Defining your 1st Release Game

And how do we get there?What is meant by MVP and MMP?

Before we begin you see…Answer me these questions three…

A’fore the game you may see…

Hands up as we step through these…• I need to understand how to go from a product

vision to working with stories in an iteration.

• I know what a story map is.

• I’m an Agile coach, Scrum master, trainer, etc. looking for a game to help teams understand the first bullet. Apologies to Monty Python…

The product is a village. We’re going to define and build our product in terms of MVP and MMP over four 25 minute iterations• Elect a product owner• Product owner will establish a vision about the village (or puzzle completion) to be done• She or he will then further define the Epics that will help realize this vision (10 min)

– Epics = things to build– in the sequence to which they help realize the vision – An example will be given in a moment

• Then we’ll conduct release planning for 20 minutes, consisting of 1. working together to brainstorm the stories that will help support these (10 min)– Stories = components of the things to build– Determine when the product owner may accept stories– These Stories will be laid out under each Epic at the criticality level for enabling the Epic– The MVP and MMP will be identified, both on the Story Map and by drawing borders around each one– An example will be given in a moment

2. sorting or otherwise preparing (but not connect) puzzle pieces or themselves• Then we’ll start our iterations: 5 min iteration planning, 15 min development, 2 min iteration

review, 3 min retro– Product owner is responsible for ensuring progress towards the vision and quality of story completion

Represented by a puzzle…

Iteration Planning (5 min)• Refine stories (example story shortly) & estimate• Any Acceptance Criteria beyond pieces fitting

Development (15 min)• Everyone but product owner may build puzzle • Product owner may look at what’s being done

Iteration Review (2 min)• Show stories & acceptance criteria• Last responsible moment for product owner to accept

Retrospective (3 min)• How can you improve?• Decide on 1-2 actions to try and help

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Example Visions

• Provide a place for people to gather

• Show a beautiful spring day

• Attract photographers

• Provide an enjoyable shopping experience in a small village

Example Epics for 1st Vision

Vision: Provide a place for people to gather• Create a place for conversation• Provide cover for inclement weather• Offer food and beverage• Attract people to the area with other

businesses• Set it in pleasant scenery

Example Story for 1st Epic

Story: Create a place for conversation• As a local citizen, set up tables and chairs for my

friends and I to sit in and talk.

Possible Acceptance Criteria• minimum # of chairs and tables

Possibility that only one table and some set of chairs would be the initial story

Example Story Map

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Create a place for conversation

Provide cover from Weather

Offer food & beverage

Set in pleasant scenery

Attract w/ other businesess

Build 1 table w/4 chairs

Build 2 tables w/6 chairs

Build 4 tables w/16 chairs

Build enough awning over table

Build full awning

Entry into the building

Show menu

Show RestaurantSignage

Hanging flowers

Have boxed flowers in square

Have shop next to restaurant

MVP

MM

P

Have many flower boxes in square

MVP

MVPMMP

Debrief

Let’s see how this worked out for you…

No one expects the Agile Inquisition!!

• How did that feel?• Did you choose stories that were too big?• Did your product owner give you good acceptance criteria?• Did you find yourself in any of your iterations not

completing stories?• How involved was your product owner during the

“construction” portion of your iteration?• What did you actions did you decide to take in your retro?• Did your estimates help you? Or were they wasteful? How

did you make decisions about what you could commit to..?

More apologies to Monty Python…

Some notes on facilitating this game…• The puzzle -

– should be large such that it can’t be completed, but not feel insurmountable ~500 pieces is good

– Have areas that people can envision enabling something as a product vision• Make sure teams adhere to the following:

– Timeboxes!– Product owner acceptance (last responsible moment is the Iteration Review)– Product owner is not building the puzzle…

• Walk around and ask Qs – Is there clear acceptance criteria?– What infrastructure (sorting pieces) could help you move quicker?– How can your Product Owner help you?– What can you do to ensure you make Iteration goals?

• Thanks to Chris R. Chapman of Derailleur Consulting– He developed a very similar game to showcase how estimation can be a wasteful activity– It inspired this game– See http://www.derailleurconsulting.com/blog/the-noestimates-puzzle-experiment

Back-up

What are Story Maps?

Story Mapping

Jeff Patton, 2005, Better Software Magazine, “It’s All in How You Slice It”

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Story Mapping

Jeff Patton, 2005, Better Software Magazine, “It’s All in How You Slice It”

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Lay out User Activities acrossSequence Axis

EPICS

Story Mapping

Jeff Patton, 2005, Better Software Magazine, “It’s All in How You Slice It”

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EPICS

FEATURES

Story Mapping

Jeff Patton, 2005, Better Software Magazine, “It’s All in How You Slice It”

Lay out stories on axes

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MVP

MMP

Now You Have a Story Map

Jeff Patton, 2005, Better Software Magazine, “It’s All in How You Slice It”

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