fulfilment Increased Revenue

Optimized Operation

s

Analyze Reports

Inventory Mgmt

Advance Search

See List

Sorting & Filters

Detailed Info

Add To Cart

Edit Cart

Checkout from Cart

Provide Shipping Info

Pay by Card

Pay by Internet Banking

Generate List of Orders

Pass goods to Delivery

Vendor

Update Order Status

Notify Customer

Manage Exceptions

Generate Reports ....

.... ....

....

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Wireframes and Mockups

Non-Functional Requirements

Capacity

Resilience

Performance

UsabilitySupportable

Testable

Security

Portability

Globalization

Compliance

Reliability

Technical

Technical<technology platform><language><libraries><tools><database><CI/CD tools><Test Automation Tools>

Environment<Development Environment><Test Environment><UAT environment><NFT environment>

Infra<Software><Hardware><Network>

High Level Planning & Showcase

Planning Process

Relative Prioritization

Find MVPCreate High level Plan

Make Priority Adjustments

Complete Staffing

Estimate Costs

Make Adjustment for Risks & Constraints

Assemble Final Plan

Story Map

Epics / Features

Stories

Product Set-up

Order Tracking

Product Bulk Upload

Add Product

Delete Product

Product Inquiry

Edit Product

Basic Search

Search & Filter

Shopping Cart

Reporting

Advance Search

Filter on xxx

Sorting on column xxx

Detailed Info popup

Add To Cart

Remove From Cart

Checkout from Cart

Enter Shipping Info

Pay by Credit Card

Pay by Internet Banking

....

.... ....

....

Logical Usage Sequence

PRIORIY

Product Info

Filter on yyy

Filter on zzz

Basic Info List

Payment

Change Quantity

Product Compare

Show Invoice & Delivery Charges

High Level Plan

2 week incremental delivery

4 Dev, 2 QA

Total:- 6 Iterations

Apr’16 – June’16 – 3 Months

1. Hit the ground running with environment and team set-up

2. Product Set-up via bulk upload

3. Basic Customer Journey.

4. Alpha release with cash on delivery option.

2 week incremental delivery

2 teams each with 4 Dev, 2 QA

Total:- 6-7 Iterations

July’16 – Sept’16 – 3 Months Oct’16 – Dec’16 – 3 Months

Capacity – 40 to 50 Points Capacity – 90 to 110 Points

1. Finish Admin product setup UI

2. Payment Gateway Integration

3. Customer Journey enhancements

4. Feedback from alpha release

5. Beta release with MVP

1. UI enhancements, notifications, triggers

2. Reports

3. Feedback from beta release

4. Any non-MVP features that capacity allows

5. Full launch

2 week incremental delivery

2 teams each with 4 Dev, 2 QA

Total:- 6 Iterations

Capacity – 80 to 100 Points

Notes:• Initial approach that allows early feedback and early removal of uncertainties.• The plan is broken into logical milestones, which needs to be revisited at frequent

intervals to reflect actual velocity.

The NOT List

IN OUT

Core logic for customer product buy & search

Inventory Management

Admin product set-up Mobile App

Payments Gateway Integration

UNRESOLVED

Integration with analytics module

Reusing core web security or creating new security module

Engines & Anchors

Data Driven Decision Making

Legacy Technology Constraints

Building Consensus among business groups

Competitors launching ahead

Customer Impact During Change

Clear Product Roadmap

Agile Training

Challenges

Success Factors

Infrastructure Support

RAID

RISKSWhat keeps you awake at night?

Known Unknown

Unknown Unknown

ISSUESWhat are the known problems we have?

ASSUMPTIONSFrequently validate

Common source of risks & issues

DEPENDENCIESInternal

External

Showcase

Parting Thoughts Focus on conversation, collaboration and shared understanding

Adapt agenda and exercises

Don’t hesitate in challenging client’s ideas and having difficult conversations

Opportunity for client connect

Opportunity for team bonding and building relations

Questions ?

Thank You