Download - Building Better Products, June 2015
Building better ProductsJason Fraser [email protected]
@jfraser (twitter)
June, 2015
at Pivotal Labs
@jfraser
@jfraser
@jfraser
Keep in touch!
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@jfraser
Innovation at Pivotal
Pivotal Innovation Workshops ask clients to explore and validate fundamental product questions:
Who is the Customer?
What Problem are we solving for them?
Is it a problem that’s Worth Solving?
Is our Solution the right solution?
Is there a Market?
Does market Scalability matter?
Is the Business Model well thought out?
@jfraser
@jfraser
Why Agile?
“Thinking big is not at odds with starting small.”
Eric Ries, Author - The Lean Startup
“The most successful project leaders from government and
industry alike tend to deliver top-shelf stuff with a skeleton crew,
a shoestring budget, and a cannonball schedule.”
Dan Ward, Author - F.I.R.E.
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The Agile Manifesto
Individuals and Interactions over Processes and Tools
Working Software over Comprehensive documentation
Customer Collaboration over Contract Negotiation
Responding to Change over Following a Plan
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Extreme Programming
How little can we do and still build great software?
Increase OPTIONS for business decisions
Recover quickly from missteps
Communication, Simplicity, Feedback, and Courage
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Why Simplicity?
!In discussing healthcare.gov, Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners and a 24-year federal IT professional, called Accenture “a very solid firm” and said that all major contractors have some problems, because large IT projects are so complex. !“I think their error rate is pretty consistent with other large firms,’’ Allen said. “Does that excuse things they did wrong? No, but it does put it into context.’’
Washington Post, Feb 9, 2014
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How do you approach a typical project?
Analysis
Plan
Stakeholders
Feedback
Revise
Budget
Approval
Execute
Measure
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Why Simplicity?
healthcare.gov
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XP at Pivotal Labs
Team Focused
Honest
Predictive rather than Prescriptive
Test Driven
Iterative
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Obligatory Joke
How many safety directors does it take to change a lightbulb?
Five. One to change it and four to hold the ladder
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XP is Team Focused
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Team Size
• Communicative overhead
• Social loafing
• Bystander Effect
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Communicative overhead
Shake Hands!
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Communicative overhead
Person 1
Person 2 Person 3
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Communicative overhead
Person 1
Person 2 Person 3
Person 4
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Communicative overhead
• Understanding happens between pairs
• People stop talking when they feel understood
• Decisions are made when people agree to stop talking
• Too many pairs slows everything down
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Communicative overhead
n(n-1)/2
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Bystander Effect
2014 novemberstudios
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Bystander Effect
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Social Loafing
Eric Skiff
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Team Size
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A Pivotal Labs Team
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Pair Programming
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Benefits of working as a Pair
• Team Continuity
• Reduced Errors
• Faster, more elegant solutions
• No handoff
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XP at Pivotal Labs
Team Focused
Honest
Predictive rather than Prescriptive
Test Driven
Iterative
@jfraser
XP is Honest
Team Focused
Honest
Predictive rather than Prescriptive
Test Driven
Iterative
@jfraser
No Rockstars
ego
@jfraser
XP at Pivotal Labs
Team Focused
Honest
Predictive rather than Prescriptive
Test Driven
Iterative
@jfraser
Predicting Progress
Team Focused
Honest
Predictive rather than Prescriptive
Test Driven
Iterative
@jfraser
XP at Pivotal Labs
Team Focused
Honest
Predictive rather than Prescriptive
Test Driven
Iterative
@jfraser
Test Driven Development
Write the test first
Write the code
Test until you pass
Deploy
@jfraser
XP at Pivotal Labs
Team Focused
Honest
Predictive rather than Prescriptive
Test Driven
Iterative
@jfraser
Iterations not Sprints
No sprints
Commitment on Time, not Scope
Focus on Customer Value
Continuous Deployment
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Product Management for XP
Team Focused
Honest
Predictive rather than Prescriptive
Test Driven
Iterative
@jfraser
Product Owner
Dev
Dev
Dev
Dev
DevDev
Dev}Business Design
Marketing Etc.
“Traditional” Product Management
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UX
& D
esig
nDev & Eng
blah blah blah
PRODUCT IDEAS
Biz/PM
•
Pivotal Labs Product Management
@jfraser
Pivotal Labs Product Managers:
Create the specification as the project moves forward
Prioritize highest customer value first
Work directly with the developers planning iterations based on highest customer value and balanced by predictive workload (velocity and scoring)
Manage both project risk and product risk
Work with the client to refine the product vision on the fly
@jfraser
Using Pivotal Tracker
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Units of Customer Value
@jfraser
Pivotal Labs Product Managers:
Create the specification as the project moves forward
Prioritize highest customer value first
Work directly with the developers planning iterations based on highest customer value and balanced by predictive workload (velocity and scoring)
Manage both project risk and product risk
Work with the client to refine the product vision on the fly
@jfraser
What does it all mean?
We can build rock-solid software quickly and reliably with very little interpersonal drama.
@jfraser
Leveling up
“The courage to speak truths, pleasant or unpleasant, fosters communication and trust. !“The courage to discard failing solutions and seek new ones encourages simplicity. !“The courage to seek real, concrete answers creates feedback.”
—Kent Beck
Thank you!
@jfraser